GENRE

AUTHORAS-LEVEL MEDIA OLIVER.J. NICHOLLS

Fantasy

Introduction To Fantasy

This genre is very distinct from horror and science fiction. However it can overlap.

Often contains things such as magic and forces of supernatural ability.

The infernal boiling pot (Le chaudron infernal)The first fantasy film was called “The Infernal Boiling Pot (Le Chaudron Infernal)”and it was the first of its kind.

This was a silent film that was made by Georges Méliès and it was produced and filmed in France.

The story is not very complex as it is only a minute long.

Two demons have captured a woman, and they wrap her in a cloth and throw her into a boiling cauldron. One of the demons then brings in two more captives, who also are tossed into the cauldron. One demon then stirs the pot, while the other demon tries to summon forth the spirits of the recently departed.

1910’s

From 1910 there was an increase in films by 6.

This could be put down to the fact that fantasy is a film genre that is not based on real life, this providing a demand for people to get away from real life situations by escaping to this fancy world of film.

1920s

There is an increase in German films which could be related to the fact that Germany was going through a harsh financial time due to the fact that they what paying harsh reparations for the war.

The Adventures Of Prince Achmed- 1926This was directed by German director Lotte Reiniger.

Contains sorcery and magic as well as any Middle Eastern aspect as it features A witch, A love story, Demons and an appearance of Aladdin.

This is the general storyline:Based on stories from "The Arabian Nights." A wicked sorcerer tricks Prince Achmed into riding a magical flying horse. The heroic prince is able to subdue the magical horse, which he uses to fly off to many adventures. While travelling, he falls in love with the beautiful Princess Peri Banu, and must defeat an army of demons to win her heart.

The Adventures Of Prince Achmed-1926 (Continued)

The entire film is animated using the silhouette technique, which employs movable cardboard and metal cutouts posed in front of illuminated sheets of glass.

1930s

The 1930s brought an increase in films by America. Films such as the Wizard of Oz, the hunchback of Notre Dame, a Midsummer night’s dream and Alice in Wonderland all brought attention to the film industry. these films were made to bring money to America, trying solving the problem of the great depression that America has just entered in 1929.

1940s

The 1940s then saw several full color fantasy films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), The Wizard of Oz and Jungle Book (1942). In 1946, Jean Cocteau's classic adaptation of Beauty and the Beast won praise for its surreal elements and for transcending the boundaries of the fairy tale genre.

The thief of Baghdad

This film was made by German director Ludwig Burger(son of the former Treasury Secretary of the Weimar Republic).

Still had a budget of $2 million. however didn’t go down as well as its earlier version from 1924.

The thief of Bagdad (continued)This is the plot:Prince Ahmad is the rightful King of Bagdad but he has been blinded and cast out as a beggar. Now a captive of the wicked Grand Vizier Jaffar he is cast into a dungeon where he meets Abu, the best thief in all Bagdad. Together they escape and set about a series of adventures that involve a Djinni in a bottle, a mechanical flying horse, an all-seeing magic jewel, a flying carpet and a beautiful princess.

1950s

The 1950s bought a new era fancy films as it showed the entry of nations such as China, Japan, Sweden, Finland, and Brazil making films as well as Britain France and America.

The budget is generally started increasing due to the fact that more of the countries were becoming more wealthy. Hollywood was entering into the scene with film such as Alice in Wonderland. this is the Disney production with Disney was becoming. very popular at this period

1960sThe 1960s were very important decade for fancy films.

With the start of fantasy films in the 1950s using Greek and irradiant mythology, the film Jason and the Argonauts pioneered stop-motion filming.

A lot of films such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which has gone down in history as being “an all-time great”-the Times.

Also gave birth to actors such as Dick van Dyke who appeared in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Jason and the Argonauts(1963)This film pioneered stop start technology. As a result became famous for its “awakening of Talos” scene and “fighting with the skeletons” scene.

Bed knobs and broomsticks (1971)During WWII in England, Charlie, Carrie, and Paul Rawlins are sent to live with Eglantine Price, an apprentice witch. Charlie blackmails Miss Price that if he is to keep her practices a secret, she must give him something, so she takes a bedknob from her late father's bed and places the "famous magic traveling spell" on it, and only Paul can activate it. Their first journey is to a street in London where they meet Emelius Browne, headmaster of Miss Price's witchcraft training correspondence school. Miss Price tells him of a plan to find the magic words for a spell known as Substitutiary Locomotion, which brings inanimate objects to life. This spell will be her work for the war effort.

The 1980s brought film such as Beetlejuice, Michael Berz’ Snowwhite and the introduction of Ghostbusters films by Ivan Reitman

1980 S

1990s

the 1900s brought advances in cgi and this film were made better and to a higher quality.film such as Edward scissor-hands and Casper. Casper brought a element of comedy to the fantasy film industry.

2000s

There was a big increase in the fantasy film industry in the 2000s as films such as harry potter lord of the rings and twilight came on to the scene.they brought big budgets in with harry potter,holding a budget of $125 million and make a return of $974,755,371 at the box office. this also introduced elements of Gothic and dark setting into the film genre.