Film / Magnates And Wizards

Magnates And Wizards (in Polish: Magnaci i Czarodzieje) is a 2021 Polish Low Fantasy movie made by Don Studio, and directed by Bartosz Kieczeń.

In the fantasy land (suspiciously similar to medieval Poland...) Prince Boguslaw, bastard son of King Leon, leaves his father's castle, tired of his constant hedonism and plans to be a drunkard. However, before his leaving, he takes Gender Amulet from his sister, planning to pay with it for booze.After Prince's leaving, in the land appears a bandit known as a Beast of the North, who serves a mysterious Warlock of Grodzka Valley and Conspiring Witch. The bandit is destroying the land village by village. Group of (un)ordinary peasant departs to find Stachu Jones, an Archmage, to help them stop the Beast. Meanwhile, Prince Wardolf, brother of Bogusław, gets himself involved in the events, searching for his brother to kill him and become the successor of the throne.

The movie had been made for almost ten years and was released in December 2021 on YouTube. It was one of the most anticipated Polish movies of the decade.

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This movie provides examples of:

• A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: The Warlock was once Stachu's apprentice.
• The Ace: Anna the Fearless is a skilled archer, tracker and has a great proficiency with a knife, even fighting for some time with Sheriff.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When he's defeated, The Warlock begs Stachu not to kill him. It doesn't work.
• The Alcoholic: Stachu Jones is one, constantly drinking vodka and wine. Prince Boguslaw is a less... sophisticated version of this.
• All There in the Manual: Quite many information is revealed in the closing credits, such as Beast's name being Diego, and the Archer's name being Anna the Fearless.
• Ambiguously Evil: King Leon. Although he never appears on the screen, The Witch hints that he was helping the Warlock and thinks he tricked them about Gender Amulet whereabouts (she is wrong).
• Aristocrats Are Evil: Played straight with Prince Wardolf. He is a prince, one of the main antagonists and a Hero Killer.

• Arrow Catch: Sheriff cuts all of Anna's arrows in the mid-air. Word of God states he did that thanks to his mustache, who is a magic artifact.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: According to the narrator, the Beast was killing peasant, destroying villages and stealing potatoes from the field.
• Artifact of Doom: Gender Amulet is implied to be that. Eventually subverted, as Stachu calls it trash and says he creates things like that in 5 minutes.
• Artifact of Power: Sheriff's mustache. It protects him from arrows.
• Beard of Evil: The Warlock.
• Big Bad Ensemble: The Warlock, The Witch, The Beast and Prince Wardolf.
• Blood Knight: Prince Wardolf. He enjoys his fight with Sheriff and even licks Irina's blood from his sword.
• Cain and Abel: Prince Wardolf plans to kill his brother so he can become the successor of the throne.
• Chekhov's Gun: Boguslaw's clothes, which he switches with Stachu Jones. Because of

them Stachu is killed by Beast, then kills Death, and thanks to that manages to kill the Warlock for good.

• Co-Dragons: The Witch and The Beast share their position in The Warlock's group hierarchy.
• Combat Pragmatist: Sheriff becomes one after Irina is killed. During his fight with the Squire and Anna, he doesn't only use sword, but also beats them with his own fists.
• Cool Gate: Stachu and The Witch are able to open them.
• Cool Sword: The Beast uses a katana in fight.
• Dark Is Evil: Played straight with The Warlock and The Witch. They both dress black and are pure evils.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Sheriff dresses in black leather and is one of the heroes.
• Death Is Cheap: After most of the heroes die in the movie, Stachu just resurrects them.
• The Death of Death: When Death came to take Stachu Jones’ soul he defeats them with them’s own scythe

  Death: I came to take your soul

  Stachu Jones: No, I came to take your soul!

• Died in Your Arms Tonight: A dark example. Prince Wardolf hugs Irina and pierces her with his sword.
• Dies Wide Open: Sheriff and Mariella (Fire Sorceress.
• Dumb Blonde: Irina. Word of God also reveals that she is a Gold Digger.
• Dragon-in-Chief: The Witch is the one to The Warlock. Although he is the Big Bad of the movie, it's her who appears more often and coordinates search for Boguslaw.
• Druid: The Boar Clan is a druidic clan which tries to invade Stachu's lands.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: The Witch and The Beast are like that.
• Emergency Weapon: When Anna is out of arrows, she pulls out a knife and fights with Sheriff.
• Evil Sorcerer: Played straight with Warlock. A female example is The Witch.
• Fallen Hero: Stachu says that the Warlock was once this, but then turned into "the dark side of the Moon".
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The land is very similar to medieval Poland.
• Faux Affably Evil: Prince Wardolf can be polite towards some people, such as Stachu Jones, but is a Blood Knight.
• The Fighting Narcissist: Prince Wardolf prefers his henchpersons fight instead of him, but when he actually has to battle Sheriff, he kills him.
• Funny Background Event: When Stachu orders Sheriff to find Boguslaw, Airgard dances terribly in the background.
• Gender Bender: Stachu states that Gender Amulet has this power. We never see this on-screen, though.
• Gold Digger: Word of God reveals Irina is that.
• The Grim Reaper: Death.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Implied with Princess Boguslawa. She is blonde and helps Boguslaw escape from the castle.
• The Hedonist: Word of God reveals King Leon is one. There are constant balls and drunk parties in his court. It's also the reason why Boguslaw leaves him.
• The Hero Dies: All of Sheriff's group, except for Airgard, die. Eventually subverted, as Stachu resurrects them.
• Hero Killer: Very dark several examples:
  • Beast of the North kills Stachu Jones. Eventually subverted, as he kills death and come back.
  • The Witch kills Mariella.
  • Prince Wardolf slays both Irina and Sheriff.
  • All of this is eventually subverted, as Stachu resurrects them all later.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Airgard kills The Beast with his own katana.
• Karma Houdini: After killing Irina and Sheriff Prince Wardolf still escapes unpunished from the battlfield.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Wild Boar. The only thing he says before Stachu piercing him with fire bolt is "The Nature...".
• Killed Off for Real: The Warlock. Stachu lets himself be killed to accquire Death's powers, so the Warlock won't come back again.
• Light Is Not Good: Prince Wardolf. He wears white clothes and is easily one of the most evil characters in the movie.
• Mass Teleportation: The Boar Clan pulls this twice when escaping from Stachu. It only works the first time.
• Mr. Fanservice: The Sheriff. He is quite brawny and doesn't wear a shirt.
• Neck Snap: Two times:
  • Stachu Jones kills The Witch with a noose of fire.
  • Then, he kills The Warlock.
• The Necromancer: Stachu can be considered as one. He is able to resurrect people, although it's only mentioned.
• No Name Given: Played straight with Sheriff and the Squire. We never know what they're names are. Word of God also states that no one actually knows Sheriff's true name.
• Off with His Head!: Stachu beheads Death and then kicks him head.
• Old Master: Stachu is one.
• Papa Wolf: The Sheriff. He loves Irina dearly and is furious when Wardolf kills her.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: The Warlock betrayed Stachu and became his nemesis.
• Playing with Fire: Mariella (Fire Sorceress) provides example of that, being the user of fire magic. Stachu Jones also counts, as he uses fire magic to kill Wild Boar and Conspiring Witch.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Prince Wardolf gives one to Irina.
• Precision F-Strike: Stachu and The Warlock give those all the time.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Stachu is one, calling Wardolf a "pussy".
• Red Baron: Several characters have their names revealed, but they are still called their monikers.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: A dark version of this is Prince Wardolf. He searches for Boguslaw personally with only two henchpersons and kills Sheriff and Irina..
  • Subverted with Prince Boguslaw, who is completely useless.
• Seven Deadly Sins: All of them, represented by various characters:
  • Warlock of Grodzka Valley is Pride - an arrogant wizard who thought he was better than his master.
  • Prince Waldorf is Greed - a second in line to the throne, desiring power.
  • Irina is Lust - a seductive girl dreaming about marrying a rich man.
  • Wild Boar is Envy - a Druid being jealous of Stachu's forest.
  • King Leon is Gluttony - a hedonistic ruler known for his orgies.
  • Stachu Jones is Wrath - constantly angry and impatient wizard.
  • Prince Bogusław is Sloth - a drinking royal heir who leaves the castle to become a simple drunkard.
• Shout-Out:
  • Stachu states that The Warlock "came on the dark side of the moon", which is a clearly reference to the Star Wars.
  • When the Beast is killed peasant, the head of one of them flies up, which is a reference to the glitch in The Witcher.
  • During the training with Airgard, Stachu literally uses Kamehameha from Dragon Ball.
• Sinister Scythe: Death has one. Later subverted, when Stachu uses it.
• Too Dumb to Live: Irina runs to Wardolf, and telling her love for him. He kills her in a moment.
• The Unchosen One: Airgard was chosen as Stachu's apprentice randomly.
• Vain Sorceress: The Witch is very skilled at magic and quite arrogant.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Sheriff constanly walks bare-chested.