Millions of years after nuclear war warps the Earth, two magical brothers fight for supremacy. Their battle is filled with faeries, robotic assassins, gun-wielding mutants, and funk music. Such is the conceit of 1977’s Wizards, today’s Sunday Matinee selection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCEXKyO6GU
Wizards, which preceded Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, was initially named War Wizards until George Lucas asked Bakshi to change the name — Lucas wished to avoid conflict with Star Wars and allowed Mark Hamill to record a voice for the film in exchange. The film is a crazed brew of rotoscoped animations, swords’n’sorcery hijinks, and that 1970s wacky post-apocalyptic vibe that will remind you of things like Killraven and Kamandi. Also, I like the fact that World War II footage has survived several million years. All in all, it’s classic Bakshi animation and a fun way to spend a lazy Sunday. You can watch the film on Youtube here.
