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I know a lot of us are always looking for new fantasy movies that fly under the radar. I'm wondering what everyone's are?
I bring this up because some good friends of mine just released a film called Mythica on ConTV (a free Netflix-for-nerds site) that is pretty awesome. At a minimum its better than the D&D movies, and at fraction of the cost.
I loved growing up with films like LadyHawke, and Willow, and even Goonies. What about you guys?
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I've heard of Mythica and slightly intrigued because movies like that normally are getting 1-3 stars and Mythica seems to be rated higher than that thus far. I believe it also has Kevin Sorbo (sp?) in it?
I'm not quite so certain LadyHawke, Willow, or Goonies are underrated fantasy films though...unless you consider harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Labyrinth under rated as well.
Of more recent movies, Wrath of the Titans wasn't as well liked as much as I enjoyed it. People seemed to flock to Clash of the Titans, but Wrath seemed to not be favored as much.
I also liked Jack the Giant Slayer quite a bit (I think people considered it a flop).
I absolutely love the animated Sinbad movie by DreamWorks. That's perhaps my favorite of the animated movies.
Not necessarily fantasy, but really hated by some, I absolutely loved Cutthroat Island.
Merlin (merlins apprentice not so much), Krull (sci-fi with strong fantasy elements), the Oddessy are the ones that come straight to mind. I enjoyed Dark Crystel as well.
Having an epic brain fart trying to think of something more current, but for the life of me can't come up with anything.
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as far as less well known movies go, Black Death with Sean Bean was pretty good. More like Medieval horror than straight fantasy.
Every other example that pops up in my brain is historical fiction however, without much of any fantastical elements to it.
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The Sword and the Sorcerer and Hawk The Slayer.
The Sword and the Sorcerer.That was the one with the threebladed rocket propelled sword, right?
I believe it is. Been ages since I've seen it, but if I remember correctly, the hero pulls a shortsword out of the sword when the central blade breaks.
I think TSR did a version of the sword - I remember seeing a sword in the Encyclopedia Magica that had similar abilities.
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Of more recent movies, Wrath of the Titans wasn't as well liked as much as I enjoyed it. People seemed to flock to Clash of the Titans, but Wrath seemed to not be favored as much.
I skipped Wrath because the Clash remake wasn't very good. I am a big fan of the classic Clash of the Titans that had Ray Harryhausen's SFX. My guess is a less than stellar remake probably hurt Wrath if its any good.
Which brings up Ray Harryhausen films, they are pretty awesome and while Clash of the Titans was a smash hit, many of Harryhausen's other films were what I would consider under the radar fantasy.
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Jason and the Argonauts, also a Harryhausen classic, probably my favorite of his. Although the Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a close second, with Martin Shaw as Sinbad's first mate, Tom Baker as the villain (immediately pre-Dr Who) and the delectable Caroline Munro as the heroine - plus the immortal line "Trust in Allah - but tie up your camel".
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Dungeons & Dragons.
There. I said it. Mic dropped. (What can I say? Critics hated the movie, I didn't. Besides, Tom Baker's in it.)
Less controversial choices would be Conan the Barbarian (the original still-good one with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I refuse to believe that "Schwarzenegger" is in Chrome's built-in dictionary) and Conan the Destroyer, which suffers only because they demanded the movie be a PG-rated sequel to an R-rated movie. Harumph.
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Kill him.
The Dungeons and Dragons movie was pretty awful, even for people (like me) who really wanted to like it. But the old Conan movies are quite good. Conan the Destroyer I actually preferred (I found Conan the Barbarian mildly pretentious, and Destroyer seemed more in keeping with the REH character).
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Idk about Dungeons and Dragons....but D&D, Wrath of the Dragon God was pretty good.
and the 13th Warrior is a must watch if I see that's its on TV.
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The Sword and the Sorcerer.That was the one with the threebladed rocket propelled sword, right?
Yup.
D00d when a movie opens with the revival of a long sleeping sorcerer who promptly as a display of his power TELEKINETICALLY EVICERATES the witch who revives him?
WIN.
SO FULL OF WIN.
Also Lee Horsley was a great as Talon who was pretty much the perfect Neutral Good mercenary. I love how pretty much EVERYONE either knew him OR owed him a favor or knew him AND owed him a favor.
One of my favorite parts of the movie is near the end when these two kings are there at Cromwell's coronation and notice that it's Talon who is being crucified and theyre both like:
"Is that Talon?" "Sh*t we gotta help him" The other king is like: "D00d what about the treaty with Cromwell?!?" and that first king is like "Damn the treaty!! We wouldn't HAVE kingdoms is it wasnt for him!!!" And sure enough these two draw their swords under the table and wait for a moment to help their friend.
I LOVE THAT MOVIE.
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as far as less well known movies go, Black Death with Sean Bean was pretty good. More like Medieval horror than straight fantasy.
I agree. Best Sean Bean death ever. And it's not a spoiler, because Sean Bean always dies.
I actually enjoyed the Momoa Conan. It's better than Destroyer at any rate.
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How about the recent Solomon Kane? I think there is a thread here somewhere about it, but it probably flew under a lot of people's radar and was pretty awesome
The Sword and the Sorcerer and Hawk The Slayer.
I recently rewatched TSATS and found it.... wanting. Didn't even get up to the scene where the guard got his head ground into the grinding stone... Which as a kid I found so wonderful. Says a lot about me as a kid, and the film. I didn't remember how terrible the portrayal of the female character was.
I truly hope I can get to the end of Hawk the Slayer if I ever find it - it holds a special place in my brother's and my hearts.
Or Beastmaster.
But yes, as a kid, these were...fantastic.
The Sword and the Sorcerer and Hawk The Slayer.I recently rewatched TSATS and found it.... wanting. Didn't even get up to the scene where the guard got his head ground into the grinding stone... Which as a kid I found so wonderful. Says a lot about me as a kid, and the film. I didn't remember how terrible the portrayal of the female character was.
I truly hope I can get to the end of Hawk the Slayer if I ever find it - it holds a special place in my brother's and my hearts.
Or Beastmaster.
But yes, as a kid, these were...fantastic.
I've heard all sorts of things from people about Hawk the Slayer.
I tried watching it, and I couldn't get through it. It's a horrible movie (though it does have Jack Palance I believe...at least I think that was him). I fast forwarded through 50% of it).
Am glad that others had mentioned Harryhausen films, I wanted to bring them up but alas I hadn't. Pan's Labrynth was good.
The Sword and the Sorcerer and Hawk The Slayer.I recently rewatched TSATS and found it.... wanting. Didn't even get up to the scene where the guard got his head ground into the grinding stone... Which as a kid I found so wonderful. Says a lot about me as a kid, and the film. I didn't remember how terrible the portrayal of the female character was.
I truly hope I can get to the end of Hawk the Slayer if I ever find it - it holds a special place in my brother's and my hearts.
Or Beastmaster.
But yes, as a kid, these were...fantastic.
I watched the Sword and the Sorceror on Netflix for the first time last year (at least I am pretty sure I did). I totally get the love DnD fans have for the film, but it is also a movie that has very much not aged well.
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As stated before, Black Death with Sean Bean and The 13th Warrior are two that are often overlooked but good, if not great.
I also like Arnold's Conan the Barbarian. I can enjoy the remake due to the red head (i have a thing for beautiful red heads) but I prefer the original even if it's not as true to Conan mythology.
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I liked Legend, I don't think it is an underrated film but no one has mentioned it thus far.
Growing up I really liked The Last Unicorn and am surprised at how many people have- not only never seen it but- never heard of it.
there is an animated movie called: Flight of Dragons that I really enjoyed but can NOT find ANYWHERE!
Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Gahoole I thought was a cool movie. Animated and with owls, but seemed like the main flaw with LotR (the traveling aspect) was re-imagined in the "flying is ACTUALLY pretty difficult") and there was a bard owl and for whatever reason I thought that was both a good characterization and HILARIOUS
Excalibur is pretty amazing and worth a view just to see Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson's ex-lover chemistry (she takes a little too much satisfaction in the frozen murder scene).
and of course: The Gamers and The Gamers: Dorkness Rising- were SUPER fun to watch "That's who takes improved initiative!"
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Dungeons & Dragons.
There. I said it. Mic dropped. (What can I say? Critics hated the movie, I didn't. Besides, Tom Baker's in it.)
There was some halfway decent stuff in there, unfortunately it mostly got drowned out by the terrible overacting of the dudes who played Damodar and Profion (one of which is normally a much better actor than that...), and pretty much every scene with Snails in it. Even the Tom Baker scene was painful. Tom Baker says something, very slowly. Someone else repeats what he just said, in awe and wonder, in case I developed early onset dementia in the seconds that have transpired between now and Tom Baker having just said it. Tom Baker says something else, also slowly. Someone else repeats that, since their dialogue sheet apparently says, 'repeat everything Tom Baker just said.'
It was a little bit painful to see the actors who were actually trying during that movie, surrounded by all that ham (and chained to all that terrible dialogue).
+1 to whoever mentioned Dragonslayer. I don't know if it counts as underrated, but I loved that movie. Also Labyrinth.
Oh... I guess I should say my favorite movie of all time (I know it is terrible, but I am nostalgic) is Red Sonja... which is awful... truly... just a dreadful movie. But 1/2 the cast of Conan is there, there is magic and relics and gods (sorta) and some cool sword fights.
And there aren't THAT many examples of an evil lesbian queen who looks as good as Sandhal Bergman (gold mask or not).
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Dungeons & Dragons.
There. I said it. Mic dropped. (What can I say? Critics hated the movie, I didn't. Besides, Tom Baker's in it.)
I liked Richard O'Brien and the ridiculous "Crystal Maze" reference, but otherwise the movie fell flat for me... and seriously casts a bad shadow of Thora Birch- her performance was AWFUL in this- if I hadn't KNOWN she did Hocus Pocus I would have though this was her first movie.
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Sword and the sorcerer for sure
Sinbad and the eye of the Tiger
Jason and the argonaughts
conan of course but I don't think it has been underrated
but if we are allowing the D&D movie in this mix then I submit
Deathstalker 2! Pure parody goodness (or badness really, you have to watch it to see what I am talking about)
Yor the Hunter from the Future
It's not a great movie, let's be honest, but it amused me and felt like a poorly planned game.
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I believe it also has Kevin Sorbo (sp?) in it?
Yes, he's in it.
I absolutely love the animated Sinbad movie by DreamWorks. That's perhaps my favorite of the animated movies.
I, too, think that Sinbad is one of the most underrated, fantastic fantasy animated movies of all times.
Jason and the Argonauts, also a Harryhausen classic, probably my favorite of his. Although the Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a close second, with Martin Shaw as Sinbad's first mate, Tom Baker as the villain (immediately pre-Dr Who) and the delectable Caroline Munro as the heroine - plus the immortal line "Trust in Allah - but tie up your camel".
Nice to see Aubrey getting into the mix. ;) I always follow your Eberron stuff. Golden Voyage is my favorite, no questions, lol.
Idk about Dungeons and Dragons....but D&D, Wrath of the Dragon God was pretty good.
I think anybody whos even remotely a fan of the D&D films, let alone any of these others should give a shot.
My thing is the more films we have where people are really, honestly attempting to do the genre well (whether or not they have a great degree of success), and the better they do, the more quality films we'll see coming out, and the less they will be the same crap-tastic films we all feel disappointed in seeing.
Kill him.
The Dungeons and Dragons movie was pretty awful, even for people (like me) who really wanted to like it. But the old Conan movies are quite good. Conan the Destroyer I actually preferred (I found Conan the Barbarian mildly pretentious, and Destroyer seemed more in keeping with the REH character).
Huh. I thought that about the writing as well. It seemed a more honest adaptation. The R to PG-13 rating thing didn't bug me.
How about the recent Solomon Kane? I think there is a thread here somewhere about it, but it probably flew under a lot of people's radar and was pretty awesome
MMCJawa I was lucky enough to be friends with one of the production houses that did that film, and got to see some cool behind the scenes stuff. And the film was a ton of fun. :)
Growing up I really liked The Last Unicorn and am surprised at how many people have- not only never seen it but- never heard of it.
We love that film. BTW...look for a potential re-touring of the film around the US sometime soon. New music, and they're bringing back the actors for a reprisal of their roles. Very cool. :)
there is an animated movie called: Flight of Dragons that I really enjoyed but can NOT find ANYWHERE!
I can't find it anywhere. I always remember the chinese dragon...so cool looking.
I liked Dungeon Siege. Jason Statham made a pretty good hero for me.
Has anyone seen Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God? I haven't and I sort of dread it but a friend left me the DVD and I feel like I ought to watch it out of loyalty.
Not sure if this counts but - Troll. My favorite movie as a kid, watched it countless times. Oh, and it features Harry Potter and his son Harry Potter Jr. (the main protagonist of the film)
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Stardust. I don't know if it's actually underrated, but it's rare when I find people who have seen it. It's one of my favorite family popcorn fantasy movies (which seems somewhat rare in general).
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Has anyone seen Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God? I haven't and I sort of dread it but a friend left me the DVD and I feel like I ought to watch it out of loyalty.
Its not quite as bad of a movie if you think of it as a made for TV movie. I think it captures the theme of a typical D&D adventuring party well. The story though is entirely forgettable.
I liked Dungeon Siege. Jason Statham made a pretty good hero for me.
Has anyone seen Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God? I haven't and I sort of dread it but a friend left me the DVD and I feel like I ought to watch it out of loyalty.
It's a lot better then the first one. It's not one of my top films if you are asking...but like the response above, it's like an okay made for TV movie. So decent. Out of all the D&D movies (the Dungeons and Dragons movie, Wrath of the Dragon God, and Book of Vile Darkness) it's the only one I can actually stand to watch.
Dragon Slayer
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Destroyer
Big Trouble in Little China
Labyrinth
Dark Crystal
Krull
Red Sonja
Willow
Lady Hawke
Clash of the Titans(1980's)
Sinbad movies
Jason and the Argonauts
Legend
Stardust
Never Ending Story
The Princess Bride
Mirror Mirror
Masters of the Universe
Inkheart
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Krull
I was so confused when I started gaming, and the book said that a glaive was a polearm.