I should start by saying this list is completely subjective—and weirdly ‘80s heavy. No advanced analytics were applied to this process. Some of these movies I haven’t seen in a long, long time, and I fear that my recollection might be far too kind. For example, as a kid, I loved Red Sonja. That one released in1985 with Brigitte Nielsen. But I’ve been told repeatedly that it was terrible, so I’m not going to fight it, and it’s been left off my list. However, with movies I’ve seen more recently, I’m willing to take a stand. (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is good! Rotten Tomatoes be damned!)
Anyways, what fun is a list, if you can’t disagree with it?
Also, I’m not making a huge distinction between “epic fantasy” and “high fantasy.” I’d say The Last Unicorn definitely falls into the slippery category of high fantasy, but I’m still putting it in this list. However, portal fantasies—like Labyrinth, Spirited Away, and (to some degree) the Neverending Story and Pan’s Labyrinth—I’ve excluded. I’m also sticking with a more European epic fantasy setting. Otherwise, wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would absolutely top my list. And then, what about Dune? It’s sci-fi, but it certainly feels like a close cousin to the epic fantasy genre.
Trying to compile these films made me realize how difficult it is to pin down the epic fantasy genre. Also, it makes me appreciate how tricky it is to compress and translate the epic-ness of the book genre into a film. It’s much easier to tackle the genre through television, in my opinion, but that’s a list for another time.
10. The Princess Bride (1987)
97% Tomatometer, 94% Audience
Is it epic fantasy? Is it a fairy tale? Is it a parody of the genre? Does the distinction matter?
The Princess Bride is a near perfect movie. Always entertaining and enjoyable for all ages. I feel bad for placing it so low on this list.
The movie is more than “a kissing book.” It’s an ode to the power of storytelling to remove cynicism and instill a sense of wonder. Something I’ve always loved about the genre.
9. Ladyhawke (1985)
68% Tomatometer, 74% Audience
The story takes place in medieval Italy, so I guess this film would be better categorized as “historical fantasy” and not as a “second world, epic fantasy.” So it goes.
Mostly, I remember the curse. Such a great premise. It makes for a beautiful tragic, love story.
Apparently, the soundtrack was rated as the worst of all time—most distracting/obnoxious. It ended the film scoring career of Andrew Powell. Perhaps, the movie would have been better received with a new soundtrack?
8. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
66% Tomatometer, 74% Audience
There is much to say about this quotable, trashy fantasy movie. Let’s never forget the scene where Schwarzenegger punched a camel. Yes, that happened.
Also, I didn’t know this until . . . today . . . but it was co-written by Oliver Stone. Weird.
Created by Texas author, Robert E. Howard, something about Conan’s pulp brilliance just works—and a precursor to other muscular, shirtless, grunty heroes like Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher series.
7. Wolfwalkers (2020)
99% Tomatometer, 98% Audience
Like Princess Bride and Stardust, it’s more of a fairy tale. And like Ladyhawke, Wolfwalkers is more of a historical fantasy (a story that also centers around animal transformation). But unlike those saccharin love stories, this film is about friendship. It’s one of the few movies that truly captures the intensity of young friendship.
It’s an amazing film.
It was difficult to choose between this and The Secret of Kells or Song of the Sea—the Irish folklore trilogy by Tomm Moore. Why choose? Watch them all.
6. The Green Knight (2021)
89% Tomatometer, 50% Audience
I don’t know how well this movie will hold up in a few years. The Green Knight (and our hero Gawain) certainly has flaws. It’s a movie about flaws. The camera work felt indulgent and unnecessary in several places, which left me waiting for the director to get out of the way.
My favorite scenes were the ones where we take in the magnificent setting and scenery. I loved the dark castle shots in the first part. Incredible medieval aesthetic.
And Dev Patel was flawless.
5. The Last Unicorn (1982)
73% Tomatometer, 86% Audience
I just finished the book by Peter S. Beagle. At several points, the book felt like it really wanted to be a movie. (The book is well written, but it does drag once they get to the castle.) Lo and behold, Peter S. Beagle also wrote the screenplay. Something tells me, this story was always meant to be seen as a film. And it’s a good one.
I’d enjoy seeing a live action version of this film, but I wonder if it’s possible to capture this magic a third time.
4. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
31% Tomatometer, 69% Audience
This movie is good. It’s actually good. I feel like Legend of the Sword was the victim of Rotten Tomatoes bandwagoning. Most critics probably didn’t know what to do with an unconventional Arthur placed within a more fantastical than historical setting. It’s clear that producers were hoping to build an expanded Arthur universe. Alas, it was never meant to be.
If you want a fantasy that isn’t trying to remake LOTR, Legend of the Sword does its own thing—and does it well.
3. Stardust (2007)
77% Tomatometer, 86% Audience
Some may be surprised to see Stardust so high on my list (or on my list at all). You must not know of my love for Neil Gaiman’s work.
I found this movie to be utterly charming, like Princess Bride, but without the parodic tone. Fun, adventurous, and it provides a surprisingly mature look at romantic love. The line: “Ah... and what's she doing to prove how she feels about you?” It gets me every time.
Plus, airships. There aren’t enough airships in our fantasy movies.
2. Willow (1988)
51% Tomatometer, 79% Audience
This film is under appreciated. Maybe because it was directed by Ron Howard and produced by George Lucas, audiences were expecting more? They missed what this movie was: A damn good epic fantasy adventure.
Also, Madmartigan is Val Kilmer’s second best role (obviously, Doc Holliday in Tombstone is his best). He exudes such delightful, chaotic energy.
I’m excited to see the Willow series on Disney+, debuting this year.
1. LOTR (2001, 2002, 2003)
91%, 95%, 93% Tomatometer, 95%, 95%, 86% Audience
Was there any doubt?
In fact, I have to count LOTR as one movie. Otherwise, it would take up spaces 1-3 with Two Towers being my favorite of the trilogy. The gap between this film series and the rest of the movies on this list is awkwardly apparent.
Perhaps we’ve just been waiting for CG technology to catch up. All the stars aligned perfectly to make it happen. Had it been any other writer or director or cast or source material or shooting location—it just wouldn’t have been the same.
