Fantasy cinema has produced some of the greatest and most celebrated movies of all time. They range from old classics that charm with their wonder and majesty to modern marvels of filmmaking that define the brilliance of epic cinema in the 21st century, and even cherished gems of animation that highlight the visual splendor and creative might of the form. Such is the influence and impact of the genre that it seems everyone, from professional critics to casual moviegoers, has their own set of favorite fantasy flicks. Unsurprisingly, it is doubly true for Letterboxd users.
Through hundreds of thousands of ratings, movie lovers on the popular film curating website have assembled an impressive list of their collective best fantasy movies ever made. Letterboxd’s official assembly of the greatest fantasy films of all time, as rated by users, features 250 titles, all of which are worth checking out, but the top ten presents a vibrant and varied mixture that encompasses the range of the list, encompassing everything from Hollywood highlights to gems of international cinema.
10
‘Wings of Desire’ (1987)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.3
One of the defining achievements of Wim Wenders’ illustrious career, Wings of Desire masterfully blends the wonder and whimsy of fantasy with a grounded and gritty depiction of Berlin amid the Cold War. It focuses on two angels who walk around the city invisible to humanity, yet comforting wayward and aching souls in their time of need. However, when Damiel (Bruno Ganz) falls in love with a lonely trapeze artist, he begins to yearn for a mortal life of feeling, sensation, romance, and passion.
Its incorporation of the surreal and spiritual brilliantly exemplifies the traits that define the goodness of humanity, the flaws of desire, and want and the allure of love and connection. Buoyed by enchanting black-and-white visuals and Ganz’s profoundly powerful performance as a misguided and unmoored angel, Wings of Desire is a stirring testament to the beauty of mankind that flaunts a wonderfully contemplative idealism at the root of its fantasy overtones.
9
‘The Seventh Seal’ (1957)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.3
Another spiritual exploration of humanity, The Seventh Seal excels as a moody and divine period piece that marries the allure of medieval Europe with probing observations and queries concerning mortality, faith, and existentialism. Max von Sydow stars as Antonius Block, a knight returning to Sweden from the Crusades, only to discover his native land ravaged by the plague. As he treks through the wounded country, he also participates in a chess match with Death (Benkt Ekerot) to determine his fate.
The film remains a striking triumph of international cinema for its bold narrative focus and breathtaking visual display. Still, The Seventh Seal is perhaps most remarkable on account of how timeless its exploration of religion, morality, and the human condition has proven to be. It remains an essential picture in Ingmar Bergman’s filmography, a defining highlight of international cinema at large, and one of the most important, influential, and exemplary fantasy movies of all time.
8
‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (2004)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
Studio Ghibli has mastered the art of immersive fantasy worldbuilding, and Howl’s Moving Castle is just the first of several films from the Japanese production house that feature on this list. Featuring many staples of fantasy storytelling in its purest form—ranging from wonderfully conceived creatures to the pursuit to break debilitating curses—Howl’s Moving Castle offers an involving and utterly divine spectacle that illustrates the meticulous majesty of animated cinema at its absolute best.
Revolving around a young woman who, after being cursed by a jealous witch to live as an old lady, must rely on the self-centered Howl (Christian Bale) and his unusual companions within his walking castle to free her from the spell, the animation sensation is not only a stirring triumph of family-fantasy adventure, but is one of the most universally celebrated movies of the 21st century. Both the Japanese and English versions are buoyed by outstanding voice casts who bring every single character to life with terrific vibrancy and tonal precision, ensuring Howl’s Moving Castle soars as a delightful and touching gem of Asian cinema.
7
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
Interestingly, while The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is considered by many to be the best film in the trilogy, it isn’t the highest-ranked Middle-earth movie on Letterboxd (more on that later). However, its seventh-place ranking is certainly nothing to be dismissive of, with its 4.4 average rating a testament to its engulfing, epic brilliance as it kickstarts the fellowship’s trek to Mordor and Frodo Baggins’s (Elijah Wood) journey to destroy the One Ring.
A richly absorbing adventure that immerses audiences in the depths of its story world from its opening minutes, The Fellowship of the Ring thrives as a faultless adaptation, a monumental landmark for special effects in modern cinema, and a marvelously told story that flaunts heart, humor, and high stakes in abundance. In many respects, it reset the benchmark for fantasy cinema in the 21st century, and it remains unsurpassed as one of the greatest fantasy epics to have ever graced the silver screen.
6
‘Princess Mononoke’ (1987)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
Another Studio Ghibli masterpiece that showcases the creative genius and storytelling might of Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke excels with its more mature and confronting material as well as with its bold fantasy tale. It follows a noble warrior prince who, after being infected by a deadly curse while fighting a demon, sets out to find a cure. On his travels, he encounters a forest princess and becomes embroiled in her people’s war against the aggressive and expanding settlement of Irontown.
A courageous undertaking from Studio Ghibli, Princess Mononoke eschews any semblance of kid-friendly light-heartedness in favor of a piercing story of the conflict between nature, technology, and human morality with striking intensity and an appetite for violence. While this approach may have contributed to the film’s poor box office reception in many Western nations, it has also become an integral element in its critical acclaim and, over time, its widespread audience approval.
5
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
Few movies define the wonder and charm of Old Hollywood quite like It’s a Wonderful Life. Like many of the fantasy flicks of its time, it thrives at marrying spiritual ideas of light religious faithfulness with the squabbles of the world, a mixture of tones that is handled with incredible poise, nuance, and tenderness by Frank Capra. The film follows George Bailey (James Stewart) after he attempted to kill himself. Visited by his guardian angel, he witnesses how Bedford Falls would be different had he never been born.
It is one of the most life-affirming movies of all time, a spirited family fantasy-drama that coasts by on its wit, idealism, and Stewart’s infectious everyman charms as it delivers an uplifting story of the often-unnoticed impact one life can have. Amplified by its gorgeous finale, It’s a Wonderful Life is a fantastic fable of human decency that has become not only a timeless triumph of fantasy cinema, but arguably the quintessential Christmas classic as well.
4
‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
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Another classic of international cinema to come from Ingmar Bergman, Fanny and Alexander is an intriguing and challenging period drama accentuated with flourishes of fantasy that illustrate the wonder of childhood. The 188-minute film—cut-down from the 312-minute miniseries which Bergman viewed as being the definitive version of the story—follows young siblings Alexander (Bertil Guve) and Fanny Ekdahl (Pernilla Allwin) as they find their happy family life shattered by the sudden death of their father and their mother’s new marriage to a stern bishop.
Both the film and the miniseries exude a powerful air of the frailty of humanity and the vulnerability of childhood, especially as its story of shifting fortunes and lost cheer finds an added punch in its supernatural ideas and its surrealist, dreamlike sequences. Bergman drew heavily from his childhood experiences, conjuring a mesmerizing movie of resonant realism that captures the sweeping experiences of life’s ups and downs through the eyes of youths. It functions as a grounded dark fairy tale, a story of subtle fantasy punctuating family tragedy and hardship.
3
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
The mid-section of any story can be difficult to navigate, which is often proven in trilogies, with middle movies not having the luxury of immersing viewers in a new narrative world or delivering a grand culmination. That being said, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers stands as a magnificent example of how the storytelling obstacle can be overcome, with its expanding scope keeping audiences enraptured as Frodo and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their journey to Mordor, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) form a bond with the ents, and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) leads the rest of the fellowship to the dilapidated kingdom of Rohan to inspire King Thëoden (Bernard Hill) to fight for Middle-earth.
Featuring even more creative creatures than its predecessor, a heightened air of narrative urgency, and the single greatest battle sequence to have ever graced the screen, The Two Towers is a spellbinding fantasy epic and one of the most exceptional sequels of all time. Furthermore, the film has had a monumental impact on modern filmmaking, with the motion capture technology used to realize Gollum (Andy Serkis)—expanding on the seamless integration of CGI, miniatures, and practical effects—proving to be a groundbreaking innovation.
2
‘Spirited Away’ (2001)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.4
The crowning glory of Studio Ghibli’s excellence and Hayao Miyazaki’s inspired genius, Spirited Away is a dazzling fantasy adventure packaged within what might just be the single greatest animated feature of all time. Following a young girl as she finds herself stranded in a magical realm and tasked with saving her cursed parents, the film offers a litany of imaginative character designs, vibrant visual divinity, and a rich coming-of-age story of identity, consumerism, and even the consequences of neglecting the environment.
Gorgeously drawn and flaunting just enough playfulness to be engaging and fun while still being dramatically intriguing, Spirited Away is a product of fierce and flashy imagination, a fable of dazzling wonder that immerses viewers of all ages in its vivacious story world. Its standing as a beacon of both animated film and fantasy storytelling is plain to see, but Spirited Away is also a defining triumph of international cinema at large as well, an enchanting gem of Japanese animation that stands as one of the most iconic and beloved pictures of the 21st century thus far.
1
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.5
With an average rating of 4.5, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King doesn’t just stand as the highest-rated fantasy movie on Letterboxd, but as the 12th highest-rated movie of any genre of all time as well. With a theatrical runtime of 201 minutes, the conclusive epic brings about a scorching and emotionally gratifying end to Peter Jackson’s outstanding trilogy, following Frodo and Sam on the last leg of their journey as their friends rally the armies of Middle-earth to stand against Mordor’s looming assault.
With astonishing and enormous battle sequences, mesmerizing special effects, and touching character moments, The Return of the King masterfully blends epic scope with powerful intimacy, conjuring a spectacle of mighty grandeur and profound heart. Its litany of iconic moments ranges from brilliant action set pieces to piercing illustrations of friendship and love, enshrining it as one of the greatest movies of all time and the pinnacle of fantasy cinema.