Yall went to the depths of my childhood..brought back many forgotten memories..I thank you for your amazing work! God bless your future endeavors ! And GOD BLESS YOU
That is the reason I subbed to them, despite lacking decent narration for quite awhile. It has gotten much better though. Every video here is yet another nostalgia trip. many of the vids are of things I've seen and loved as a child but many times I get some surprises and find new "classics" I was unaware of or had forgotten about.
IKR, I loved most of the 80's ones, especially Willow, Legend and Krull, which I had on video, the latter two being recorded on to the same tape. I even had Deathstalker on video as a 7 or 8 yo! Still got it somewhere, could probably still quote most of it!! :D It's funny Deathstalker was an 18 but Legend was PG, I could imagine some kids having a harder time with the latter; less violent and utterly without boob, but far darker I thought! So glad these were my childhood films. I know if, like me, you grew up in the 80's, you'd be biased by nostalgia, but I still think it was a golden era of film, family, fantasy, scifi and horror!
Yeah, the 80s were great. The world was divided in good and evil and a young farmboy or computer gamer or the average high school kid could be a hero by taking the chance and trying. The Goonies Iron Eagle Last Starfighter and so many more You just had to have the power to want to change the world around you. That was all you needed to be an 80's hero.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Hawk the Slayer, there waa even Dungeon & Dragons movie or 2 that showed up on Sci-fi channel, definitely Jason and the Argonauts was probably one of my most favored stories in the genre. The Odyssey with Billy Zane wasn't too bad either.
I absolutely LOVED Lady Hawk from the first minute on, watching it 20 years ago... and still do to this day. Beautifully shot, great acting, brilliant story. A timeless gem!
I would love to see it remade, to fix its two big issues. The fights were poorly shot, as it is super obvious the swords aren't connecting at all, plus the weapons are always shiny and clean, even after supposedly cutting someone. Just takes you out of the movie during what should be some of the more intense scenes. Then there's the choice of the synth soundtrack. "Lady Hawke bad" is a term I use to describe bad, poorly fitting soundtracks. But despite that, it has a charm of its own, with a relatively unique story and good performances of its leads.
Awful no, just didn't match with the era in movie(medieval).On the other hand Kreull is a sci-fi medievall movie,with a much more proprier soundtrack.You know the movie?
Wow! A list which includes: Conan, Red Sonya, Krull, Willow, Highlander, Legend, Lord of the Rings, Class of the Titans, Beast master, Excalibur, 300, Masters of the Universe is our Dream List Of All Time Favourites! Thank you guys! We love you here in Greece!
I first saw Lady Hawke in school as part of my Language class. I have loved it ever since. I can still remember my gasp at the alluring beauty of Michelle Pfeiffer's first reveal.
I think that he did the right thing by capping the last in the 80's. If you include Sinbad, then you have to include Ferrigno and Steve Reeve's Hercules, then you it's the 50's and talking about Samson & Delilah.
@@darkangel15221 ...Biblical epics or historical sword and horse operas (which in fact go back to the Silent era are hardly "Sword & Sorcery"...plus here is merely a count down of the Top 30 Fantasy films... not really a history of the genre (..either starting from the 80's or capping it from the 50's)...is he not talking the 30 best of all time?...my beef is that both Jason & the Sinbad series are certainly among the very best...Steve Reeves Hercules, or even later Lou Ferrigno's Hercules for that matter are not...among the best....to say the least.
After diligently reading these comments I’ve decided to watch hawk the slayer as I acclimate to my day. Never seen it but I’m already heavily invested.
@Devil Man you're right of course, but who knows he could put in an appearance long enough to pass the torch to a new barbarian ( who that might be I have no idea ). But yeah maybe it's best to just have the original by itself, to remember.
@@eukat3ch According to Dino deLaurentis (the producer) He did not want to work with Aanold (cant blame him if the only thing he saw was herkules in new york, rofl) So he allegedly gave deLaurentis a choice, either me or Arnold, Dino chose Arnold, the rest is history. I thought it was James Cameron though, maybe i misremember.
This list needs more Harryhausen (Specifically Jason and the Argonauts, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and the Golden Voyage of Sinbad) I've seen most of the movies on this list and was very impressed with the majority of your choices. Great Video Guys!
Omg! I remember Jason and the Argonauts, and Sinbad, and the Golden Fleece! Those were classics! I'll go you one better,. Do you remember the the Mighty Sons of Hercules? It seems like they were all on on Friday night ABC.
The list needs to look beyond Hollywood more....ive seen some stunning Chinese and Korean films that are 100% sword&sorcery but get no mention here, hell every Wuxia film ever made is basically sword&sorcery
@@wildfire160 no fuk that flyin thru the air nonsense. Goofy sound effects. They r not chinese films they are chicheese filns. Thanx to not mentioning that nonsense
DEFINITELY one of your BEST videos ever!!! 😃 But you forgot The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason And The Argonauts, Eragon, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Legend Of The Eight Samurai, Circle Of Iron, Castle In The Sky (Laputa), and The Black Cauldron.
I'm surprised that the Princess Bride isn't on this list. Still, I've seen nearly all these movies, and don't have any complaints about the ones on there.
@@8justintracy8 Sword fighting between the Dread Pirate and Inigio, as well as between Inigio and the six fingered man. You have sorcery used when they bring Wesley back to life. Sword and Sorcery is all through the movie!
Princess Bride is also a bit too light-hearted to be considered Sword & Sorcery. Sword & Sorcery usually has dark (and sometimes depressing) overtones.
The Hobbit Trilogy... skip all three movies and watch one of the awesome fan edit versions that combine all 3 movies into one. The Maple Cut is my personal favorite. It makes the 3 movies into 1 awesome one that totally works as a respectful prequel to the LOTR movies
@@thecandlemaker1329 yes the internet has ruined the imagination of the people. People without any imagination or hope end up watching Karen videos on youtube instead of creating fantastic stories for us to enjoy.
I don't know whether to be sad or pleased I've seen all the movies on this list. Sad because it means it's hard to find new sword and sorcery movies that capture the charm of fantasy storytelling.
My whole problem I had with Excalibur was that they left out the one knight who did the most important part. It was Sir Cumference who came up with the idea of the table design and usage.
Legend had a lot of issues while filming, including a fire that wiped out the first indoor set. I would suggest for anyone to watch the extras for that flick, just to hear what the cast and crew had to overcome. Real MVP? The birds that returned after the fire. And, of course, Tim Curry as Darkness.
First indoor set? It burned down the 007 studio at Pinewood, at the time the largest indoor soundstage in the world, built specifically for the Liparus oil tanker set in The Spy Who Loved Me.
Ya they used to beat Tim curry within an inch of his life in-between takes so he could act better. Apparently he kept forgetting his lines unless extreme pain was inflicted primarily with strikes to his head to make him act right.
@@williamg3165 That's true :) I first saw it when I was around 20 and I still remember my friends children with their eyes on top of their heads from the eaten princess and not speaking about anything else for a long time after that. lol :)
I STILL love the way Skeletor looked in the live action Masters of the Universe! That portrayal was my favorite (really the ONLY GOOD) thing about that movie! I remember, even as a kid, hating that movie but loving Skeletor.
I never knew the name of this genre of movies!But Conan the Barbarian and Clash of the Titans ar by far my favorites. I love good fantasy story, so growing up in the 80s and 90s with these movies was a treat❤❤❤
Excalibur, Merlin, Conan, Red Sonya, heavy metal, Beast master, Hercules,Krull, highlander, Jason and the Argonauts. Classics I grew up on, hell even the Tv Series for highlander, Hercules, xena, merlin, and Arthur were great. I still have my krull five sided throwing star/knife XD I forgot all about Barbarians, but this brought it back, I can't tell you how many times it popped up on the weekend late nights on "USA up all night".
Sword and Sorcery is probably favorite genre of film besides horror. The Beastmaster was a favorite of mine growing up. It is the only movie I own in 4K (from Vinegar Syndrome)
Nice list, but you guys left off a bunch of really good ones that should've definitely been included, such as... - Jason and the Argonauts (1963) - Conan the Destroyer (1984) - Hercules (1983) - Sorceress (1982) - Hawk the Slayer (1980) - The Princess Bride (1987) - Labyrinth (1986) - Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (1985) - Any of the 'Sinbad' movies of the 50's, 70's and 80's. - Jack the Giant Killer (1962) - The Warrior & The Sorceress (1984) Just to name a select few...otherwise, great list.
@@tootzy-the-roll Oh but it is. The goblins towards the end of the movie have swords in the big climatic battle, along with axes, maces, and spears...and Jareth uses sorcery in the movie, so hence...it IS in fact a "sword and sorcery" movie.
What stands out about Conan and Excalibur is they were the first to capture the myth the magic and the legend. Without them there wouldn't be any others
It was certainly better than Krull, and several others that made the list. But the omission of "Jason and the Argonauts" invalidates the list for me anyway.
Funny you mentioning revealing outfits, I've always thought that one of the things that sets sword and sorcery apart from other sub-genres of fantasy is the prevalence of revealing outfits, and not just on ladies, but on everyone. Everyone is showing just a little bit too much skin.
Kull the Conqueror: Kull is the original name of Conan by Robert E Howard. The title of the story by Howard was called 'By this axe I rule'. Which the hero says at the end of the film.
Great to find out that there is someone who actually knows that. He rewrote the one story for Conan, when Kull failed in the one magazine where Howard wanted to get published. But you probably know that. First there was Acheron (when demons ruled the world), then Valusia (the age of Kull) and then Aquilonia (the age of Conan)
Are you sure Ku ll and Conan are the same person. I've read all of Howard's Conan stories ( not hard ti do- there weren't many). I believe the characters were distinct. Note: Howard was writing friends with H.P. Lovecraft- and with Robert Bloch ( Psycho) + many others back in the modern early days of sci-fi fantasy horror fiction.
@@Heroes_of_Qalanor_RPG yes. While Kull and Conan are separate characters Howard created, with distinctly different sensibilities- when Kull didn't take off Howard rewrote his last Kull story and changed the main character into Conan, and invented Hyperborea to place him in. Kull was from Atlantis, before it sank. I read all the Conan stories when I was a kid, tried Kull but couldn't get into it. Did a little reading yesterday to clear things up.
Krull...not my favorite movie but notable in my eyes for one bit of trivia... In the band of outcasts helping the prince, in a very minor role, you see Liam Neeson for the first time I can recall.
I'd like to take a moment to thank you guys for not putting Star Wars on this list. Cinefix put Stars Wars as number 1 on their list of top 10 Western's of all time and I've been furious for years.
All these years I thought I might be one of the only people to think that. Until the Lord of the Rings, I could have said that there were no really good Fantasy movies besides the old Harryhausen flicks. (I think Conan is pretty awful. Willow (excluding a few decent fight scenes) lame, Legend- classic or contemptible depending on.the moment, Kull, Beastmaster, etc.. Watchable cheesefests at best. Unwatchable kitsch mostly. But I saw Excalibur when it first came out and i loved it then and after dozens of viewings it's still beautiful to see. Finally a wizard in a movie who was actually wise and quotable.
@@matimus100 Personally, I've been ordained a priest of the cat goddess Bast. Zeus is an a**hole most of the time. Simply an a** much of the rest of the time.
Great video. So many gems and nostalgic moments! I would also have added Hawk the Slayer and Your Highness (a very underrated S&C movie. Probably cuz it's also a comedy).
The 'trowing star' from Krull is named; Glaive. Great genre and seen almost every one of these, and i am that old to say i saw Conan (the original not the lame remake) in the theater as a kid, most of the movies on the list on rented VHS and later a hacked payperview box :)
How can people complain about the historical inaccuracy of the movie "300" when the entire movie is based on a comic book version of this fight? 300 is fantastic, and so is this list. Thank you.
300 is supposed to be over the top and unbelievable, because the entire story is being told by the Spartan Orator, who is embellishing the story for the entertainment of the Spartan citizens listening to the tale.
"Archer Fugitive from the Empire" ...... Made for T.V. movie ..... low budget but I loved the world they created !! .... "Hawk the Slayer" ??? more campy greatness !!!!
It has swords in it yes, but no sorcery. It was trying to be more fact based even if some armor was out of place within it, and less to zero of the fantasy. But then the movies Beowulf and Beowulf and Grendel aren't listed here either, which is strange. Seeing as The 13th Warrior is a realistic telling of the tale of Beowulf, the CGI movie was received with mixed results as it wasn't the story as we knew it. But Beowulf and Grendel with Gerard Butler as Beowulf tells the story well up to just after Beowulf has his fight with Grendel's Mother. I recommend both The 13th Warrior and Beowulf and Grendel.
I loved Beastmaster when I was a kid. We had some Disney movies in the 80's growing up, but we also had these awesome, live action fantasy movies too. The 80's rocked!
The Land of Faraway Sword of the Valiant Army of Darkness The Chronicles of Narnia Conan: The Destroyer Hercules (1984) & The Adventures of Hercules (1983) Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger The 13th Warrior The Dark Crystal Warriors of Virtue Dragon Nest Quest for Camelot Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Escaflowne: The Movie Ninja Scroll The Princess Mononoke Vampire Hunter D: Blood Lust
Willow is one of my favorite movies, My oldest daughter is still not happy her name is Elora. I didn't use the middle name though, dannon was too much even for me lol
@@Demiurge13 I love it, she doesn't really have a reason other than "people never say it properly". Our last name is far more difficult than her first. She's 18 now any way so less people will care what her name is lol.
As usual, your channel has provided top-notch summaries and analysis of our favorite movies from the 80s through 2000s. You guys did forget one pretty good sword and sorcery movie…Snow White and the Huntsman. It was nominated for multiple awards and won a couple of them, it had a star studded cast, and the action/plot was pretty good. It was so good, a sequel was made.
Great list of good movies!! Honorable Mentions should be the old Sinbad flicks and a classic called, "Hawk the Slayer". It was cheesy as hell, but the sword rocked and you can't go wrong with Jack Palance as your villain. Nice job folks. Keep up the outstanding work!!
Thanks for your Work. I love fantasy and sword films! Hear my list from bad to good 30-1 30) Conquest 29) Ator 28) Dragon Slayer 27) Excalibur 26) Fire and ICE 25) Barbarian Queen 24) The Beastmaster 23) Kull the Conqueror 22) Krull 21) Amazons 20) Death Stalker 19) The Barbarians 18) The Sword and the Sorcerer 17) Jack the Giants Slayer 16) Clash of the Titans 15) Immortals 14) Legend 13) Red Sonja 12) Soloman Kane 11) The Scorpion King 10) Lady Hawke 09) Warcraft 08) Willow 07) Masters of the Universe 06) Dragon Heart 05) 300 04) Conan the Barbarian 03) The Hobbit 02) The Lord of the Ring 01) Highlander there can only be one !!!
"Wolfhound" should be on the list. I know that some people mockingly call it a Russian Conan. And, yes it has some very similar elements in the story, but this movie plays them well. For me, it was a much better movie than the actual Conan re-make.
Some brilliant choices, thanks. Der riddle of steel and what is best in life are peak moments in Conan. And Excalibur Merlin is the quintessential Merlin. And then Queen's searing 'Who Wants to Live Forever?' in context. Great films all. Still haven't seen Kull yet - or many of those 80s golden age films - looking forward to it!
Honurable mentions: Stardust (2007) - which feels like a spiritual successor of Legend, the reboot of Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans (2010/2012), and Beowulf (2007) - the latter strangely CGI. Then there's the retelling of Beowulf in Outlander (2008), and crossover fantasy/sci-fi. Although a series, in the same spirit of sword and sorcery: 'Legend of the Seeker'. Hard to find, well worth watching, very entertaining
I Remember these film on television as a child. I miss those days. Conan Willow Legend Beast master. Class of the titans. Ladyhawk Red Sonja. Lord of the rings. Krull Master of the universe. These are classic films. I love this genre.
Very good list. Also recommend Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, Flight of Dragons, Neverending Story, Jason and the Argonauts, and the animated Hobbit Movie
@@ronlaverdiere I disagree... a goblin king? come on thats as sword and sorcery as you can get. Also Atrau hunted a blue buffalo and rode on the back of a luck dragon? Also killed a damn werewolf with a rock he turned into a knife? man you seem to be way off in my mind with this comment.
I love the older flicks from growing up. The Immortals is a great movie. Graphic, visual, and violent it shows the best of good and bad and how the good need to be a bit bad at times.
Kinda? A lot of us who watched some of these films then thought they, well, sucked. There are some good films on the list but, just, damn, a lot of them were and are awful. I mean really, The Sword and the Sorcerer? And a few others on this list.
One of my very favorite genres. Only missed a couple. My sons say I'm a "blood-thirsty Mom" and I say I love to watch a well choreographed fight. Thank you!
I love most of those films and I think I have all but ten of them in my collection. Instantly return to almost forgotten memories. Lord of the rings tops them all. But a couple of other films could also be mentioned. Eragon, Dungeon & Dragons (1 and 3), The mists of Avalon are not that bad either in this settings.
I agree with 90% of this list, but you forgot one movie that I love: Hawk the Slayer! Cheesy, cheap. And fun beyond belief! A D and D campaign come to life!
Sonya would not lose her powers as she had none to begin with. Instead, Sonya made a vow to never give herself to a man unless he had bested her in combat. Do you even watch the movies you talk about or just listen to which ever one of your friends says they have seen a given movie? I am right, you haven't seen most of these movies as you pronounce names wrong quite often.
he even says that Dar from The Beastmaster "ueses the Glaive as a boomerang", and when he talks about Krull he doesn't even know that the weapon is actually the Glaive
While I agree that’s how I personally categorize them, I’m not sure I’d argue it with someone. The reason stems from a post I made a while back on a cyberpunk video and I named Robocop as cyberpunk and to this day it still gets people arguing with me about it lol
@@ogrehaslayers605 I've never heard someone call robocop cyberpunk but it doesn't sound wrong doesn't really fit 100% but to be fair I've never looked at it that way either
