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Reviews
Blackstar (1981)
A great fantasy series
Blackstar was an animated fantasy series done by Filmation, who went on to create He-man and the Masters of the Universe and She-ra, Princess of Power. In fact Blackstar seems very much like a warm-up for He-man; the combined science fiction/fantasy atmosphere of Sagar would be reborn in a new form in He-man's Eternia, which would end up getting developed a lot more deeply because He-man ran for something like 130 episodes and Blackstar ran only 13. I last saw this series in the early 80's, and I still vividly recall it with wonder. It was a true epic fantasy. I highly recommend it if you can find it on video somewhere.
Five Children and It (1991)
Beautifully done childlike fantasy film
This is a beautiful adaptation of an Edith Nesbitt book, very full of a beautiful childlike innocence and wonder. The Sand Fairy(or Psammead) is one of the best creature puppets I have ever seen- its movements are amazingly lifelike and full of personality. An excellent fantasy film- highly recommended.
Fool's Fire (1992)
Eerie,strange and beautiful adaptation of great Poe story
I accidently caught this strange and beautiful tv movie when it first aired in the early 90's, while I was on a ski trip. With its weird and eerie and incredibly beautiful fairy tale atmosphere it is very reminiscent of Jim Henson's "Storyteller", and it's a shame that it only seems to have aired once and never rerun. I have no idea whether it's available on video or not, but if you can find it, I highly recommend watching it, and reading the Edgar Allen Poe story(titled "Hopfrog") it is based on as well.