Sword & Sorcery: Adventures in Auteur Fantasy
Today, the fantasy genre is a major part of the cinematic landscape with classics of film and television like The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones establishing a familiar visual identity in the minds of audiences. But it was a long road to pop culture dominance for the fantasy genre. Fifty years ago, as a new game called Dungeons & Dragons took advantage of a popularity boom in fantasy literature on college campuses, idiosyncratic auteurs like John Milius, Ralph Bakshi, and John Boorman were drawing on sources as diverse as pulp magazines, underground comix, and contemporary politics to create and define a cinematic language for a heretofore literary genre.
Calgary Cinematheque invites you to look back upon an age undreamed of, when fantasy film stood at the fringes of the mainstream and maverick filmmakers forged unique expressions of style and philosophy within crowd pleasing stories - join us for the films of high adventure!
Art by Cary Nord
Series Films
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Directed by John Milius
August 1, 2024
In Conan, notorious right-wing filmmaker John Milius (Magnum Force, Red Dawn, Clear and Present Danger) found a muse to express his support for ideals of freedom, honour, and strength as the hero battles a death cult led by the villainous Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), a cult that resembles the hippie movement, the Manson Family, and Jamestown all rolled into one. Screenwriter Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street, JFK) creates a mythic world where characters speak very little but express deeply held philosophies in instantly memorable dialogue when they do. The film's score by Basil Pouledouris (RoboCop) propels an incredibly visual storytelling style from Milius that manages to respect its audience's intelligence and express a clear philosophical stance all while delivering on primal themes of violence and sex.
Wizards (1977)
Directed by Ralph Bakshi
August 15, 2024
Intended as a "family picture", Wizards evolved into an idiosyncratic work mixing a variety of tones and animation styles into one piece of counterculture art. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where nuclear holocaust has resulted in a return of magic, elves, and fairies, Wizards tells the tale of sibling spellcasters Avatar and Blackwolf and the war of their nations of Montagar and Scortch. When Blackwolf discovers the lost art of Nazi propaganda to motivate his armies of goblins and monsters, Avatar must journey with a small band of heroes to destroy his brother's film projector.
Excalibur (1981)
Directed by John Boorman
August 29, 2024
Excalibur is a who's who of talented British and Irish actors, and its dazzling visuals include beautiful location shooting in Ireland. With a stand out performances from Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Helen Mirren as Morgana, and Nigel Terry as Arthur, Excalibur remains one of the greatest and most unique adaptations of the Arthurian mythos ever committed to celluloid, a true epic in every sense of the word.
Wizards (1977)