Fantasy

  • Shin’ya Tsukamoto – Yôkai hantâ: Hiruko AKA Hiruko the Goblin (1991)

    1991-2000FantasyHorrorJapanShinya Tsukamoto

    Quote:
    A school was built on one of the Gates of Hell, behind which hordes of demons await the moment they will be free to roam the Earth. Hiruko is a goblin sent to Earth on a reconnaissance mission. He beheads students in order to assemble their heads on the demons’ spider-like bodies. Hieda, an archaeology professor, and Masao, a haunted student, investigate the gory deaths and eventually battle Hiruko.Read More »

  • Brian Desmond Hurst – Scrooge AKA A Christmas Carol [+Commentary] (1951)

    1951-1960Brian Desmond HurstClassicsFantasyUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Stubbornly refusing to believe in Christmas and to be separated from his inexhaustible wealth, the Victorian money lender and parsimonious recluse, Ebenezer Scrooge, can’t be bothered with the poor and destitute at the most festive time of the year. Intent on spending the holy night alone, instead, the sceptical curmudgeon is visited by an unexpected and sympathetic friend, who will pave the way for the inevitable visitation of the otherworldly spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. But, what do the pale ghosts want? Can a wicked old miser admit the error in his ways, and embrace change? In the end, is Scrooge ready to love and be loved?Read More »

  • Vincente Minnelli & Busby Berkeley – Cabin in the Sky (1943)

    1941-1950Busby BerkeleyFantasyMusicalUSAVincente Minnelli

    Synopsis:
    Chronic gambler and carouser “Little” Joe Jackson is shot by Domino Johnson at Jim Henry’s gambling club over an outstanding gambling debt. Little Joe’s wife, the God-fearing Petunia Jackson, prays not only for her husband’s mortal life, but also his eternal soul as she’s afraid that if he dies now, he, despite not being an evil man, won’t make it into heaven. As Little Joe is close to death, he is visited by agents of both the Lord and of Lucifer. They make a deal with him: they will give him six months to atone for the errors of his human life.Read More »

  • Pavel Jurácek – Prípad pro zacínajícího kata AKA Case for a Rookie Hangman (1970)

    1961-1970ArthouseCzech RepublicFantasyPavel Jurácek

    The Lemuel Gulliver of Dlouhá Street takes an unexpected journey to the flying island of Laputa, in the realm of Balnibarbi, and back again. The parable about a totalitarian system, where bizarre laws are in force and unwritten rules are adhered to, mixes with a fantastical spectacle in which “dreams touch the world and the world touches dreams”. In twelve chapters, the Kafkaesque motion picture, Case for the New Hangman, tells the timeless tale of a foreigner who brings hope and excitement to the stagnant waters of Balnibarbi whereupon, instead of being received as a guest, he is treated with suspicion.Read More »

  • John Farrow – Alias Nick Beal (1949)

    USA1941-1950FantasyFilm NoirJohn Farrow

    ArtsEmerson writes: An update of the Faust story set in urban modernity, with Milland as the mysterious Nick Beal, the Mephistophelean tempter. District Attorney Joseph Foster (Mitchell) is after an elusive gangster when Beal—emerging from the fog—offers his assistance. The price to be paid is clear, as Farrow chillingly charts the initially law-abiding lawyer’s descent into corruption. With a notable hard-boiled turn from noir regular Audrey Totter, as the fallen woman Beal enlists to draw Foster away from his marriage.Read More »

  • Neramit & Sompote Sands – Kraithong (1980)

    1971-1980CultFantasyNeramitSompote SandsThailand

    Good old fashioned daft fun with the croc from Sompote Sands’ classic Crocodile chowing down on Thai villagers and letting small children jump down his throat. This film tells the legendary tale of hero Krai Thong, who used his extreme force, strength of will and superhuman skills when entering a battle to confront the largest crocodile in the world.Read More »

  • Mitchell Leisen – Death Takes a Holiday (1934) (HD)

    1931-1940DramaFantasyMitchell LeisenUSA

    The Grim Reaper (Frederic March) takes the form of a Prince in an attempt to relate to humans and, along the way, also learns what it is to love.Read More »

  • Ermanno Olmi – Il segreto del bosco vecchio AKA The Secret of the Old Woods (1993)

    1991-2000Ermanno OlmiFantasyItalyPhilosophyPhilosophy on Screen

    This Ecological Fairy Tale, with live actors and talking animals tells the story of a colonel (Paolo Villaggio) who is entrusted with a large estate of woodlands until his schoolboy nephew comes of age. Disregarding local tradition and the practice of his esteemed deceased brother, the military man decides to selectively cut the old growth timber. He is confronted with the protestations of the tree spirits (Giulio Brogi) and the local townsfolk, to no avail. Over their objection he releases the unpredictable wind from the cave to which it has been confined, and even wishes for the early demise of his nephew so he can own the woods outright. But he comes to value human contact more, starts to come to terms with most of the spirits, and reverses some plots to get rid of his nephew. A bit like a live action Hayan Miyazaki tale such as Princess Mononoke, but not so violent.Read More »

  • Jean Rollin – Perdues dans New York AKA Lost in New York (1989)

    1981-1990ArthouseFantasyFranceJean Rollin

    SYNOPSIS:
    Directed by French cult hero Jean Rollin, Perdues Dans New York/Lost In New York concerns two women who find themselves mysteriously transported from a seaside in France to the streets of New York City. Separated and lost, they must find each other and figure out how to get back home.Read More »

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