Hero is fantastic, but I have a hard time seeing wuxia as fantasy. I mean, fantasy in my head is more the western kind of fantasy with dragons and mages and what not. Wuxia is something else for me, but I can see how it could be classified as fantasy, and in that case I wholeheartedly agree.
I really liked Dragonheart for what it was. I’m not sure how well it aged, and I don’t intend on finding out. I like it as it is in my memory. ;)
Oh man, there was a time when Hawk the Slayer was constantly on TV in the mid 80s. I remember loving it…gonna have to see if it’s on Netflix. Probably doesn’t hold up.
“Fantasy” is a bit broad, isn’t it? Ok, after browsing others’ picks, here are my faves:
Big Fish (For me, this was Burton’s best work on a story level and his last great film).
Pan’s Labrynth
Edward Scissorhands
Legend (I’ve still only watched this with the alternative non-Tangerine Dream soundtrack and loved it. Tim Curry rocks and this film has such a unique look and feel").
Sleeping Beauty (still love the animation style and muted colors in this early Disney film)
Hero (beautiful use of colors…which brings me to my next pick…)
Suspiria (Horror? still fantasy, IMO. I can watch this film on mute all day…that Goblin soundtrack can grate on my nerves after a bit, but man, this is such a gorgeous film).
Lord of the Rings (The entire trilogy, though the second and third films could have used some trimming…especially the last).
The Fisher King (Probably my favorite Terry Gilliam, narrowly beating out 12 Monkeys)
I also wanted to add Delicatessen and Brazil but I’ve only seen those once each, long ago, and I remember absolutely loving them at the time, but it’s been a while and my opinion may change after a second viewing. Got a Criterion Collection copy of Brazil a few years ago for my birthday, need to watch it soon.
Funny, that is my least favorite Gilliam movie.
I loved Tale of Tales! Proper grim and weird and lush.
Yeah, I really need to see this again.
I still love the rotoscoped and otherworldly vision of Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings, as truncated and unfinished as it is.
Oh and I’d add Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the many good suggestions here.
The red speedos are a bit too futuristic looking IMO. If they had given Sean Connery pointy elf ears then maybe.
rewatched Conan the Barbarian (with Arnie) yesterday. Well, is there anything recently done in the Fantasy genre that is this good?? How is the Remake?
I think 300 should count as Fantasy.
I remember enjoying the 13th Warrior, which I think counts as fantasy, but like, Howard-style low-fantasy. It’s like 50% too long though, IIRC.
I enjoyed that movie too. I somehow never heard of it and missed its theatrical run. So when I saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster, a movie based on a Michael Crighton book? With Antonio Bandaras? How did I miss this?
The movie itself was pretty low key, so I can see why it didn’t make a big sensation. It was entertaining.
I love 13th Warrior, but I wish they had explored the interactions with the Vikings more. There’s a whole subplot with a guy trying to take over from the main viking, Bulwyf or whatever his name was, and they have a cool scene where they duel with wooden shields. But that’s it, that’s the extent of the subplot. It feels like they cut 30 minutes out of that movie.
The film was famously re-cut so intensively it was pushed back a year. So yeah, 30 minutes or perhaps more.
The newer Conan movie is pretty terrible.
I enjoy this movie more often than I should. It was a huge flop, apparently, and it just needed a tad more to make it worthwhile for more.
The Sword and the Sorcerer. I’d just moved to America and made friends with a kid named Greg, who was really into D&D. He told me that we had to go see this movie when it came out and when it did my parents decided that it was way too racy-looking for 8 year old me. So I didn’t see this movie until years later and my parents were right. It would have been too racy for 8 year old me.
Also, triple-bladed sword!
Dude, it’s a triple bladed sword that shoots blades at people.
Sword and the Sorcerer, unfortunately, does not hold up. I think Beastmaster holds up better in the camp fantasy sub-genre. Dragonslayer, Lady Hawke, Krull, and Legend hold up well, on recent re-watchings.
You can watch the whole thing on Youtube!
Yeah, I mean, the guy runs around with his shirt off for a good part of the movie.
I like Final Fantasy, The Spirits Within, for invoking James Lovelock’s Gaia. It’s a very strange film that moves slowly. A reflective, philosophical, spiritual flick trying to be an action movie.
I happen to like that movie quite a bit. I even have it in DVD.
It hits a very particular and hard to reproduce chord. Not exactly a good movie, but… extra meaningful somehow.
I like the Hobbit movies, too (LOTR as well, obviously).
