Shadow of the Sword

8/2/2025

Ok, so the writing and much of the acting do rather let this down, but it has assembled a surprisingly decent cast and the standard of the production is really fairly good for what must have been a fairly low-budget affair. It’s all about two lads who were separated at a young age. One - “Georg” (Peter McDonald) is headed for holy orders, the other “Martin” (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is seconded into the military service of the emperor. Years pass and events now dictate that the former man be the prior in a small town where the latter is sent - as it’s executioner. John Shrapnel is probably the most lauded Thespian in this drama, but his role of the bishop is predictable and undercooked suggesting he only had one or two filming days to give this. Steven Berkoff is here too, but he is nowhere