Best Fantasy Movies of 1983

1959. Friday nights. We time-travelled. Witnessed surprising twists. Entertained aliens. Experienced fear. And first journeyed to the "Twilight Zone" of Rod Serling's memorable TV series. And guided by four imaginative moviemakers, we travelled there again in 1983. Directors John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller fashion stories based on or inspired by classic episodes. Landis weaves the tale of a bigot who gets a walloping dose of his own hatred. Spielberg takes over with a fable of senior citizens offered a magical rejuvenation. Dante serves up a terror trip with a child who uses his cartoon-inspired powers to enslave his family. Then fright goes aloft with Miller's finale about a neurotic passenger who sees a monster on the jetliner's wing. Or does he?

A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.

In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?

One spring, Mole decides that he can ignore the spring cleaning for a little longer, and begins a series of adventures with his new friend Rat. They go for a picnic on the riverbank, on a caravan expedition with Toad, until Toad switches allegiance to his new car and his reckless driving makes Mole and Rat search out Badger for help in curbing Toad's profligate habits. But Toad gets away from them and gets a 20-year sentence from the magistrate for theft, reckless driving, and Gross Impertinence. While Toad works his wiles on the jailer's daughter and escapes jail dressed as a washer woman, Badger tries to guard Toad Hall from the machinations of the Weasels and is badly beaten. And it requires a plan of attack and all four comrades to regain Toad Hall.

Muscular stud Matt Ramsey and his blond Cousin Billy Gant have the run of the house and pool when Matt's folks go on vacation, and these 'kissing cousins' do a helluva lot more than a kiss when Matt gets his hands on Billy's incredible surfer's ass! Matt Ramsey made only a few all-male features. His rise to fame came by performing in Straight Adult Features under the name Peter North. This classic William Higgins pre-condom sizzler stars Matt as a straight shooter who experiences a sexual awakening, thanks to his Cousin and his buddies. A rare treat to see Matt Ramsey in an all-male feature!

A Real American Hero is the first G.I. Joe miniseries, in it the G.I. Joe Special Missions Force must contend with COBRA who, after the successful theft of a special broadcast satellite now threaten the world with a teleportation machine called the M.A.S.S. Device. G.I. Joe tracks down the original designer who advises that the only way to counter the weapon is to build a M.A.S.S. Device of their own. However to power the device properly three rare catalytic elements are needed. Now it's a race around the world and against the clock as G.I. Joe and COBRA go M.A.S.S. to M.A.S.S.

Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales find a treasure map that leads them to a wishing well, which for a penny will grant any wish (through old cartoon footage). Daffy sets up a resort around the well and various Looney Tunes characters have their dreams come true. Meanwhile, Yosemite Sam and the Tasmanian Devil hunt for the varmints who stole their treasure map!

Two wannabe heroes and their friends must stop a madman from giving everyone nightmares.

Jonathan Chase was a British college professor at New York University who had the unusual ability to transform into any kind of animal. He used his powers to battle crime alongside pretty policewoman Brooke and Vietnam-war pal Ty.

Abandoned by their parents, a young brother and sister try to find their way home. On the way, they find themselves trapped in the plot of a nasty witch.

A malevolent rock star kidnaps a female singer to force her to participate in the summoning of a demon and her band must help her stop him.

A musical horror story about two young women who are stalked through a shopping mall by the cannibal named Arthur. He follows them home, and here the victims become the aggressors.

A sheltered but adventurous young woman finds trouble when she encounters a wolf.

Adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novel

About to executed by the forces of the Antichrist, a fundamentalist Christian guerrilla is rescued by an Antichrist agent pretending to be a double agent for the Believers' Underground. The agent hopes to trick the Christian into leading her to the dissidents' hidden base. Meanwhile, Armageddon and the Second Coming draw nigh.

Big Bird and his Sesame Street companion, Barkley, the big, fluffy dog, travel across China in search of the legendary Feng Huang, the Phoenix Bird. Along the way they visit with Chinese schoolchildren, watch a Tai Ji demonstration, learn some Chinese words and songs, and meet the mischievous Monkey King.

A documentary which explores the making of Jim Henson and Frank Oz's 1982 fantasy film 'The Dark Crystal', which originally aired on PBS in the United States on January 9, 1983. This one-hour documentary details the technological innovations in the field of animatronics, art design, film making, and Henson's own brand of magic. Requiring 5 years of production, including over two years of pre-production, The Dark Crystal was inspired by the imagination of artist Brian Froud and conceived by scores of talented designers, builders, technicians, and performers. The World of the Dark Crystal shows how Jim Henson's Creature Shop in London and the Muppet Workshop in New York brought Brian Froud's art and Jim Henson's vision to life.

As the Metropolitan Museum of Art closes, Big Bird decides to leave his Sesame Street friends behind in search of Snuffy. Once locked inside for the night, educational hilarity ensues as Big Bird and Snuffy team up to help a small Egyptian boy solve a riddle - as the rest of the cast searches for their big, yellow friend.

God has had just about enough of the human's attitude so he will destroy the planet very soon. It is up to a struggling inventor and a bank teller, both with very amateur criminal minds, to save the world.

A prince chases his destiny to an ancient castle in search of a cursed princess, thanks to the help of an informative lumberjack.

This is Tim Burton's Disney Channel Halloween film short that only aired once. It combines live action and stop-motion, making for a creepy adventure into the woods.

A kitchen maid and a nightingale help save an emperor with the power of song and friendship.

The warrior Deathstalker is tasked by an old witch lady to obtain and unite the three powers of creation - a chalice, an amulet, and a sword - lest the evil magician Munkar get them and use them for nefarious purposes. After obtaining the sword, Deathstalker joins with other travelers going to the Big Tournament to determine the strongest warrior. The false king holds the true princess in captivity, and plots to have Deathstalker killed, and Deathstalker must fight to free the princess.

Warren Nefron is a hopeless klutz who has some of the worst luck in the world: when he tries to end it all with a foolproof suicide plan, he still manages to mess it up. In desperation, he goes to a psychiatrist to see if there is some way for him to end his troubles.

In WWII, Captain Invincible used his superpowers against the Nazis and was hailed as a hero. But when he was accused of treason, he retired to Australia in disgrace. Cut to the present, when a US super secret super weapon is stolen and he's asked to come back to the States in order to help stop evil and restore his sterling reputation. Unfortunately, Captain Invincible is a drunk now...

Hercules, a semi-divine being, squares off against King Minos, who is attempting to use science to gain power and take over the world. With the help of a benevolent sorceress, Circe, Hercules tries to save his beloved Cassiopeia from being sacrificed by Minos, and struggles against laser-breathing creatures and an evil sorceress.

Bradamante, a woman wearing an invincible suit of armor, is travelling the countryside at the time of the Crusades. After ending up in the middle of a web of romantic and cultural tangles, she finds herself in love with a Moor prince, while one of the Christian knights has fallen in love with a Moor princess. Others, however, are against the cross-cultural romance, and Bradamante's love is soon forced into a duel to the death. Will she ever be with her true love? Written by Jean-Marc Rocher

Frederic Lansing (Bill Hudson) is a writer who hopes to find inspiration while vacationing in Hellview, Oregon; however, the lighthouse in which he's staying is haunted by the ghost of Venetia (Julie Newmar), who had killed herself 100 years ago and now wants to use Lansing as a vessel for her dead husband, Captain Howdy (Richard Kiel). When Howdy's ghost starts killing people, two bumbling scientists (Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson) are brought in to investigate the history of the lighthouse and solve the case.

Sigmund Freud's ghost advises a married New York psychiatrist in love with a patient.

Lori Anderson is trying to deal with the recent tragedy of her father's death. As Lori's mother moves on, Lori finds herself stuck, consumed by grief and anger. With the lingering feeling that something about her father's passing was not right, Lori turns to his journals for answers. The events that follow catapult Lori into a strange romance with a ghost, resulting in a mysterious journey.

A seeker named Dogen rescues Dhyana after her father is murdered by the evil Jared-Syn. To avenge her father's death, Dogen must find Jared-Syn's hideout in the mysterious "Lost City", but the only person who knows where it is an aging, burned-out seeker named Rhodes. Along the way, they will need to do battle against the hunter Baal and his Cyclopean minions for engaging Jared-Syn in a final encounter.

From the warped mind of underground auteur Nick Zedd comes this campy horrorfest that follows screwy scientist Dr. Frankenberry as he attempts to resurrect the dead, aided by his hunchbacked minion. Adding to the twisted fun are Donna Death as bloodsucking temptress Scumbalina, Richard Hell as punk-rock cowboy crooner the Rawhide Kid and Tyler Smith as Frankenberry’s monstrous two-headed creation, Formaldehyde Man.

Colin, the son of an English rector, suspects that the three strange women recently come to his village are actually witches in search of a magic stone figure from an old church.

Exiled Prospero lives on a desolate island with his daughter, Miranda. When Prospero's usurping brother sails by the island, Prospero conjures a storm that wrecks the ship and changes all of their lives.

Herself must stop an evil king from upsetting the balance of nature in this animated adventure.

A minor diplomatic functionary stumbles upon a formula for invisibility.

A ground-breaking film about sex and disability that won Samson much acclaim. Though courting controversy with his subject matter, Samson was an extremely compassionate filmmaker who never sought to exploit his subjects. Instead he would immerse himself in their respective worlds, his keen eye teasing out motivations while never lacking a dry yet gentle good humour.

The Charmkins is a television film based on an early 1980s toyline by Hasbro, which was broadcast on October 25, 1983.

Imaginative and creative Jack seeks adventure while trying to provide for himself and his mother. Will he ever solve the mystery of how his father died?

Dr Cadabra, an eccentric magician, lives in outer space with his son Abra and their pets - Stella the star cat and Zodiac the space dog. When all four are busy elsewhere, two villains, B.L. Z'Bub and Klaw the Rat King, take off with the Cosmic pipe.

Jonathan Chase is a British college professor at New York University who has the unusual ability to transform into any kind of animal he wants. He decides to use his power to assist the New York Police Department in solving unusual crimes, and in this series pilot, he teams up with cute cop Brooke and war buddy Ty to stop some terrorists from stealing a supply of toxic gas.

Michelle is a freelance writer who is tasked with writing eight articles on sexual fantasies and secret desires. Completely upset because of his inability to even just start writing articles because of complete ignorance of the material, she suddenly hears a mysterious voice that speaks to her from the subconscious

An amalgam of documentary and cinema verité, this movie outlines the life, loves and music of Rolling Stones bass guitarist Bill Wyman. After leaving the Stones in 1981, Wyman tried to establish his own separate musical identity, conveyed here through a stream of hallucinatory images and animated sequences.

The Magic Show is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, it opened on May 28, 1974 at the Cort Theatre in Manhattan, and ran for 1,920 performances, closing on December 31, 1978. Henning was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and director Grover Dale was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. In 2001, a filmed performance staged especially for the cameras in 1980, directed by Norman Campbell at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, was issued on DVD by Image Entertainment. This production, originally intended for cinema release, differed notably from the original Broadway production, with several of the most memorable songs, such as "West End Avenue" and "Solid Silver Platform Shoes", removed. Doug Henning reprised his original starring role, while Didi Conn co-starred as Cal.

After a man dies he is offered the chance to return to Earth in the bodies of other men.

Closely follows the original with a twist of Ebenezer Scrooge making one choice that changes more than just his life. It was a fateful Christmas Eve that Scrooge would never forget!

Combining video, performance art, documentary, and tableau vivant, this short piece set in what appears to be part of the Ayutthaya Ruins in Bangkok, Thailand, begins with a panoramic shot of various Thai folks dressed in traditional garb and sleeping in the grass as a woman narrates. The rest of the piece is broken into six unbroken shots of these individuals in still poses depicting both some aspect of Thai life as well as suggesting its disquieting alienation from modernity, as the same woman narrator now sings. The final shot is again of the ensemble sleeping, suggesting that the previous montage was, indeed, a collective dream.

A 1983 Filipino action fantasy film starring Lito Lapid

A short film by Alexander Cassini.