Entertainment Weekly goes back to the Dark Ages.
Everett (2); Eric Zachanowich / A24 Films
Medieval movies occupy a special place in cinema.
Despite covering the same era, these works exist across many disparate genres, tones, and executions.
Credit:Everett (2); Eric Zachanowich / A24 Films
To parse down the myriad choices, weve selected the most unmissable medieval movies ever made.
JoinEntertainment Weeklyas we count down the 25 best medieval movies of all time, ranked.
Its an unexpected, stylishly rendered entry into the genre that delights in wrong-footing viewers.
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Where to watchBlack Death: Tubi
24.
London) to find a cure for the virus.
If youre wondering what, exactly, is medieval about that premise hoo boy, just wait and see.
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Its one of the greatest surprises in a movie filled with jaw-droppers.
Where to watchDoomsday: Max
23.
Where to watchKingdom of Heaven:Hulu
22.
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The Northman (2022)
Robert Eggerss brutal adventure basically boils down to Hamlet, with Vikings!
It followsAlexander Skarsgards Amleth (get it?
Eggers film is an impeccably mounted, occasionally humorous, brutal folk fairy tale.
Aidan Monaghan / Focus Features, LLC
Where to watchThe Northman:Starz
21.
Cormans film is lush and packed with delightful, era-appropriate details that nicely offset the modern anachronisms.
Where to watchMasque of the Red Death: Pluto TV
20.
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After defeating the beast, he incurs the wrath of its seductive, deadly mother (Angelina Jolie).
Horny and harrowing in equal measure, Zemeckis film is enchanting, ravishing, and occasionally puzzling.
Its a complete blast featuring arresting visuals that still impress today.
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Where to watchBeowulf: Max
19.
Also on hand are Brooks mainstaysGene WilderandDom DeLuisein well-timed cameo appearances.
Where to watchRobin Hood: Men in Tights: Hulu
18.
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Three sequels and numerous straight-to-video specials have been largely unable to recapture the magic of the originalShrek.
Its prime attributes are a deviously well-written screenplay and top-shelf vocal performances from the entire cast.
Where to watchShrek:Peacock
17.
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Where to watchDungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: Paramount+
16.
Joining him on his quest are Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan) and man-beast Gurgi (John Byner).
A nearly-forgotten classic,The Black Cauldronrepresents all of the best signatures from Disneys hand-drawn era.
Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures and eOne
Where to watchThe Black Cauldron: Disney+
15.
If you were to describeA Knights Tale, it would sound like a mess.
Yet, the movie unabashedly works as supreme entertainment.
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Where to watchA Knights Tale: Paramount+
14.
Where to watchThe Last Duel:Hulu
13.
Where to watchThe Green Knight:Max
12.
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It heralded Gibson as an urgent filmmaker with a flair for spectacle and, most especially, carnage.
Where to watchBraveheart:Paramount+
11.
At the time of its release, this was one of the most expensive Japanese films.
Patrick Redmond/20th Century Studios
Where to watchThrone of Blood:Max
10.
Where to watchSleeping Beauty:Disney+
9.
Where to watchHenry V: Tubi
8.
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Where to watchMacbeth:Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
7.
Where to watchArmy of Darkness:Amazon Prime Video
6.
So emphatic are the images that the interstitial dialogue cards are hardly necessary.
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Dreyer shoots his film in claustrophobic closeups, effectively trapping the audience within Joans plight.
The result is one of the most suspenseful and haunting silent films ever made.
Where to watchThe Passion of Joan of Arc: Max
5.
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Where to watchMonty Python and the Holy Grail:Netflix
4.
Rashomon (1950)
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Kurosawas seminal work birthed an entire genre of imitators.
In speaking to the men involved, the villagers find that each has a drastically different version of events.
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Where to watchRashomon:Tubi
3.
This is one of the first, and most successful, blockbusters ever made.
Where to watchRobin Hood:Tubi
2.
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Where to watchThe Princess Bride:Disney+
1.
The influences are visible, but how Bergman spins and twists them is specific to the Swedish auteurs vision.
Nearly 70 years after its release,The Seventh Sealremains one of the most thrilling additions to cinemas canon.
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Where to watchThe Seventh Seal:Max
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