Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Cinderella [Georges Méliès, 1899]
An early Méliès “trick film.”
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
A Midsummer Night’s Dream [Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle, 1935]
Anita Louise as Titania, Queen of the Fairies and James Cagney as Bottom the Weaver, who has been given the head of a jackass by Puck (Mickey Rooney), in this lavish, Warner Brothers production of the play by William Shakespeare.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Peter Pan [Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1953]
The fairy Tinker Bell in the Disney version of J. M. Barrie’s play, here with Captain Hook. Hook was splendidly voiced by Hans Conried.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Hook [Steven Spielberg, 1991]
Julia Roberts as the fairy Tinker Bell in this misguided sequel to Peter Pan. However, Dustin Hoffman made a fine Captain Hook.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Peter Pan [P. J. Hogan, 2003]
Ludivine Sagnier as Tinker Bell (here just called Tink) in this straightforward adaptation of Barrie’s story. With Jason Isaacs as an excellent Captain Hook.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
The Thief of Bagdad [Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, 1940]
The magnificent Rex Ingram as the Djinn (genie), finally free of his bottle prison, grants Abu (Sabu) three wishes in Alexander Korda’s Technicolor production. With the great Conrad Veidt as Jaffar, the evil Grand Vizier.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
La Belle et la Bête [Jean Cocteau, 1946]
Cocteau’s magical film combines Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s story with La Chatte Blancheby Catherine d’Aulnoy, published in 1697! Surreal and gorgeous, Cocteau’s movie is truly romantic in the best sense of the word. Josette Day is Belle and Jean Marais is the fabulous Beast.
“Where is Belle? Where is Belle?”
The Beast (Jean Marais), searching for Belle in his magic mirror, La Belle et la Bête
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Beauty and the Beast [Gary Trousdale, 1991]
Disney’s delightful musical, with witty songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Robby Benson and Paige O’Hara gave the Beast and Beauty their voices. Based on Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s story, first published in 1757.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Darby O’Gill and the Little People [Robert Stevenson, 1959]
Jimmy O’Dea as King Brian of the Leprechauns stands on a sleeping Sean Connery as Michael McBride in this delightful Disney movie based on the Darby O’Gillbooks by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. The great Albert Sharpe played Darby O’Gill. Using the Schufftan Process (forced perspective creating the illusion of size differential) the movie has amazing scenes of Darby among the “little people.”
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [Alfonso Cuaron, 2004]
Harry Potter encounters a griffin, one of the many fantastic creatures that populate the Harry Potter movies.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
The Lord of the Rings [Peter Jackson, 2001-2003]
Peter Jackson’s Tolkien trilogy is jam-packed with fantastic beasts of all sizes and shapes.
Gollum, a brilliant motion-capture performance from Andy Serkis as the pathetic creature consumed with desire for the Ring
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
The fearsome Cave Troll in the Mines of Moria
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
One of the Orcs, the evil soldiers of the wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee)
“We wants it! We needs it! Must have the precious!”
Gollum (Andy Serkis), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad [Nathan H. Juran, 1958]
One of the awe-inspiring Cyclops that live on the Island of Colossa in the first of Harryhausen’s Sinbadtrilogy. When roasting one of Sinbad’s crew on a spit, he licks his lips in anticipation of his meal! One of the screen’s greatest fantasy creations.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad [Gordon Hessler, 1973]
The second in Harryhausen’s Sinbad trilogy. Here, a living stone statue of Kali, the Hindu Goddess of death, sword fights Sinbad (John Phillip Law, in the white turban) and his crew.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Clash of the Titans [Desmond Davis, 1981]
Ray Harryhausen’s Medusa, Ray Bradbury’s favorite Harryhausen creature. In a tense, torch-lit sequence, Perseus (Harry Hamlin) stalks Medusa, hoping to use her severed head to turn the Kraken to stone.
Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]
Clash of the Titans [Louis Leterrier, 2010]
The remake, based on Harryhausen’s design for his Medusa. This film suffered from being made 3D in an imperfect post-production process.
IN CONVERSATION
Ray Harryhausen
“The whole point of any fantasy film is to stretch the imagination.”
Ray Harryhausen, the author, and the skeleton from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad[1958], used again in Jason and the Argonauts[1963]; London, 2010.