Gor opens in a college classroom somewhere in New Hampshire.
Professor Tarl Cabot is telling his students about his magic ring that
science has not yet explained; they think he is a loon. So does anyone
watching the movie. Tarl has planned a weekend with his girlfriend/grad
student that will involve a remote cabin and some fishing. She dumps
him. Even so, Tarl decides to drive in torrential rain to the cabin but
crashes his car into a tree.
Tarl awakens in a desert that bears no resemblance to New Hampshire. He sees a village being attacked and watches from behind a rock. The people are relatively primitive, wielding swords and spears. As Tarl is an oaf, he manages to get spotted by some of the attackers and runs – girl-like – away from the horsemen. Then, quite by accident, he manages to kill Sarm's son; Sarm (Oliver Reed) is the lead villain. Tarl is saved by the remaining villagers and taught to fight. He learns that in order to return to New Hampshire, he must recover the home stone that was stolen by Sarm.
Soon, a party assembles. There is Tarl, the other-worlder (he is not the first to come from this mythical place called Earth), Talena the studded-leather bikini wearing babe (played by Rebecca Ferratti, a Playboy Playmate), an old man, a young warrior, and a dwarf (not the bearded kind, just a short guy who thinks he's funny). This motley crew traverses the desert to do battle with Sarm.
The big thing about Gor is that women are often held as slaves. In fact, in some regions, they can only be slaves and it is illegal to have a woman who isn't chained. This woman-as-sex-slave theme has marked the Gor novels as sexist and misogynistic. The movie happily follows along.
It actually comes as a bit of a surprise that Tarl chose to return home at the end. On Earth, he was a loser who got dumped by his average-looking girlfriend. On Gor, he was an accomplished warrior who had Talena desiring him. However, the movie ends with a clear indication of a sequel, even introducing Xenos (Jack Palance).
This is Spaghetti Sword & Sorcery, with mediocre acting, terrible editing, a lousy script, and inexplicable actions by the characters. It is amazing the sequel was made. The only reason to watch this is to see Rebecca Ferratti run around in her lack of clothes and fight a variety of foes between incidents of bondage.
Tarl awakens in a desert that bears no resemblance to New Hampshire. He sees a village being attacked and watches from behind a rock. The people are relatively primitive, wielding swords and spears. As Tarl is an oaf, he manages to get spotted by some of the attackers and runs – girl-like – away from the horsemen. Then, quite by accident, he manages to kill Sarm's son; Sarm (Oliver Reed) is the lead villain. Tarl is saved by the remaining villagers and taught to fight. He learns that in order to return to New Hampshire, he must recover the home stone that was stolen by Sarm.
Soon, a party assembles. There is Tarl, the other-worlder (he is not the first to come from this mythical place called Earth), Talena the studded-leather bikini wearing babe (played by Rebecca Ferratti, a Playboy Playmate), an old man, a young warrior, and a dwarf (not the bearded kind, just a short guy who thinks he's funny). This motley crew traverses the desert to do battle with Sarm.
The big thing about Gor is that women are often held as slaves. In fact, in some regions, they can only be slaves and it is illegal to have a woman who isn't chained. This woman-as-sex-slave theme has marked the Gor novels as sexist and misogynistic. The movie happily follows along.
It actually comes as a bit of a surprise that Tarl chose to return home at the end. On Earth, he was a loser who got dumped by his average-looking girlfriend. On Gor, he was an accomplished warrior who had Talena desiring him. However, the movie ends with a clear indication of a sequel, even introducing Xenos (Jack Palance).
This is Spaghetti Sword & Sorcery, with mediocre acting, terrible editing, a lousy script, and inexplicable actions by the characters. It is amazing the sequel was made. The only reason to watch this is to see Rebecca Ferratti run around in her lack of clothes and fight a variety of foes between incidents of bondage.
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