List of fantasy films of the 1980s explained

A list of fantasy films released in the 1980s.

List

Title Director Cast Country Notes
Return of the KingJules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.Orson Bean, John Huston, Roddy McDowallUnited StatesTelevision movie, Animated film
XanaduRobert GreenwaldUnited States
Gheorghe NaghiRomania
Hawk the SlayerTerry MarcelJack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw, Patricia Quinn, W. Morgan SheppardUnited States
United Kingdom
Nicholas CoreaLane Caudell, Belinda Bauer, Victor Campos, Kabir Bedi, George KennedyUnited StatesGerman:
Clash of the TitansDesmond DavisLaurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith, Burgess Meredith, Ursula Andress, Neil McCarthy, Judi Bowker, Neil McCarthy, Siân PhillipsUnited Kingdom
United States
DragonslayerMatthew RobbinsPeter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ian McDiarmid, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre, Albert SalmiUnited Kingdom
ExcaliburJohn BoormanLiam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Nicholas Clay, Cherie LunghiUnited Kingdom
Heavy MetalGerald PottertonJohn Candy, Eugene Levy, John Vernon, Richard RomanusCanadaAnimated film
Time BanditsTerry GilliamJohn Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, Kenny Baker, Jim Broadbent, Derrick O'Connor, Ralph Richardson, Katherine Helmond, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Rappaport, David WarnerUnited Kingdom
Maria, MirabelaIon Popescu-GopoRomania, Soviet UnionLive-action/animated film
Along Unknown Paths (ru)Mikhail YuzovskySoviet Union[1]
Ator the Fighting EagleJoe D'AmatoItaly
SorceressJack HillLeigh Harris, Lynette Harris, Roberto Harris, David Millbern, Bruno ReyUnited States
Mexico
The BeastmasterDon CoscarelliUnited States
Conan the BarbarianJohn MiliusArnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman, Mako, Franco Columbu, Sven-Ole ThorsenUnited States
The Dark CrystalFrank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Mike QuinnUnited States
United Kingdom
The Flight of DragonsJules Bass, John Ritter, James Earl Jones, Arthur Rankin Jr., Victor Buono, Harry Morgan, Larry Storch, Ed Peck, Nellie Bellflower, United StatesTelevision movie, Animated film
Forbidden ZoneRichard ElfmanHervé Villechaize, Susan TyrrellUnited States
The Last UnicornJules BassUnited StatesAnimated film
The Secret of NIMHDon BluthHermione Baddeley, John Carradine, Tom Hatten, Dom DeLuise, Wil Wheaton, Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Arthur Malet, Shannen Doherty, Paul Shenar, Peter StraussUnited StatesAnimated film
The Sword and the SorcererAlbert PyunLee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard LynchUnited States
ConquestLucio FulciJorge Rivero, Andrea Occhipinti, Sabrina SianiItaly
Mexico
Spain
DeathstalkerJames SbardellatiRichard Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard BrookerUnited States
Fire and IceRalph BakshiRandy Norton, Cynthea LeakeUnited StatesAnimated film
HerculesLuigi CozziLou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Brad Harris, Rossana Podesta, Mirella D'Angelo, William Berger, Eva Robin'sItaly, United States
KrullPeter YatesKen Marshall, Liam Neeson, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Robbie Coltrane, Bernard BresslawUnited States
United Kingdom
The Man Who Wasn't ThereBruce MalmuthSteve Guttenberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Lisa LangloisUnited States
Mary Poppins, GoodbyeLeonid KvinikhidzeSoviet Union
SorcerersKonstantin BrombergSoviet Union
Thor the ConquerorItaly
Zu WarriorsTsui HarkYuen BiaoHong Kong
All of MeCarl ReinerSteve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Richard LibertiniUnited States
Ator 2 - L'invincibile OrionJoe D'AmatoMiles O'Keeffe, Lisa Foster, Charles BorromelItaly
The Company of WolvesNeil JordanSarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Stephen ReaUnited Kingdom
Conan the DestroyerRichard FleischerArnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt ChamberlainUnited States
A Fairy Tale of WanderingsAlexander MittaAndrei Mironov, Tatiana AksyutaSoviet Union[2]
Formula of LoveMark ZakharovNodar Mgaloblishvili, Aleksandr Abdulov, Semyon FaradaSoviet Union
GhostbustersIvan ReitmanBill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick MoranisUnited StatesHorror, Science fiction
GremlinsJoe DanteHoyt Axton, Keye Luke, Don Steele, Scott Brady, Zach GalliganUnited States
Nausicaä of the Valley of the WindHayao MiyazakiJapanAnime film
The NeverEnding StoryWolfgang PetersenNoah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami StronachWest Germany
United Kingdom
Ronia, the Robber's DaughterTage DanielssonSweden
Norway
SheenaJohn GuillerminUnited States
SplashRon HowardTom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, Eugene LevyUnited States
SupergirlJeannot SzwarcUnited Kingdom
Sword of the ValiantStephen WeeksMiles O'Keeffe, Sean Connery, Cyrielle Clair, Trevor Howard, Peter Cushing, John Rhys-DaviesUnited Kingdom
The Tale of Tsar SaltanIvan Ivanov-Vano, Lev MilchinSoviet UnionAnimated
The Warrior and the SorceressJohn C. BroderickDavid Carradine, Luke Askew, Maria SocasUnited States
The Adventures of HerculesLuigi CozziLou Ferrigno, Milly Carlucci, Sonia Viviani, William Berger, Venantino Venantini, Eva Robin'sItaly, United States
After the Rain, on Thursday (ru)Mikhail YuzovskyOleg Tabakov, Tatyana Peltzer, Semyon Farada, Georgi MillyarSoviet Union[3]
Asterix Versus CaesarGaëtan Brizzi, Paul BrizziFranceAnimated
Barbarian QueenHéctor OliveraLana Clarkson, Victor Bo, Dawn DunlapUnited States
Argentina
The Black CauldronUnited StatesAnimated film
The DungeonmasterVariousJeffrey Byron, Richard Moll, Leslie WingUnited States
LadyhawkeRichard DonnerMatthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle PfeifferUnited States
LegendRidley ScottUnited States
The Peanut Butter SolutionMichael RubboMathew Mackay, Siluck Saysanasy, Alison PodbreyCanada
The Purple Rose of CairoWoody AllenMia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny AielloUnited States
Return to OzWalter MurchNicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Fairuza BalkUnited States
Red SonjaRichard FleischerBrigitte Nielsen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sandahl BergmanUnited States
Jeannot SzwarcUnited States
United Kingdom
Travels of Mr. KleksKrzysztof GradowskiPiotr Fronczewski, Sławomir WronkaPoland
Weird ScienceJohn HughesAnthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrockUnited StatesComedy[4]
Wizards of the Lost KingdomHéctor OliveraBo Svenson, Vidal PetersonUnited States
Asterix in BritainPino Van LamsweerdeFranceAnimated
Big Trouble in Little ChinaJohn CarpenterKurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James HongUnited States
Castle in the Sky Hayao MiyazakiJapanAnime film
Dream Lovers Tony AuChow Yun-fat, Cher YeungHong Kong
The Golden Child Michael RitchieEddie Murphy, Charles Dance, Charlotte LewisUnited States
Highlander Russell MulcahyChristopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy BrownUnited Kingdom
United States
LabyrinthJim HensonUnited Kingdom
United States
MomoJohannes SchaafRadost Bokel, Mario Adorf, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sylvester GrothGermany
Italy
The Worst WitchRobert YoungFairuza Balk, Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rae, Tim CurryUnited Kingdom
United States
Television movie
The BarbariansDavid Paul, Peter Paul, Richard LynchItaly
United States
A Chinese Ghost StoryChing Siu TungLeslie Cheung, Wong Tsu Hsien, Wu MaHong Kong
Date with an AngelTom McLoughlinMichael E. Knight, Phoebe Cates, Emmanuelle BéartUnited StatesFantasy comedy
Gor Jack Palance, United States
Harry and the HendersonsWilliam DearJohn Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David SuchetUnited StatesFantasy comedy[5]
KingsizeJuliusz MachulskiJacek Chmielnik, Katarzyna Figura, Jerzy Stuhr, Jan MachulskiPoland
MannequinMichael GottliebAndrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty, James SpaderUnited StatesFantasy comedy
Masters of the UniverseGary GoddardDolph Lundgren, Courteney Cox, Frank Langella, Meg FosterUnited States
Mio in the Land of FarawayVladimir GrammatikovSweden
Soviet Union
Norway
The Princess BrideRob ReinerCary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris SarandonUnited States
RougeStanley KwanHong Kong
Snow WhiteMichael BerzDiana Rigg, Billy Barty, Sarah PattersonUnited States
Wicked City Japan
Wings of Desire Wim WendersWest Germany
France
The Witches of Eastwick George MillerJack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle PfeifferUnited StatesFantasy comedy
The Adventures of Baron MunchausenTerry GilliamJohn Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric IdleUnited Kingdom
West Germany
AliceJan ŠvankmajerKristina KohoutovaCzechoslovakia
Switzerland
BeetlejuiceTim BurtonUnited StatesHorror
BigPenny MarshallTom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, John Heard, Robert LoggiaUnited States
The Land Before TimeDon BluthUnited StatesAnimated film
My Neighbor Totoro Hayao MiyazakiJapanAnime film
One, Two - Don't Let It Trouble You! (ru) Mikhail YuzovskyOleg Tabakov, Nikolai Karachentsov, Semyon FaradaSoviet UnionSteampunk fantasy
To Kill a DragonMark ZakharovAleksandr Abdulov, Oleg Yankovsky, Yevgeny LeonovSoviet Union
Tommy Tricker and the Stamp TravellerMichael RubboCanada
Tryumph of Mr. KleksKrzysztof GradowskiPiotr Fronczewski, Sławomir WronkaPoland
Vice VersaUnited States
WillowRon HowardVal Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick DavisUnited States
Who Framed Roger RabbitRobert ZemeckisBob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna CassidyUnited StatesComedy
Bill & Ted's Excellent AdventureStephen HerekKeanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George CarlinUnited States
Dream a Little Dream Marc RoccoCorey Feldman, Corey Haim, Meredith Salenger, Jason Robards Jr.United States
Teen WitchDorian WalkerRobyn Lively, Dan Gauthier, Joshua MillerUnited States
Ion Popescu-GopoRomania, Soviet UnionLive-action/animated film
Ghostbusters II Ivan ReitmanBill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick MoranisUnited States
Kiki's Delivery ServiceHayao MiyazakiJapanAnime film
Little Monsters Richard Alan GreenbergUnited States
Erik the Viking Tim Robbins, Terry Jones, Mickey Rooney, Eartha KittUnited Kingdom
United States
Asterix and the Big FightPhilippe GrimondFranceAnimated
PrancerJohn HancockRebecca Harrell, Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, John Joseph DudaUnited StatesFantasy drama

Notes and References

  1. http://letterboxd.com/film/along-unknown-paths/ Along Unknown Paths 1982 ‘Tam, na Nevedomykh Dorozhkakh...’ Directed by Mikhail Yuzovsky
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150403040846/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/158356/Skazka-Stranstviy/overview Skazka Stranstviy (1984)
  3. http://letterboxd.com/film/after-the-rain-on-thursday/ After the Rain, on Thursday 1985 ‘После дождичка в четверг’ Directed by Mikhail Yuzovsky
  4. https://www.allmovie.com/movie/weird-science-vm1078237
  5. Web site: Harry and the Hendersons (1987) - William Dear | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie .