Throughout the entirety of the 20th century, starting with cinema's infancy as a storytelling medium during the first couple of decades of the century and moving on to the blockbuster days of the '80s and '90s, the world received several of the greatest fantasy movies ever made. No matter what subgenre they belong to, the best fantasy films of these 100 years are the peak of what the genre has to offer on the big screen.
But while there can be several fantasy gems that, though flawed, can still be counted among the best in the genre's history, there are only a handful of fantasy masterpieces that can reasonably be said to be truly perfect. Regardless of whether they're more dramatic or comedic, high fantasy or low fantasy, or more artistically-minded or more suited to mainstream tastes, these ten 20th-century fantasy films are about as close as the genre has ever come to genuine flawlessness.
'The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
Image via Warner Bros. PicturesIn the history of not just cinematic fantasy, but Hollywood cinema in general, there's a before and an after The Wizard of Oz. Victor Fleming's magnum opus (which moved through the hands of another three or four directors before and after landing in Fleming's) is one of the most universally loved fantasy movies of all time, a magical family film with some of the catchiest tunes, brightest colors, and most endearing characters of any Hollywood classic.
From the film's revolutionary use of three-strip Technicolor to the tremendous impact that it's had on pop culture over the years—both as a mainstream classic and as a cult classic embraced by various niche groups—, it's still a must-see for families around the world 87 years after its release. Very few Golden-Age Hollywood movies are this remarkably timeless.
'The Princess Bride' (1987)
Image via 20th Century StudiosDirected by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman, based on Goldman's book of the same name, The Princess Bride is one of the most universally beloved cult classics of all time. Told through the brilliantly entertaining framing device of a man telling his bedridden grandson a bedtime story, the tale of Westley and Princess Buttercup is an old-fashioned hero's journey adventure that has aged like fine wine.
What makes The Princess Bride so perfect is that there's something here for virtually anyone and everyone to enjoy, and each one of those elements is executed wonderfully. There's swashbuckling action, swoon-worthy romance, thrilling character arcs, a rousing revenge story, and an emotionally cathartic conclusion. The Princess Bride is an irresistibly effective celebration of the art of storytelling itself.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz
Which Lord of the Rings
Character Are You?
One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
BEGIN YOUR QUEST →
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
AAccept it. Someone has to, and running changes nothing. BStay by the side of whoever carries it. They shouldn't go alone. CStep forward and lead. This is exactly what I was made for. DIt's mine now. I won't let anyone else have it.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
AFollow them without hesitation. I'd rather die beside them than live without them. BRally others and forge a plan to help — strength in numbers. COffer wisdom and guidance. My counsel may save them where swords cannot. DLet them go. Only the strong survive, and sentiment is a weakness.
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03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
ADestroy it. Nothing good comes from power this absolute. BUse it to protect those I love — just this once. CWield it wisely. I have the will and the knowledge to do good with it. DSeize it. I have waited long enough. It belongs to me.
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04
What does "home" mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
AA simple, peaceful place — green hills, good food, no adventure required. BWherever the people I love are. Home is a feeling, not a place. CA kingdom I must earn before I can truly claim it as mine. DI lost it long ago. That loss is what drives everything I do.
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05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
ASurvive by any means. I'm not a fighter — but I'll do what I must. BFight for the person beside me, not for glory or honour. CLead the charge. Nothing inspires an army like a king at the front. DStrike from range, fast and precise — never let them get close.
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06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it's knowing which questions to ask.
AListen, then offer honest encouragement. Sometimes people just need belief. BGive them practical help — words are fine, but action is better. CSpeak carefully. I have seen much, and I know what counsel can cost. DTell them what they want to hear. Trust is a tool like any other.
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07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
ASmall and ordinary — but perhaps that's exactly why I was chosen. BDefined entirely by who I serve and love. I am nothing without them. CForged by hardship into something the world has not yet fully seen. DDiminished from what I once was — and consumed by the need to reclaim it.
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08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
AI find peace in it — forests, rivers, open skies. Nature restores me. BI prefer the earth underfoot — stone, mines, solid and real things. CI have watched the world change for longer than most can comprehend. DNature offers hiding places, cold water, raw fish. That's enough for me.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
AShow mercy. Even the most broken souls deserve a chance at redemption. BPity them — but never trust them. They made their choices. CSee them as a tool. Their knowledge or skills may still serve a purpose. DDestroy them before they can cause more harm. Mercy is a luxury we cannot afford.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
AThat an ordinary person did an extraordinary thing — and came home. BThat I never abandoned the person who needed me most. CThat I was worthy of the crown — and everything it demanded. DNothing. I don't need songs. I needed it, and now it's gone.
REVEAL MY FATE →
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
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'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)
Image via EMI FilmsRarely has the Earth been graced with groups of people as hilarious as the British comedy troupe Monty Python. The group made three narrative films together, and the most famous and iconic of all is undoubtedly Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Simultaneously a love letter to Arthurian legend and a satirical parody of it (and of the fantasy genre as a whole), it's far and away one of the funniest movies ever made.
What follows one of the best fantasy movie opening scenes ever is a parade of absurdist jokes, running gags, sketches, musical numbers, and non-sequiturs that make it impossible to contain one's laughter. The movie was made on a ridiculously low budget, and that only makes its creativity and originality shine through even more. Rarely has a group of people been this committed to making a fantasy film, and what came out of it is still perfect over 50 years later.
'Wings of Desire' (1987)
Image via Road MoviesWim Wenders is one of the most celebrated German filmmakers in history, and Wings of Desire is one of his most highly acclaimed films. It's also one of the highest-rated fantasy movies on Letterboxd, and for good reason. It's the slow-burning tale of an angel who falls in love with a human woman, and though it's definitely not a film made for those unaccustomed to the usual rhythm of an arthouse fantasy film, it's still a must-see for all those who love the genre.
It's one of the most beautiful, life-affirming, and poetic films ever made. Through its gorgeous imagery and richly symbolic story, Wings of Desire celebrates the beauty and richness of the human experience in ways that are impossible to resist, even for the most cynical of viewers. As enchanting as it is poignant, this Wenders masterpiece is one of the greatest films that have ever come out of Germany.
'The Seventh Seal' (1957)
Image by AB Svensk FilmindustriIngmar Bergman, widely recognized as both the greatest Swedish filmmaker in history and one of the most influential European filmmakers of all time, made many an iconic masterpiece over the course of his career. Perhaps the most celebrated of all, The Seventh Seal is an arthouse fantasy classic like no other, one of the most perfect fantasy movies of the 20th century.
Bergman was well-known for how depressing yet oddly life-affirming his work was, and The Seventh Seal is no exception. Exploring the dread of God's silence and the search for meaning in a world where death is the only certainty, it's one of Bergman's most stylistically daring and narratively ambitious films. Visually perfect, perfectly written, and perfectly directed, The Seventh Seal is some of the best work of one of the Seventh Art's most important voices.
'Princess Mononoke' (1997)
For decades, Studio Ghibli has been making several fantasy movies so good you can't stop watching them, particularly when it comes to the filmography of the studio's poster boy, the great Hayao Miyazaki. Case in point: Princess Mononoke, heavily inspired by Japanese history and Shinto folklore, one of the most beautiful and thought-provoking animated movies in history.
Princess Mononoke explores the often destructive clashes between industrialization and nature in uniquely Miyazaki-esque ways, with a blend of CGI to enhance the primarily hand-drawn animation (a first for Miyazaki at the time) that has aged flawlessly. The writing, visuals, music, and voice acting are all utterly beyond reproach, and they've ensured that Princess Mononoke remains one of the most timeless masterpieces in the history of animated cinema.
'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)
Image via 20th Century StudiosWidely recognized as the greatest Star Wars film of the bunch, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest movie masterpieces of the last 50 years. This space opera is as much of a fantasy movie as it is science fiction (a blend typically known as science-fantasy), and never has this mixture of genres worked more effectively than in what is now retroactively known as the fifth chapter of the Skywalker Saga.
The Empire Strikes Back is not only the peak of Star Wars media, but the peak of genre filmmaking as a whole. Its pacing and sense of adventure are perfect, its expansion of the original film's themes and world is still exciting all these many years later, and its technical qualities are all absolutely faultless. Featuring some of the most iconic scenes in movie history and what's perhaps the most famous plot twist in all of cinema, it's a classic fully worthy of its genre-defining legacy.
'Macario' (1960)
Image via Azteca Films Inc.Back in Mexico, it's a tradition to watch Roberto Gavaldón's Macario during the Day of the Dead season. Indeed, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better film about death and the human condition from anywhere in the world. This tale about a poor and hungry peasant who wishes to have a good meal for All Saints' Day, and then encounters the Devil, God, and the Grim Reaper, deserves to be remembered as a far bigger classic outside of its home country.
It's one of those perfect dark fantasy movies that nobody seems to remember anymore, a beautiful story that explores social, philosophical, and spiritual themes in ways that anyone—no matter where they're from—should be able to appreciate. Shot in gorgeous black-and-white and starring an incredible Ignacio López Tarso, this magical realism gem is the best that Latin American cinema as a whole has to offer.
'Fanny and Alexander' (1982)
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Image via Sandrew Film & TeaterThere's a reason why Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander was one of famed Chicago critic Roger Ebert's favorite fantasy movies of all time. Clocking in at three hours in its theatrical cut and a whopping five hours in its TV miniseries version, it's definitely not ideal for impatient cinephiles. On the other hand, those willing to sit down with such a long story of family, religion, and the power of imagination and stories will be treated to one of Bergman's best.
Fanny and Alexander's fantastical elements are relatively subtle, but they lend it a beautifully magical atmosphere that anchors the viewpoint of its child protagonists perfectly. Bergman intended it to be his final film, but though that didn't end up being the case, it still feels like a deeply moving swan song to cap off the vision of one of cinema's biggest artists. It's not just fantasy fans who should consider it essential viewing, but cinephiles as a whole.
'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946)
Image via Liberty FilmsFrank Capra was always one of Golden-Age Hollywood's biggest visionaries, a director never afraid to push the envelope and dance around the limitations of the censorial Hays Code. This bold nature eventually led to the first film that Capra made after serving as a Colonel during World War II: It's a Wonderful Life, starring the legendary James Stewart (who also reached the rank of Colonel during the war).
It's a Wonderful Life is permeated with precisely the kind of melancholy tone that you'd expect from artists freshly returned from a world-altering military conflict, and it's probably no coincidence that it deals with themes of suicide and men's mental health. But as poignant as it can be, this far-ahead-of-its-time Christmas classic is also one of the best crowd-pleasing fantasy movies ever made, leading to one of the most beautifully hopeful and life-affirming endings in movie history. Capra made many exceptional movies over the course of his career, but none more genuinely perfect than this one.
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