Wizards (1977)

Wizards (1977) – In a post-apocalyptic world two wizards battle for supremacy.  One relies on the old ways of faire, while the other has turned to technology.

Directed by Ralph Bakshi

If you were in college in the last ’70s to early ’80s my bet is there was at least one showing of this movie somewhere near you.  At my alma mater, Edinboro State College, I was it at the student union. It was a mind blowing experience.  Animation was an almost dead art in the 1970s.  My generation had grown up watching the classic cartoons of the Golden Age, only to be greeted with cheap, low quality cartoons by the time we hit high school.  “Scooby Doo” may have a place in our heart, but the quality of the animation was nothing compared the “Looney Tunes”.

Then half way through college, Ralph Bakshi comes along and says: “Hey, look what I can do”.

Imagine Middle Earth meets Nazi Germany.  With a little bit of Playboy magazine thrown in, just for fun.  It wasn’t like any cartoon I’d ever seen.  It ranged from brilliant to bizarre, profound to profane.  Some of it is mindlessly sexy and sexist.  Other parts are art of the highest standard.

Bakshi was best known at the time this movie came out as the director of the decidedly ribald “Fritz the Cat” (1972) based on the classic Robert Crumb character.  I’m pretty sure that one was shown at the Student Union as well, and most of us showed up hoping for more.  We got much more than we expected.  In 1978, Bakshi released an animated version of roughly the first half of “Lord of the Rings”.  That movie still splits Tolkien fans.  It’s either a truly great version that never got it’s needed sequel, or rubbish that should never be shown again.

As the years have passed, there are plenty of folks who might take the latter position on this movie too.  Some of it looks very dated in the 21st Century, and certainly it’s sexual mores are way out of step.  At the time this was groundbreaking stuff.  Enough of it remains interesting and challenging to make the work worth watching.

Note – while this is a cartoon, it is decidedly NOT family viewing.  It is violent, often graphically so, and portrays a wide range of disturbing imagery.  And then there’s the sexy bits.

Why You Will Like It – A cartoon unlike most you’ve ever seen, that will challenge you with both its best and worst aspects.


Rating – **** Recommended