Victor Fleming‘s The Wizard of Oz revolutionized cinema as a whole, but more particularly, it changed the way fantasy cinema was made going forward. From its catchy tunes to its gorgeous three-strip Technicolor cinematography, to all the qualities that have allowed it to become every bit as much of a mainstream classic as it is a cult one (looking at you, Pink Floyd fans), it proved that fantasy could be bright, well-made, and entirely family-friendly.
The Wizard of Oz didn’t originate cinematic fantasy, however. Like virtually every film ever made, it stands on the shoulders of giants, from European classics like Nosferatu to Hollywood landmarks like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Plenty of fantasy masterpieces were released throughout the globe before The Wizard of Oz changed the genre forever on August 10th, 1939.
‘Vampyr’ (1932)
Directed by Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer, one of the greatest and most legendary European filmmakers of his generation, Vampyr is a German-French Gothic horror film about a drifter obsessed with the supernatural who stumbles upon a manor where a severely ill teenage girl is becoming a vampire. It may not be one of the best-known vampire movies out there, but it sure is one of the best.
It was Dreyer’s first-ever talkie, though it uses plenty of title cards, much like a silent film. The movie was poorly received when it came out, but almost a century later, people remember it as one of the best European horror classics of the ’30s. Chilling, atmospheric, disorienting, and visually striking, Vampyr is a radical and ambitious work of art that has aged like fine wine.
‘Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild’s Revenge’ (1924)
Fritz Lang was one of the greatest and most groundbreaking filmmakers of his time. Before he made the jump over the pond to Hollywood in the mid-’30s, he made several of the best European movies of cinema’s early years, including his Die Nibelungen duology. Based on the Germanic epic poem Nibelungenlied, the two-part series features two of the best genre films of the ’20s. The second part is subtitled Kriemhild’s Revenge, and it features the titular princess’ vow to avenge her husband’s murder.
While Kriemhild’s Revenge is almost universally recognized as the weakest of the two Die Nibelungen movies, it’s still a must-see classic that shouldn’t be underestimated. Far darker and more violent than its predecessor, it’s one of the most nearly-perfect dark fantasy movies that no one remembers anymore. Kriemhild’s Revenge is visually stunning and full of great moments, but what makes it stand out the most is how unusually emotionally devastating it is for a film of its time.
‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’ (1926)
Contrary to popular belief, Disney didn’t make the first-ever animated feature. Instead, it’s the 1917 Argentine film The Apostle, today considered lost media, that experts generally agree holds such a title. As for the oldest surviving animated feature film, it’s the 1926 German classic The Adventures of Prince Achmed that we’re talking about. Based on elements from several One Thousand and One Nights stories, it’s one of the most nearly-perfect animated movies that no one remembers today, about a handsome prince who rides a flying horse to faraway lands.
Director Lotte Reiniger enlisted the help of several of the world’s biggest avant-garde animators at the time to make The Adventures of Prince Achmed, and it paid off. Employing a revolutionary silhouette animation technique that Reiniger invented, the movie is capable of charming its way into anyone’s heart. It’s absolute cinematic magic, and unlike many early animated flicks, this one doesn’t look or feel dated in the slightest.
‘Häxan’ (1922)
Mixing documentary techniques and dramatized narrative sequences, the 1922 Swedish-Danish silent horror essay film Häxan, released in the US in 1968 as Witchcraft Through the Ages, is one of the best arthouse documentaries ever made. It’s a dark fantasy and folk horror masterpiece designed to track the evolution of witchcraft throughout history, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
The film was the most expensive Scandinavian film ever made at the time, and it’s easy to see why. Häxan is far and away one of the most visually impressive cinematic achievements of its era, and it’s still surprisingly chilling for a film that’s over a century old. It was originally banned in several countries due to its controversial religious, sexual, and violent content, which has only contributed to its current status as one of the biggest cult classics from the ’20s.
‘The Phantom Carriage’ (1921)
Another one of the greatest Scandinavian films of the early 20th century, Victor Sjöström‘s The Phantom Carriage is generally accepted as one of the very first horror films ever made. Set during New Year’s Eve, it’s about the driver of a ghostly carriage forcing a drunken man to reflect on his selfish life. Its special effects and the structure of its story were nothing short of groundbreaking at the time of its release, and they’re still absolutely stunning nowadays.
For all of these reasons and more, it’s easily one of the most intense silent movies ever made. Part engrossing and brilliantly melodramatic morality tale, part revolutionary fantasy horror, it’s one of the most important European movies of the ’20s. It has proved widely influential over the years, the effect of such an influence being particularly visible in filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman. Curiously enough, The Phantom Carriage‘s director would end up starring in Bergman’s Wild Strawberries in 1957.
‘Die Nibelungen: Siegfried’ (1924)
Kriemhild’s Revenge is a phenomenal early motion picture, but nothing can match the epic scale and emotional effect of the first Die Nibelungen movie, Die Nibelungen: Siegfried. It follows the titular character, son of the King of Xanten, who sets off on a dangerous journey to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.
Siegfried is fiery in its emotional effect and full of gorgeous visuals that inevitably sear themselves onto one’s memory.
Technically masterful and narratively enthralling, Siegfried is one of the most nearly-perfect epics that nobody remembers today. Fiery in its emotional effect and full of gorgeous visuals that inevitably sear themselves onto one’s memory, it’s a huge and timeless fantasy epic with effects, combat sequences, and story beats that have all aged flawlessly.
‘The Tale of the Fox’ (1937)
Ladislas Starevich‘s French film The Tale of the Fox is about Renard the Fox, a trickster who King Lion has to bring to justice after his pranks start going too far. It was the very first entirely stop-motion-animated feature film of all time, completed in 1930 (though problems with its soundtrack delayed its release all the way to 1937).
Released eight months before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it was history’s eighth-ever animated feature, and it remains the world’s third-ever surviving animated film. But aside from being a historical achievement, The Tale of the Fox still feels every bit as magical as it surely must have been 89 years ago, thanks to some enchanting puppet work and an irresistibly charming sense of humor.
‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (1937)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs needs just about as much of an introduction as Disney does, which is to say, none whatsoever. It’s one of those classic fantasy movies that are still masterpieces today, an absolutely magical romance musical that was the first cel-animated (a technique where each frame is drawn by hand) feature film in history. For a while, too, it was the single highest-grossing film in history, until Gone With the Wind snatched its record in 1939, a few months after The Wizard of Oz came out.
Of course, not every element of Snow White has aged the best, but it’s such a groundbreaking historical document and such an effortlessly charming romance musical that even its dated elements carry a certain magic. The music? Timeless. The visuals? Beautiful. The characters? Iconic. Clearly, The Wizard of Oz already had titanic competition for the title of “best family fantasy movie of all time” as soon as it came out.
‘Nosferatu’ (1922)
F. W. Murnau was one of the greatest and most influential German filmmakers of all time, as well as one of the biggest voices of German Expressionism—itself also one of the most influential film movements in history. So, how was it that a blatantly unauthorized Dracula adaptation (which actually led to a lawsuit from Bram Stoker‘s widow, Florence Stoker) was what put the name of one of the biggest European filmmakers in history on the map?
That’s just how good Nosferatu is. A cornerstone of a hypothetical Mount Rushmore of vampire movies, the movie remains visually impressive and surprisingly chilling even over a century later. Max Schreck‘s performance as Count Orlok is one of the most iconic pieces of acting in any horror film ever, and Orlok himself is an absolute icon of the genre. If anything, Nosferatu proves that virtually every movie ever made is, in some way, a remix.
‘Faust’ (1926)
As if Nosferatu hadn’t been proof enough, Murnau’s last German film before he went to Hollywood was further affirmation that the world had found one of horror’s strongest pioneering voices. The film was Faust, an adaptation of both the traditional German folk tale and of Goethe‘s classic 1808 version, about a demon who wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man’s soul.
It’s far and away one of the best movies of the ’20s, as well as an essential early example of classic horror. It may deviate quite significantly from its source material (which originally caused it to be a flop in Germany), but with the benefit of hindsight, cinephiles today have come to recognize it as one of the greatest early fantasy masterpieces. Both visually and narratively, Faust is an absolutely perfect movie, and that kind of modern interpretation is unlikely to ever change.