The Totally Awesome 80s Fantasy Movie Marathon

As promised here's my review for my trip down nostalgia lane in my "Totally Awesome 80s Fantasy Movie Marathon." Are you excited!?! You should be! Now before I get started I'm going to advise you to perhaps get a snack, maybe some popcorn, Milkduds, your choice really, because this is going to be a long one, you've been warned! The reason for the length of this post is that I really need to give all five movies I watched the props (that's right, I said 'props'!) they rightly deserve.

My marathon consisted of five of my favourite 80s fantasy movies: 'Ladyhawke', 'Willow', 'The Dark Crystal', 'The Labyrinth' and 'The Princess Bride.' Now, while spending an entire afternoon (and well into the evening) watching movies back-to-back may not be everyone's cup of tea, it sure is this girls! While these are all great movies on their own and could probably (maybe?) get by on plot alone, which is saying a lot when you think of a lot of the movies that come to theatres nowadays; what is a really impressive part of all of these movies, except maybe 'The Princess Bride,' is the great use of special effects (SFX). I'm a SFX nerd, I love them, I really do, and with all of the special effects and CGI (Computer Generated Images) driven movies out there it may be hard to remember a time without them, but I promise you this time did exist! Because of my love for SFX and CGI I went back to the 80s for my marathon where they were really started to be used en masse. The real change in the use of special effects came in 1977 when a little movie called 'Star Wars' came out, you may have heard of it. Now granted 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' also from 1977 and '2001: A Space Odyssey' from 1968 also had great impacts on the development of special effects, but with 'Star Wars' also came the creation of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and even if you haven't heard of ILM (which I doubt) I'm sure you've seen their work if you've seen any major blockbusters in the last 30 years. Now enough educating and on to the reviewing!!

I began my marathon with probably the most obscure of these five movies; 'Ladyhawke.' This 1985 romantic fantasy was directed by Richard Donner and stars a pre-'Ferris Bueller' Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, and Michelle Peiffer. It's hard to say if this movie could even be considered a cult classic since the most common responses to the question "Have you seen Ladyhawke?" are "Huh?" and "I love that movie!" The former being the much more common of the two. In fact if you haven't seen it you're probably thinking to yourself "Matthew Broderick was in a movie before 'Ferris Bueller'?!" Yes, he sure was! His wit and boyish charm is used just as well in this film as it was in 'Bueller.'
What I love most about this movie is actually what I love about most movies from this decade. Opening credits done with the soundtrack of synthesizer and electric guitar (classic 80s!) with images of a hawk and the sun and moon, nothing fancy here! The movie follows the cursed couple Etienne Navarre (Hauer) and Lady Isabeau (Pfeiffer) as they try to break the curse that has been placed upon them by the evil Bishop of Aquila; causing Navarre to transform into a wolf at night and Isabeau a hawk by day. The movie doesn't have a lot of the SFX that are in the other movies I watched, but when the effects are there, they are used perfectly. The best example of this is about three quarters of the way through the movie, when Navarre has just about given up on trying to break the curse the clever Mouse comes up with a plan to convince him to carry on. The slow metamorphoses of both characters done with a golden camera flare in sunrise lets both glimpse the other in human form before Isabeau is yet again transformed into a hawk. One other thing that draws me in to this movie is the flipping of the classic archetypes of good and evil. Here the bishop, always clothed in white, is the evil one and Navarre, clothed in black, is the good and honourable one. If for some reason you are one of those people who has yet to see this movie it's time for you to start trying to track down a copy and enjoy this 80s classic!


'Willow' was next in my marathon. It was produced by Lucasfilm in 1988 and directed by Ron Howard with the story by George Lucas and screenplay by Bob Dolman. This journey of discovery and bravery starring Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood and Val Kilmer as Madmartigan plays out prefectly with humour, action and the magic of SFX. While this movie was one of the first to really demonstrate what could be done in fantasy movies with special effects; having glowing fairies, joking brownies and an army transformed into pigs, what is really most appealing to me is the character of Willow himself. Davis shines as Willow, a Nelwyn (a hobbit-like people) farmer who has dreams of becoming a sorcerer who doesn't really believe in himself and ends up something of a laughing stock. When he takes on the responsibility of bringing an abandoned Daikini (a human race) baby to it's people it takes all his resolve to do so. As Willow journies and joins up with brownies and Kilmer's unruly Madmartigan he becomes more and more confident so that by the time they make it to the castle of the evil Queen Bavmorda, who's bent on killing the baby, he actually confronts her himself. This movie has wonderful, beautifully shot scenery, great performances all around, good use of special effects and a story that makes everyone who watches it hope that maybe there's a little Willow inside all of us.


Third on the list of great 80s fantasy movies was 'The Dark Crystal.' This may well be Jim Henson's greatest non-'Muppet Show' creation. Released in 1982 and directed by Henson and fellow puppeteer Frank Oz, 'The Dark Crystal' is Henson's look at the harmony between good and evil as well as nature and industry. This movie also has one of the all-time scariest villains of any movie in the characters of the Skeksis. I honestly think I didn't watched this entire movie from beginning to end until I was well into my teens because the Skeskis freaked me out so much! Their hard, skeletal bodies, vulture-like faces and harsh scratching voices embody the evil that they represent. Whereas their opposites, the Mystics are four-armed gentle giants who live simply out in the wilderness. While this movie may have scared me when I was kid I now come to appreciate the odd beauty that Henson created in the two opposing environments of this world; the lovely natural environment of the Mystics and the hard, industrial environment of the Skeskis. When the movie begins, the narrator explains that there was a split in the crystal that caused both races to come into existence. As the movie progresses, however, we learn that the two races balance each other out. Like 'Willow,' another small and unassuming character, a Gelfling named Jen, must set out on a journey. This time it's to bring harmony to the world by placing a missing shard back into the dark crystal. If for nothing else 'The Dark Crystal' should be watched to truly appreciate the genius of Jim Henson.

The next movie in my marathon was also directed by Jim Henson, 'The Labyrinth' from 1986. I could expound on the all of the things I love about this movie, but that would take far too long, as this is one of my all-time favourite movies! Jennifer Connelly is great as Sarah, who is searching the labyrinth for her baby brother who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King Jareth, perfectly played by David Bowie. With his huge hair and ridiculously tight pants Jareth is both appealing and apalling, and it would be easy to see why someone not quite as determined as Sarah might be tempted to stay in the labyrinth with him. As for Sarah, although she gripes through the beginning of the movie, constantly saying that "It's not fair" which is quite annoying, she grows on you throughout the film. I don't know any girl who saw this movie as a kid and didn't want to copy Sarah's peasant shirt and vest outfit, I know I sure did! The improvement in the puppeteering in the four years since 'The Dark Crystal' is impressive, especially in the faces, which is best seen in the duplicitous, yet mostly helpful Hoggle. While all of these things make the movie wonderful what really takes it above and beyond are the original songs composed by Bowie for the film. I honestly defy anyone to watch this movie and not end up having "The Power of the Babe" stuck in their head for the next week!

Now while 'The Princess Bride' was the last movie in my 80s fantasy marathon, it doesn't have the same kind of attention to special effects that the previous four did. I actually tacked it on to the end just because it's one of those movies I could watch over and over and it happens to be from the same decade. Released in 1987 and directed by Rob Reiner with a screenplay written by William Goldman who is also the author of the novel the movie is based on. This movie is filled with action, adventure and romance, as the poster says this is "not just your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum fairy tale." This movie is full of rich and interesting characters, and the actors playing the characters are all perfectly cast in my opinion especially the trio of heroes. Cary Elwes steals all the ladies' hearts as the dashing and clever Westley, Mandy Patinkin is perfect as the vengeance driven Inigo Montoya and while it may be difficult to understand him every once and a while, Andre the Giant embodies the lovable brute Fezzik. Now while the cast shines, you can't go too far without mentioning the wonderful dialogue in this movie. It has it's fair share of memorable quotes; my favourite by far being, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." This movie is a perfect mix of fantasy and action, wit and romance and for those who like lists I thought I might mention that it occupies spot 88 on AFI's (American Film Institute) "100 Years, 100 Passions: America's Greatest Love Stories" list.

Whew! Exhausted? I sure am! Now to give yourself a reward for getting through the reviews head out to your local video store, or possibly your own collection, grab one of these flicks and let your mind escape to the 80s, where fantasy (and SFX) really got it's start! Until next time, keep it reel!!