The movie The NeverEnding Story has had a big impact on me as a child. As far as I remember this was the first fantasy movie I ever saw. That, combined with the popularity of the movie, is what it has a high ranking on the list of best fantasy movies.
The NeverEnding Story is based on the novel Die Unendliche Geschichte by the German author Michael Ende. The book was published in 1979, the movie was produced in 1984.
The story is about a boy Bastian who, when reading a book, finds himself in the land Fantasia. Fantasy is on the verge of being destroyed by “The Nothing”. The Childlike Empress of Fantasia summons a young warrior from the Plains People, Atreyu, to find a way to save Fantasia.
On this quest Atreyu sees an image of Bastian but, despite Atreyu’s best efforts, and those of this fellow adventurers (two gnomes, an urgl and a luckdragon), he returns empty-handed.
The Empress of Fantasia makes clear that Bastian as reader of the book can save the world and he does so by shouting the name of the Empress “Moonchild”. Fantasia is saved just in time and Bastian can then wish the whole world back by means of his imagination.
The NeverEnding Story is a classical eighties movies with corresponding story, visual effects (like the luckdragon Falkor) and music. Two sequels were made but neither were as good and popular as the original.
One of the great classic movies, The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939. The story is one we all know, although many will have come to know it through one of the many remakes.
The story is based on a novel by L. Frank Baum, who wrote it around the year 1900. The 12 year old girl Dorothy is knocked unconscious and finds herself in a strange fantasy world called the Land of Oz. Helped by the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, she goes looking for the Wizard of Oz who can bring her back to her own world. In the mean time the are pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West. It doesn’t work out the way they planned but in the end Dorothy is able to return to her world by herself.
Although the initial release was not that successful but later releases and the showing of the movie on national American television several times, made the movie very popular and influential. The story, the fact that the movie was made in color (Technicolor) and the songs all contributed to this.
There have been several remakes of the movie and also a cartoon television series. This also ensured that every child growing up in the western world has been introduced to the story. After the success of Tim Burton’s new Alice in Wonderland, there are also plans for producing a new Wizard of Oz movie.
Not only is The Wizard of Oz fun to watch, it has also been very influential and is seen by many as one of the best movies of all time. Even after 70 years, it still is a great movie to watch and one you should have at least seen once in your lifetime.
Born on January 22, 1906 in Texax, Robert Ervin Howard became famous in the world of fantasy and literature as the the creator of Conan the Barbarian and the Sword & Sorcery fantasy genre.
Howard grew up in a booming oil town in Texas where he also spent most of his life. He was very interested in becoming a writer since he was young and starting writing when he was in his teens. Although he had a difficult start, Howard became a popular author and was able to live from his writing. Howard wrote stories and novels, mostly surrounding fantasy and western themes with his Conan stories as his pinnacle. He became friends with H.P. Lovecraft, another fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his novel The Call of Cthulhu.
After hearing that his mother had slipped into a coma and was about to die, Robert E. Howard committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. He was aged only 30.
Conan and other works
In his short life Howard has written quite a few stories and short novels. Most of these were horror and fantasy related but later on in his life he also started writing western stories.
By far the most famous character Howard created was Conan the Barbarian. After the stories of Kull were not received well, Howard changed the character into Conan and changed the stories to become more dark and brutal. They show the downsides of civilication like corruption and oppression. Conan, on the contrary, is honest, straightforward, speaks his mind and does what is right.
Over the years Howard wrote serveral Conan stories, with his main outlet for his writing being the magazine Weird tales. Howard also published several novels containing one or more Conan stories.
Conan was always depicted as the barbaric warrior who, depending on the story, saved a damsel in distress or fought an evil oppressor. Howard’s worlds are full of violence in which magic is used by Conan’s enemies.
This type of hero and storyline inspired many other authors and were the basis for what we now know as Sword & Sorcery. Throughout the twentieth century Howard’s work was more and more seen as important and influential literature, making him one to be considered as one of the best fantasy authors of all time. His influence and fame grew even more by the movies that were made based on his stories and characters, especially the cult movies Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer and Red Sonja, all starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By creating the character of Conan the Barbarian and Sword & Sorcery, Howard has had enormous effect on the fantasy genre, influencing many authors even to this day.
We all know the story told in the movies based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. The three Lord of the Rings movies are generally considered to be among the best movies ever made and to me they are also by far the best fantasy movies ever. I will provide a short analysis of each movie and then answer the question: when comparing the three movies, which one is the best?
The Fellowship of the Ring
As the introduction to the world and characters of LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring pulls viewers into the story, amazing them with the rich and detailed world and likeable characters. The movie sets up the complete story line and prepares viewers for what is to come. It is therefore very memorable but at the same time it is somewhat slow-paced with lots of dailogues and less action/ battles.
IMDb rating: 8.8 – Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
The Two Towers
The second movie of the trilogy is well balanced: Frodo and Sam go off to destroy the ring while at the same time the rest of the fellowship go on their own quests. This results in several story lines focusing on the struggles of Frodo but at the same time gives attention to the other people and races that inhabit Middle-earth and their fight against the forces of evil. There is much attention for politics, deceipt and mistrust while the dialogues between Legolas and Gimli even provide some humor. The battle of the Ents at Saruman’s tower and the legendary battle at Helm’s Deep between the Rohirrim and the Uruk-Hai are a great conclusion to this movie.
IMDb rating: 8.7 – Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
The Return of the King
The third and last Lord of the Rings movie focuses on two major topics: the ever more difficult quest of Frodo to reach mount Doom and destroy the ring on the one hand and the build up to the enourmous battle on the Pelennor Fields at the city of Minas Tirith on the other hand. Together they bring the trilogy to a very tense, tragic and impressively made ending. A minor downside is that it takes a really long time to get there: at some point I felt like ‘just get it over with’!
IMDb rating: 8.8 – Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%
Comparison and Conclusion
You may already have understood it when reading the short analysis of each of the movies: The Two Towers is my favorite LOTR movie. It has the best balance between character development, the journey to destroy the ring and action in the form of smaller fights and the large battle at Helm’s Deep. The other two movies were great but focused a bit too much on specific themes which to me made them just a little less good.
Still, together I believe the movies to be by far the best fantasy movies made and I do not expect any other fantasy movie to ever outclass them. However, I do hope that one day The Hobbit will also be made into a movie and that it will be of the same quality.
Robert Jordan created a fantasy series spanning a total of 14 books (of which two still have to be completed by Brandon Sanderson). Written over a time of more than two decades, The Wheel of Time series is one of the legends of the fantasy genre.
The series is about the young sheepherder Rand al’Thor who turns out to be the only hope the world has in defeating the Dark One. In a world where women are allowed to channel (use magic), the Wheel of Time spins round and round: every Age going through the same struggle between good and evil. Always there is a so-called Dragon who stands against the Dark One but turns out to be unable to utterly defeat him. This Age, Rand al’Thor is the Dragon Reborn and with the help of many, many friends, he just might pull it of.
The Wheel of Time is a great and influential series with the cliché story of a simple boy who turns out to be the great hero. However, these series is well written with original ideas and approaches, both when it comes to story telling and in relation to the use of magic.
A lot of attention is given to the personal issues of the main characters and development of them throughout the books but the series is often considered to be a bit too extensive and having too many characters. It feels like the story could have been told in three books or perhaps a some more and that now it just drags on.
Author Robert Jordan passed away in 2007 before finishing the 12th book of the series. He has handed over the torch to Brandon Sanderson who completed the Gathering Storm in 2009. Hopefully he can write a satisfying end to the series.
The Books
1. The Eye of the World
2. The Great Hunt
3. The Dragon Reborn
4. The Shadow Rising
5. The Fires of Heaven
6. Lord of Chaos
7. A Crown of Swords
8. The Path of Daggers
9. Winter’s Heart
10. Crossroads of Twilight
11. Knife of Dreams
12. The Gathering Storm
13. Towers of Midnight
14. A Memory of Light (forthcoming)
