Douglas Fairbanks
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap.
History
Fantasy films have a history almost as old as the medium itself. However, fantasy films were relatively few and far between until the 1980s, when high-tech filmmaking techniques and increased audience interest caused the genre to flourish.
What follows are some notable Fantasy films. For a more complete list see: List of fantasy films
Early years
In the era of silent film the outstanding fantasy films were Douglas Fairbanks' The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (1924). Following the advent of sound films, audiences of all ages embraced what is surely the best loved fantasy film of all time, 1939's The Wizard of Oz. Also notable of the era, the iconic 1933 film King Kong is not a pure example of the genre, but borrows heavily from the Lost World subgenre of fantasy fiction. And Frank Capra's 1937 picture Lost Horizon transported audiences to the Himalayan fantasy kingdom of Shangri-La, where the residents magically never age.
