Cannon Films were an astonishing production company. The delightful Messrs. Golan and Globus made movies like no one else before or since. There was such a refreshing element of innocence in their movies. Especially the fantasy and science fiction features. While they obviously invested substantial amounts of time and money to create these extravagant spectacles, they did not seem to be able to grasp audience expectations. Just watch Lou Ferrigno in Hercules sometime. Still, true connoisseurs always appreciated and loved their efforts.

One of the very best and most neglected movies is 1987's The Barbarians. Starring twin brothers Peter and David Paul, this movie is a wonderfully entertaining piece of filmmaking. It saddens me that few seem to know about it.

Peter and David were two bulked-up bodybuilders, who had charmingly infectious screen presence. They are absolutely fantastic in The Barbarians. It's a movie that both tries to be a good story and is also intentionally bad.

Some assholes nominated Peter and Paul for a Golden Raspberry Award, as Worst New Actors. I'd be much more inclined to vote them as the best.

Great acting? Hell no. Perfect for this sort of movie? Absolutely. The stunts and banter they perform in The Barbarians are beautiful to behold.

The rest of the cast is pretty good, too. Eva LaRue is sweet and likable as, not so much a love interest, a comic sidekick to the boys. Richard Lynch plays the same role he does in every movie. In other words an awesome villain. Michael Berryman's performance make the Barbarians Brothers look like DeNiro and Pacino in comparison, but it's always good to see him.

Plot? It's thin and insignificant. There is a murky story about a lost ruby with magical powers, but The Barbarians succeeds as a joyous assembly of funny and outrageously stupid set pieces. It simply must be seen to be believed. A high point is when Peter and David hack into the upside of the most preposterous dragon in cinema history. They climb in and search for the ruby in its interior. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt.

What more could you ask for? Goofy comic gore, slapstick humor, cornball monsters, and a great Pino Donaggio score.

Peter and David Paul should have been drive-in superstars after this monumental motion picture. Unfortunately it received scant distribution. I watched The Barbarians on cable one night in the late eighties and had not seen it again until last night. It not only holds up, it has grown richer and more enjoyable with age. Big kudos to Kino Lorber for the great Blu-ray. They even round out the disc with trailers for obscure movies like Tintorera: Killer Shark and Trick Baby (!).

It helps that the director was the notorious Ruggero Deodato. Known for extremely hard-hitting and controversial movies like Cannibal Holocaust and House on the Edge of the Street, he goes more for laughs than cringes with The Barbarians. I met him once, and he was thrilled to hear that I am a fan of The Barbarians.

Finally, I just heard that David Paul passed away this past March. This makes me sad. He and his brother's cheerful foolishness always brought a smile to my face. Their movie career was short, and not particularly successful, but they were always a lot of fun to watch.


Written by Mark Sieber

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