![]() As Ennis and Jack, Ledger and Gyllenhaal were given a lot to deal with - not only did their characters have to bear the weight of overwhelming prejudice, but they were both married with children. How many film romances can be held up as not only affecting, but legitimately important? It’s decidedly dramatic stuff, and their performances were compelling enough to transcend what had previously been one of Hollywood’s mainstream sexual taboos. ![]() Though he was far from the first director to adapt Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for the big screen, Franco Zeffirelli is one of the most successful in fact, before Baz Luhrmann released Romeo + Juliet in 1996, Zeffirelli’s film was arguably the one most people thought of when they tried to imagine a living, breathing version of the Bard’s Verona. This is partly due to the director’s comfort with Shakespeare’s writing - he’d filmed the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton Taming of the Shrew the year before - but any Romeo and Juliet is only as good as its leads, and Zeffirelli had a terrific pair in Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey not only were they age-appropriate (Whiting was 18, Hussey 15), but they carried the material as deftly as seasoned pros, and their powerful chemistry helped sweep audiences into the world’s most famous tale of star-crossed love all over again. Independent animation took big swings ( Heavy Metal, The Last Unicorn), Arnold Schwarzenegger got his break as Conan the Barbarian, and Willow is now summoned back to the Daikini world with a Disney+ series.Īnd now, as you wish: The best 1980s fantasy movies by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh films first.Even now, more than one critic still maintains Zeffirelli’s film is the definitive cinematic Romeo and Juliet.This show is probably one of the best sci-fi fantasy shows on television. The Neverending Story (directed by Wolfgang Petersen) has stuck around because of its featured creatures and heavy emotional beats, while the physically charged fairy tale Labyrinth was a revelation for young women and older children.ĭisney turned to the dark side, with the surprisingly violent Dragonslayer and the moody Black Cauldron, a box office bomb that got the studio to lighten up with The Little Mermaid, kicking off their late ’80s and ’90s renaissance. ![]() But even established directors made uncharted moves, like Ridley Scott and Tom Cruise in Legend. Industry originals like Don Bluth ( The Secret of NIMH), Terry Gilliam ( Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen), and Jim Henson ( The Dark Crystal) were at their creative height. The Princess Bride is arguably the ultimate ’80s fantasy movie, a postmodern yet timeless tale of true love, piracy, and rodents of unusual size.įor our guide to the best 1980s fantasy movies, we’ve collected practically every movie of the genre with a Tomatometer and ranked them by score, with Certified Fresh films first. 1980s fantasies have a distinct feel to them, with their classical and romantic storytelling, top puppetry and makeup, and some early (and dodgy) computer graphics. ![]() Fantasy movies also erupted in Skywalker’s wake, offering an arena of dreamy imagination for audiences seeking worlds beyond our own. Star Wars didn’t just open the floodgates for science fiction and space operas. (Photo by TriStar Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection) 35 Best 1980s Fantasy Movies Ranked
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