Kevin's Watch

yeah, seein as how Conan the Barbarian is better than all the others, that wouldnt make for a very long thread

Tom C's original list SAYS IT ALL. Oh, but Time Bandits ruled too.....

TOM C wrote:I should have asked "Can You Name 10 Really Great Sword & Sorcery Films"

Sword & Sorcery? Oh, you mean Star Wars? (Lightsaber=sword, the Force=sorcery)

Some more interesting fantasy films not yet mentioned:

Death Becomes Her
The Hudsucker Proxy
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Wolf
King Kong
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Superman: The Movie
Spider-Man
X-Men
TRON

Comic book superheroes fit into my definition of fantasy. I didn't include Tim Burton's Batman because a) Batman doesn't have superpowers, and b) I didn't like the movie. Many might argue TRON is sci-fi, but I say there are few films in history as clearly fantastical as TRON.

A lot of good movies mentioned here but my faves before LOTR and Harry Potter was Legend and Dragonslayer, (I'm talking Sword & Sorcery here). Legend because of Tim Curry of course, and the make-up, his full-body make-up including his hooves, is astounding...the first time you see him coming out of the mirror is absolutely awesome, the settings and the images are fantastic, and the sound...the sound so otherwordly and still close. You can hear all the buzzing flies, you can hear the snow and everything is so present...so cool.

But my fave is Dragonslayer (was!). It has a fantastic dragon, for it's time. The movie is kind of realistic and believable, with this I mean that the actors is playing it a little bit...cool, yes they are cool!, they're keeping it small. Then there is the script, to come from Disney it's so surprising. Killing off a beautiful princess in the beginning, think of it! Then killing the master magician...twice!, and then the final fight between magician and dragon. The dragon dies by the hand of a magician, the christian priests calls it a miracle, an act of God. The old age is replaced by a new...a script that really goes all the way...

Got a little excited here but I really like these two movies...and your first list Tom C, said it all...

Kastenessen

Ladyhawke is one of my favorites. Rutger Hauer was awesome in it. He seems to have spent all his skill in LadyHawke and Blade Runner. Every other movie I've seen him in is awful.

Ladyhawke was about as good as it gets for me. Great story. Great moral. Great characters. Great actors PORTRAYING the characters. Great plot. Great scenery. Great pacing. Coolness in every way.

And I liked the anime Here and There, Now and Then

And I don't know if Wolf's Rain really counts as a movie as it was an anime series. I got bootleg in Japanese (by accident) with REALLY HORRID subtitles, but I still loved it. I didn't quite get the ending, and it certainly isn't what I would have done if I had written it...but...it was still heart wrenching and beautiful.

ChoChiyo wrote:I didn't quite get the ending.

Isn't that always the case with anime?

I wonder if it is a philosophical/cultural thing?

I want a resolution of some sort in an ending--I prefer a happy one, but I'd rather have a sad one than none at all.

Perhaps that's a Westernism?

ChoChiyo wrote:Perhaps that's a Westernism?

Could well be. Loved LadyHawke BTW.

--Avatar

Starman was another movie that I thought was pretty good. Perhaps that was more SF than fantasy...I liked Labyrinth. Oh Oh! And The Tenth Kingdom

The TV series they based on Starman was pretty pathetic though...

No disrespect intended to anyone, but I think many of the films mentioned are pure cr*p.

My point is not to denigrate anyone's opinions, but to highlight the lack of good quality fanasy films.

Maybe LOTR will change all that. It's also a budget thing, I know, but true nonetheless.

Rumours are that there will be an Elric (Michael Moorcock) film at some point.

Covenant films are now long overdue!!!!!!!!!!! Here's hopin

*bump*

danlo wrote:If I had 2 pick my top true fantasy films, I guess it would b:

..
..
Prince Valiant
Wizards

Aw man Wizards...I think I remember that one, wasn't it a cartoon? The one smaller wizard shoots his brother & calls him a SOB?

Wizards (as I recall through the haze) was pretty good, if a bit preachy.

oh yeah! midnight movie fare, Wizards and also Heavy Metal

but i don't think anyone ever mentioned one of my all-time favorite B-grade fantasy flicks...The Sword and The Sorcerer
George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Kathleen Beller, and Lee Horsley

Kinda depends on what you mean by 'fantasy' I suppose. If I were to simply limit myself to films that take place in a fantasy world with some of the trappings of (for want of a better term) "classic" fantasy, this would be my list:

Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King
(okay maybe those three should really be considered one very long, very good flick)
Legend
Labyrinth
Dragonslayer
The Princess Bride (that may be stretching it a bit, but who cares? It is a GREAT flick!)
Mony Python and the Holy Grail
All of the Harry Potter movies (so far)
Ladyhawk
The Neverending Story
Conan the Barbarian

But I agree there is indeed a dirth of such. And far too much crap (as with everything else).

And lets not forget The Wizard Of Oz........

Never forget Excaliber!

Lucimay wrote: but i don't think anyone ever mentioned one of my all-time favorite B-grade fantasy flicks...The Sword and The Sorcerer
George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Kathleen Beller, and Lee Horsley

Wow. I haven't seen the Sword and The Sorcerer in quite a long time. As I recall I liked it very much though I can't remember much about it. I guess I'll have to find it on dvd and refresh my memory.

Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and Willow. And The Dark Crystal of course. Classy stuff. Have never seen Ladyhawk.