The surreal and ethereal fantasy atmosphere is unlike any else I've seen. It's only flaws are its paper-thin plot and character development but it's practical effects and sets are unmatched. Would be cool to see Ridley Scott take another shot at the genre.
shareBest? ahhh.... I don't know, I liked it but I think I liked Willow and Time Bandits a little more. Conan The Barbarian was a decent film too.
However, the best of the best would probably be Excalibur. That was a GREAT movie.
The score is way too low…
shareYep, Excalibur should be at least an 8/10. It's very good... and it stays pretty close to the story of the legendary king.
Although, I wouldn't mind a new King Arthur film if it sticks to the original story. I remember watching First Knight and thinking it was okay but Arthur was a boy king, in First Knight he's an old man played by, Sean Connery. Connery was pretty good in the movie but it fell a little flat and was not as good as Excalibur.
I haven't seen the bastardizations of the story found in King Arthur (2004) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and the very low rated KA: Excalibur Rising. I doubt I'll watch any of them to be honest.
Bryan Ferry's "Is your love strong enough" is so good with this film
https://youtu.be/1jVclWz_eXU
I hate the version with classical music. If anyone got that version, I would recommend just throwing it in the garbage.
shareYou mean the version with Jerry Goldsmith's score? That's my favourite. Tangerine Dream's music didn't suit the movie it sounded crappy and dated.
shareEww... but you were talking about the surreal atmosphere and everything... yet you want it with stereotypical classical music. It "sounds dated" but you want something that sounds like it's from a silent film soundtrack. I'm leaving.
shareTangerine Dream's music was just a wall paper. Goldsmith's score is rich in texture and reacted with events on the screen. You can easily spot where the music is in its original and intended place and where it just wanders off because its lifted from somewhere else. You can't say the same about TD's music. In general I like Tangerine Dream's music (like Sorcerer or Miracle Mile), but they have no chance against Goldsmith's masterful score here.
shareA "silent film" soundtrack?? You know silent films didn't have one uniform style of scoring right?
I liked the TD score well enough (definitely of the 1980s but for me that's its charm), but I love the lushness of Goldsmith's music. It doesn't feel stereotypical at all. It has a sense of fairy tale wonder to it.
I don't get the rudeness towards those who like the Goldsmith score either. If anything is "ew," it's your attitude.
Jesus christ, you have no taste. People like you are the reason why Legend was butchered so badly. Even the so called final cut is incomplete and scarred with continuity errors caused by cutting off entire scenes. Experiences from Blade Runner and Legend probably caused Ridley to abandon scifi/fantasy genre for decades. Thanks to stupidity of test screening audiences.
shareScience Fiction and Fantasy are 2 COMPLETELY different genres, although constantly confused by the ignorant and superficial. Both genres are imaginative, and that’s the extent of their similarity. Blade Runner is science fiction. Legend is fantasy. You don’t impress me nearly enough to give you a detailed left lecture.
shareIt's the best LOOKING eighties fantasy movie. I'll give it that.
shareFantasy is my fave genre. I also love Excalibur, but I’ve never thought of it as being a fantasy, but I see how it can be seen that way. In terms of 80s fantasy, there is Conan the Barbarian, then there is everything else. I am Norse, hence, prejudiced; but I would rank Excalibur equal with Conan the Barbarian.
The hallmark of a great film? Hitchcock said, “Three great scenes, no bad scenes.” I’d say, “Only an idiot would think of remaking it.”
Other than pedantically specifying "sword & sorcery" rather than the broader "fantasy" as the (sub-)genre, I can't find a thing to disagree with here. Can't even guess as to how many times I've watched Excalibur or Conan, and other than pacing in the former and acting in the latter, I'd be hard-pressed to find much to not love about either.
Wings of Desire (1987) is a personal top ten film, and is surely in the fantasy genre, so that'd be my literal nominee, but to add to the S&S conversation, Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) is a highly entertaining non-Western potential runner-up.