re: #10 jaunte

#1 Use actors with talent.

And if you don’t have actors with talent (or maybe unpolished actors) get a good director who knows how to get a solid performance from said actors.*

Case in point: Conan the Barbarian (1982). Say what you will about John Milius, but his direction (and uncredited screenplay re-write) created a gold-standard film for the sword-and-sorcery genre, one that inspired a whole slew of knock-offs from the four corners of the Earth.

*I’d add that casting Max von Sydow and James Earl Jones - two acting heavyweights - also really helped, especially Jones as cult leader Thulsa Doom, as that gave the audiences a great charismatic villain that elevated the tone of the movie overall.