Among the best fantasy movies of all time are those that blend fantasy with historical fiction. Many works of fantasy are inspired by historical events and texts, drawing upon real conflict to make works of fiction more applicable to real-world discourses. However, fantasy stories set in a real historical context can be especially satisfying, encouraging audiences to delve into the history that is entwined with magicians and monsters.
This selection of movies also demonstrates some overlap with the best animated fantasy movies ever and claims several of the best fantasy movie performances in history. For a long time, fantasy struggled to compete with other “more serious” genres; history imbued it with some legitimacy. Long after fantasy and sci-fi have become the reigning genres of pop culture, the fantasy-history combination still holds potential when it has produced many great, educating movies.
10 The Northman (2022)
In 10th-Century Iceland, A Viking Prince Embarks On A Brutal Revenge Quest
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7/10 The Northman R
Robert Eggers’ The Northman adapts the ancient legend of Amleth, the basis for Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. When a young Viking prince (Alexander Skarsgård) witnesses his uncle (Claes Bang) murdering his father (Ethan Hawke), he flees and swears revenge. Returning after years of honing his skills as a warrior, Amleth hunts his uncle in a bloody and brutal tale of revenge and retribution, hoping to rescue his mother (Nicole Kidman).
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*Availability in US Director Robert Eggers Release Date April 22, 2022 Writers Robert Eggers Cast Claes Bang , Ian Gerard Whyte , Nicole Kidman , Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson , Kate Dickie , Olwen Fouéré , Katie Pattinson , Ethan Hawke , Gustav Lindh , Willem Dafoe , Doa Barney , Ralph Ineson , Ian Whyte , Bjork , Alexander Skarsgard , Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson , Anya Taylor-Joy , Murray McArthur Runtime 136 minutes Expand
Alexander Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy, known for their harsh and enigmatic roles with varying amounts of fantastical elements, are perfect to lead this gritty Viking chronicle. Meanwhile, other great actors like Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke take up supporting roles. The Northman exhibits a Hamlet-type story, wherein a king is murdered by his brother who is then targeted in vengeance by his nephew.
The Northman isn’t an easy movie to watch, but it is captivating in its depiction of the complicated intersections of familial love and duty. Where the fantasy of it all is concerned, The Northman engages with Norse mythology, with Taylor-Joy’s character’s untold powers, a Seeress played by Icelandic musician Björk, visions of Valkyries, and more. The result is a grandiose fantasy epic made more so by mythological and historical elements that are never gentle.
9 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)
An Enchanting Return To The Wizarding World In 1920s New York
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7/10 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them PG-13
In 1926, British magizoologist Newt Scamander travels to New York City in his ongoing field research into magical creatures. Here, he finds himself caught up in some trouble involving a No-Maj, local wizarding law enforcement, and the Dark Wizard Grindelwald.
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*Availability in US Director David Yates Release Date November 18, 2016 Writers J.K. Rowling Cast Ezra Miller , Alison Sudol , Eddie Redmayne , Colin Farrell , Katherine Waterston , Dan Fogler Runtime 133 minutes
Fantastic Beasts is a movie franchise that might have gone off the rails later, but the first movie featuring Eddie Redmayne as magical creatures specialist and aspiring writer Newt Scamander is near perfect. Redmayne is the only actor to portray Newt’s quirky, perceptive persona, while variously famous and lesser-known actors like Katherine Waterston, Dan Folger, Alison Sudol, and Colin Farrell excel in their roles.
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The first Wizarding World property to focus on America, longtime Harry Potter fans find interesting translations of American culture and government into magical counterparts. While noteworthy locations are touched upon, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also includes some beautiful, very historical moments, like a magical Prohibition-era bar.
The movie is made highly enjoyable by the likable characters as well as the wide variety of magical creatures Newt is carrying, with some promises of a bigger conflict brewing. Fantastic Beasts, unfortunately, fell into decline, but the first movie accomplishes a strong combination of a story about misconceptions and an exhibition of more of the Wizarding World.
8 The Tale Of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Studio Ghibli’s Mournful Take On The Historic Japanese Folktale
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9/10 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya PG
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is a Japanese animated fantasy drama film based on the classic Japanese folktale “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’s Daughter.” The film follows the life of a young girl, Kaguya, who is discovered as a baby inside a bamboo stalk and is raised by a bamboo cutter and his wife. As she grows up, Kaguya’s mysterious origins and supernatural abilities lead to her being pursued by the emperor and various suitors, forcing her to choose between her humble upbringing and a life of royalty.
Director Isao Takahata Release Date November 23, 2013 Writers Riko Sakaguchi , Isao Takahata Cast Aki Asakura , Takeo Chii , Nobuko Miyamoto , Kengo Kora , Atsuko Takahata Runtime 137 Minutes
The movie amazingly captures the feeling of overwhelming regret and a better life that could have been, transcending any filmmaking limitations.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (also The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter) has been dated to the Heian period of Japanese history, retold many times before it reached Studio Ghibli. Most of Ghibli’s best movies are bittersweet and melancholy, showcasing a spectrum of joyful and sorrowful experiences. Yet The Tale of Princess Kaguya stands out as different among the studio’s other works, a distortion of its typical animation and storytelling styles, even if the narrative is admittedly slow-paced and confusing.
Amid the dreamier and sweeping animation recounting the freedom found in nature, The Tale of Princess Kaguya breaks hearts with the story of the title character. This girl sadly endures a patriarchal setting after she is taken away from the love she found early in her human life. The movie amazingly captures the feeling of overwhelming regret and a better life that could have been, transcending any filmmaking limitations.
7 Hugo (2011)
Hugo’s Journey Into The History Of Fantasy In Beautiful 20th-Century Paris
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Hugo PG
Based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo follows the titular character, a young boy living alone in a train station in Paris. While working to restore an automaton found by his late father, Hugo becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the automaton and filmmaker Georges Méliès. Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Jude Law as part of the main cast.
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*Availability in US Director Martin Scorsese Release Date November 23, 2011 Writers John Logan , Brian Selznick Cast Sacha Baron Cohen , Jude Law , Ben Kingsley , Ray Winstone , Emily Mortimer , Christopher Lee , Asa Butterfield , Chloe Grace Moretz Runtime 126 minutes
Hugo is not a fantasy in the strictest sense, and more of an exploration of fantasy as a concept in people’s lives. In possession of a strange automaton, orphaned Hugo sets out with his new friend Isabelle to discover the career of a legendary filmmaker. Hugo can loosely be called a fantasy because the works of Georges Méliès are benchmark fantasies, which metatextually characterize the movie and its themes.
With a stacked cast that Martin Scorsese was unsurprisingly able to attract, Hugo is an enlightening exploration of cinematic history. The whimsical, hopeful worlds created by Méliès and his collaborators contrast with the cold reality for many in Paris at the time. Yet Scorsese still captures the incredible setting, blending it with themes of believing in magic, which leads to everyone finding family and a happy, peaceful ending.
6 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Ang Lee’s Emotional Milestone Action Movie Set During The Qing Dynasty
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10/10 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon PG-13
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a martial arts film directed by Ang Lee. Released in 2000, the story revolves around warriors Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, played by Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, as they pursue a stolen sword and encounter a mysterious young aristocrat. The film is renowned for its lush visuals and choreographed fight scenes, blending romance and adventure against a historical Chinese backdrop.
Director Ang Lee Release Date December 8, 2000 Writers Wang Hui-ling , James Schamus , Tsai Kuo-jung Cast Chow Yun-Fat , Michelle Yeoh , Zhang Ziyi , Chang Chen , Lang Sihung , Cheng Pei-pei Runtime 120 Minutes
The famed installment in the careers of director Ang Lee and icons Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh accomplished action sequences with gravitas (even if some of the jumps clearly aren’t natural). The romance that never was between these legendary actors’ characters is set against a younger romance and a younger storyline. The thief and warrior Jen sets in motion a spiraling chain of events when she steals a famous sword, an action that is a byproduct of her uncertainty about life.
Considered a movie of the wuxia genre, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon dabbles in fantasy and magic in surrealistic forms to facilitate the character arcs. Against the backdrop of a martial arts epic are human stories of lost love and finding peace. In the end, Jen finds her own way, which was never about so brashly acting out, while her informal mentors finally voice the truth in a cathartic moment of honesty.
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
Pirates Of The Caribbean Offers A Daring Take On The Golden Age Of Piracy
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9/10 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl PG-13
The Curse of the Black Pearl is the film that kickstarted the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, a series of supernatural swashbuckling adventures. In 1720, blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.
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*Availability in US Director Gore Verbinski Release Date July 9, 2003 Writers Ted Elliott , Terry Rossio , Stuart Beattie , Jay Wolpert Cast Johnny Depp , Geoffrey Rush , Orlando Bloom , Keira Knightley , Jack Davenport , Jonathan Pryce Runtime 143 Minutes
Disney pulled off the surprise summer blockbuster of the decade back in 2003, turning one of its iconic theme park attractions with essentially no plot into a hit-action movie. Captain Jack Sparrow enjoys an easy ride through this movie, exhibiting an indefinable persona expertly portrayed by Johnny Depp, with a mysterious past and straightforward goals of more adventure.
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Geoffrey Rush was perfect to play a classic, cackling villain, while the movie benefited from Orlando Bloom’s recent Lord of the Rings breakthrough, and Keira Knightley was a stellar lesser-known casting choice. Other great actors make up the supporting cast, playing dynamic characters in an engaging if fictionalized version of the historical setting.
Pirates of the Caribbean contributes to the mythos of the adventure and rebellion of the Golden Age of Piracy, with perfect nods to the ride and spooky curses to elevate the story. This gave rise to a lucrative franchise with many brilliant designs, even if the story slowly crept downward.
4 The Boy And The Heron (2023)
Hayao Miyazaki Returns To World War II Japan For Another Ghibli Epic
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8/10 The Boy and the Heron Not Rated
Billed as the final work of famed animator Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron is a drama-fantasy film that follows a young boy named Mahito who contends with grief following the passing of his mother during World War II. Forced to evacuate to the countryside amid the war, Mahito struggles to fit into his new environment and contend with his new stepmother. However, Mahito’s life is changed after meeting a strange talking Heron – setting him on a journey of self-discovery filled with magic.
Director Hayao Miyazaki Release Date July 14, 2023 Writers Hayao Miyazaki Cast Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Aimyon , Shōhei Hino , Kô Shibasaki , Takuya Kimura , Yoshino Kimura Runtime 124 Minutes
The Boy and the Heron‘s opening sequence is the most historically relevant part of the movie and its best illustration of how far Studio Ghibli’s animation has come. Mahito escaping cascades of flames is an emetic sequence that sharply segues into the drastically different world of the countryside. Yet the rest of the story bears the subtle undertones of the opening, affecting its final message.
Mahito navigates his way through an otherworld stocked with metaphorical characters and power structures, visual nods to folklore, and past Studio Ghibli movies. It creeps up on Mahito, showing him perspectives he cannot ignore. Heartwarming side characters like Mahito’s young mother and future elderly caretaker shed more light on different parts of his own life. Overall, it’s actually too confusing to be made sense of in a hard thesis. However, the feelings of grief and reconciliation come through.
3 The Green Knight (2021)
The Green Knight’s Emphasizes The Dark Side Of Medieval English Literature
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9/10 The Green Knight R
An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in a more profound journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger.
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*Availability in US Director David Lowery Release Date July 30, 2021 Writers David Lowery Cast Dev Patel , Emilie Hetland , Ralph Ineson , Helena Browne , Alicia Vikander , Joel Edgerton , Erin Kellyman , Barry Keoghan , Anthony Morris , Sean Harris , Kate Dickie , Sarita Choudhury Runtime 125 minutes
It was shockingly snubbed by the Oscars when cinema is unlikely to see a movie like it again any time soon.
The Green Knight is a highly surrealistic take on the famed medieval text, featuring Dev Patel as King Arthur’s kin Sir Gawain (although Arthur is not named in the movie). Those who know anything about the source material will recognize that The Green Knight puts Gawain in a much less flattering light, emphasizing the toxic and destructive nature of knighthood. After a strange and sensual journey to find the Green Knight again, Gawain painfully recognizes his faults in The Green Knight‘s cutting ending.
The characters played by Alicia Vikander and Erin Kellyman exhibit different shades of the same role, where they are only a passing part of the story (Kellyman especially) but judge Gawain in their own way, backed by out-of-this-world performances. The Green Knight is a condemnation, with some alluring settings along the way. It was shockingly snubbed by the Oscars when cinema is unlikely to see a movie like it again any time soon.
2 Midnight In Paris (2011)
Owen Wilson Leaves Behind Modern Paris For A Transformative Literary Meet & Greet
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6/10 Midnight in Paris pg-13
Written and directed by Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson as Gil Pender, a struggling writer who, on a trip to Paris with his fiance, begins traveling back in time to the 1920s every night at midnight, leading him to meet and mingle with some of the city’s biggest names of the time. Besides Wilson, the cast includes Rachel McAdams, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard, Corey Stoll, and Adrien Brody.
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*Availability in US Director Woody Allen Release Date May 11, 2011 Writers Woody Allen Cast Owen Wilson , Tom Hiddleston , Rachel McAdams , Marion Cotillard , Lea Seydoux Runtime 94minutes
Like Hugo, Midnight in Paris illustrates how Paris has its own kind of magic, through the lens of a movie with a much more lighthearted tone. Following a struggling writer who accidentally travels back in time to the 1920s in Paris, Woody Allen’s masterpiece is an indulgent stroll through the city and its history.
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Owen Wilson’s Gil meets up with the Lost Generation, who are riding out Prohibition in Paris and played by a veritable roster of A-listers. The high-quality production means dazzling costumes and sets, while those with some sense of the urban legends surrounding these figures and their writing style will chuckle at the way they are portrayed.
There is a less pleasant moral underneath all this about being unsatisfied with life and making the most of the time one is born into, as well as lightly mocking the upper class and “pseudo-intellectuals.”Yet the audience just needs to do their part to internalize this lesson when everything else in Midnight in Paris is pure pleasure, with some flashes of other periods making cameos.
1 Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Guillermo del Toro’s Dark Fairy Tale In Post-Civil War Spain Is As Impactful As Ever
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Pan’s Labyrinth R
Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth follows Ofelia, a ten-year-old girl living in 1940s Spain who learns she is actually a long-lost fairy princess. With the help of a faun, she is set a series of tasks to complete in order to return to her true home in the fairy underworld. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, with Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, and Doug Jones making up the rest of the main cast.
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*Availability in US Director Guillermo del Toro Release Date January 19, 2007 Writers Guillermo del Toro Cast Sergi López , Doug Jones , Ivana Baquero , Ariadna Gil , Maribel Verdú Runtime 118 minutes
Guillermo del Toro’s career-defining movie depicts the tragedy of a child who wants to escape an unhappy and horrifying existence. She may or may not accomplish this, given Pan’s Labyrinth‘s ambiguous ending. The master of monsters creates beings like the guiding Faun and the Pale Man to showcase different aspects of the main theme about a child’s perspective of terrible events. Greed, violence, and dehumanizing betrayal infect Ofelia’s life, wherein she believes only she can be the heroine.
The movie at least rewards audiences with the downfall of Ofelia’s stepfather, a cruel army officer. The dark and glamorizing fantasy elements entrance viewers as much as Ofelia, with a conclusion that reminds people that not all stories end happily, especially under these circumstances. The historical setting of Pan’s Labyrinth is leveraged to reinforce Ofelia’s experiences and the story del Toro wants to tell, which is the best use of history in fantasy.