Essential Fantasy films 80s/90s
The best and most magical fantasy films.
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- DirectorRidley ScottStarsTom CruiseMia SaraTim CurryA young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.
- DirectorJim HensonStarsDavid BowieJennifer ConnellyToby FroudSixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMatthew BroderickRutger HauerMichelle PfeifferThe thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsNoah HathawayBarret OliverTami StronachA troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsVal KilmerJoanne WhalleyWarwick DavisA young farmer is chosen to undertake a perilous journey in order to protect a special baby from an evil queen.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsNigel TerryHelen MirrenNicholas ClayMerlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
- DirectorJim HensonFrank OzStarsJim HensonKathryn MullenFrank OzOn another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.
- DirectorWalter MurchStarsFairuza BalkNicol WilliamsonJean MarshDorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsJonathan BrandisKenny MorrisonClarissa BurtA young boy with a distant father enters a world of make-believe and magic through a portal within an antique book.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJames Earl JonesMax von SydowA powerful warrior seeks to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents at the hands of a snake cult.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsCary ElwesMandy PatinkinRobin WrightA bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
- DirectorMatthew RobbinsStarsPeter MacNicolCaitlin ClarkeRalph RichardsonA young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsSarah PattersonAngela LansburyDavid WarnerA teenage girl in a country manor falls asleep while reading a magazine, and has a disturbing dream involving wolves prowling the woods below her bedroom window.
- DirectorJules BassArthur Rankin Jr.StarsJeff BridgesMia FarrowAngela LansburyA beautiful unicorn sets out to learn if she truly is the last of her kind in this sparkling animated musical.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerBrigitte NielsenSandahl BergmanThe fearless warrior Red Sonja sets out to avenge her family's murder and rid her kingdom from the tyrannical rule of evil Queen Gedren.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsKristýna KohoutováCamilla PowerA surrealistic revision of Alice in Wonderland.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsKen MarshallLysette AnthonyFreddie JonesA prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet, Krull.
- StarsRichard DempseySophie CookJonathan R. ScottFour kids travel to the magical land of Narnia where they must battle an evil queen with the direction of the lion, Aslan.
- DirectorJohn C. BroderickStarsDavid CarradineLuke AskewMaría SocasA fearsome swordsman, Kain, crosses the barren wastelands and comes upon a town where two arch enemies fight incessantly for control of the town's only well.
- DirectorVladimir GrammatikovStarsNick PickardChristian BaleTimothy BottomsA lonely boy who is transferred from his dull life with his adoptive parents to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsBruce LyonsChris HaywoodHamish GoughMen seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDustin HoffmanRobin WilliamsJulia RobertsWhen Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsRon PerlmanDaniel EmilforkJudith VittetA scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- DirectorDon BluthStarsElizabeth HartmanDerek JacobiDom DeLuiseTo save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.
- DirectorMichael CohnStarsSigourney WeaverSam NeillGil BellowsIn this dark take on the fairy tale, the growing hatred of a noblewoman, secretly a practitioner of the dark arts, for her stepdaughter, and the witch's horrifying attempts to kill her.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsAnjelica HustonMai ZetterlingJasen FisherA young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsRobin WilliamsCuba Gooding Jr.Annabella SciorraChris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.
- DirectorRené LalouxStarsGlenn CloseChristopher PlummerPierre-Marie EscourrouAn evil force begins to destroy the idyllic paradise of Gandahar, where the citizens are in perfect harmony with nature.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohn NevilleEric IdleSarah PolleyAn account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.
- DirectorJohannes SchaafStarsRadost BokelMario AdorfArmin Mueller-StahlIn the village of Momo the pace of time goes very slowly. Nobody is bothering about stress but everyone has time to chat and rest - until the day the grey men arrive. With a great selling strategy they offer the people an account to collect time. Now everybody is in stress in order to gain time for collecting, except for Momo who obviously is the only one without stress. Watching her former friends having no time at all for friendship and other social activities she decides to fight the grey men. The story is a modern fairy tale about how to use time.
- DirectorTage DanielssonStarsHanna ZetterbergDan HåfströmBörje AhlstedtRonja, the only child of robber chief Mattis must learn to survive the dangers of her local wilderness. In secret she also befriends Birk, the son of a rivaling robber Borka.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsJorge RiveroAndrea OcchipintiConrado San MartínA young man, armed with a magical bow and arrows, embarks on a mystical journey through a mystical land to rid it of all evil and joins forces with an outlaw to take down an evil witch bent on claiming the magic bow for evil.