Sword and Sorcery Movies

Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi's literal adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is brought to the screen in a reverent, stilted way, with Bakshi forsaking his sharp-edged animated looniness for a rotoscoped dullness. Although the film's title encompasses the entire Tolkien trilogy, this longish Bakshi feature, in fact, covers only the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the first half of the second, The Two Towers. Given the complexity of the original story line, this unfortunately means that only those intimately familiar with the books will be able to understand what is happening in the movie. In brief, however, an evil sorcerer from a previous era created a magical ring which enables its users to call upon its tremendous powers to rule the world, but it inevitably warps them to evil. It was believed lost, but during a resurgence of magical evil in the world, Bilbo, a simple, plain-spoken hobbit, recovers it from its hiding place. The forces of good give his nephew Frodo the choice to bear the awful burden of the ring to a place where it may be destroyed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this uneven dramatization of a legendary sword-and-sorcery tale, the Green Knight (Sean Connery) is a magician who appears at King Arthur's court brandishing an axe and challenging anyone to do battle with him. When no one responds, King Arthur himself steps into the breach -- but is turned back when Gawain (Miles O'Keeffe) takes up his axe to stand in for the king -- and promptly decapitates the Green Knight. But lo-and-behold, the Knight's magic is so great that he puts head and body back together again and then further challenges Gawain with a riddle that must be solved within the next 12 months or Gawain is dead. Lucky for Gawain, the riddle involves several rescues of the charming Princess Linet (Cyrielle Claire) -- but how will he manage to outfox the Green Knight and the evil Morgan La Fay (Emma Sutton)? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Following on the success of 1987's Chinese Ghost Story, Hong Kong was inundated with romantically themed tales of the supernatural. Most were awful, but Ronny Yu's The Bride With White Hair has become a classic of the genre. Based on a two-volumed 1954 novel written by Leung Yu-Sang, the film tells the story of star-crossed lovers and bloody conflict. The two meet when Lian (Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia), a beautiful sorceress who was raised by wolves, saves young warrior Zhuo Yi-Hang (Leslie Cheung) from a pack of hungry animals. Though she disappears before he can thank her, Zhuo is entranced. Later Zhuo becomes a master swordsman with the Wu Tang Clan, a tight-knit martial arts society dedicated to the villainous Ji Wu-Shuang (played by both Francis Ng and Elaine Lui), a mutant half-man, half-woman creature who rules the land with an iron fist. Though Zhuo is more interested in quiet life of contemplation, the clan elders see Zhou as their best weapon against their evil King/Queen. Meanwhile, Lian has grown into a formidable adversary herself -- especially with the use of her trusty whip, which can slice a man in two. She has been recruited by Ji to thwart the rebels. In the midst of battle, Zhou and Lian meet. Ji -- who secretly lusts for Lian -- orders her to kill Zhuo. She refuses, much to his displeasure, and orders her tortured to within an inch of her life. Zhuo discovers Lian's semi-conscious body and nurses her back to health. The two soon fall passionately in love and vow to always trust one another. Unfortunately, Ji's black magic revenge spoils the lovers' new-found bliss. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Recalling the darkly surreal world of Terry Gilliam, director Daniel Monzon debuts with this delirious film about a teenager shifting between grim reality and the much more alluring world of fantasy. The film opens with the muscle-bound Beldar (Joel Joan) and the vivacious Sonja (Neus Asensi) decapitating monsters and interpreting ancient languages in a dank labyrinth as they hunt for a legendary gem called the Heart of the Warrior. Without it, Beldar is cursed. Just before the dynamic duo meets their demise, Ramon (Fernando Ramallo), a pimply teenager, awakes from a dream. We learn that Beldar and Sonja are characters in a Dungeons and Dragons-style role playing game that Ramon plays along with Victor (Juan Diaz) and the perpetually horny Javi (Jaime Barnatan). As the film progresses, Ramon's intense fantasy world begins to bleed into reality. A one-eyed midget (Javier Aller) who Javi spies on the subway becomes the guardian of the evil Netheril (Santiago Segura), who in real life is a sleazy TV psychic. The fictional character Sonja, who Ramon is in love with, finds her real world incarnation as streetwalker Sonia (also Asensi). Soon Ramon begins to confuse fiction with reality when he bursts into the building of a prominent politician and hurls a sword at him, prompting a nationwide manhunt. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In the Middle Ages, a swashbuckling knight named Ivanhoe (Ben Pullen) is enlisted to stop a power-crazed warlock (Jeffrey Thomas) from casting spells from an ancient book that unleashes other-worldly demons to do his bidding. Along the way Ivanhoe accumulates the services of a beautiful redhead skilled in martial arts (Charlotte Comer) and a dwarf with lucky charms (Peter O'Farrell). Unfortunately, Ivanhoe is too late in stopping the warlock from bringing back the dead as hideous sword-fighting monsters. Uh oh, looks like there might be some zombie sword fightin'. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

On the twentieth anniversary of the cult sci-fi hit Highlander, the legend is reborn in a new trilogy that follows Immortal Highlander Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) on his journey to discover the origin of the first Immortal and unlock the secret source of eternal life. As the world crumbles to chaos and the city falls down all around him, MacLeod's memories drift back to the time he spent with his one true love. Later, when MacLeod comes into contact with a close-knit band of Immortals that include the mysterious Methos and mortal Watcher Joe Dawson, the group sets out on a mission to uncover the secret that has eluded his people for centuries. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Enslaved, left for dead, and fated to become the most fearsome warrior in all the land, the last surviving member of a massacred tribe embarks on an epic quest to avenge his family's murder while getting drawn into a ferocious battle to defeat a monster and save a nation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this animated film based on the popular series of fantasy books, six friends - a dwarf, a warrior, a half-elf, a mage, a knight and a kinder - have come together once again after spending five years searching for proof that the gods do in fact exist. Sadly, they reunite amidst rumors of a growing evil and an impending war - but now, with horror and chaos looming on the horizon, the goal of their searches may finally be within their grasp in the form of mysterious warrior princess bearing a crystal blue staff. A threat like none of them have seen is poised to overtake their homeland, but if these heroes can stand against it, they will become legends. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

When a powerful force of supernatural evil threatens to destroy Hyboria, legendary Cimmerian warrior Conan (Jason Momoa) raises his sword against mythical monsters and treacherous enemies. Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Stephen Lang, and Rachel Nichols co-star in a sweeping fantasy adventure based on the character created by Robert E. Howard, and directed by Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Syfy's Knights of Bloodsteel is a fantasy adventure miniseries scripted by award-winning writer Sam Egan (the 1990s' The Outer Limits). The sword-and-sorcery epic takes place in the magical kingdom of Mirabilis, which derives its life force from a powerful metal known as bloodsteel. When the bloodsteel begins to run out, wizard Tesselink (Christopher Lloyd) recruits four unlikely knights -- human John Serragoth (David James Elliott), elf Perfidia (Natassia Malthe), goblin Ber-lak (Dru Viergever), and con-man Adric (Christopher Jacot) -- to embark upon a mythic quest to keep what's left of the precious metal from falling into the hands of an evil tyrant named Dragon Eye (Mark Gibbon). ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi

Legendary warrior Sinbad (Manu Bennett) descends into a subterranean labyrinth to slay the Minotaur after deciphering the clues on an ancient relic, and uncovering the location of the mythical beast. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi