This weekend I join a challenge to read or watch 42 books, movies or televison series pertaining to science-fiction. Because I love the first movie I reviewed so much, I have decided to include it on this blog as well. So, the following is an encore presentation.
Wizards is one of my all time favorite sci-fi fantasy movies. This animated feature was written, produced and directed by the infamous Ralph Bakshi. I love this movie so much, I have an original movie poster hanging in my living room, right above the television.
The movie begins after the planet Earth has been badly damaged by a nuclear war instigated by terrorists, and it has taken two million years for the radioactive clouds to once again allow sunlight to reach the surface. Only a handful of humans have survived, while the rest have changed into mutants who roam the radioactive wastelands of Earth. This movie has a unique blend of swords, sorcery, science fiction, kung-fu, fascism, and nuclear holocaust.
Fairies, elves and dwarves (the true ancestors of man) have returned to land of Montagar. During a celebration of 3,000 years of peace, Delia, the queen of the fairies, falls into a trance and leaves the party. The puzzled fairies follow her to her home. One of the older fairies finds that Delia has given birth to twin wizards. Avatar - my favorite character - is the kind and good wizard. Blackwolf - the evil twin - is the mutant wizard.
When Delia dies, Blackwolf is excited because he believes he will take over her leadership and rule the land. Avatar engages in battle with his evil brother, emerging as the victor because his magic was strengthened by grief over his mother's loss. Defeated, Blackwolf leaves the good lands, vowing to return and make it a planet of mutants.
The story shifts between the two wizards. First the machinations and plots of Blackwolf, as he unearths archaic Nazi technology and turns it into an weapon designed to erase the magical from the world. Then the journey of Avatar and two elvish friends, Elinore and the warrior Weehawk, who are seeking the source of Blackwolf's power. They are constantly tracked by the assassin Necro 99 - who later has a change of heart and becomes known as Peace.
This movie is the preverbal good vs. evil, but it is an allegorical comment on the moral neutrality of technology and the potentially destructive powers of propaganda. Blackwolf's secret weapon is propaganda; he also utilizes technology for evil ends. But in the end it is Avatar's willingness to use a technological tool (a handgun pulled from "up his sleeve") which saves them all.
Ralph Bakshi at one time stated that:
"Wizards was about the creation of the state of Israel and the Holocaust, about the Jews looking for a homeland, and about the fact that fascism was on the rise again."
Blackwolf's disastrous attempts to assassinate his brother compell Avatar to marshal forces against Blackwolf, leading to the ultimate confrontation.
This movie was originally released in theaters in 1977 to less than critical acclaim. Since this time, Wizards has grown a cult following. It was finally released on DVD in 2004.
AVATAR
ELINORE
NECRO 99
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