Best & Worst Fantasy

[SuperFerret]

It's a Sword and Sorcery in space. The setting doesn't change that it's a fantasy movie.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Gotta go with Ferret on this one. If it's more Joseph Campbell than H.G. Wells then it's Fantasy.

 

[X-Ray]

How about foreign flicks?

 

[SuperFerret]

Gotta go with Ferret on this one. If it's more Joseph Campbell than H.G. Wells then it's Fantasy.

I've always boiled it down to magic vs. no magic, but the Campbell/Wells thing says it better (provided you know who they are).

 

[Iceman]

It's a Sword and Sorcery in space. The setting doesn't change that it's a fantasy movie.

I've always thought of Star Wars as sci-fi mainly because of the technology involved..spaceships, warp speed, blasters etc. I will say though that it does have many more fantastical elements than regular sci-fi films.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

It's a Sword and Sorcery in space. The setting doesn't change that it's a fantasy movie.

Sword and Sorcery in space is called Space Opera

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

How about foreign flicks?

The Company of Wolves but it's more Fairy Tell than Fantasy.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Good list, but I'd put the original Clash and the original Star Wars trilogy in the Good list.

Ah, yeah I didn't think about Star Wars since it's common thought of as sci-fi. But really, it is more fantasy. I'd probably but that up on the "best" list, second only to LOTR.

The prequel trilogy on the other hand... that would go in the "worst" pile for me.

 

[SuperFerret]

The prequel is straight sci fi, due to the explaining away of the Force. Jedis went from mystics to superheroes.

And if Space Opera is just Sword & Sorcery in Space (which I disagree with, as Star Trek is also considered a Space Opera), then all Space Operas would also be Fantasy.

 

[DACrowe]

I think the truth is LOTR is the only masterful "sword and sorcery" film. Though I think Game of Thrones will be a very good second if one includes television.

I mean there are great fantasy films like Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, Pan's Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, Stardust, etc. But they are not really the medieval trope some on here are looking for. That trope is usually bound in a very convoluted and even draconian fantasy that is hard to access on film. Also, much of it is derivative (a boy hero who embraces his destiny to be the "chosen one"/king/warrior/what-have-you who must battle the Dark Lord or Dark Force to save the realm and usually a princess, with the help of an aged wizard-like mentor.


You know, Star Wars really is one of those films. I never thought of it like that.

 

[Iceman]

Isn't fantasy also to do with having medieval levels of technology. Spaceships, warp speed and advanced weaponry are based on futuristic technology not sorcery. The Jedi are kind of a small, separate, not too well understood group who merely populate the huge Star Wars universe the majority of whose inhabitants make use of sci-fi style tech rather than the Force. Mysticism also can have a place in sci-fi alongside technology, especially in sci-fi novels.

 

[SuperFerret]

Fantasy is the existence of magic. The setting is moot.

 

[Iceman]

I think the truth is LOTR is the only masterful "sword and sorcery" film. Though I think Game of Thrones will be a very good second if one includes television.

I mean there are great fantasy films like Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, Pan's Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, Stardust, etc. But they are not really the medieval trope some on here are looking for. That trope is usually bound in a very convoluted and even draconian fantasy that is hard to access on film. Also, much of it is derivative (a boy hero who embraces his destiny to be the "chosen one"/king/warrior/what-have-you who must battle the Dark Lord or Dark Force to save the realm and usually a princess, with the help of an aged wizard-like mentor.


You know, Star Wars really is one of those films. I never thought of it like that.

Most of the modern fantasy novels I read don't have these old stereotypes (I like darker fantasy eg Black Library titles).

 

[Iceman]

Fantasy is the existence of magic. The setting is moot.

That's a primary part of the definition. A secondary part is the avoidance of modern themes (eg a film about magic users on Wall St in 2012), science & advanced technology. That is the reason you'll be hard pushed to find a room full of people who will all agree that something like Star Wars is not as much sci-fi as fantasy. In fact Star Wars uses mystic themes more than some fantasy novels that focus far more on the sword (massive battles) part than the sorcery but if you asked most people to pick which one was fantasy they wouldn't pick Star Wars. If you want to call it a sci-fi fantasy mix of the genres I'd agree with you.

 

[SuperFerret]

There's an overlap, but Star Wars is fantasy and should be included on fantasy lists. And most people are idiots.

 

[Iceman]

If we're including Star Wars then of course it's right up there at the very top with LOTR. They are 1 & 2 in my overall film list irrespective of genre.

Possibly my favourites from childhood are the Harryhausen films...the Sinbads, Clash of the Titans & Jason & the Argonauts. Not sure how good the films actually are and how much nostalgia is involved but I was so into them back in the day & sure I would enjoy them today.

 

[DACrowe]

Most of the modern fantasy novels I read don't have these old stereotypes (I like darker fantasy eg Black Library titles).

That's because George R. R. Martin mercilessly deconstructed and assaulted those fantasy clichés in the first three books of ASOIAF. Mind you, I have only really read ASOIAF of modern fantasy, save for Harry Potter, but I know the main stories to know that the Eragon series, Seeker series by Goodkind, Harry Potter himself, Narnia, etc. all follow these Arthurian and Tolkien formulas.

To be fair though, I have read little of the genre.

 

[OsGom]

Star Wars to me was a hybrid sword/sorcery & scifi. Honestly though even taking Star Wars into consideration I think only pt IV and pt V make it on the good list. The rest were kind of just blah.

Rowsdower - Excellent list. Game of Thrones though is hard for me to rank in this list just because of how VERY little magic there has been in the series. [BLACKOUT]Aside from the introduction of the undead guys(first episode) and the dragons(last episode) it's pretty sparse.[/BLACKOUT] I know that will change in the future with Stannis and the Red priestess but for now it's kind of limited.

As far as foreign films are concerned, i love fantasy but i don't know many foreign film examples of the sword&sorcery genre. If you know any then lay them out. I'm always game to check out more.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Star Wars to me was a hybrid sword/sorcery & scifi. Honestly though even taking Star Wars into consideration I think only pt IV and pt V make it on the good list. The rest were kind of just blah.

Rowsdower - Excellent list. Game of Thrones though is hard for me to rank in this list just because of how VERY little magic there has been in the series. [BLACKOUT]Aside from the introduction of the undead guys(first episode) and the dragons(last episode) it's pretty sparse.[/BLACKOUT] I know that will change in the future with Stannis and the Red priestess but for now it's kind of limited.

As far as foreign films are concerned, i love fantasy but i don't know many foreign film examples of the sword&sorcery genre. If you know any then lay them out. I'm always game to check out more.

Thanks, yeah, they were really subtle with the magical stuff in the first season, but it will grow as time progresses. I just hope they have the budget to make some awesome dragons and battles. Guess we'll see. But it's been great so far. Much better than most fantasy movies, which tend to turn out like crap.