horacethegrey
First Post
Topic speaks for itself. What are your 10 favorite fantasy films?
I'll get the ball rolling with my picks.
1) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Some people will say the whole trilogy counts as one film. I disagree. Fellowship is Peter Jackson at the peak of his directing powers as he deftly adapts what many thought was an unfilmable book. The cast is perfect, the pacing is breathless, and the production design and visual effects all serve to bring the world of Middle Earth wonderfully to life onscreen. The sequels (though I still like them a lot) would suffer from the flaws prevalent in PJ's later films, such as an overabundance of CGI and melodrama, but Fellowship is till pretty much on point in my eyes. And I haven't even mentioned that despite the occasional deviation, it's remarkably faithful to Tolkien's book (Frankly though I could care less. Fidelity to the books was never an issue for me. And I still enjoyed The Two Towers and Return of the King despite their huge deviations).
2) The Princess Bride - Only second place? INCONCEIVABLE!
Probably the most quotable movie of all time. It's absolutely hilarious and still a blast to watch, and I really don't think I can add anymore reasons as to why it's brilliant. It just is. I'll be sad if this gem of a movie is ever forgotten.
3) Excalibur - Simply the best adaptation of the King Arhur mythos on film. Director John Boorman's mythic and dreamlike take on the legend makes no pretense of being some sort of historical film (unlike 2004's King Arthur, which was so boring). And I just love how Nicol Williamson hams it up and steals the show as Merlin
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - LOTR lite, as some people would say. And that's unfortunate, because despite the fact that author C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien were both friends and contemporaries, their works are quite distinct from each other. And director Andrew Adamson brings Lewis' vision to life in a spectacular way. The best example being Aslan the Lion, voiced by Liam Neeson with such gravitas and warmth. Tilda Swinton also deserves mention for her menacing turn as Jadis the White Witch. And more credit should go to Adamson for making such a lively film from such a dull book (at least to me when I read it years ago).
5) Labyrinth - Jim Henson's best film and a true testament to his life's work. It's not without it's flaws though. The pacing is slow, there are a bunch of random segways that kind of jar (like those Fireys. What the hell was Henson smoking when he came up with that scene?), and a young Jennifer Connelly who hadn't yet grasped the whole acting thing. But the positives far outweigh any negatives the film may have. Some of the finest puppetry and use of practical effects is on display here. And of course, there's David Bowie.-(RIP) as Jareth the Goblin King.
6) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - The first two Potter films were borefests, so imagine my surprise when this third film makes the world of Hogwarts look, well... magical. We can all thank director Alfonso Cuaron for giving the series a shot in the arm with some much needed whimsy and darkness. Though the later films would not match the quality of Azkaban, they at least maintained a consistent tone that was no doubt due to Cuaron's influence.
7) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - I think some people will retch at the thought of including any of the Hobbit films into a favorite list. Despite their inferiorty to the previous LOTR trilogy, I don't think they're all that bad (they're not the Star Wars Prequels at least), just bloated by all the unnecessary filler and attempts to tie it in with The Lord of the Rings, when The Hobbit really should have been it's own thing. Desolation still has these problems and more, but what makes it worthwhile over the other films is the titular dragon himself. I think Smaug is the best realization I've ever seen of a fire breathing lizard onscreen. And he's voiced to perfection by Benedict Cumberbatch.
8) Ladyhawke - A better love story than Twilight, and from 1985 too. Jokes aside, director Richard Donner's romantic fantasy stands as one of the best examples of 80's fantasy flicks. Sure, the hilariously inappropriate synth pop soundtrack and Donner's badly staged fights are cheesy as f**k. But the earnest performances of the two leads (Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pffeifer) plus Matthew Broderick as the thief Mouse make this a worth a watch.
9) Conan the Barbarian - It's not exactly loyal to the source material, and Ahnuld is stiff as heck as the lead. But goddamnit, that Basil Poledouris soundtrack never ceases to amaze and get my blood pumping. And the art direction is great, bringing the Hyborian Age of Robert E. Howard's stories to life.
10) Pan's Labyrinth - From Guillermo Del Toro, the man who almost brought us The Hobbit. It was saddening when news of his leaving the project came, because this film is proof enough for me that his vision for Middle Earth would have been amazing. The effects on display, both visual and practical, create some fantastically nigthmarish visuals of a Faerie that exists right beside the real world. And the faerie part is not even the most disturbing part of this film, the real world scenes of a Fascist era Spain featuring Sergi Lopez as the psycopathic Captain Vidal are enough to churn most moviegoers stomachs. Definitely a hard film to watch, but well worth it.
I'll get the ball rolling with my picks.
1) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Some people will say the whole trilogy counts as one film. I disagree. Fellowship is Peter Jackson at the peak of his directing powers as he deftly adapts what many thought was an unfilmable book. The cast is perfect, the pacing is breathless, and the production design and visual effects all serve to bring the world of Middle Earth wonderfully to life onscreen. The sequels (though I still like them a lot) would suffer from the flaws prevalent in PJ's later films, such as an overabundance of CGI and melodrama, but Fellowship is till pretty much on point in my eyes. And I haven't even mentioned that despite the occasional deviation, it's remarkably faithful to Tolkien's book (Frankly though I could care less. Fidelity to the books was never an issue for me. And I still enjoyed The Two Towers and Return of the King despite their huge deviations).
2) The Princess Bride - Only second place? INCONCEIVABLE!
Probably the most quotable movie of all time. It's absolutely hilarious and still a blast to watch, and I really don't think I can add anymore reasons as to why it's brilliant. It just is. I'll be sad if this gem of a movie is ever forgotten. 3) Excalibur - Simply the best adaptation of the King Arhur mythos on film. Director John Boorman's mythic and dreamlike take on the legend makes no pretense of being some sort of historical film (unlike 2004's King Arthur, which was so boring). And I just love how Nicol Williamson hams it up and steals the show as Merlin
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - LOTR lite, as some people would say. And that's unfortunate, because despite the fact that author C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien were both friends and contemporaries, their works are quite distinct from each other. And director Andrew Adamson brings Lewis' vision to life in a spectacular way. The best example being Aslan the Lion, voiced by Liam Neeson with such gravitas and warmth. Tilda Swinton also deserves mention for her menacing turn as Jadis the White Witch. And more credit should go to Adamson for making such a lively film from such a dull book (at least to me when I read it years ago).
5) Labyrinth - Jim Henson's best film and a true testament to his life's work. It's not without it's flaws though. The pacing is slow, there are a bunch of random segways that kind of jar (like those Fireys. What the hell was Henson smoking when he came up with that scene?), and a young Jennifer Connelly who hadn't yet grasped the whole acting thing. But the positives far outweigh any negatives the film may have. Some of the finest puppetry and use of practical effects is on display here. And of course, there's David Bowie
.-(RIP) as Jareth the Goblin King. 6) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - The first two Potter films were borefests, so imagine my surprise when this third film makes the world of Hogwarts look, well... magical. We can all thank director Alfonso Cuaron for giving the series a shot in the arm with some much needed whimsy and darkness. Though the later films would not match the quality of Azkaban, they at least maintained a consistent tone that was no doubt due to Cuaron's influence.
7) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - I think some people will retch at the thought of including any of the Hobbit films into a favorite list. Despite their inferiorty to the previous LOTR trilogy, I don't think they're all that bad (they're not the Star Wars Prequels at least), just bloated by all the unnecessary filler and attempts to tie it in with The Lord of the Rings, when The Hobbit really should have been it's own thing. Desolation still has these problems and more, but what makes it worthwhile over the other films is the titular dragon himself. I think Smaug is the best realization I've ever seen of a fire breathing lizard onscreen. And he's voiced to perfection by Benedict Cumberbatch.
8) Ladyhawke - A better love story than Twilight, and from 1985 too.
Jokes aside, director Richard Donner's romantic fantasy stands as one of the best examples of 80's fantasy flicks. Sure, the hilariously inappropriate synth pop soundtrack and Donner's badly staged fights are cheesy as f**k. But the earnest performances of the two leads (Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pffeifer) plus Matthew Broderick as the thief Mouse make this a worth a watch.9) Conan the Barbarian - It's not exactly loyal to the source material, and Ahnuld is stiff as heck as the lead. But goddamnit, that Basil Poledouris soundtrack never ceases to amaze and get my blood pumping. And the art direction is great, bringing the Hyborian Age of Robert E. Howard's stories to life.
10) Pan's Labyrinth - From Guillermo Del Toro, the man who almost brought us The Hobbit. It was saddening when news of his leaving the project came, because this film is proof enough for me that his vision for Middle Earth would have been amazing. The effects on display, both visual and practical, create some fantastically nigthmarish visuals of a Faerie that exists right beside the real world. And the faerie part is not even the most disturbing part of this film, the real world scenes of a Fascist era Spain featuring Sergi Lopez as the psycopathic Captain Vidal are enough to churn most moviegoers stomachs. Definitely a hard film to watch, but well worth it.
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