Peter Yates: The Glaive Master

Four time Oscar nominated film director Peter Yates passed yesterday at the age of 82 (read HERE) and he leaves behind an impressive legacy over the course of his varied career that spanned many different genres of film.

Among his quest items are “Mother, Jugs & Speed,” “The Deep,” and “Breaking Away,” which garnered him is first Oscar nomination in 1980 for a coming of age bike racing story.

Yates is also responsible for capturing one of the greatest car chase sequences in the history of motion pictures with 1968’s “Bullitt,” starring Steve McQueen.



He would be nominated again in 1983 for “The Dresser” (along with Albert Finney for Best Actor), but what I best remember him for is another film released that same year entitled “Krull.”  

This scifi/fantasy quest item bears more than a passing resemblance to “Star Wars” (screenplay courtesy of Stanford Sherman) as prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) leads a group of companions to rescue his bride (Lysette Anthony) from fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.



The $50 million dollar film failed to capture an audience upon its release, but has since been rediscovered through its subsequent DVD release and television viewings.  “Krull” boasts an impressive set design and well produced special effects (for the time), as well as a robust score by James Horner and early screen roles for Liam Neeson (“The A-Team”) and Robbie Coltrane (“Harry Potter”).

By far the coolest element to the film was Colwyn’s version of a Light Saber, this being a magical weapon called the Glaive (pictured below).

It’s not used nearly as much as it should have been in the film, which is a shame, because it more than makes up for the flat-as-cardboard performances of Marshall and Anthony, not to mention the “Star Wars” checklist.

However, I would get quite a bit of use out of this spinning, bladed weapon in both the arcade and Atari 2600 video game adaption of the film. (Keep an eye out for our brand new feature, Raiders of the Thrift Store, which will deal with such film to video game adaptations, as well as obscure VHS titles.  Coming soon!)

Although Yates’ last feature film was 1999’s “Curtain Call,” he would stay active with various television projects in the years leading up to his death.  

He was a true Film Warrior.

“Deeds, not words…”