For better or for worse , the peak of chivalric fantasy existed in the ' 80s , when horse in armor were often accompanied by toilsome guitar riffs . The exaggerated grandeur and pageantry of the decade loan itself well to the mythologic proportions of the genre , even if the visual effects could n’t capture the necessary thaumaturgy so well . That being said , films likeWillowandLegendcaptured our childhood imagination , build on our palette for the time whenGame of Throneswould be well received .

Thanks to film like theLord of the Ringstrilogy in the early ' 00s , there ’s been a spot of a resurgence in this particular dash of film , where sword and sorcery combine to chronicle narrative of brave warriors , mystical magicians , and daring damoiselle . With aGame of Thronesprequel series , aLord of the Ringsseries , andThe Witcherseries all out in the next duad age , there ’s no secure time to be alive for a fan of medieval fantasy . So here are the 10 best films in the genre fit in to IMDb .

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (8.8)

The first of Peter Jackson ’s epicLord of the Ringstrilogy is one of the most beloved mediaeval phantasy films of all sentence . With its striking visuals , beautiful world - building , and dynamic performances , it redefine the fantasy genre for decades to come up .

Four hobbit , an pixy , two humans , a gnome , and a champion adjust off with the One Ring to Mount Doom . They must traverse the whole of Middle Earth to get there before the Dark Lord Sauron and his force of immorality overhaul them . Full of witticism , ticker , and plenty of exciting action , the plastic film remain a bench mark for all similar films afterwards .

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (8.1)

A wholesome dangerous undertaking about a young son and his dragon launchedan entire franchise of filmssurrounding Hiccup and his dragon , Toothless . As a young son who comes from a tribe of warrior , he ’s expected to   slay a flying lizard as a rite of passage into adulthood , but he wind up befriending one instead .

While the pair are at first unlikely allies , they soon form a adherence around their common misfit nature . Hiccup discovers new thing about Toothless and new things about himself as they train to protect their household and admirer from harm . While it ’s fun for Kid , it ’s also fun for the nestling in all of us .

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (8.0)

One of the most exciting fantasy picture show of all meter and an ' 80s classic , The Princess Brideis a near perfect blend of slapstick witticism , wag , action , and Romance language . It features a beautiful duo , screaming sidekick , minatory villain , and cameos by the earned run average ’s biggest stars .

The cinema accompany a poor stable boy as he becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts and undertake to win the dearest of Princess Buttercup , the fairest in the land and promised to an malefic Martin Luther King . He will have to match mental capacity with stealer , battle gnawer of strange size of it , and prove his worth in swordplay in the name of true love . With so many   memorable moments from the screaming book , it ’s inconceivable to leave it off any list .

EXCALIBUR (7.4)

You ’ve never seen the legend of King Arthur told the same asExcalibur , the ' 80s fantasy epic starring new British thespian like Liam Neeson , Gabriel Byrne , and Helen Mirren . It ’s a violent look at the Dark Ages and the heroes , villain , and creatures that dwell it .

Arthur rip the fabled blade from the stone that sheaths it , hook up with Guinevere , and builds Camelot into a splendid realm of wealth and successfulness after many state of war . Life is idyllic until Morgana , his malign half - sister and a sorceress , takes the form of Guinevere so that the baby created from their unholy join will one day sit down upon the throne .

WILLOW (7.3)

From the creative thinker ofStar Warscreator George Lucas comesWillow , the story of a small somebody who makes a Brobdingnagian deviation . Willow Ufgood ( Warwick Davis ) leads a content life in his village , a farmer by business deal who shoot for to be a peachy magician .   When a human child is find in a basket by the river of his kindred , he ’s press to lead the party to return her to her people .

He is assist by several cock-and-bull story creatures and Mad Mardiggan ( Val Kilmer ) , once one of the most capable swordsman in all the country , now a womanizer and a thief . The child is desire by an malign sorceress who has foreseen her end from the child ’s pure magic . The quest ends in a climactic battle of commodity versus evil that will have you cheering .

LADYHAWKE (7.0)

There ’s nothing as dreadful as being force aside from the one you have it away , a example a untested stealer discover when he joins forces with a mysterious horse on a black horse . Captain Navarre ( Rutger Hauer)rides with a splendid hawk , who by Nox transforms into a beautiful cleaning woman , Lady Isabeau .

Navarre also undergoes a transformation into a silken wolf , leaving the only time they have to see each other as humankind the dusk before they change . An malign bishop who desire Lady Isabeau for himself put a dark curse on them , but the stealer decides he ’ll help them overthrow him and break the bewitchment .

MALEFICENT (7.0)

In one of Disney ’s first recent maraud into live - action , Maleficentdid well enough at the box part in 2014 to inspire several other springy - action adaptations likeThe Jungle BookandBeauty and the Beast . It take the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty and applied an appropriate twist , and featured Angelina Jolie in a career - determine role as Maleficent .

We get to see the song and dance from the period of prospect of the iconic Disney villain , the Dark Fae who was n’t invited to baby Aurora ’s christening . She hand her the gift of destruction upon a spinning acerate leaf , but once she expend prison term with an grownup Aurora , she finds it difficult to want the curse act out .

DRAGONSLAYER (6.7)

When a dragon terrify the ground of Urland , it ’s up to a wizard ’s apprentice to save the realm in the sixth century . The grand wizard Ulrich ( Ralph Richardson ) is sent to defeat the tartar with his charm - if he does n’t the land will have to continue give Virgo the Virgin to it , including the princess .

When the celebrated wizard is vote out , Galen his apprentice must take up the spellbook and give way its sovereignty of tyranny . If you ’re looking for all the Graeco-Roman elements of medieval fantasy , then you ’re in   for a kickshaw withDragonslayer- it has dragons , knights , wizards , princess in peril , and tons of cheesy ' LXXX puppetry and stop - motion optical effects on display .

LEGEND (6.5)

Before he star inRisky BusinessandTop Gun , a young Tom Cruise star inLegend , the chivalric phantasy heroic about a defender of the forest who must protect a young princess . A unusual dreary effect has swept the land , and an evil warlord is expect for the most mythologic creatures to enhance his major power .

He seeks unicorn , who have become scarcer and scarcer as they go into hiding . He kidnaps the princess in the hopes that the forest protector will have unicorns to him , but he ’s eventually outwit by the princess herself . observe it for an amazing operation by Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness , and a beautiful soundtrack by Tangerine Dream .

DRAGONHEART (6.5)

In the days of knights and dragons , a dragon gives half of his heart to save a dying prince . When the prince acquire up , he becomes a tyrannic swayer with a sullen nature . His wise man , Sir Bowen ( Dennis Quaid ) , becomes disillusioned with his Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth and leave the rook . He soon comes across the last dragon , Draco ( Sean Connery ) , who he enters into a uniuue partnership with .

They bunco hamlet by Bowen act to rid them of their " dragon " by " toss off " Draco , but their scheming is cut poor when they realize the tyrannical prince is going to doom the kingdom . As Sir Bowen prepare to mount an attack on his former pupil he must make a difficult alternative , because to kill the world means to kill the firedrake .

NEXT:10 Pre - Lord Of The Rings High - Fantasy Movies That Are Still Worth Watching

A collage image of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope

Ben Affleck as Christian drumming his hand on the table while talking to Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s Marybeth in The Accountant 2

In a dusty landscape Finn stares out into the distance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

medieval-fantasy-movies

The post of The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring featuring the main characters

How-To-Train-Your-Dragon

The Princess Bride Cary Elwes and Robin Wright as Westley and Buttercup

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table

Willow (1988)

Ladyhawke 1

Maleficent

Peter MacNicol stabbing a dragon in the back of the head in Dragonslayer

Tom Cruise with a unicorn in a publicity shot for Legend

Dragonheart

Movies

How to Train Your Dragon