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214 films

Fantasy

Fantasy brings myth, magic and dream logic to the screen. It stretches from Méliès's trick films to Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, from the Technicolor wonder of The Wizard of Oz and The Thief of Bagdad to Miyazaki's animated worlds and the digital epics of the 2000s. The best examples treat the impossible with complete seriousness, so that the rules of the invented world feel real.

Where
France, the United States, Britain, Japan, Mexico
When
From the 1900s; major waves in the 1930s–40s and after 2000
Key figures
Georges Méliès, Jean Cocteau, Michael Powell, Hayao Miyazaki, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson
Landmark films
The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Beauty and the Beast (1946), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Legacy
Showed that cinema can build whole worlds, not just record the real one

What to look for

  • Myths and fairy tales retold
  • Worlds with their own rules and logic
  • Costume, creature and set design
  • Dream and reality overlapping
  • Journeys that change the hero

Directors with the most films in this genre

Alejandro Jodorowsky5 filmsApichatpong Weerasethakul4 filmsFederico Fellini4 filmsGuillermo del Toro4 filmsJan Švankmajer4 filmsJean Cocteau4 filmsLuis Buñuel4 filmsEmir Kusturica3 filmsGeorges Méliès3 filmsGuy Maddin3 filmsIngmar Bergman3 filmsPier Paolo Pasolini3 filmsRené Clair3 filmsWerner Schroeter3 filmsAlexander Sokurov2 filmsDavid Lynch2 filmsDerek Jarman2 filmsF.W. Murnau2 filmsFrancis Ford Coppola2 filmsFrank Capra2 filmsFritz Lang2 filmsG. Aravindan2 filmsGeorge A. Romero2 filmsGeorge Lucas2 films
See all 154 directors
Hayao Miyazaki2 filmsHirokazu Kore-eda2 filmsIldikó Enyedi2 filmsJacques Rivette2 filmsMakoto Shinkai2 filmsMarcel Carné2 filmsMarco Ferreri2 filmsMichael Cacoyannis2 filmsNeil Jordan2 filmsPaul Wegener2 filmsPeter Jackson2 filmsPhilippe Garrel2 filmsPowell & Pressburger2 filmsRoy Andersson2 filmsSatoshi Kon2 filmsShohei Imamura2 filmsTerrence Malick2 filmsTim Burton2 filmsVictor Fleming2 filmsVincente Minnelli2 filmsWes Craven2 filmsWim Wenders2 filmsWojciech Has2 filmsWoody Allen2 filmsAgnieszka Holland1 filmAgnès Varda1 filmAkira Kurosawa1 filmAlberto Lattuada1 filmAleksandar Petrović1 filmAlexander Dovzhenko1 filmAlfonso Cuarón1 filmAli Abbasi1 filmAlice Guy-Blaché1 filmAlice Rohrwacher1 filmAndrzej Żuławski1 filmAng Lee1 filmAnurag Kashyap1 filmAri Folman1 filmArne Mattsson1 filmAtıf Yılmaz1 filmBahram Beyzaie1 filmBenjamin Christensen1 filmBob Rafelson1 filmBruno Dumont1 filmCarl Theodor Dreyer1 filmChloé Zhao1 filmChristian Petzold1 filmCéline Sciamma1 filmDavid Cronenberg1 filmDavid Fincher1 filmDavid Lean1 filmEric Rohmer1 filmErnst Lubitsch1 filmFernando Birri1 filmFerzan Özpetek1 filmGene Kelly1 filmGian Luigi Polidoro1 filmGlauber Rocha1 filmGreta Gerwig1 filmHiroshi Inagaki1 filmHiroshi Teshigahara1 filmIsao Takahata1 filmJacques Demy1 filmJames Cameron1 filmJean Delannoy1 filmJean-Luc Godard1 filmJean-Pierre Jeunet1 filmJim Jarmusch1 filmJoachim Trier1 filmJoaquim Pedro de Andrade1 filmJoseph L. Mankiewicz1 filmJulien Duvivier1 filmJulio Medem1 filmKaneto Shindo1 filmKarel Reisz1 filmKatsuhiro Otomo1 filmKen Loach1 filmKenji Mizoguchi1 filmKenneth Branagh1 filmKrzysztof Kieślowski1 filmLav Diaz1 filmLeopoldo Torre Nilsson1 filmLeos Carax1 filmLev Kuleshov1 filmLindsay Anderson1 filmLisandro Alonso1 filmLois Weber1 filmLouis Malle1 filmLuigi Comencini1 filmLuis García Berlanga1 filmMani Kaul1 filmMario Bava1 filmMasahiro Shinoda1 filmMasaki Kobayashi1 filmMati Diop1 filmMatteo Garrone1 filmMaurice Pialat1 filmMike Newell1 filmMiklós Jancsó1 filmPablo Larraín1 filmPaolo Sorrentino1 filmPark Chan-wook1 filmPaul Leni1 filmPeter Greenaway1 filmRaoul Walsh1 filmRaúl Ruiz1 filmReha Erdem1 filmRichard Linklater1 filmRobert Altman1 filmRobert Bresson1 filmRobert Wiene1 filmRoman Polanski1 filmRuy Guerra1 filmSatyajit Ray1 filmSeijun Suzuki1 filmSerdar Akar1 filmSergei Parajanov1 filmSouleymane Cissé1 filmSrdjan Dragojević1 filmStanley Kwan1 filmThe Coen Brothers1 filmThe Taviani Brothers1 filmTod Browning1 filmTsai Ming-liang1 filmVictor Sjöström1 filmVishal Bhardwaj1 filmVittorio De Sica1 filmVíctor Erice1 filmWilfred Jackson1 filmZhang Yimou1 film

Often combined with

Drama Comedy Horror Adventure Romance Animation

Top 100 rated films

  1. The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 · Peter Jackson · IMDb 8.9
  2. It's a Wonderful Life 1946 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.6
  3. Star Wars 1977 · George Lucas · IMDb 8.6
  4. Your Name 2016 · Makoto Shinkai · IMDb 8.4
  5. Princess Mononoke 1997 · Hayao Miyazaki · IMDb 8.3
  6. We Are Not Angels 1992 · Srdjan Dragojević · IMDb 8.3
  7. Pan's Labyrinth 2006 · Guillermo del Toro · IMDb 8.2
  8. A Trip to the Moon 1902 · Georges Méliès · IMDb 8.1
  9. Dimensions of Dialogue 1982 · Jan Švankmajer · IMDb 8.1
  10. Faust 1926 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 8.1
  11. The Seventh Seal 1957 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 8.1
  12. The Wizard of Oz 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.1
  13. Ugetsu 1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.1
  14. A Matter of Life and Death 1946 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 8.0
  15. The Phantom Carriage 1921 · Victor Sjöström · IMDb 8.0
  16. Underground 1995 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.0
  17. Avatar 2009 · James Cameron · IMDb 7.9
  18. Beauty and the Beast 1946 · Jean Cocteau · IMDb 7.9
  19. Kwaidan 1964 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.9
  20. Life of Pi 2012 · Ang Lee · IMDb 7.9
  21. The Exterminating Angel 1962 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.9
  22. Wings of Desire 1987 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.9
  23. Edward Scissorhands 1990 · Tim Burton · IMDb 7.8
  24. Kiki's Delivery Service 1989 · Hayao Miyazaki · IMDb 7.8
  25. Millennium Actress 2001 · Satoshi Kon · IMDb 7.8
  26. Nosferatu 1922 · F.W. Murnau · IMDb 7.8
  27. Orpheus 1950 · Jean Cocteau · IMDb 7.8
  28. Simon of the Desert 1965 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.8
  29. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2008 · David Fincher · IMDb 7.8
  30. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 7.8
  31. Dreams (1990) 1990 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.7
  32. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 · Mike Newell · IMDb 7.7
  33. Iphigenia 1977 · Michael Cacoyannis · IMDb 7.7
  34. Paprika 2006 · Satoshi Kon · IMDb 7.7
  35. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.7
  36. The Holy Mountain 1973 · Alejandro Jodorowsky · IMDb 7.7
  37. The Saragossa Manuscript 1965 · Wojciech Has · IMDb 7.7
  38. The Spirit of the Beehive 1973 · Víctor Erice · IMDb 7.7
  39. The Thief of Bagdad 1924 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.7
  40. A Little Princess 1995 · Alfonso Cuarón · IMDb 7.6
  41. After Life 1998 · Hirokazu Kore-eda · IMDb 7.6
  42. Destiny 1921 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.6
  43. Häxan 1922 · Benjamin Christensen · IMDb 7.6
  44. Lost Horizon 1937 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.6
  45. Midnight in Paris 2011 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.6
  46. Miracle in Milan 1951 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 7.6
  47. O Lucky Man! 1973 · Lindsay Anderson · IMDb 7.6
  48. The Double Life of Véronique 1991 · Krzysztof Kieślowski · IMDb 7.6
  49. The Flat 1968 · Jan Švankmajer · IMDb 7.6
  50. The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.6
  51. Un chien andalou 1929 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.6
  52. Waking Life 2001 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 7.6
  53. Electra 1962 · Michael Cacoyannis · IMDb 7.5
  54. Endless Poetry 2016 · Alejandro Jodorowsky · IMDb 7.5
  55. Face to Face 1976 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 7.5
  56. Happy as Lazzaro 2018 · Alice Rohrwacher · IMDb 7.5
  57. My Winnipeg 2008 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.5
  58. On Body and Soul 2017 · Ildikó Enyedi · IMDb 7.5
  59. Pitfall 1962 · Hiroshi Teshigahara · IMDb 7.5
  60. The Overcoat 1952 · Alberto Lattuada · IMDb 7.5
  61. Weathering with You 2019 · Makoto Shinkai · IMDb 7.5
  62. Ballad of Tara 1979 · Bahram Beyzaie · IMDb 7.4
  63. Beetlejuice 1988 · Tim Burton · IMDb 7.4
  64. Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 7.4
  65. Juliet of the Spirits 1965 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.4
  66. The City of Lost Children 1995 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet · IMDb 7.4
  67. The Dance of Reality 2013 · Alejandro Jodorowsky · IMDb 7.4
  68. The Hole 1998 · Tsai Ming-liang · IMDb 7.4
  69. The Hourglass Sanatorium 1973 · Wojciech Has · IMDb 7.4
  70. Vampyr 1932 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 7.4
  71. Brand Upon the Brain! 2006 · Guy Maddin · IMDb 7.3
  72. Cinderella (1950) 1950 · Wilfred Jackson · IMDb 7.3
  73. Dracula 1931 · Tod Browning · IMDb 7.3
  74. Heaven Can Wait 1943 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.3
  75. Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery 2016 · Lav Diaz · IMDb 7.3
  76. Petite Maman 2021 · Céline Sciamma · IMDb 7.3
  77. Rouge 1987 · Stanley Kwan · IMDb 7.3
  78. The Secret Garden 1993 · Agnieszka Holland · IMDb 7.3
  79. The Shape of Water 2017 · Guillermo del Toro · IMDb 7.3
  80. Arizona Dream 1993 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 7.2
  81. Celine and Julie Go Boating 1974 · Jacques Rivette · IMDb 7.2
  82. Eraserhead 1977 · David Lynch · IMDb 7.2
  83. Faraway, So Close! 1993 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.2
  84. Les Visiteurs du soir 1942 · Marcel Carné · IMDb 7.2
  85. Los jueves, milagro 1957 · Luis García Berlanga · IMDb 7.2
  86. Only Lovers Left Alive 2013 · Jim Jarmusch · IMDb 7.2
  87. Russian Ark 2002 · Alexander Sokurov · IMDb 7.2
  88. Surviving Life 2010 · Jan Švankmajer · IMDb 7.2
  89. The Golem: How He Came into the World 1920 · Paul Wegener · IMDb 7.2
  90. The Hudsucker Proxy 1994 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  91. The Night of the Shooting Stars 1982 · The Taviani Brothers · IMDb 7.2
  92. Tierra 1996 · Julio Medem · IMDb 7.2
  93. Cabin in the Sky 1943 · Vincente Minnelli · IMDb 7.1
  94. I Married a Witch 1942 · René Clair · IMDb 7.1
  95. Les Portes de la nuit 1946 · Marcel Carné · IMDb 7.1
  96. Looking for Eric 2009 · Ken Loach · IMDb 7.1
  97. On the Silver Globe 1988 · Andrzej Żuławski · IMDb 7.1
  98. The Dead Zone 1983 · David Cronenberg · IMDb 7.1
  99. The Devil's Eye 1960 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 7.1
  100. The Tales of Hoffmann 1951 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 7.1