Really Surprised!

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

If you see Hearts And Armour you'll encounter a strikingly beautiful knight's tale with excellent cinematography of Dante Spinotti. Fantastic score by Cooper And Hughes, I wish it was available on CD. 3 women becomes knights to fight for love and fight for what they believe in, played by the beautiful Tanya Roberts, Barbara De Rossi and Zeudi Araya. It takes place during the moors invasion in Italy. There is quite a lot of magic involved. And gruesome sights of people broken on the wheel. Strikingly beautiful Italian landscapes form the background to this drama. Sometimes confusing, always deeply rewarding. The quest for king and honor and in spite of all, the search for peace. The beautiful end will stay with you.

This was shown in a first run theatre in the Philippines under the title Hearts and Armour.Now that I know from the other reviewers that this was originally a TV series, I begin to understand why the plot was so disjointed and somewhat incoherent when I saw it on its movie run.It is the time of the crusades when knights from the Christian and Muslim sides sought to outdo one another in chivalrous single combat.The dramatic acting was "over" especially of the women but the fight scenes were great. The photography and the scenic landscapes are treats to the artistic eye.The ornate Italian Renaissance armors are gems. Never mind that by the time such armors were made, the Crusades against the Moors were over.I saw a Manila jeepney (a public conveyance in the Philippines), known for their ornate decorations, on which motifs from the film were used and even displaying the English title Hearts and Armor. There was also an embossed shield. A Manila jeepney driver who fantasizes about being an Italian knight? Who says blue collar workers are prosaic and pedestrian? It would be helpful if a DVD version of the entire series is released so we can better appreciate the story and critique it with justice. By the way, there are Mexican film versions of the book on which it was based.

This movie is really cheesy. It seems to even sort of aim for comedy value with the slightly excessive gore scenes. There's a girl in the movie that keeps getting her dress torn more and more and practically everyone tries to rape her, even a priest and one of her own soldiers along with a group of bandits. In the beginning, the group of bandits try to rape another girl, and a knight comes in and chops off some of their limbs and cripples most of them and rescues the girl. It seems the bandits never learn, because they try again, in their crippled state with missing limbs to try to rape a girl again, and then again they are scared off by a knight. It was hilarious.Still, the movie had some great fantasy elements. The wacky and bizarre costumes I really liked, even though they weren't realistic at all and kind of cheesy. Reminded me more of superhero knights.I like the story - sort of a Romeo & Juliet set in the medieval ages.The music was great. It's one of my favorite soundtracks besides the Neverending Story - very "80s"-like. The scenes and music combined sort of reminded me of video games.I think it's a very fun movie, even though it's cheesy and doesn't fit out standards or expectations of a good movie at all. It's actually one of my favorites. However, I don't expect too many others to like it. I would recommend giving this a try, however, if you're like me and want to watch all the medieval/medieval fantasy movies you can get your hands on.

I have managed to locate this film on video, but according to Leonard Maltin, it was originally made as a TV mini-series. Does anyone know any information about the length of this particular version, how many parts, etc, and whether it was made for the US or Italy. If you liked this a little, try looking for Giacomo Battiato's BLOOD TIES. The 98 minute version is good, but try to hunt for the original 4-part 4 hour mini-series. A much better story and a damn good film to boot!