Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Conquest; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.50 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00
Conquest is a strange little film. There's hardly any story, though there are lots of decent concepts. And it's entirely filmed in soft-focus, making all the shots indistinct, though there are some pleasing and engaging composed segments under all the fuzziness.
The writers give us the tale of Ilias - The Wanderer. After being bestowed with a mythical bow, he leaves his people and sets off into the world. On his journey, he saves a strange girl from a snake ready to strike. As she runs off, Ilias is attacked by other men with spears and bizarre dog-like creatures, though they walk upright. A stranger comes to his assistance, and they defeat the assailants. Mace is a man who doesn't like other men and is nobody's friend, except for the beasts. He grudgingly lets Ilias walk with him as long as the youth shows him how to use the bow. Unbeknown to the duo, a God-Like mystical character, Ocron, has received a premonition that The Wanderer will kill her with an arrow of light. She immediately sends out her troops and followers to kill The Wanderer and bring her the weapon. And, so the mystical action and adventure begin. And, that is about it for the plot - it's not too complicated, and no rocket scientists are required to spell it out for you. Along the way, a few intriguing concepts get bestowed upon us. I particularly liked the "Mind Reading" technique Ocron employs. Her army decapitates her victim, and she cracks open the bodiless head and drinks deeply from their skull. This dark feast allows her to devour and digest some of their power and soul. It's nasty and disgusting...and I loved it.
Lucio Fulci is an excellent director: Even his turkeys - City Of The Living Dead, for one - possess some decent cinematography. And that is the case with Conquest. For some unknown reason, Fulci shot the entire movie in soft-focus. It could be that he believed it would give the picture a mystical essence. Sadly, the focus effect is too strong and tends to diffuse the light too much. Unless you're in a close-up shot, you lose the definition of the characters. Though on a certain level, it works. It's ideal to add haze to the landscapes, and there's one particularly splendid image of our two heroes. Mace kneels on the left, and Ilias is standing behind him centre screen while the sun and blue sky shimmer on the right. Fulci makes this perfect by filming at an upward angle. It's one of the best compositions in the movie, and the soft-focus aids in adding power to the vision. Unfortunately, the fogginess of the scenes hinders his usual filming style. Lost to the diffusion are the crisp, dark, ominous shadows and the pools of illumination. What he usually used to create his atmosphere of dread and tension is no more, and it shows. The sneak attack on the sleeping heroes would have been more powerful had Fulci utilised his regular style. And there are a couple of similar scenes that cried out for familiar Fulci. Another thing lacking in the picture is the pacing. It's a steady walk throughout. The action scenes screamed for faster cutting and a speedier tempo. Ocron's "Mind Reading" would have been more ominous had Fulci slowed the sections down a tad more - stretching them out to display their full gruesomeness.
Since we have a simple story, the cast doesn't have much to accomplish. The Heroes have to be bold and confident: Both Jorge Rivero (Mace) and Andrea Occhipinti (Ilias) nailed it. And Ocron needed to be bold, confident, and naked, and Sabrini Siani, superbly hits the mark.
Conquest is a Sunday afternoon or evening movie, Something to disconnect your brain for and sit back, relax, and enjoy. It's not a complex story, though it is undoubtedly entertaining. After watching the first five minutes and realising the soft-focus was not going anywhere, I grew a little disheartened and nearly hit the off button. However, I'm glad I didn't. It's not as good as other mystical fantasies of the time, but it's worthy of your time, especially if you see it streaming somewhere for free - or included in your subscription.
Now your quest is over, pop on over and check out my Obsidian Dreams list to see where I ranked Conquest.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 0.50 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.00 Enjoyment: 1.00
TOTAL: 4.50 out of 10.00
Conquest is a strange little film. There's hardly any story, though there are lots of decent concepts. And it's entirely filmed in soft-focus, making all the shots indistinct, though there are some pleasing and engaging composed segments under all the fuzziness.
The writers give us the tale of Ilias - The Wanderer. After being bestowed with a mythical bow, he leaves his people and sets off into the world. On his journey, he saves a strange girl from a snake ready to strike. As she runs off, Ilias is attacked by other men with spears and bizarre dog-like creatures, though they walk upright. A stranger comes to his assistance, and they defeat the assailants. Mace is a man who doesn't like other men and is nobody's friend, except for the beasts. He grudgingly lets Ilias walk with him as long as the youth shows him how to use the bow. Unbeknown to the duo, a God-Like mystical character, Ocron, has received a premonition that The Wanderer will kill her with an arrow of light. She immediately sends out her troops and followers to kill The Wanderer and bring her the weapon. And, so the mystical action and adventure begin. And, that is about it for the plot - it's not too complicated, and no rocket scientists are required to spell it out for you. Along the way, a few intriguing concepts get bestowed upon us. I particularly liked the "Mind Reading" technique Ocron employs. Her army decapitates her victim, and she cracks open the bodiless head and drinks deeply from their skull. This dark feast allows her to devour and digest some of their power and soul. It's nasty and disgusting...and I loved it.
Lucio Fulci is an excellent director: Even his turkeys - City Of The Living Dead, for one - possess some decent cinematography. And that is the case with Conquest. For some unknown reason, Fulci shot the entire movie in soft-focus. It could be that he believed it would give the picture a mystical essence. Sadly, the focus effect is too strong and tends to diffuse the light too much. Unless you're in a close-up shot, you lose the definition of the characters. Though on a certain level, it works. It's ideal to add haze to the landscapes, and there's one particularly splendid image of our two heroes. Mace kneels on the left, and Ilias is standing behind him centre screen while the sun and blue sky shimmer on the right. Fulci makes this perfect by filming at an upward angle. It's one of the best compositions in the movie, and the soft-focus aids in adding power to the vision. Unfortunately, the fogginess of the scenes hinders his usual filming style. Lost to the diffusion are the crisp, dark, ominous shadows and the pools of illumination. What he usually used to create his atmosphere of dread and tension is no more, and it shows. The sneak attack on the sleeping heroes would have been more powerful had Fulci utilised his regular style. And there are a couple of similar scenes that cried out for familiar Fulci. Another thing lacking in the picture is the pacing. It's a steady walk throughout. The action scenes screamed for faster cutting and a speedier tempo. Ocron's "Mind Reading" would have been more ominous had Fulci slowed the sections down a tad more - stretching them out to display their full gruesomeness.
Since we have a simple story, the cast doesn't have much to accomplish. The Heroes have to be bold and confident: Both Jorge Rivero (Mace) and Andrea Occhipinti (Ilias) nailed it. And Ocron needed to be bold, confident, and naked, and Sabrini Siani, superbly hits the mark.
Conquest is a Sunday afternoon or evening movie, Something to disconnect your brain for and sit back, relax, and enjoy. It's not a complex story, though it is undoubtedly entertaining. After watching the first five minutes and realising the soft-focus was not going anywhere, I grew a little disheartened and nearly hit the off button. However, I'm glad I didn't. It's not as good as other mystical fantasies of the time, but it's worthy of your time, especially if you see it streaming somewhere for free - or included in your subscription.
Now your quest is over, pop on over and check out my Obsidian Dreams list to see where I ranked Conquest.
Take Care & Stay Well.