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Discussion Starter · #2 · (Edited)
As mentioned elsewhere, Shout Factory TV is currently finishing up a weekend-long marathon of fantasy on it's live web channel (US/Canada). No subscription required...

https://www.shoutfactorytvlive.com/sword-and-sorcery

I believe all of the movies can also be streamed from their regular site on-demand as well...

http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/

Today's schedule (Monday, 8/12) includes the following films...

Outlaw (Of Gor)
Merlin's Shop Of Mystical Wonders
Cave Dwellers
Hercules and the Captive Women
Hercules Unchained
The Magic Sword
Outlaw (Of Gor)

These are all old "B" pictures, so the video and sound is likely to be rather poor on many of them. And they are all in the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) format.

The Saturday 8/10 schedule included...

Amazons
Deathstalker II
Hawk the Slayer
Hercules vs. the Hydra
Sorceress
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom

These can also be viewed on-demand. But some may possibly require sign-in for mature content. Sunday was a celebrity D&D marathon.

The marathon can also be viewed free on Pluto TV's Shout Factory channel, and some other services.
 

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Discussion Starter · #3 · (Edited)
More freebies...



Guy Ritchie's 2017 King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is currently streaming free on-demand w/ads on The Roku Channel. Not my favorite adaption, but some may possibly enjoy it. This contains some mature content btw.

https://therokuchannel.roku.com/det...e1f7ffc4d8f74/king-arthur-legend-of-the-sword

The Roku Channel does require registration/sign-in. But you do not have to enter any financial info to watch their free w/ads content.
 

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Discussion Starter · #6 · (Edited)

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
It seems as though both Tubi and The Roku Channel may be doing some add'l DRC to boost the loudness on the sound. If you don't like the SQ on those channels, then you might try the others.
 

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Discussion Starter · #9 ·


I don't see a tremendous amount of good fantasy options on Sony Crackle at the moment, except maybe Hook with Robin Williams & Dustin Hoffman, a couple of Godzilla flicks, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is sort of a blend of horror and fantasy imo.

I can never seem to get the links to work reliably on Crackle. So I won't both posting them... The search tool is your friend.
 

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Discussion Starter · #11 ·


George and the Dragon is a 2004 film made for the SyFy channel, with Piper Perabo, James Purefoy, Patrick Swayze and Michael Clarke Duncan.

There aren't alot of great CG effects in this. But it was pretty well done for a made-for-TV deal. And probably a bit more family-oriented than the other stuff mentioned so far, though it still has a fair amount of violence and some blood. Currently streaming free on Vudu, TRC and Tubi.

https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/George-and-the-Dragon/1076949
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/e975b40a2307564393f1d9e0ba33ac4d/george-and-the-dragon
https://tubitv.com/movies/480227/george_and_the_dragon
 

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Discussion Starter · #12 · (Edited)
I don't see a tremendous amount of good fantasy options on Sony Crackle at the moment, except maybe Hook with Robin Williams & Dustin Hoffman, a couple of Godzilla flicks, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is sort of a blend of horror and fantasy imo.
Took a closer look at the free w/ads offerings on Crackle, and there are some other movies that more or less fit the fantasy category.

There are several films that involve the subject of witchcraft, for example, including the 2005 comedy remake of Bewitched with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, The Covenant, The Craft, and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.



Bewitched was ok, and had a few fun cameos by other actors. I was a big fan of the original TV series when I was a kid though. And Liz Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead and Paul Lynde are pretty hard acts to follow.

I've watched the 2005 film a couple times though, because I enjoy both Nicole and Will. It was directed by rom-com legend Nora Ephron btw, who did When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and several other noteworthy films. (R.I.P. Nora.)



The Covenant was a bit of a yawner for me. But some of the youngsters might enjoy it. Alot of young hot dudes with powers, mostly aided by CG.

Haven't seen The Craft in some time. So I don't remember it that well. I guess it's a bit like the flip side of The Covenant though, since the ladies have the powers. (The posters even look like mirror images sort of.) These are both probably more in the fantasy/horror rather than straight fantasy genre.



I also tried to watch The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones recently, but didn't make it all the way through. The story just wasn't that engaging to me. And there were too many characters, and too much action for me to really follow what all was going on. It might appeal to some younger viewers though who read the series of novels by Cassandra Clare on which it's based.

This movie is pretty squarely in the fantasy genre.
 

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Discussion Starter · #13 ·


Some other movies on Crackle that might also be worth look include Tim Burton's Big Fish, A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger, The Medallion with Jackie Chan, and maybe Pompeii (though I suppose that's more action-oriented than fantasy).
 

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Discussion Starter · #14 · (Edited)


Another recent Jackie Chan film that's pretty good, and fairly family-friendly* is The Forbidden Kingdom with Jet Li. This does not appear to be available on the free w/ads services at the moment. But it has been in the past. And my guess is it will be again in the future.

*FYI, there is a bit of graphic violence in this involving guns. So it may not be suitable for some younger viewers.
 

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Discussion Starter · #15 · (Edited)
Couple trailers for Disney's Maleficent, opening in October. Watch vol on these. The studios love to compress the hell out of the dynamic range on their trailers to boost the sound as loud as possible. Why, I can't say. Because it usually sounds awful.

 

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The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.


Truly epic in scope considering the original movie. You can tell they took the time needed to actually tell a story vs a cg cartoon blur.

The puppet work is amazing, the characters are great. Hats off to the Henson crew for the work and a truly finely crafted tale. It's a rare thing indeed.

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Discussion Starter · #18 ·
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.


Truly epic in scope considering the original movie. You can tell they took the time needed to actually tell a story vs a cg cartoon blur.

The puppet work is amazing, the characters are great. Hats off to the Henson crew for the work and a truly finely crafted tale. It's a rare thing indeed.
Thanks for the heads up on this, darthrsg. Here's the teaser in case anyone missed it...

 

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Carnival Row on Amazon Prime is starting strong. I hope it keeps up. I'm opting to not binge this so it'll take a couple weeks to finish up.

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