These are some of my picks.
Dune (the movie), Dune (Miniseries) and Children of Dune. They all offer nice views of a desert planet and Im a big fan of the original book. Ive incorperated some ideas that I got from the Dune verse about surviving in a desert into my chronicle.
Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Barbarian (2011). I really like these two as classic sword and sorcery flicks. They both show of some nice visuals and one can draw some SK parallels. Saw the new one just recently just after a Dark Sun session, and it was great fun. Just avoid Conan the Destroyer.
Red Sonja. Often more hilarious then insperational, but I still think it has some worth as insperational material. Alot of the soldiers and sets are a bit goofy looking but have that Dark Sun-esque feel to them.
Prince of Persia. Mostly for the visuals I guess. As long as you can avoid thinking to hard of the assassins, especially the one who decided that a two handed axe was the stealthiest of weapons.
Thundercats. The remake series actually serves up some good fodder, especially the third episode with the sand sea is worth a look.
Clash of the Titans (the new one) . It has some nice desert scenes and a fight with mega-scorpions. Dont remember it as a very good movie, but I love the soundtrack. Its one of the ones I allways use for Dark Sun.
Thinking of rewatching Flash Gordon. I have vague memories of the movie and I think It could have the right feel to it, but I doubt its held up very well. Also really looking forward to John Carter of Mars, thats going to fit nicely. Been considering watching that Spartacus series, only saw the first episode when it came out and wasnt very impressed. But hopefully it got better.
Stargate - Think about it, advanced beings that give power to a select few to be their personal warriors. Ra was on a desert planet which had lots of sand storms and a few alien beasts on it. As far as shows go Stargate is a good refrence point, especially the movie.
The chapa'ai could easily be converted to moongates.
The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - all have memorable moments that evokes Dark Sun.
The gladiator scenes in the beginning of Gladiator always had a particularly Athasian feel to me.
As mentioned previously, definitely Stargate. I really like the desert cities.
Just thaught of a old post apocalyptic movie thats worth checking out. Steel Dawn. Alot of people I know have issues with it, but I thinks its pretty sweet.
)Gerudo from Legend of Zelda and the Spirit Temple. A group of Warrior Women who perform raids on the neighboring areas and **** the men. Their leader is a powerful sorcerer and is king of their people. The desert is so treacherous that the only way to navigate it is with the help of a spirit guide.