It's... inconceivable no one has said Princess Bride yet.
You best me to it. And while we're on Cary Elwes, we should probably mention Robin Hood: Men in Tights as well.
I had to look it up, and that was 1993. Pay the cat tax.
Willow
To answer the second question, Willow hit different because in the 80s they were totally fine with making fantasy movies that were meant to be watched by families but also had no problem traumatizing children. Willow had those creepy rat dog things straight out of a nightmare. Same way The Neverending Story has the horse/swamp scene and Gremlins turned fluffy cute animals into scary wicked creatures. Honestly, it's a miracle any of us millennials survived without a serious case of PTSD every time we went to Blockbuster.
And don’t forget those weird muppets in Labyrinth that pulled their heads off while singing.
and not every good guy somehow had to survive. that blonde guy (Eric?) died pretty brutally, and even though off-screen the babies mum and the nanny clearly died brutal deaths (and it was heavily implied), I think you even hear the nanny being torn apart by wolves
Oh yes.. I still remember the first time seeing that scene where everyone (almost) got turned into pigs in Willow. It really freaked me out at the time.
*shudders*
I think the heavy reliance on physical props, models and scenery. Combined with a certain darker style of story telling really made those movies stand out.
Nausicaa is so good
Ladyhawke, Conan..
Labyrinth, Willow, and of course The Princess Bride.
Tie between Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen...well dammit, Robin Williams as King of the Moon wins, Munchausen re-watch time!
"Hello! I'm Hood!"
Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn were two that came to mind
The Dark Crystal
Have you watched it as an adult? I loved that movie growing up and watched it a few years ago. Good lord, is it messed up…
Made all the better. Dark fantasy at its best.
The Goonies, The Golden Child, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, and The Monster Squad.
Bonus: I think Bill & Ted's movies were in the 80s too? The one with Death I always felt was sort of similar to Never Ending Story.
Excalibur is a gorgeous film with a talented cast.
Dark Crystal is an amazing Jim Henson production.
Beastmaster is a fun romp with 80s stalwart Mark Singer. And as someone else mentioned, Ladyhawke is another fun adventure in the same vein.
Not sure if it quite counts as fantasy but...
Everything about Blade Runner was perfect.
The sequel somehow managed to not drop the ball as well.
I think you're selling the sequel very short.
It managed to build on the original.
The key, I think, to the sequel is that it’s made to be watched again.
I walked out if the theater and thought it was an eye-meltingly gorgeous film, but didn’t really get what happened.
I recently re-watched 2049 and holy fucking shit…throughout the entire movie things just kept clicking into place.
Now ima setup a double feature and watch both back-to-back for the full experience!
Flash Gordon
Also Flesh Gordon.
It is exactly what you think, but it's more comedic than arousing.
Big trouble in little china
Clash of the Titans
The Beastmaster! The only film I know where Rip Torn squares off against ferrets. The best sword and sorcery movie of all time, I think.
The Secret of Nimh
Xanadu (Modern Fantasy)
Ladyhawke
Oh, and Return to Oz.
That movie is terrifying
Krull
All the good ones that can think of have already been mentioned. I also remember enjoying Heavy Metal as a teen, but not sure if I'd enjoy it nowadays.
Deathstalker 1 and 2 are underappreciated rubbish.
Cheap, tone deaf, bad acting, bad writing, catchy out of place theme music, pure entertainment.
There can be only one!
It could have been so much better, but The Black Cauldron with the oracular pig is a favorite.
Edit to add: and The Goonies!
Krull, Wizards, and The Last Unicorn.
Similar to krull is the whole sword and sandals genre. Includes Conan, red Sonja, beast matter, etc...
There’s a really fucking bizarre Alice in wonderland that shouldn’t be missed.
Legend, the princess bride, labrynth. Never ending story. Last unicorn. Lady hawk. Excalibur. Dark crystal.
Star Wars Episodes 5 and 6
Legend
Ladyhawke, Excalibur (this one is much more R rated than most, it features an on-screen rape in the first 5 minutes), Legend, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, Krull, Conan.
The 80's were really a heyday for fantasy movies, weren't they?
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