Deathstalker (1983)

豆知識

Deathstalker is a 1983 American-Argentine sword and sorcery film directed by James Sbardellati and starring Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker, Lana Clarkson and Bernard Erhard. In it, a cynical antihero known only as Deathstalker (Hill) finds himself the unwitting participant in a warriors' tournament, set up under false pretense to wipe out all potential challengers to the reign of Munkar (Erhard), the evil mage who usurps a king's throne and holds his princess daughter (Benton) captive.

Production

By the early 1980s, the storied Argentine film industry was in a catastrophic situation, crippled by the country's economical collapse and a decline in independent foreign distributors, with no more than twenty films produced per year. To ensure their company's survival, Aries Cinematográfica owners Héctor Olivera and Fernando Ayala understood the need for co-productions.

Deathstalker was the first of two films that formed the initial phase of the Corman/Aries partnership, the second being Kain of Dark Planet (shot shortly after and released in 1984 as The Warrior and the Sorceress), although the agreement would eventually stretch to ten films. Deathstalker started development at New World Pictures, but Corman finalized a deal to sell the company right as production commenced.

This was the directorial debut of James Sbardellati, who had been an assistant on several Corman productions, as well as on Don Coscarelli's fantasy film The Beastmaster. Sbardellati brought with him his Beastmaster production assistant Frank K. Isaac.

The cast was led by five Americans, with Argentines filing all remaining roles. Like Sorceress, Deathstalker showcased a Playboy model, Barbi Benton. Although she was frequently referred to as a former Playmate of the Year, including on the film's domestic video sleeve, she was a covergirl for the magazine but never a Playmate. Former college football player and TV actor Rick Hill made his theatrical debut with the film.

Principal photography started on January 10, 1983, under the working title El cazador de la muerte (lit. 'The Death Hunter'), and spread across thirty-seven days. The film was shot at and around Estudios Baires, which Olivera and Ayala co-owned with a third party in Don Torcuato, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires.

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