What Are Your Favorite Sword & Sorcery Movies?

[Asteroid-Man]

That doesn't make it Sword & Sorcery sorry.
It includes part of S&S imaging but is Space Opera.

I have no idea why I'm even arguing with you about this...

 

[Raiden]

True, however "fantasy" covers a much broader spectrum. Which is why I specified "Swords & Sorcery". Star Wars and Highlander both fall under "fantasy", but not necessarily "swords & sorcery". The Princess Bride is sort of borderline, but I think Miracle Max and his miracle pill puts it into the "Swords & Sorcery" category. 300 is another borderline film. I think the oracles might put the film into the Sword & Sorcery category though. I must admit, it has been a while since I've watched it.

I think we should call it "sword and sandals" instead, since someone put Potter here which doesn't belong, even though it has sorcery in it.

 

[LOBO3315a]

Ive seen a lot of my faves all ready mentioned; LOTR, Conan, Red Sonja...

Dragon Heart was a good one. Sean Connery as the voice of the dragon was a nice touch. Good story too about how the bonds of friendship are stronger than preconceptions.

A guilty pleasure of mine is Dragonslayer. Probably one of the best special effects dragon to ever make it to the screen. Story wasn't all that bad, but most people probably wouldn't remember it.

 

[Sundancer]

There's a category called "high fantasy" which deals with world changing events like LotR, Krull. When I think of Sword & Sorcery, I think of emphasis on action or adventure with a smaller locale, stuff more like "pulp fiction." In fact, one of its proposed origins is a defnition of Robert E. Howard's work.


Wikipedia pretty much fits what I've gathered over the years as a speculative fiction writer:

Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by swashbuckling heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus mainly on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters.[1]

Things are debatable, but I doubt many people would consider Harry Potter or The Princess Bride as S&S.



And I don't know if anyone has mentioned Solomon Kane yet, but it's a fun film.

 

[Thundarr]

Star Wars: Fantasy, but not Sword & Sorcery. I do not consider The Force to be sorcery, therefore it is not a Sword & Sorcery film.

Highlander: Fantasy, but not Sword & Sorcery. The only "magic" in these movies was the immortality of MacCleod and the other immortals. There were no wizards or sorcerers (except in Part 3, and I think we'd all prefer to forget that one ever existed, including those who made it).

Harry Potter: Fantasy? Yes. Sword & Sorcery? No. While it does deal with witchcraft and wizardry (that's pretty much the main plot point of the series), and there is at least some swordplay, I tend to place such films in a seperate category all together.

The Adventures Of Hercules (starring Lou Ferrigno): Hell yes these films are Sword & Sorcery. You have Hercules' superhuman strength. The constant interferance of the Gods of Olympus. And if I recall the movie correctly, Hercules was questing to find a magical sword and along the way met a sorceress who would lose her powers if she ever fell in love (which Aphrodite made her do with Hercules as they traveled together). So yes, it is VERY MUCH Sword & Sorcery.

The Princess Bride: This is a bit of a matter of opinion. I think Miracle Max, his miracle pill to bring Westley back from the dead, the Holocoast Cloak, The Fire Swamp, and the R.O.U.S.'s make it a Sword & Sorcery movie. Others may just classify it as Fantasy.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Ok, I know this isn't sword and sorcery, but in terms if fantasy movies, you guys missed one: YOR!

[YT]eQ65-FabVHU[/YT]

 

[Thundarr]

Another Favorite

Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King

Guilty Pleasure

Barbarians (starring The Barbarian Brothers)

If you've never watched this one, you should give it a look. It is just so silly that it's hard to tell if they were intentionally making a Fantasy Adventure/Comedy or if they were trying to make an epic film along the lines of Conan The Barbarian and just failed miserably.

 

[Thundarr]

These ones are kinda borderline in terms of whether or not they're Sword & Sorcery, but they're most certainly Fantasy.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy. In the first one you have the cursed Incan gold which turned the crew of The Black Pearl into skeletons. Then in the second and third movies you have Captain Barbosa back from the dead, a swamp witch (who turns out to be The Goddess Of The Sea), Davey Jones, his whole fishy crew of cursed sailers, and the magical box which contains his still beating heart. Sounds like Swords & Sorcery to me.

Pirates and Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge. Okay, these ones are technically adult films (ie: porn), but there are R Rated cuts of these movies which are available at Blockbuster, so I figured I'd include them. Much like the more family friendly Disney pirate movies, these films have a great deal of magic and swordplay as well. There are undead skeleton warriors. Sea monsters. Giant man eating snakes. Little scorpion/squid creatures whose venom turns its victim into a compliant, willing, slave. All in all, a highly magical fantasy world. And with very impressive CGI effects for the ship battles and monsters, especially considering that we're talking about an adult film here. It might not be Jurassic Park quality CGI, but it's certainly of Beowulf or Polar Express quality.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

Lets see
Conan the Barbarian
The Beastmaster
Krull, not Kull.
Willow
LoTR
Narnia
Circle of Iron
Army of Darkness. (come on, it fits.... sort of)
Ong Bak 2, maybe?
Stardust

 

[Thundarr]

Dragon Lance: Dragons Of Autumn Twilight