Recommend me some fantasy movies [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Raimun

2013-10-05, 10:12 AM

I was just thinking. There aren't that many fantasy movies. Of those, there aren't that many great or entertaining ones. You almost never happen to find by coincidence the real gems.

So, I'm asking you to list some good or at least entertaining fantasy movies.

What I'm looking for is more along the lines of western medievel(-ish) fantasy, where people fight with swords (and spells). That's instead of "weird fantasy" set in modern times where some kid suddenly finds out that s/he can talk to animals or something like that. :smalltongue:

Of course, I have seen my share of fantasy movies, so there's a good chance I have seen those that are well known.

The Glyphstone

2013-10-05, 10:19 AM

Dragonheart immediately comes to mind. Dennis Quaid and the Voice of Sean Connery, with CGI that stands up surprisingly well for its age.

navar100

2013-10-05, 11:01 AM

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

I like the sequels as well but they haven't been critically acclaimed. They weren't blockbusters but neither were they bombs. However, this first one was really well done, well liked, and did well in theaters.

Lord of the Rings trilogy - obligatory :smallsmile:

Legend

Kind of hokey but has a good cult following. Whatever Tom Cruise's issues off camera, on screen he has presence and doesn't disappoint. Tim Curry is the villain.

Ladyhawk

Not much magic, though it is there. It is a very good story. You could call it a romantic fantasy, but you are drawn into it. Matthew Broderick may steal the show for you, but Rutger Hauer makes for a great Hero. Personal bias, his character's name is Navarre. :smallbiggrin:

Children's movies adults can enjoy:

The Dark Crystal - puppets
The Last Unicorn - cartoon
The Labyrinth - This may violate your criteria due to not being "medieval times", but David Bowie! It's a musical.

Raimun

2013-10-05, 11:37 AM

jedipotter

2013-10-05, 11:59 AM

So, I'm asking you to list some good or at least entertaining fantasy movies.

Lets see:

The Beastmaster
Hawk the Slayer
Krull
Connan/Red Sojna
Highlander
Labyrinth
Masters of the Universe
Flash Gordon
Willow
Erik the Viking
Dungeons and Dragons(the movie, plus II and III)
Harry Potter

For TV shows check out:

Firefly
Hercules
Zena warrior princess
Charmed
Supernatural

thompur

2013-10-05, 12:56 PM

Hmm, I've seen Dragonheart, Narnias and The Dark Crystal.

I might check out Legend and Ladyhawk(e?), if I can find them somewhere.

But what is this "Lord of the Rings"? Is it any good?
Of course I'm kidding! : P

It was a rather obscure movie, based on an even more obscure book. It's in three parts. It was shot on a shoestring budget with a bunch of no=name actors, but, for what it is, it's rather entertaining. ;-)

grolim

2013-10-05, 01:19 PM

The Neverending Story. Such a good movie too bad they never got around to making a sequel...never.

Hellboy, set in modern times but still fantasy.

Big Trouble in Little China, still modern times but sword fighting and spells...and much awesomeness.

Final Fantasy: Advent's Children. Anime so is magic/tech.

Excalibur, not the recent one but the 80s one.

Kull the Conqueror. Is fantasy, just not incredibly good fantasy.

Time Bandits?

Palanan

2013-10-05, 02:03 PM

One that I enjoyed as a kid is Dragonslayer. It has wizards (okay, 1.5 of them), warriors (still about 1.5) and a very large, very nasty dragon, which looks surprisingly good for early-80s stop-motion technology. The pacing and dialogue are a little slow by today's standards, but I watched it a couple of years ago and it was fun, if not especially heart-searing.

I really enjoyed Dark Crystal as a kid, and the music is fantastic, although sadly the muppetry hasn't aged very well by today's gleaming standards. The conceptual artwork, by Brian Froud and Co., is in some ways better than the actual movie.

Ladyhawke is fantastic, for ten solid reasons. The first is the spectacular cinematography, especially the wonderful use of color. The other nine are Michelle Pfeiffer. (There are a couple other main characters in the movie, but their presence is rather painful. Watch the movie for Michelle Pfeiffer.)

For a more recent movie that's clever, involving and visually innovative, I recommend Mirrormask, which apparently isn't that well-known. It's fun, peculiar, and quirkily touching, both epic and personal. Definitely worth a look.

The Glyphstone

2013-10-05, 02:48 PM

It was a rather obscure movie, based on an even more obscure book. It's in three parts. It was shot on a shoestring budget with a bunch of no=name actors, but, for what it is, it's rather entertaining. ;-)

They really botched it up with the novelization, though, hired some English hack who wasn't even a professional writer, just a historian and linguist. Added a ton of scenes and characters and dialogue that wasn't in the movie, really bloated it out and dragged it down.

Cen

2013-10-05, 03:34 PM

thompur

2013-10-05, 10:35 PM

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Jason and the Argonauts(1963)[The battle with the skeletons has still yet to be matched! A stunning achievement]

All with the genius of Ray Harryhausen!

MLai

2013-10-05, 11:19 PM

TV mini-series:

1. Odysseus
2. Jason And The Argonauts

navar100

2013-10-06, 12:14 AM

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!'

I've been trying to find the name of this movie for a long time. I saw this as child in a public library movie screening, and I loved it. I've always remembered the scene of the woman being turned into a snakemonster and do a dance. I've wanted to see this movie again but had no clue what the name was. Awhile ago I had a feeling it was a Sinbad movie but couldn't get the right one. I saw Golden Voyage thinking that was it, but of course it wasn't. Now I can finally see it again!

Serpentine

2013-10-06, 07:18 AM

Medieval-ish fantasy with swords and spells? Adventures, heroeos and evil princes? Epic swordfights? Six-fingered people?

Princess bride (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/) anyone?

Just check this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC6dgtBU6Gs) swordfightI'm surprised and disappointed that it took this many posts for The Princess Bride to be brought up... :smalltongue:

The Princess Bride is a must.
Willow is another must - swords, spells, monsters, queens, fairies, children of destiny... Everything you could want.
Labyrinth, of course.
Stardust is pretty good, too. Might be getting the film and book plots mixed up, but a boy promises his sweetheart a star, and goes into a magical world to bring back a fallen star for her - but the star isn't very impressed.

You might like to have a look at the old BBC version of the Chronicles of Narnia, too. Classic mini series.

Saph

2013-10-06, 07:46 AM

Stardust is pretty good, too. Might be getting the film and book plots mixed up, but a boy promises his sweetheart a star, and goes into a magical world to bring back a fallen star for her - but the star isn't very impressed.

I really liked this one. One of the few times I thought the film was better than the book!

Terraoblivion

2013-10-06, 08:45 AM

Final Fantasy: Advent's Children. Anime so is magic/tech.

Anime is a lot more diverse than that, even fantasy anime. There's no high tech in, say, Claymore or Berserk, for example. Or for that matter Spice and Wolf, Maoyuu, Slayers or any of the several shows set in settings ripping off Dragon Warrior.

The reason why it's high tech, magic and magitech is because it's a spin-off from Final Fantasy VII which specifically has that aesthetic.

Radar

2013-10-06, 09:17 AM

You might like to have a look at the old BBC version of the Chronicles of Narnia, too. Classic mini series.
It's worth mentioning, that they adapted all the books up The Silver Chair. Personaly I prefer the BBC version in favor of the new one, but it might be just nostalgia.

I also strongly recommend the allready mentioned: Willow, Conan The Barbarian, Neverending Story (the first one at least) and Princess Bride.

For some reason noone mentioned Robin of Sherwood (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086791/?ref_=nv_sr_1) TV series, which is by far the best piece of visual media about the fameous band of merry man ever. Plus, soundtrack written by Clannad.

If you want obscure movies, then there is a whole made-for-TV series about a princess Fantaghiro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantaghir%C3%B2_series). Romance is an important aspect of the whole plot, but it does not detract from the action. Special effects are surprisingly professional and the overal plot is fairly well written - at least that's what I remember as I haven't seen it for years.

There are obviously numerous good animated fantasy series, but I'd like to present to probably quite obscure ones (which both lie somewhere between SF and fantasy):
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212676/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1),
Mysterious Cities of Gold (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122356/) (this one got a remake or a continuation recently, I haven't seen it yet)
Granted, they are targeted at kids, but it does not diminish their quality.

Palanan

2013-10-06, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by Serpentine
Stardust is pretty good, too....

Stardust is a ton of fun. Not at all your conventional swords-and-sorcery fantasy flick, but something more offbeat and intelligent. The plot is mildly involute (one reviewer said it must have come from focus groups at a fan convention) and it's rather cheesy in spots, yet thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

Originally Posted by Radar
Mysterious Cities of Gold

I absolutely loved that show when I was a kid. It's very real-world historical to start out with, set during the age of the conquistadores, and only gradually delves into the high technology of lost civilizations. Great fun, although definitely at a middle-school level.

Brother Oni

2013-10-06, 12:39 PM

I really liked this one. One of the few times I thought the film was better than the book!

Captain Shakespeare steals the movie. :smallbiggrin:

Given some of the movies suggested, 300 may be veering onto the edge of acceptability.

The Thirteenth Warrior has fantasy/horror elements, although it's very low key.

Beowulf is slightly earlier than medieval times (Dark Ages), but may be acceptable.

Given MCoG was mentioned, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is another suggestion, although set a little later in the 19th Century.

Scrapped Princess is an anime series with a western setting with sufficiently advanced technology as magic.

Slayers is essentially the antics of a D&D party, available as both movies and several series.

It's a pity that Raimun specified western medieval as there's a whole genre dedicated to this sort of thing in Far Eastern cinema.

BWR

2013-10-06, 01:35 PM

There are obviously numerous good animated fantasy series, but I'd like to present to probably quite obscure ones (which both lie somewhere between SF and fantasy):
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212676/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1),
Mysterious Cities of Gold (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122356/) (this one got a remake or a continuation recently, I haven't seen it yet)
Granted, they are targeted at kids, but it does not diminish their quality.

Those were both awesome. Especially SatSBtS (or Shagma as it was known in Norway). Not so much fantasy but Jean Chalopin, the man behind Mysterious Cities of Gold, was also behind the Franco-Japanese "Ulysses 31", a SF retelling of the Odyssey (very loosely based), which was awesome. Better animation than the former two, incredibly catchy intro song, good music throughout and a hero with an gun that doubles as a lightsaber.

Sure, these are kids' shows and the plots and enemies show this, but I still enjoy watching them every now and then.

I've heard the MCoG had a second series that was supposed to air last year or thereabouts. Has anyone seen it?

Radar

2013-10-06, 02:14 PM

Those were both awesome. Especially SatSBtS (or Shagma as it was known in Norway). Not so much fantasy but Jean Chalopin, the man behind Mysterious Cities of Gold, was also behind the Franco-Japanese "Ulysses 31", a SF retelling of the Odyssey (very loosely based), which was awesome. Better animation than the former two, incredibly catchy intro song, good music throughout and a hero with an gun that doubles as a lightsaber.
I didn't mention it only because it's most definately SF. Nevertheless, it's a great series thorugh and through. Character movements weren't the best back in the day, but the backgrounds were gorgeous.

Currently I'm wondering, if Heavy Matal (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082509/?ref_=nv_sr_2) qualifies as fantasy? I'd venture a guess, that yes.

Moak

2013-10-06, 02:14 PM

Manga Shoggoth

2013-10-06, 02:31 PM

They really botched it up with the novelization, though, hired some English hack who wasn't even a professional writer, just a historian and linguist. Added a ton of scenes and characters and dialogue that wasn't in the movie, really bloated it out and dragged it down.

Every so often I am reminded exactly why I love this community...

Xondoure

2013-10-06, 02:34 PM

Howl's Moving Castle, and Castle in the Sky fit the more european theme. Princess Mononoke is more sword and sorcery, but clearly set in the east. Tales from Earthsea fits all requirements, but it's weaker than most of the others. As far as the fantastical goes, everything Studio Ghibli does is golden. Of course, you've probably already seen all of it.

I was going to put the Sword in the Stone down below. But it gets a special mention. Silly disney film from the era they don't advertise as much. Oddly, a lot of my favorites are included. Robin Hood (technically works as a recommendation too,) 101 Dalmatians, the Jungle Book... Right Sword in the Stone. If the name didn't make it obvious it's about King Arthur before he was crowned. Mostly involves him and Merlin going on whacky shapeshifting adventures.

List of films I'm mentioning even though I can barely remember them, they're not what I would call gems, or are more for kids:
Clash of the Titans 1981
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 1988
The 10th Kingdom 2000
Dinotopia 2002
Ella Enchanted 2004
Van Hellsing 2004
The Brothers Grimm 2005
Beowulf 2007
The Golden Compass 2007
The Secret of the Kells 2009
Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga'hool 2010
Prince of Persia 2010
How to Train your Dragon 2010
Brave 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman 2012

Trying not to mention anything anyone's already suggested at the time I started writing this.

In regards to what people have already suggested: The Princess Bride wins everything forever.

grolim

2013-10-06, 05:23 PM

Anime is a lot more diverse than that, even fantasy anime. There's no high tech in, say, Claymore or Berserk, for example. Or for that matter Spice and Wolf, Maoyuu, Slayers or any of the several shows set in settings ripping off Dragon Warrior.

The reason why it's high tech, magic and magitech is because it's a spin-off from Final Fantasy VII which specifically has that aesthetic.

I meant that as a description specifically to that movie, not anime in general.

Terraoblivion

2013-10-06, 05:31 PM

Hard to guess when you used the word "so" to imply causality, but okay. It's not a big deal, just wanted to make the distinction clear.

Hiro Protagonest

2013-10-06, 05:37 PM

Firefly

Um... what?

Unless there's some other Firefly I don't know about.

The Glyphstone

2013-10-06, 05:58 PM

Um... what?

Unless there's some other Firefly I don't know about.

It's not unreasonable - Firefly is dressed up in sci-fi trappings, but none of its stories or plots are really science fiction-dependent. Like how Star Wars is closer to Space Fantasy than Science Fiction, Firefly is more Space Western than Science Fiction. Through that lens, it's pretty fantasy-ish.

Hiro Protagonest

2013-10-06, 06:11 PM

It's not unreasonable - Firefly is dressed up in sci-fi trappings, but none of its stories or plots are really science fiction-dependent. Like how Star Wars is closer to Space Fantasy than Science Fiction, Firefly is more Space Western than Science Fiction. Through that lens, it's pretty fantasy-ish.

Well I know that it doesn't matter that it's set in the future, but it's not swords and sorcery. It's a Western.

The Glyphstone

2013-10-06, 07:00 PM

Every so often I am reminded exactly why I love this community...

I live to serve.

Well I know that it doesn't matter that it's set
in the future, but it's not swords and sorcery. It's a Western.

It's certainly not sword-and-sorcery, I'll give you that.

Maybe jedipotter saw 'western' medieval fantasy and got confused or only read the first word?

Grommen

2013-10-06, 10:10 PM

13th warrior
Kingdom of Heaven
Braveheart

Wile the kingdom of Heaven and Braveheart is not fantasy. They got swords and great plots.

Princes Bride's one of my favorite movies though.

BWR

2013-10-07, 06:23 AM

Howl's Moving Castle, and Castle in the Sky fit the more european theme.

Howl's Moving Castle was written by Diane Wynne-Jones, so it's no wonder it seems European.

Xondoure

2013-10-07, 06:36 AM

Howl's Moving Castle was written by Diane Wynne-Jones, so it's no wonder it seems European.

I am aware of the book of origin. Although a vague basic premise, and a similar setting are really all it shares in common with the film. :smalltongue:

Yora

2013-10-07, 07:28 AM

The thing with fantasy movies is, that most are pretty bad.

Movies that I would recommend are:

Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The 13th Warrior
Princess Mononoke

And that's pretty much it.

ABKC

2013-10-09, 12:08 AM

If you don't mind some guns and explosions and being a side-plot, The Fall (2006) has a really good fantasy story mixed in with a drama.

CletusMusashi

2013-10-14, 12:53 AM

Some of the Discworld books have become movies. I'll use a five-star rating system.

Suggested viewing order would be "Color of Magic" whenever you want, including never; just don't let not loving it deter you from watching the better ones. I mean, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound, but it's so far below the others in quality that every fan of the series, including the author himself, is always going to apologize for it. Three stars, maybe two and a half.

"Soul Music" should be seen before most of the others. It spends enough time with some of the town's street denizens that watching it first will spare you the trouble of being confused in subsequent films by things like why there's an ape drinking a the bar. Easily four stars, maybe even four and half.

"Wyrd Sisters" can be watched on its own, but ideally you should see "Soul Music" first, for reason above. Five stars. This is the best of the animated ones.

"Hogfather" should very much be watched after "Soul Music." It not only takes place chronologically later, but shares the same main character and a few secondary characters as well. Five stars again. This is the best of the live action ones.

"Going Postal" takes place more recently than any of the others, but starts with a brand new protagonist. In theory, you could watch it whenever. Just bear in mind that it's a very late entry to the series, so there are aspects of technology and city infrastructure that do not exist in stories that take place decades earlier. Four stars, maybe four and a half.

Also keep an eye out for "Troll Bridge." It's been completed, and has played around at some film festivals, but I don't think it's available yet anywhere else. Should be a fun movie. Cohen the Barbarian is one of the Discworld's most hilariously awesome characters.