Adventure!!!
Adventure films tend to revolve around one person or a small group of people thrown together by circumstances. They get caught up in plots that often feature journeys to exotic locales, man vs nature themes, survival, or the finding of treasure/lost civilizations. If there are villains in these films then (unlike in the action/war genre) the hero is not a physical match for them and must evade, race, outwit, or sabotage them. 'Fun' and 'Rousing' are words generally used to describe a good adventure film.
As so many blockbuster films have elements of adventure in them, I tried to only include 'pure' adventure films; nothing that has too much Action, Sci-fi, War, etc.
I also tried not to include anything too corny, racist, or John Wayne-y. These are all films that movie people of any age should be able to enjoy in the here and now.
I'm not counting the more dark and gritty wilderness survival films like The Revenant or The Grey.
I've created a separate list for Military Adventure.
As so many blockbuster films have elements of adventure in them, I tried to only include 'pure' adventure films; nothing that has too much Action, Sci-fi, War, etc.
I also tried not to include anything too corny, racist, or John Wayne-y. These are all films that movie people of any age should be able to enjoy in the here and now.
I'm not counting the more dark and gritty wilderness survival films like The Revenant or The Grey.
I've created a separate list for Military Adventure.
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- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordSean ConneryAlison DoodyIn 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.While technically a western, this film features characters traveling vast distances, evading capture, and searching for a hidden treasure.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.A fun adventure and obvious influence on Star Wars/Indiana Jones, where a small band of distinct characters lurch from one wacky scrape to another while evading a scary army of bad guys.
- DirectorCornel WildeStarsCornel WildeGert van den BerghKen GampuDuring the 1800s, a safari guide, two elephant hunters and their crew run into trouble with the natives in the South African veld when they refuse to offer gifts to the tribesmen.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJames StewartRichard AttenboroughPeter FinchAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSean ConneryMichael CaineChristopher PlummerIn 1880s India, two former British soldiers decide to set themselves up as Kings in Kafiristan, a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander the Great.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.OK, so this one is kinda racist. Gunga Din and the film's villain are both played by white people in brown-face. It also perpetuates the idea that India needed Britain around to keep the Indian people safe. From world conquering death cults, of course.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsKenneth MoreLauren BacallHerbert LomSet on the North West Frontier of colonial India in 1905. A British Army Officer, Captain Scott is sent to rescue a five year old Indian Prince and his American governess, Catherine Wyatt from certain death at the hands of rebel tribesman.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsRonald ColmanJane WyattEdward Everett HortonWhen a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleJosé LewgoyThe story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.
- DirectorCompton BennettAndrew MartonStarsDeborah KerrStewart GrangerRichard CarlsonAdventurer Allan Quartermain leads an expedition into uncharted African territory in an attempt to locate an explorer who went missing during his search for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon.While a case can be made for the 1937 version, I believe this is the best.
- DirectorLansing C. HoldenIrving PichelStarsHelen GahaganRandolph ScottHelen MackA group of explorers search of the legendary "flame of life," a mysterious force that bestows immortality.
- DirectorToa FraserStarsJames RollestonLawrence MakoareTe Kohe TuhakaAfter his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery, the teenage son of a slain Maori chieftain looks to avenge his father's murder and bring peace and honor to the souls of his loved ones.%69 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael BeckJames RemarDorsey WrightA street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.Even if it does take place entirely in the city.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim SturgessEd HarrisColin FarrellSiberian gulag escapees travel four thousand miles by foot to freedom in India.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.This one will be too artsy and dour for some.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsGerardo TaracenaRaoul Max TrujilloDalia HernándezAs the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.I think this one only gets good in the second half when it pretty much becomes Central American 'Naked Prey'.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsPowers BootheMeg FosterYara VaneauAfter the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsMartin SheenEmilio EstevezDeborah Kara UngerA father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El camino de Santiago," and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerStuart WhitmanSusannah YorkAfter a small aircraft crashes in the Kalahari Desert, one of the seven passengers decides that his survival chances would increase if he eliminates the other men in the group.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsAnthony HopkinsAlec BaldwinElle MacphersonAn intellectual billionaire and two other men struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood-thirsty Kodiak Bear hunting them down.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordWill GeerDelle BoltonA mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsRobert RedfordAfter a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsSean ConneryCandice BergenBrian KeithA Berber chieftain triggers an international incident, drawing the involvement of Theodore Roosevelt, when he kidnaps an American widow and her children in 1900s Morocco.
- DirectorPhilipp StölzlStarsBenno FürmannFlorian LukasJohanna WokalekA secretary at a Berlin newspaper in 1936 gets to write about two Alpinists, as she knows them well. She later gets to report on and photograph her friends' and other Alpinists' climbs of the dangerous Swiss Eiger north face.
- DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsJason ClarkeAng Phula SherpaThomas M. WrightOn May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGeorge KennedyVonetta McGeeClassical art professor and collector Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioStarsStephen CollinsJeff MacKayCaitlin O'HeaneyThe adventures of a 1930's Pacific Islands bush pilot and his companions.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJamie BellAndy SerkisDaniel CraigIntrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.This is Spielberg making up for Crystal Skull.
I'd rather it were live-action but I suppose Adventure beggars can't be choosers. - DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.Kiddie Indiana Jones.
In fact, I wish they'd worked in some connection in either franchise. Maybe Indiana could briefly mention his contemporary Chester Copperpot or maybe we see Data's grandfather on the beach at the end wearing a NY Yankees cap. - DirectorTaika WaititiStarsSam NeillJulian DennisonRima Te WiataA national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
- DirectorRémi ChayéStarsChrista ThéretFéodor AtkineThomas SagolsIn 1882, a young Russian aristocrat goes on an epic adventure to find out what happened to her grandfather and save her family's reputation.
- DirectorJules BassArthur Rankin Jr.StarsOrson BeanJohn HustonTheodore GottliebA homebody hobbit in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.Yeah, that's right!
The new films came about when a reluctant Peter Jackson was paid a fortune to transform the short, charming adventure story 'The Hobbit' into an epic action/war trilogy by a desperate New Line Cinema who needed a sequel/remake/knockoff of their lucrative Lord of the Rings Trilogy. - StarsColin O'MearaThierry WermuthChristian PelissierThe adventures of the young reporter, his faithful dog and friends as they travel around the world on adventures.
- CreatorJymn MagonStarsAlan YoungRussi TaylorTerence McGovernHuey, Dewey, and Louie are in for an epic surprise when they meet their wealthy but reclusive uncle, Scrooge McDuck. The family embark on globe-trotting adventures and treasure hunts, uncover family secrets, and face dangerous enemies.
- CreatorDoug WildeyStarsMike RoadTim MathesonDon MessickThe Quest family and their bodyguard investigate strange phenomena and battle villains around the world.
- StarsEd GilbertR.J. WilliamsSally StruthersBaloo the Bear from The Jungle Book (1967) is cast as a 1930s Pacific Islands bush pilot.It's Tales of the Gold Monkey animated
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsLaura LinneyTim CurryDylan WalshWhen an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.OK so it ain't Shakespeare (though I think that five star rating is unduly harsh), but I think Adventure fans will find this one worth a viewing.
Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4 stars. - DirectorMichael CurtizWilliam KeighleyStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandBasil RathboneWhen Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence in 1190s England, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a resistance movement.Swashbuckler
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsTyrone PowerLinda DarnellBasil RathboneA young Spanish aristocrat must masquerade as a fop in order to maintain his secret identity of Zorro as he restores justice to early California.Swashbuckler
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnBrenda MarshallClaude RainsGeoffrey Thorpe, a buccaneer, is hired by Queen Elizabeth I to nag the Spanish Armada. The Armada is waiting for an attack on England and Thorpe surprises them with attacks on their galleons where he shows his skills with the sword.Swashbuckler
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandLionel AtwillAfter treating a Monmouth rebel against King James II in 1680s England, a young Irish doctor is exiled as a slave to Jamaica where he captures a Spanish galleon and becomes the most feared pirate of the Caribbean.Swashbuckler
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJim CaviezelGuy PearceChristopher AdamsonA young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.Swashbuckler