Alright, it's time to finish what was started, last week I gave you all the first five films in my top ten fantasy films and now the time has come. These are the creme of the crop, the best of the best in my humble opinion. I give you my top five fantasy films of all time, So without further ado, let's dive in.
5) Hellboy
Hellboy is a fantastic film with a good amount of heart. It is exactly how I would imagine an urban fantasy could incorporate both pulp action and elements of lovecraftian horror. Our main character is a demon a giant stone hand that fights evil cultists who happened to work for the Nazis. Now, tell me that actually doesn't sound entertaining in some regard. The character designs of of the character Abe and Hellboy himself I have found to be absolutely fantastic. This is thanks, in no small part, to the fantastic artwork of the comics who inspired the artist behind the movie. This arguably was the movie that made Guillermo Del Toro a household name and you can feel his directorial choices all throughout this piece. I feel it's also important to note that the casting of Ron Perlman as Hellboy had to be one of the best choices a casting director could have ever made. The actor is synonymous with this character. I also feel that takes the whole idea of a demon, something that should be evil and a villain, and making a hero, is a fantastic idea. There's really something to be said about the nature versus nurture approach that this film takes. If Hellboy wasn’t taken in by John Hurt's character at the start of the film and instead was taken by let's say the Nazis that brought him through to our world, it would be a very different film. As an urban fantasy this film is fantastic. As a pulp Adventure it is fantastic. As an introduction to lovecraftian horror it is awesome. It is for all these reasons with absolute certainty I give Hellboy the number five spot on my list.
4) Excalibur (1981)
Now we have an Arthurian legend movie that is unlike most King Arthur movies. Excalibur is one of the best fantasy films that we can look to that came out of the 80s. It is easily one of the more in depth Arthur movies. That being said, I understand that it's enormous run time might be a turnoff to most people; but, without a doubt in my mind, this film is worth sitting through the entire duration. In this film, you learned about Arthur's father, which is huge! Not many movies talk about Uther Pendragon or even really mention him. We see how the sword became The Sword in the Stone. Another big thing is the film doesn't end with Arthur being crowned King, no it goes into full the Le Morte d'Arthur. The audience gets to see how his kingdom Rises and falls. We see how he is betrayed by best friend and wife. We see the sword return to the lake and Arthur sent off to Avalon. I really love that it told us the whole story and didn't pull punches. Not to mention that this film has the absolute best Merlin I have ever seen, seriously! Nicol Williamson absolutely steals the show as Merlin and it's fantastic. If Ever I use Merlin in D&D games I base it off his performance. The film also has the best use of the song O Fortuna I've ever seen. The costuming was great, acting great, and just overall one of the best King Arthur films ever to be made. That's why I've placed it comfortably at number four on my list.
3) Van Helsing
The next film on my list I’ve seen critically criticized, I can understand why but I couldn’t ever bring myself to agree with it being a bad film. Van Helsing is an absolute joy to watch, it takes gothic horror, the universal movie monsters, and all the thrills of a summer blockbuster into one film. This is easily Stephen Sommers best film, not to say that Sommers other films are bad. Far from it actually, the mummy films helped shape my childhood in all honesty. That being said, holy heck this far and beyond is his absolute best film and in my opinion is the best kind of summer movie. I loved the fact that this film brings forth just about all of the universal monsters and each one is fantastic. The design of Frankenstein is one of the best parts of the film and really is a cool way of imagining how the monster would look and work. In my older article about Lycanthropes, I talked briefly about the werewolves from this movie and now I will say for absolute certainty,. Van Helsing has the absolute best werewolves in any film ,ever. These beasts are big, bad and absolutely intimidating in all the right ways. Next, we come to one of the best parts of the film in my opinion, its villain. The Dracula in this film is my personal favorite portrayal of the big vampire himself.. Yes, there is Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Gary Oldman, and Frank Langella all to compete with and of these actors are fantastic, but Richard Roxburgh is absolutely fantastic. Roxburgh steals a great amount of his scenes, and that is no small feat when playing against Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing. This is a fantastic monster filled adventure that fuses gothic themed horror with high scale adventure and for that it gets my number three spot on this list.
2) Conan the Barbarian (1982)
What can I say about the original Conan movie, that hasn’t been said by countless others? Conan was my first live action fantasy film ever and I must say, though seeing it as young as I did may sway my opinion on this one, I love it. This is a Swords and Sorcery romp in the absolute best way, and it absolutely feels like an adventure in Dungeons and Dragons. The cast for this movie is also great! With, at the time, relative new comer Arnold Schwarzenegger as its title character, Conan felt like an absolutely awesome warrior character. Having played two D&D characters based around this performance, I am happy to say it still holds up despite time. It is also hugely important that I don’t forget to talk about the iconic baddie that is Thulsa Doom played by the always epic James Earl Jones. Jones brings a huge amount of charisma to the role as Thulsa Doom . He is absolutely awesome in this movie playing a cool and collected villain opposite to Arnold's rage motivated Conan. The film has some great moments, it has both action and comedy that really gives this movie its charm. It makes the film that much more enjoyable. It was my first and it still holds up to me. In my opinion it is a must see when it comes to fantasy films. For that Conan the Barbarian gets the number two spot on this list.
1) Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King
Yeah, just about anyone could have guessed that this would be sitting pretty as my favorite. Honestly, I love this film so much. The Return of The King is the culmination of years of hard work from a team that loved what it was doing, it was a journey that still stands the test of time. The costuming was absolutely stunning with great hand crafted pieces developed by Weta Workshop. The digital effects never feel fake in this movie; but, rather, they feel like they enhance the excellence of all the practical effects of the picture, which is fantastic! The score to the film is absolutely iconic and has become synonymous with the films, as well as, whenever something epic is happening. Yes, this has led for parody and sometimes silliness, but still it holds an effect on people in a way that many cannot explain -other that feeling completely hyped! This film also had a stunning ensemble cast that everyone could really invest their hearts into. For me, the character that I attached to, and my friends compare me to most often is Samwise Gamgee played by the absolutely fantastic Sean Astin. Sam is my favorite character of all time and is the real hero of the films, in my opinion. Without Sam, Frodo would have been dead ages ago, and without his best friend Frodo, Sam wouldn’t have become the man he was supposed to be. Honestly, despite the film sweeping the Oscars for every category it was nominated for, I still am sitting here saying where the hell is Sean Astin’s best supporting actor! This is not to discount any of the other stellar performances of this film as I feel that everyone was absolutely marvelous.,The casting team for this film should be given free drinks at any restaurant for the rest of their lives, in my opinion. The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King is absolutely my number one pick. Seriously, how could it not be? It is a fantastic adaptation and a great film. It has changed how the world perceived fantasy in entertainment. Swords and magic wasn’t just for nerds who lived in basements anymore. It wasn’t just for the perceived geeks and nerds of the world. One could argue without Lord of The Rings, there would be no Game of Thrones, no other experimental fantasy films, no boom in the fantasy fandom. For everything it did, and everything it continues to do. The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King takes my number one fantasy film of all time.
Well that about wraps this post up, I hope you all liked the list. Please, feel free to comment and share this article. I’d love to hear all your thoughts. I am curious,.are your favorite fantasy films?
If you enjoyed this bit of writing stay tuned. There will be a new article here every Saturday at The Wanderer's Corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment