Other Fantasy films

[Phervasaion]

Hey!<BR>Are there any Fantasy films that you guys like almost as much as LotR, if so which ones. I liked Merlin, the one with Sam Neill in it. I thought the actors made a good job in acting in it and it kept me interested all the way through. The only other fantasy films i cam realy remember watching was Dragonheart and Dragonheart 2. The second one i didnt like that much but i thought the first one was alright. What fantasy films did you guys like?

[Eruwen]

There's a dragonheart 2? I had no idea. I thought Reign of Fire was good. It dealt with dragons and stuff like that. Very cool. Um, I also liked the first Dragonheart, Harry Potter was alright. I mean, it wasn't my favorite, but it was ok for a movie. a long time ago I liked this movie called Fern Gully. It was about these little farie people, and it was a cartoon. I havn't seen it in a while though. I can't really think of any more right now, so I'll leave it at those.

[Phervasaion]

Yep theres a Dragonheart 2, i actually saw this one before Dragonheart 1 which put me off it slightly. But when i actually saw it i enjoyed it. Iv never heard of Fern Gully though.

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

I liked Dragonheart when I saw it in the theatre, but when I went back again and watched it I realized that it has a lot of mediocre acting. <BR>Some of my favorite fantasy movies are:<BR>~Spirited Away (I just bought it on DVD.. it is one of the best cartoons in a long time)<BR>~The Last Unicorn (another cartoon, but very good)<BR>~Ever After (this is my fluff fantasy)<BR>~Legend (just for the visuals of it)<BR>~The Three Musketeers (not really fantasy, but historical-ish)<P>But overall, I don't think that any live action fantasy film can touch LOTR at this moment in time... perhaps some day.

[Meela]

I adored Merlin, and both Dragonhearts. Dragonheart 2 appeared to have a Viggo lookalike in it. Dragonheart 1 I like as much as if not more than Lotr.<BR>Willow is absolutely stunning. The best fantasy film ever.<BR>Harry Potter is alright for the occasional enjoyable evening in with hot cocoa.<BR>I haven't seen any Narnia films so I don't know if they are as good as the books.<BR>Oh, almost forgot Gormenghast! I change my mind. Gormenghast is the best fantasy film ever.<BR>Oh, and Legend was beautiful. <BR>Changed my mind again. The best fantasy film ever is Snow White: A Tale Of Terror.

[Niluial]

I also like Dragon Heart! Its so how do you say.... hmmm I cant find the right word..

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

I also enjoyed Merlin (it helps that I'm a bit of a Sam Neill fan), but my family wouldn't allow me to watch Dragonheart (I was young; they told me to go to bed) and I haven't found it in the rental stores to pick it up again.<P>Don't hang me, but I also find the Harry Potter series is quite fascinating. I also enjoyed The 10th Kingdom to a degree. <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Legend (just for the visuals of it)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I'd hope so; there doesn't seem to be anything else about it to like. Except maybe the villain, because Tim Curry is just plain awesome in villain roles. <P>I'm slightly lost, though. What's this topic got to do with the LotR movies?<p>[ April 27, 2003: Message edited by: Rynoah, the Overly-Happy ]

[Phervasaion]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I'm slightly lost, though. What's this topic got to do with the LotR movies? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Its mainly just comparing other fantasy films with LotR and if their as good as it. I wasnt sure where to put it at first but i thought this would be the best place.<P>I remember Legend slightly, it was a long time ago when i watched it. I remember thinking it was ok but some of the voices in like the strange goblin things near the start were SO annoying, i think LotR is alot better.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I also enjoyed The 10th Kingdom to a degree. <BR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Realy? Iv never seen it and i was going to get the whole Series on DVD which is 10 hours long and it costs alot so im not sure.

[HCIsland]

Oh boy, I'm going to date myself here.<P>I'm sure there will be films I'll miss.<P>I haven't seen Dragon Heart.<P>I liked the visuals of Legend as well. It certainly was something to watch and Tim Curey alone was worth the price and those unicorns ...<P>Ridley Scott is always good for brilliant visuals. Bladerunner was brilliant as well as the original Alien (as was the second Alien but in a very different way.<P>Staying with science fiction, there's of course the Citzen Kane of SF, 2001. There's also The Day The Earth Stood Still. It's so tough to find serious SF on film though. The Matrix was a lot of fun as were the Terminator movies. Sticking with Cameron there's also The Abyss - a good flick.<P>Sticking with heroic fiction, their John Boorman's Excalibur which was also a great movie.<P>Anyway, I see what else pops into my head.<P>H.C.

[Mattius]

Jason and the Argonauts, now thats classic!

[Meela]

Oh god, yes!! I always forget the good films <BR>I have a lovely modern version of Jason on video, and an even more brilliant version of the Odyssey.<BR>Ok, changed my mind, almost. My joint favourite fantasy films are Snow White: A Tale Of Terror and The Odyssey.<P>Oh, and I would like to note that Snow White: A Tale Of Terror is a unique film: it has good looking dwarves

[HCIsland]

You peeked my curiousity with that one Meela. I missed it but I'll have to look for it.<P>Jason and the Argonauts is a classic and certainly had its influence on Jackson as well as numberous others.<P>I would like to add Brazil to my list. I'm mad I forgot to put it on before as it's one of my favourite films of all time. I'm a big Terry Gilliam fan.<P>H.C.

[Meela]

[The Saucepan Man]

"Swords and Sorcery" films have generally been a huge disppointment to me. Certainly, I don't think that there is anything in the fantasy genre to match LotR. <P>Dungeons and Dragons was pretty distressing (to a veteran AD+D'er as I was at the time), while films like Willow, Beastmaster and Hawk the Slayer were OK at the time but not, I think, great films. Conan the Barbarian was also, I seem to recall, a major diappointment to one who had read and enjoyed many of the books. It's a long time since I saw any of these, but I certainly do not recall them making any great lasting impression on me.<P>I would definately place Legend at the better end of the scale. While I agree that it didn't really have much of a story to it, it certainly looked good and Tim Curry turned in a great performance. Also, it is worth watching just to see a fledgling Tom Cruise. <P>Funnily enough I also recall enjoying those "muppet" films, Labyrinth (with an enjoyably ridiculous David Bowie) and Dark Crystal, which had quite an interesting concept and some quite quirky villains.<P>Jason and the Argonauts was immensely enjoyable, as were most of the Sinbad films (Eye of the Tiger being my favourite). Ray Harryhausen really was the master of monster SFX before CGI came along (the "muppets", I am afraid, really didn't quite cut the mustard). The skeletons in (I think) Jason and the Argonauts and the fight between the Sabretooth and the Ogre-Centaur in Eye of the Tiger are among my favourite film-monster moments of all time. Other "Sinbad" highlights include the Cyclops, the Kali-style six-armed serpent creature and the bronze minotaur. Funnily enough, the more recent Clash of the Titans did not, in my view, really match up to these earlier films.<P>As for Sc-Fi, HC has mentioned most of my favourites (Blade Runner, 2001 and Alien), although I would add the first and best of the Star Wars films. Also, Brazil is one of my all-time favourites too, HC. Talking of Terry Gilliam, and to bring things back to the fantasy(ish) genre, I must put a vote in for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. All the Monty Python films are great, but that just has to be my favourite.

[Beruthiel]

I liked Dragonheart, mainly because of Sean Conerry's accent <BR>Dungeons and Dragons was kind of pathetic if you ask me. <BR>I can't remember what the mavie was called but it's best bit was when the hero shoots an arrow through these hoops that go around in a circle, has anyone seen that? I used to like it a lot though I haven't seen it for a long time. <BR>Harry Potter 2 was good but the first was terrible!<BR>For SciFi The Matrix defintely is the best I LOVE that movie!

Ladyhawke - Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer were magnificent and the story was great.<BR>Legend - the scenery was simply beautiful, well, OK, Tom Cruise was a bit odd choice to play a fairy-kind-of character, but cant deny, he looked good. <BR>Dragonheart - Nice story, good actors.<BR>Willow - nice story, good actors as well

[HCIsland]

Still in sci-fi I know. I guess I'm showing my leanings.<P>Two films that I haven't seen for a while but really blew me away the first time I saw them. They are Altered States and a little known film from New Zealand called The Quiet Earth.<P>H.C.

[piosenniel]

I am looking forward to the new version of Peter Beagle's <I>The Last Unicorn</I>.<P>Check it out <A HREF="http://www.the-last-unicorn.net/unicorntest.htm" TARGET=_blank>HERE</A>

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Iv never seen it and i was going to get the whole Series on DVD which is 10 hours long and it costs alot so im not sure. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>My sister bought it on DVD and I do like it. However, I've had people tell me it was too "silly" for their tastes, so if you can find someone to borrow it from, I'd suggest that before you spend a wad of cash on it. <P>Meela: I loved <I>The Odyssey</I>. We were doing the course in English and our teacher brought in the movie for our viewing. Loved it. <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Dungeons and Dragons was pretty distressing (to a veteran AD+D'er as I was at the time)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I've never even <I>looked</I> at the games and I thought <I>Dungeons and Dragons</I> was awful. The dragons were, admittedly, rather nice, but not worth sitting through so much painful film. Guh. *shudders*<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Funnily enough I also recall enjoying those "muppet" films, Labyrinth (with an enjoyably ridiculous David Bowie)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>When I first saw it, I thought <I>Labyrinth</I> was pretty dang stupid. However, it seems to have grown on me and now I wish my sister hadn't given away her VHS version. It certainly was worth it just to watch David Bowie's performance (and I don't even like the man that much).<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Ladyhawke - Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer were magnificent and the story was great.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Ohhh, how could I have forgotten <I>Ladyhawke</I>?! I absolutely adore that movie (I'm slightly into shape-shifting and this movie pulled it off incredibly well for a film of the time). It's one of the reason I fell in love... with crossbows! Seriously! <P>On an off-topic note, Rutger Hauer also plays in <I>The 10th Kingdom</I> and he wields a crossbow in it as well. Ironically, it has a hawk head at the tip. Just a little trivia. <P>In the Sci-Fi genre, I liked <I>A.I.</I> despite the bad reviews it got. I'm also a mild fan of the Star Wars series. But my all-time favorite has to be <I>X-Men</I> (whose <A HREF="http://www.x2-movie.com" TARGET=_blank>sequel</A> (yes, I was just waiting for a chance to plug that) is released on Friday in the USA). <I>X-Men</I> just... rocks. Marvel does well to convert their books to movies.

[HCIsland]

Never saw The Odessey. It should be worth a look.<P>How's this for a double bill: The Odessey followed by the Coen brother's Oh Brother Where Art Thou. If you are familiar with the story of the first and the content of the second, you'll know why I am suggesting this.<P>Now that would be interesting.<P>H.C.

[Meela]

I really do have a terrible memory.<P>Excalibur comes close to the top position as my favourite fantasy film.<P>And Labrynth is great! But I keep imagining David Bowie as Elrond, and get images in my head of him singing in Rivendell as though he were still in Labrynth.

[The Saucepan Man]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Excalibur comes close to the top position as my favourite fantasy film. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Ah, how could I have forgotten Excalibur. I agree, Meela. that definately comes pretty close to the top spot for me. It was beautifully visualised <B>and</B> well acted. Nigel Terry, Miranda Richardson and (especially) Nicol Wiliamson were all excellent in it. <P>But the Monty Python version was still better. <P>Talking of Monty Python, has anyone seen Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky (about the Lewis Carroll creature of the same name), which had in it Terry Jones and Michael Palin of the Python team, as well as Neil Innes and Gilliam himself. Not as good as The Holy Grail, but enjoyable nonetheless.<P>And two more fantasy(ish) films by Terry Gilliam which I greatly enjoyed were Time Bandits, about the time-travelling adventures of a young boy and a group of dwarves(with wonderful cameos by the likes of John Cleese as Robin Hood and Sean Connery as Aganemnon), and the Adventures of Baron Munchausen, based upon the extravagant stories of the eponymous Baron, who claimed to have met the likes of the Man of the Moon (Robin Williams) and Vulcan and Venus (Oliver Reed and Uma Thurman).<P>I guess that I'm a real sucker for Terry Gilliam's films.

[Diamond18]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I haven't seen any Narnia films so I don't know if they are as good as the books. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>While the script was pretty faithful to the books, the special effects and acting left a <B>lot</B> to be desired. I'm still waiting for a polished, big screen version. Even if they play with the adaptation more, I'd love to see a decent White Witch and animals that aren't just actors in zip-up suits. Also, they didn't even make <I>The Magician's Nephew</I> or <I>The Horse and His Boy</I>.<P>Other fantasy movies I've seen are <I>Willow</I>, <I>The Princess Bride</I>, <I>Dragonheart</I> (ick, I hated that movie—no offense to those who liked it...) <I>Jason and the Argonauts</I> (the old one, mind you), and of course, <I>The Matrix</I> and <I>Star Wars</I>. Hmm... probably more, but they're not jumping into my mind.<P>They all had their merits, but nothing that I've seen holds a candle to the eye-candy/epic scope/special effects/acting/etc. of FotR or TTT. I've gone hyphen crazy.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>But I keep imagining David Bowie as Elrond, and get images in my head of him singing in Rivendell as though he were still in Labrynth.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Great... that's going to haunt me 'til the end of my days. Thanks a lot. <P>I have never seen <I>Excalibur</I>, but not for lack of wanting. I haven't found it anywhere to pick it up (but rumor has it that it's rated "R" and I don't do "R" movies. )

[Lady_Báin]

OH YES MY FRIENDS THE MOMENT HAS COME!!!I found this website and it has some very interesting info.<A HREF="http://www.narnia.com" TARGET=_blank>narnia webpage</A> and i heard someone talking about that earlier up. I can't wait!!! There is a movie by the BBC but it is crap, not as bad as the lotr cartoon but a close second. so yeah cool. I love the Snow Queen and Snow White i don't know the actors but the ones on the Hallmark channel and alice in wonderland.

[Noxomanus]

Legend and Willow are really cool I think,just like Labyrinth<P>And please don't ask me about the Dark Crystal!!!That has been my favorite movie for over 3 years,I loved the way the Skekses looked quite a bit like vultures and i could repeat nearly every sentence of the movie. To me it's classic! And I still got it! though I admit it's effects are quite bad and some scenes are fake-looking,I still love it.

[Phervasaion]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I have never seen Excalibur, but not for lack of wanting <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I havnt seen it either. It was on TV a while back but i missed it as i had to go somewhere, and forgot to record it.<P>Im lookin forward for the new x men movie to come out and i already have the game for it (Wolverines Revenge). Cant think of anymore good fantasy films at the moment but as soon as i do il put them up.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Im lookin forward for the new x men movie to come out and i already have the game for it (Wolverines Revenge).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I haven't gotten Wolverine's Revenge yet, due to lack of funds (when do I not have lack of funds?), but I've heard both good and bad about it.<P>As for <I>X2: X-Men United</I>, I don't think there's anyone in the world looking forward to it more than me. Which leaves me open for huge disappointment, my little sensible voice tells me, but I don't care at this point.

[Luinalatawen]

I absolutely loved The Mists of Avalon. It's definitely one of my favorite movies. I also like Merlin. I haven't seen many others. OH and Ever After, and I like it even more because the main character's name is Danielle, which is also my name.

[Morquesse]

<I>Jason</I> and the <I>Odyssey</I>? Sounds fun! I'll look that up!<P>Is <I>Spirited away</I> any good? I've read about it, but we're debating if we want to see it.<P>I liked the first <I>Dragonheart</I>, but not the second. The first had Sean Connery (or his voice anyway) and the dragon looked cool. The second was kinda off and the dragons looked fake, like action figures.<P><I>The lion, the witch and the wardrobe</I> may not have much, but it has a charm of its own, and I like it. The <I>silver chair</I> was close to the book ( I didn't like either) and I can't say about <I>Prince Caspian</I> and <I>The voyage of the Dawn Treader</I> because I haven't seen them in years. And they are making a new <I>the lion, the witch and the wardrobe</I> coming next year, along with a making of the Trojan War with Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and Peter O'Toole.<BR>See you later!<BR>~M<p>[ April 30, 2003: Message edited by: Morquesse ]

[Meela]

Oh, Ever After was gorgeous! Such a beautiful tale!

[The Only Real Estel]

Here are mine, if they count: The Mummy was a decent movie, The Matrix was awesome, Spiderman was up there, and the Terminator movies were great as well. That's how mine stand (Alien & Alien2 were both pretty good too).

[Meela]

I adore both Mummy movies (or do you mean the older version?)<P>I also just remembered my no.1 movie of all time: Van Helsing. I know it isn't out yet, but the previews look pretty darn good!<BR>Also, Troy looks like a darn fabulous epic. Great cast too!

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

Both recent Mummy movies rock. The old one was pretty good as well. Boris Karloff is just grand.

[Phervasaion]

Yea i enjoyed the Mummy movies aswell. Also i liked the 1st and 3rd Jurrasic parks. Wasnt too keen on the second one though.

[Morwen Tindomerel]

Re. Narnia: Are we talking the BBC series that had Tom Baker, (of Doctor Who fame) as puddleglum? Is so I agree the FX stunk but at least the script didn't!<P> Also IMO Star Wars is not Science Fiction but Fantasy. Think about it: Dark Lords, Knights with flaming swords and strange powers, a hidden heir and a beautiful princess - what we have here is a classic fantasy with SF trappings.

[HCIsland]

Absolutely. Star Wars is definately fantasy. That shouldn't change anyone's enjoyment of it though.<P>H.C.

[Lily Bracegirdle]

Tigerlily Gamgee, I'm so glad you liked Spirited Away! Two of Miyazaki's other movies, Kiki's Delivery Service and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, are my absolute favorites! <P>I tend to like animated fantasy better than live action, just because they don't have to worry about bad special effects. Shrek and Monsters Inc were fun. Anime fantasies like the Escaflowne TV series, Heroic Legend of Arislan and Rurouni Kenshin really made me sit up and pay attention because they were so different from the Western-style of fantasy I was used to.<P>Some anime staples (floating bubbles and petals) have been used in other films like Excalibur and Legend, so if you liked that, you should love shoujo anime.<P>-Lily

[Birdland]

Saucepan Man - Great choices, as Terry Gilliam is a favorite of mine as well. Baron Von Munchausen flopped at the box office, but I loved it. <P>Has anyone ever seen the animated fantasy film <I>Wizards</I>? It's from Ralph Bashki, (the creator of our beloved LOTR - The Unauthorized version.) <P><I>Wizards</I> is bizarre, and rather bloody, but I always kind of liked it.<P>Also don't forget Jim Henson's <I>The Dark Crystal</I>, awful and intriguing at the same time. <P>And for a real classic, the original live-action, 1933 version of <I>Alice in Wonderland</I>. As a kid that version seemed wonderful, but rather scary, since the costume were based on the original Edwardian illustrations, and were by no means "cute". If you have a chance to catch it on TV, by all means, watch it.

[Gorwingel]

Hey did anyone ever watch <B>The Neverending Story</B>? I used to rent that film from my local video store so many times. I would go and just rent it over and over again. (but just recently I went back and watched it and I realized that the special effects were kind of stupid, but I do think that it was made in the 80's, so they were probably pretty good for the time).<P>Can you count <B>Aladdin</B> and <B>Beauty and the Beast</B> as fantasy movies even though they are animated? Those have to be some of the best films that Disney ever created (I was a kid when those came out, so of course I absolutely loved them)<P>-I never liked <B>The Princess Bride</B><BR>-The Mummy movies were very fun. Great films to waste an afternoon watching <BR>-<B>Jurassic Park</B> was a masterpeace compared to the two sequels<P>I don't actually remember that many good fantasy films that are out there. There is definitely none that match the quality and the spectacle of the LOTR films (well in my opinion at least)