Epic fantasy fans can’t complain. After six seasons of ‘Game of Thrones’, the return of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ 20 years after the Peter Jackson films and the proliferation of youth series such as ‘Shadow and Bone’, ‘The Wheel of Time’ o ‘The Witcher’ has just arrived in theaters, a wonderful new version of the worlds of ‘Dungeons and Dragons’.
‘Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves’ manages to succeed where the previous adaptation of the game failed, but it also manages to hit the tone where other attempts to bring a world similar to the screen such as ‘Eragon’ or ‘The Seventh Son’ failed, other fights between good and evil full of Dragons, witches and wizards. Now We review other films and their respective fantasy worlds in film and televisionat least those who have defined the genre definitively.
If this visit is not enough for you, you can explore the Viking worlds that led to ‘The Man of the North’, the main series and films related to the Arthurian theme or the best fantasy films of the year 2022, as well as the best films of story adventure film. Without further delay, we begin to review some of the essential places of sword and sorcery.
Excalibur (1981)
Directed by: John Borman. Cast: Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Cherie Lunghi, Nicholas Clay, Helen Mirren.
The Arthurian myth of Excalibur has no land and although it has been based on characters with a certain historical background, it is pure role-playing epic. The camelot of the knights of the round table is a world of comics before the comic existed, and John Boorman shot it in Ireland, close to his home, like no one had done before. Malrrollera (that scary Merlin), dreamlike, violent and erotic, there hasn’t been a better recreation yet. Hellen Mirren was a Morgana too horny, for something she fell in love with a youngster Liam Neeson who was making his debut with Gabriel Byrne.
Criticism in Espinof
Available rent in itunes
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Directed by: John Millius. Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Max von Sydow, Ben Davidson
“Conan! what is the best thing in life? Crush enemies, see them destroyed and hear the lamentation of their women. The vital philosophy of a Cimmerian is poetry as refined as a piece of raw Iberian bacon. Like killing griffon vultures with their teeth. For this reason, the kingdom of Aquilonia from the Hybórea era must have been between Madrid, La Mancha and Almería. This is also why Conan as a child was not Schwarzenegger but Jorge Sanz. John Milius on camera and Oliver Stone for the script. In Hollywood they strove to put together a team of champions of subtlety.
Criticism in Espinof
Available on Disney+
The Neverending Story (1984)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen. Cast: Barrett Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Moses Gunn, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes.
Everything that happens in the imaginary fantasy world takes place between a studio in Munich and a coastal area in Huelva. Let’s give thanks that nothing has not yet begun to devour us from Andalusia. Although Michael Ende, author of the book, described the adventures of Atreyu and Fujur as a “disgusting adaptation”, their encounters with the stone-eater or an old giant tortoise (with its infamous name) touched an entire generation. The moment his horse died was especially traumatic, especially today, when you find out that he also drowned in reality, accidentally, filming the scene.
Criticism in Espinof
Available on Amazon Prime
Legend (1985)
Directed by: Ridley Scott. Cast: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten.
After his sci-fi ordeal, Ridley Scott opted to create a light fairy tale. The thing came out a little denser than expected and they cut the invention everywhere. But the British man who made eighty-seven Blade Runner productions was not going to stay still. In 2002 he released his two-odd version so we could enjoy Tom Cruise in tights in all his glory. Most of the Magic Kingdom scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios. Tim Curry’s devil is already a chilling Pop icon.
Criticism in Espinof
The Princess Bride (1987)
Directed by: Rob Reiner. Cast: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon.
Shot in various British locations, the Florin kingdom, from Princess Buttercup, is an imaginary place straight out of a fairy tale. There are sea creatures, monstrous rats, duels to the death, giants, evil kings, pirates, potions that bring life back, swordsmen, torture devices, riddles, revenge and a Robin Wright that made all the children who met the film fall in love with it. some Saturday afternoon at one. Actually, it was very noticeable that she was made with little money, but magic doesn’t pay, that’s why we keep dreaming of being Iñigo Montoya or the pirate Roberts.
Criticism in Espinof
Available on Amazon Prime
Willow (1988-2022)
Director: Ron Howard. Cast: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Gavan O’Herlihy.
Gossip tells that George Lucas, not getting the rights to Tolkien’s works, pulled out of his sleeve this cartoon about a peaceful town of dwarfs (ahem) who chooses one of them to fulfill a mission that will be decisive for End the empire of Queen Bavmorda. Plagiarism or not, there’s loads of fun and the beauty of the locations to bring Andowyne to life, between Wales and the United States, is unquestionable: From the waterfalls that border the town of Little Pecks, in California, to the ethereal Welsh lands that surround the evil castle of the Nockmaar Kingdom. The television series has not had much luck.
Criticism in Espinof
Available on Disney+
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)
Directed by: Peter Jackson. Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin.
Peter Jackson traded in the gory zombie follies of his early days for epic blockbusters. Proud of his country, what he didn’t do was change locations. After two nine-hour trilogies, Jackson has turned New Zealand into Middle Earth or Middle Earth in New Zealand.. Many other films of the same type are encouraged to shoot in their places of sublime beauty, but none seems to be able to surpass the majesty of the queen of wizards and warriors for a while. Not even the same author, with more means, has achieved it.
Criticism in Espinof, by Jorge Loser
Available on Amazon Prime
The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010)
Directed by: Andrew Adamson. Cast: Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, Rupert Everett.
At the time CS Lewis and Tolkien were two figures from the English faculty at Oxford who shared a friendship and a love of literature. The Narnia saga of books did not enjoy the same laurels as Tolkien’s work, but they were also a success. So much so that even a certain trans-exclusionary writer declared that she was highly influenced by her for her Harry Potter. Much of this film adaptation was shot, like the one with the ring, in New Zealand. But much of the beautiful natural settings belong to Eastern Europe. Perhaps because of the cold, the end result is too cold.
Criticism in Espinof – by Beatriz Maldivia
Available on Disney+
Stardust (2007)
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn. Cast: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller.
A pre-Homeland Claire Danes, Ian McKellen narrating, Michelle Pfeiffer unleashed as a witch and probably the funniest De Niro since a dangerous therapy. With the director of ‘X Men First generation‘ In the lead, this adaptation of a Neil Gaiman novel went completely unnoticed at the time, but little by little it is gaining many more fans who worship it. It is not for less, seeing the staff in charge. ‘Stardust’ is an update of the magic and fantasy films of the eighties, when they lived their golden age and takes place in the world of Stormhold that Scotland shaped.
Criticism in Espinof – By Sergio Benítez
Available on skyshowtime
Game of Thrones series (2011-)
Creators: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss. Cast: Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sophie Turner.
The seven kingdoms of Westeros are separated from the barren lands of the north by this key vantage point in the land imagined by George RRMartin. The icy Icelandic landscapes are ideal to give the necessary verisimilitude to the translation of the saga to the film medium. A blockbuster comparable to the most megalomaniac film releases that does not fit within its own success. Dragons, historical references, absolutely free nudes, political intrigue, the dead, fantasy, cruelty, sex and more dead are the ingredients used in this still unfinished work in the world of literature. The health of its creator continues to keep the geek community in suspense.
Criticism in Espinof – by Mikel Zorrilla
Available on HBO Max
The Witcher (2019-)
Creator: Lauren Schmidt. Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Millie Brady, MyAnna Buring, Anya Chalotra, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy.
‘The Witcher’ is set in a fantasy world called the Continent, full of magic, dragons and warring kingdoms. Netflix’s fantasy series has brought to life the magical and dangerous world of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novelsbut the politics and the kingdoms are more complicated than it seems there are many different countries on the continent, but the most important of them are the Four Kingdoms, with the Northern Kingdoms (Redania, Kaedwen, Aedirn and Temeria) and the Empire Nilfgaardian.
Criticism in Espinof – by Mikel Zorrilla
Available in Netflix
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Direction: John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein. Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis.
The Forgotten Realms is a world of strange lands, dangerous creatures, and powerful deities, where magic and supernatural phenomena are quite real. A long time ago, the planet Earth and that world were more closely connected, but with the passage of time, the inhabitants of Earth forgot about the existence of that other world, hence its name. Most of the action takes place on the supercontinent of Faerûn, part of a vast world called Abeir-Toril with certain parallels to the real world.
Criticism in Espinof – by Randy Meeks
In Espinof
All seasons of ‘Game of Thrones’, ordered from worst to best
