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.
The 80s were a great time to be a kid but, yeah, no one cared if we got terrified to the point of not being able to sleep on a regular basis. :)
The threat of nuclear war wasn't awesome either but we had punk rock, D&D, and it still made sense to buy comic books.
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
Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn were two that came to mind
Ladyhawke, Conan..
Tie between Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen...well dammit, Robin Williams as King of the Moon wins, Munchausen re-watch time!
I firmly believe Time Bandits is the best time travel movie of all time.
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.
Labyrinth, Willow, and of course The Princess Bride.
1982’s “Conan the Barbarian” is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s breakout role as an actor.
That Basil Poledouris soundtrack is amazing, too. I love that they still sample it for games.
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!
Clash of the Titans
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.
Flash Gordon
Also Flesh Gordon.
It is exactly what you think, but it's more comedic than arousing.
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.
The Secret of Nimh
Xanadu (Modern Fantasy)
Ladyhawke
Oh, and Return to Oz.
That movie is terrifying
Big trouble in little china
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.
Krull
It could have been so much better, but The Black Cauldron with the oracular pig is a favorite.
Edit to add: and The Goonies!
Never ending story. I think that was 80s?
There can be only one!
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’s a really fucking bizarre Alice in wonderland that shouldn’t be missed.
Legend
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