THE SWORD AND THE CLAW aka Kilic Aslan (1975)

• Director: Natuk Baytan
• Cast: Cüneyt Arkin, Bahar Erdeniz, Yildirim Gencer
• Film: 87mins | Turkey | English-language dub | Subtitles | Intermission
• Event: Doors 6pm | Intro + Film 6:30pm – 9pm [18+]

“ACTION-PACKED SCENES THAT WILL LEAVE YOU LIMP… MORE INCREDIBLE THAN ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER SEEN!”

A prince survives the murder of his father and is raised by lions in the forest. As an adult he uses his beastly strength and claw-like hands to take revenge against the new king and his armies.

BAR TRASH celebrates our 3rd year and 10th sensational season with WE ARE TRASH!, a fan-made mixtape of cult and chaotic cinema (14 May to 20 Aug 2025).

One of the most popular requests in our BAR TRASH suggestion box was more World Cinema. Whilst some might have thought that was an excuse to veer towards the arthouse, BAR TRASH treads a different path… The Turkish exploitation film industry is legendary for its complete disregard of intellectual property rights, giving rise to the much-loved sub-genre, ‘Turksploitation’.

Often filmed on a low budget with crude special effects amplified by enormous gusto, Turksploitation films brazenly remade popular genre titles from Hollywood, turning up their volume and using copious amounts of unauthorised footage, special effects, and music. Deep in the vaults you can find Turkish ‘remakes’ of E.T. (BADI), JAWS (ÇÖL), THE EXORCIST (ŞEYTAN), and insane franchise mashups like 3 DEV ADAM which blends Captain American, Mexican wrestling icon El Santo, a villainous Spider-Man with themes from James Bond.

“Exploding from the same hallucinogenic netherworld as TURKISH STAR WARS (1982), THE SWORD AND THE CLAW stars Turkish genre legend Cüneyt Arkin in his most iconic role. It’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982) meets THE THREE STOOGES meets DOLEMITE (1975) with more lo-fi bloodshed, pop-art visuals, and bizarro dubbing than the boundaries of reality can handle.”

American Genre Film Archive

Polite notice: We are showing the English-language dub of THE SWORD AND THE CLAW with subtitles from the best available digital source.

// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £6 +fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for updates. //