 | The Three Musketeers (Salkind edition, 1970's), featuring Michael York, Charleton Heston, and many others. Raucous fun at its very best, though not perfectly true to the books. Fight scenes choreographed by William Hobbes (who makes an appearance as the two-sword wielding assassin dueling Porthos). |
| The Four Musketeers (see Three Musketeers above) |
| Sharp's Adventures (series), featuring Sean Bean and centering on the English army in Iberia during the Napoleonic wars. Great adventure. |
| Horatio Hornblower (series), good adventure in general, set during the age of sail. |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel (series), made for TV movies that are generally fun and often amusing. |
| Gladiator (movie), featuring Russell Crow, nay ex Chris LaRoche, a fun and cinematically fabulous film |
| Spartacus (movie) featuring A cast of thousands, and recently recut, a great movie. (I haven't seen the 2004 version yet, but it will be tough to top the original.) |
| The Silk Road (Japanese with sub-titles). Very telling, very stoic, very interesting. |
| Henry V (Branaugh et. al.) Though not normally viewed as an adventure movie it works wonders on this level as well. |
| Blade Runner (both the original and the director's cut) Read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Philip K. Dick) before seeing the director's cut. Great cinematography, great story. |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey (read the book first). A classic in all senses, this film overpowered the era in which it was released. The use of music as applied in this film was also groundbreaking. Both The Blue Danube and Air on a G-String are forever linked to the panoramic vistas they accent in the film. Space has ever since been seen as elegant. |
| Babylon 5 (series), good stuff, although sometimes a bit bleak |
| X-Files (series) 1st 2 seasons; the best the show offered |
| Dr. Who (series) especially the 1st 4 Drs. Inventive, clever, and on a budget! |
| Batman The Dark Knight versus the Joker, and what a Joker! |
| The Princess Bride. (Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Peter Falk and many others) This is far too wonderful a movie to categorize. Go ahead, get some popcorn and treat yourself to a great film. |
| The Shadow, although critics had a hard time with the film I think it captures the feeling of pulp-fiction heroes well. In any event, it is a fun film with an entertaining score. |
| Wild West, even though there are some radical departures from the series, Will Smith and Kevin Kline make this an enjoyable romp. |
| Conan the Barbarian. For fans of the book some things fell short, but the scope and action in the film help make it fun. |
| The Sword and the Sorcerer, starring Lee Horsley, Richard Moll, and others. This is a classic B-Rated romp that makes little sense but is too much fun too resist. Do not expect political correctness, great script (though it has its moments), or Oscar-caliber acting - do expect fun. |
| Excalibur, but really only for the scope and a few of the characters, especially Nicole Williamson as Merlin. The use of O Fortuna during the rejuvenation scene near the end helps as well. |
| Rooster Cogburn and the Lady, (John Wayne, Catherine Hepburn) a classic with two aging stars who put a new spin on old roles. It is difficult to ask for more. |
| Fort Apache (Henry Fonda, John Wayne) One of the best films ever made, and John Wayne plays a character both respectful and sympathetic of the Apache). |
| High Noon (Gary Cooper) Still a classic. |
| El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Edward Asner, James Caan). Fun and adventure with some great actors. |
| The Cheyenne Social Club (James Stewart, Henry Fonda) Just plain fun, with Stewart inheriting a bordello on the old frontier and the trouble it leads him into. |
| Blazing Saddles. Mel Brooks invades the wild west. Terrific stuff! |
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford, Paul Newman) A wonderful movie well presented. |
| Young Frankenstein, arguably Mel Brooks' best effort. Starring Teri Garr, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kann, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman. And don't forget to watch Igor's hunchback! |
| The Quiet Man (John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara) and starring the Irish countryside. A fun and beautiful movie. |
| The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre) You know the story, but have fun with the cinematography as well. Don't bother with a colorized version, black and white is the only way to see this film. |
| The Sting with music by Scott Joplin. Just great stuff. |
| The Big Sleep (Robert Mitchum) Tough guys and women meet their match. |
| M*A*S*H (Elliot Gould, Donald Sutherland) the original Hawkeye and Trapper on film, this isn't the series, it is its own entity, and it is good. |
| Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare's comedy with Branaugh et. al., great stuff) |
| The Lion in Winter, featuring a cast that just won't stop. If you like powerful stories this is an outstanding piece for you. |