Cinema has come a long way since its founding. The early 20th century saw major leaps in technology in just a few decades, from adding sound and music tracks to color and impressive special effects that could do everything from make a man seem invisible or a horse fly through the air. Now, a quarter into the 21st century, cinema looks completely different from its origins, especially with how often computers are used to bring to life what once needed elaborate sets and puppetry.
The fantasy genre, in particular, has seen many great releases during this time. Within the last 100 years alone, audiences have been treated to movies that, using the technology available to them and the creative minds of their writers, transport views into worlds where the make-believe seems plausible, while teaching important lessons that can help us get through the trials of day-to-day living.These are the best fantasy movies of the last century, ranked by how meaningful they are to the genre, their legacy, and their overall quality.
Directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan
King Ahmad (John Justin) of Baghdad is betrayed by his Vizier, Jafar (Conrad Veidt), but escapes his execution with the help of a thief named Abu (Sabu). On their way to the coast, they arrive in Basra, where Ahmad falls in love with its Princess (June Duprez). Unfortunately, Jafar also has his sights set on her and unleashes his dark sorcerous powers on anyone who stands in his way.
The Thief of Bagdadispure magic put to film, and there’s no denying its impact on all subsequent adaptations of theOne Thousand and One Nights. The acting all around is superb, but Veidt and Sabu stand out among the main cast: Veidt’s training as a silent actor allows him to express powerful emotions through Jafar’s eyes alone, and Sabu brings such a sincere warmth and joy to the film as its plucky and optimistic thief. The film was also thefirst to use blue screen technology, and while it’s noticeable by today’s standards,the effects still look impressiveand help add to the film’s mystical atmosphere.
The Thief of Bagdad
9The Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)
Directed by Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates
11-year-old Harry Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) world changes forever when he receives owl-delivered letters admitting him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This introduces him to a hidden world of wizards who view Harry as a celebrity due to his miraculous hand in the downfall of Lord Voldemort (Ian HartandRalph Fiennes) as an infant. As he attends Hogwarts, he befriends fellow first-year students Ronald Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), but soon learns that Lord Voldemort might not be as vanquished as everyone first assumed.
TheHarry Potterbooks shook up the world of children’s literature, and the films helped ensure the franchise became a global phenomenon. It isa series that grows up with its audience: early installments are more lighthearted and whimsical, focusing on Harry and the audience’s interaction with the magical world, but soon a creeping darkness emerges, and the tone shifts to more grim and serious to reflect the responsibilities of growing up. It also helps that the films had a terrific cast of all-star actors,who helped elevate these already well-written charactersto icons of popular culture.
8’La Belle et la Bête' (1946)
Directed by Jean Cocteau
A merchant (Marcel André) heads off to acquire a fortune that will make up for his lost cargo ships and promises to return home with gifts for his daughters. Unfortunately, the fortune is seized to pay off his debts, so the merchant is forced to seek shelter in a mysterious castle, where he plucks a rose from its garden for his youngest daughter, Belle (Josette Day). Enraged, the master of the castle, a Beast (Jean Marais), threatens the man’s life unless his daughter agrees to stay in the Beast’s castle.
WatchingLa Belle et la Bêteis like stepping into a dream. There’sa haunting, enchanting atmosphereabout it, from the mundane and destitute existence of Belle’s family to the enchanted castle where doors open on their own and mysterious hands are always present to attend to Belle’s every need, or the stylistic choice of having smoke come from the Beast’s hands to indicate that he has killed. Marais' take on the Beast is legendary, thanks to phenomenal makeup that makes him look truly animalistic and stellar nonverbal acting that captures the tortured soul trapped within. Every aspect is outstanding, which goes a long way to making this filma fairy tale masterpiece.
Beauty and the Beast
7’It’s a Wonderful Life' (1946)
Directed by Frank Capra
On Christmas Eve, George Bailey (Bobby AndersonandJames Stewart) contemplates suicide while, unknown to him, his friends and family pray for his well-being. Their thoughts are overheard by two angels, who instruct a wingless angel named Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) to save George and help him see how much he is valued. Clarence sees a flashback of George’s life and the many sacrifices he made to help his loved ones and community, especially against the greedy banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore).
It’s a Wonderful Lifeis often heralded as one of thegreatest Christmas films ever madeanda gorgeously sentimental story about self-sacrifice, community, and how we often can’t see the scope of our accomplishments. This is thanks to how sincere its characters are and the timeless reliability of life’s many curveballs, which force us to take new paths and adjust our dreams and expectations. The scene where Clarence shows George an alternate world where he was never born has been referenced and re-created in countless stories, yet it only appears in the final third of the movie. It hits even harder because the audience has come to know George and his community so well.
It’s a Wonderful Life
6’The Adventures of Prince Achmed' (1926)
Directed by Lotte Reiniger
A Sorcerer travels to his local Caliph and offers him a magnificent flying horse in exchange for the Caliph’s daughter. Her brother, Prince Achmed, tests the horse to see if it’s worth the trade, but he is unable to control it and ends up flying far away into the east. His attempts to get home place him on many adventures, involving women who can transform into birds, demons, and magic lamps.
The Adventures of Prince Achmedisthe oldest surviving animated filmand remains one of the most unique, thanks to itsfantastic shadow-puppet-inspired animation. Thanks to a three-year production time, the characters all have precise movements and display a wide array of emotions through body language, allowing for intent to be inferred even without dialogue. It’s alsooverflowing with creativity, weaving multiple stories from theOne Hundred and One Knightstogether in a way that is both simple and engaging.
5’Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937)
Directed by David Hand, Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen
When her magic mirror (Moroni Olsen) reveals that her step-daughter, Snow White (Adriana Caselotti), is the fairest in the land, the Evil Queen (Lucille La Verne) commands her huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) to kill her and carve out her heart. However, the huntsman can’t bring himself to harm the good-hearted princess and warns her to flee into the woods. There, she comes across a cottage inhabited by seven dwarfs, who agree to let her stay.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfswas the first animated film from North America, the first animated film made with three-strip Technicolor, and hasshaped the aesthetic of every single fairy tale moviereleased since. The art style evokes the appearance of illustrations in old European fairy tale books, which helps the film retaina timeless appeal. Its story, while simple compared to future Disney projects, successfullyelicits powerful emotions from the audience, especially regarding Snow White’s relationship with the dwarf Grumpy (Pinto Colvig).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
4’The Princess Bride' (1987)
Directed by Rob Reiner
A grandfather (Peter Falk) reads a book to his sick grandson (Fred Savage) about a peasant girl named Buttercup (Robin Wright), whose love, Westley (Cary Elwes), goes missing while trying to earn his fortune so they can marry. Years later, she is chosen to be the bride of Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) but is kidnapped by a trio of brigands: self-claimed intellectual Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), a giant named Fezzik (André the Giant), and swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). They plan to kill Buttercup to incite a war with Humperdinck’s neighbors, but as they travel to the border of the two kingdoms, they are pursued by a mysterious and highly skilled man in black.
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know at least one of themany iconic quotesfromThe Princess Bride—that’s how ingrained in popular culture this film is. Of course, it has a lot more to offer than just great quotes: the film knows that it is a feel-good fairy tale and revels in it, presenting its world and characters with atongue-in-cheek style of humor, while still making room forbeautiful romances and genuine emotional moments. The best of these involve Inigo Montoya’s quest for revenge against his father’s murderer, captured throughPatinkin’s legendary performance fueled by painfrom losing his father to cancer.
The Princess Bride
3’Spirited Away' (2001)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
On their way to a new house, Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi/Daveigh Chase) and her parents accidentally stumble into the spirit world and become trapped. Her parents are turned into pigs, and Chihiro is spared the same fate by getting a job at the local bathhouse, run by a witch named Yubaba (Mari Natsuki/Suzanne Pleshette), who takes her name. Now called Sen, Chihiro has to work hard to remember her identity, befriend local spirits, and find a way to get herself and her parents back home.
Spirited Awaywas the first foreign movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and is regarded as one of, if not the,greatest triumphs of animation in the 21st century. At its heart, it’s a coming-of-age tale that uses its spirit world to representthe various trials of transitioning from childhood, as well as some subtle but powerful environmentalist themes. It also containssome of the strongest atmospheric scenesin any animated film and knows when to cut back on dialogue, so the audience can immerse themselves in the world and emotions.
Spirited Away
2’The Lord of the Rings Trilogy' (2001-2003)
Directed by Sir Peter Jackson
When the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) inherits the house of his uncle, Bilbo (Sir Ian Holm), he also requires a magic ring that can turn its wearer invisible. However, it turns out this ring is the One Ring forged by the dark lord Sauron (Alan Howard), and, should he reclaim it, he will have the strength needed to dominate the free people of Middle-earth. To stop him, Frodo and an unlikely band of companions must travel to the heart of Sauron’s dark realm of Mordor and throw the ring into the fires of Mount Doom.
Sir Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy broke all kinds of records on release, sweeping the Academy Awards and proving that fantasy movies had what it took to be major blockbusters. Groundbreaking special effects brought Middle-earth to life in ways never seen before, and most of them still hold up beautifully over 20 years later, from the CGI used on monsters likethe terrifying Balrogto the impressive miniatures used to create the beautiful cities and fortresses. Yet what truly keeps people coming back is the story and characters, which demonstrate such themes asthe power of friendship, the horrors of war, the inevitable passage of time, and triumph over impossible odds.
1’The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
Directed by Victor Fleming
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is a young girl from Kansas who longs for something new. One day, her house is swept up in a tornado, which transports her and her dog, Toto (Terry), to the magical land of Oz. To get home, she must travel to the Emerald City and seek help from the Wizard (Frank Morgan). Along the way, she befriends a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a Tin Woodsman (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), who join her in the hopes the Wizard can help them too.
No other fantasy filmhas been able to evoke the same kind of wonder, awe, and magic asThe Wizard of Oz. Its legendary shift from the black-and-white visuals of Dorothy’s boring life to the vibrant technicolor landscape of Oz is pure movie magic, and like Dorothy, the audience is drawn into this new world and made eager to explore everything it has to offer. Combined with beloved songs and some of the most well-known and enduring characters in film, you havea masterpiece that will continue to inspire audiences for another 100 yearsof cinema.
The Wizard of Oz
NEXT:The 10 Greatest Fantasy Movies of All Time, According to Roger Ebert
