Fantasy

  • Hasan El-Saifi – Mamnou Fi Laylat El-Dokhla AKA Forbidden on the Wedding Night (1975)

    1971-1980ComedyEgyptFantasyHasan El-Saifi

    Tahseen loves his girlfriend Mona but her controlling and domineering mother Zareefa is against their marriage and believes her daughter deserves a better suitor than him. When the mother drowns in an unexpected accident, the wedding of Tahseen and Mona takes place shortly after the funeral, and Mona’s father Ashour plans to wed his old time lover Zoba. However, Zareefa’s ghost appears in front of Tahseen who is the only person that can see her as she forces him to divorce Mona at once, but he refuses to do so and her presence causes more problems to the people who thought they were rid of her.Read More »

  • Raoul Servais – Taxandria [+Extras] (1994)

    1991-2000ArthouseBelgiumFantasyRaoul Servais

    In Taxandria, a totalitarian regime has forbidden time: time watched have been confiscated, photo cameras are illegal as they freeze a point in time. A typical Servais theme: a power is oppressed by a constraint that denies what is best in the individual, and therefor has to be twisted in various ways, to establish an entirely artificial world, that has rules that may question some of the rules of our world at this side of the mirror. The digital era has begun. “Servaisgraphy” threatens to become obsolete. It was finally only to be used for the fabric of the backgrounds and no longer for the encrustation.Read More »

  • Matthew Robbins – Dragonslayer (1981)

    1981-1990EpicFantasyMatthew RobbinsUSA

    A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrfices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone. An old wizard, and his keen young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to save the next virgin in line, the King’s own daughter.Read More »

  • Erik Blomberg – Valkoinen peura AKA The White Reindeer (1952)

    1951-1960Erik BlombergFantasyFinlandHorror

    Blending the vampire and werewolf mythology into a fascinatingly unique and inspired synthesis which also adds elements from pre-Christian folklore, filmmaker Erik Blomberg’s simple, lyrical parable about how all actions have consequences has the immediacy, intimacy and potency of an eloquently spun scary campfire yarn. Skillfully directed, produced, edited, co-written and shot in gorgeous monochromatic black and white by Blomberg, who began photographing movies back in the 30’s and made only four other films before spending the rest of his career doing documentaries for television, this plainly done and elegantly understated debut feature benefits greatly from not only its powerfully direct and unpretentious story, but also from its highly unusual and intriguing period setting.Read More »

  • Fatin Abdulwahhab – Arouss el Nil AKA Bride of the Nile (1963)

    1961-1970ComedyEgyptFantasyFatin Abdulwahhab

    When oil engineer Sami (Roushdy Abaza) starts digging for oil in Luxor, he disturbs the spirits of the ancient Egyptians buried beneath the ground. The spirits decide to send him the last bride of the Nile, Hamees (Lobna Abdel Aziz) to stop him. Will Hamees succeed or will modern technology destroy the ancient civilization?Read More »

  • Sidney Drew – A Florida Enchantment (1914)

    1911-1920DramaFantasyQueer Cinema(s)Sidney DrewSilentUSA

    Quote:
    Early gender-bending silent comedy culled from the long out of print Origins of Film boxset. A must for anyone interested in gender and sexuality in film.

    Synopsis:
    Lillian Travers, a New York heiress, pops down to Florida to surprise her fiance, Fred Cassadene, the house doctor at a prominent Saint Augustine hotel. The surprise, however, is Lillian’s when she finds Fred in a series of compromising situations with a certain wealthy widow staying there. When she can take no more, Lillian discovers a box forgotten at an old curiosity shop in which lies a hundred year old secret: a vial of four rare and exotic African seeds that promises to transform whoever swallows one from a woman to a man or vice versa.Read More »

  • Albert Pyun – Road to Hell (2008)

    2001-2010Albert PyunFantasyMusicalUSA

    Albert Pyun’s unofficial sequel to the 1984 rock & roll fable Streets of Fire called Road to Hell. Shot entirely on green screen.

    This rare film is a strange thing. Really good and really bad, really pretty and really ugly, art and not art at all. It is entirely its own thing. A truly unique experience.

    A soldier who has been fighting a long war is driven mad because he no longer believes in any purpose or righteous truth behind the killing. He comes home to a surreal world looking for his first and only love from his youth, believing she will rescue him from his demons. On the road to Edge City he encounters two seductive spree killers who oppose his efforts to find his love and the redemption he desperately seeks.Read More »

  • Nadezhda Kosheverova & Mikhail Shapiro – Zolushka AKA Cinderella (1947)

    1941-1950FantasyMusicalNadezhda Kosheverova and Mikhail ShapiroUSSR

    It is one of those happy memories of our childhood, which sometimes is better to leave untouched in order to preserve the first naive impressions. The fabulous atmosphere and unusual interpretation of the story, together with the vivid images of the characters and magnificent game of actors create the truly magnetic effect. Even though the film is shot during the times of post-war hardships, it is filled with such a kindness and sincerity that you want to watch it again and again. At this difficult time Yevgeny Shwarts, Nadezhda Kosheverova and Mikhail Shapiro managed to create a beautiful fairytale, which fills the hearts of viewers with the unforgettable sense of miracle.Read More »

  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Blue (2018)

    2011-2020Apichatpong WeerasethakulFantasyShort FilmThailand

    Thai master Apichatpong Weerasethakul and frequent collaborator Jenjira Pongpas Widner present a choreographed dance of scrolls and a portrait of feverish slumber.

    A woman lies awake at night. Nearby, a set of theatre backdrops unspools itself, unveiling two alternate landscapes. Upon the woman’s blue sheet, a flicker of light reflects and illuminates her realm of insomnia.Read More »

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