Top 100 Fantasy Movies Paperback – January 1, 2013

Gary Gerani may not know how to spell Van Gogh (as in Vincent) or Rachmaninoff a.k.a. Rachmaninov - and even though someone involved in the book's production and publication should have caught those misspellings to make for a more flawless work - the author's clear area of expertise as evidenced in this and his previous volumes in this series on sci-fi and horror is, in point of fact, the movies!As a kid in the fifties and sixties I had kept seeing a movie on TV that haunted me and even scared me some - about a kid and a religious sculpture coming to life. Not starring any known actors and being a foreign film I had lost track of it - and yet would always wonder from time-to-time what that movie exactly was. I had long lost the title - and a quick google search yielded no real results. But Lo and Behold, this hardly known film - THE MIRACLE OF MARCELINO - is included in this listing of the author's picks for the best 100 fantasy films of all time! I was thrilled to finally learn the title of the movie and see it included in this book - and to further discover it is available on DVD! Naturally, I just ordered the movie here on Amazon and look forward to seeing a film I've not seen for about fifty years.That's one marvelous thing about this Top 100 series: a reader is briefed on films one knows, on films one doesn't but might very well like to know, and in this case a film lost to memory but included in this list. The other thing is, the books (all three of this series thus far) are beautifully designed and produced. The Fantastic Press is just that: Fantastic! After all, the man at the helm - GG - is himself an accomplished artist and designer. I have all three volumes in this series and, luckily, have not encountered some problems others have had with the books: pages that become unglued and fall out or pages that are deja vu experiences in that they keep popping up over and over again due to an error in publishing.One small quibble in the layout: as the white print on black background text increases in its breadth across each page - the nearer one gets to the end of each WHY IT'S IMPORTANT commentary - the harder it is to follow the ending of one sentence and pick up with reading the correct next sentence that follows! Too many character per line! And one most likely will not agree with all of GG's assessments of choices for his Top 300 films: Horror, Sci -Fi and with this new book Fantasy. Why, for example, is KING KONG in the Horror volume and Peter Jackson's remake included in a subsidiary list at the end of this work on Fantasy films? If anything, KING KONG is much more a fantasy film than it is a horror film and, in my own view, it is the number one Fantasy film of all time. And the number one horror film of all time, in GG's estimation, is HORROR OF DRACULA. That is a controversial and by no means universal view, but it is GG's - and bravo to him for his sometimes iconoclastic view of things. It makes for invigorating reading!I look forward to his next books on animated features and comic book heroes. In closing, these books are aesthetically delightful and intellectually and imaginatively stimulating. Welcome additions and editions, indeed, on any film lover's bookshelf!

This isn't a deep book. Only a few paragraphs on each film, but Gary knows his stuff and the photos are to die for. The ranking is debatable. Everyone is going to have a different order. However, the 100 numbered are all worthy of watching and I found several gems I wasn't aware of. This is a great coffee table type book. You won't read it back to back in one night, but chapter by chapter when you want a "pick-me-up" or an idea what to watch / order on Netflix.

This is another in a series of "Top 100" books by Gary Gerani. His other two are "Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies" and "Top 100 Horror Movies". I love the way that these books are laid out. The format is terrific! These are a frequent reference for me. I love the fact that the original aspect ratio and run time of each movie is listed. Gerani's recap of the movie, followed by his opinions on each film are great!This is a large coffee table-style book with beautiful, full color pages with a glossy-finish, soft (well, stiffer) cover.

A good read.

While there are plenty of guides to horror movies and science fiction movies, there are not too many that cover fantasy movies. This 2012 book covers not only a top 100 but has an additional section of 30 movies. Expected movies with Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Oz, Indiana Jones, Sinbad, etc are in here and there are some surprises such as What Dreams May Come (1988), She (1935), the 1949 version of Alice in Wonderland, the 1934 version of Babes in Toyland, a 1961 version of Baron Muchausen,a 1942 version of The Jungle Book, Enchanted (2007), Miranda (1948), Hercules (1958), Blithe Spirit (1945), Cabin in the Sky (1943), One Touch of Venus (1948), Sword and the Dragon (1956), Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Donkey Skin (1970), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), Amelie (2001), Ulysses (1955) Bell, Book and Candle (1955), Zelig (1983), Orpheus (1956), The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1956), Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1956) and Dreams (1990). Clearly the author is well-watched. Each entry has a Who Made It, which includes credits that even have story names for the performers, What it's About, and Why It's Important. There are plenty of pics, some have more than others, but the ones for Harvey (1956), Mary Poppins, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, and Darby O'Gill and the Little People, to name a few, are a treat. I do not agree with all of the top 100 choices. I would have rather seen entries for a version of The Blue Bird and one for Conan, to name two, than entries for 4 movies that are not to my taste, which are Big (1988), The Green Mile (1990), Field of Dreams (1990), and Groundhog Day (1992), all of which are box office hits that I could not finish watching, I found all 4 to be poor in quality, thus I skimmed those entries, but I suppose the 4 being hits means that they are historically important enough to be in the top 100. Despite 4 bum entries, a first rate book.

Amazing book... ótimo custo benefício. Um dos livros mais completos sobre o tema. Grande apelo visual. Apesar de todo em inglês, é fantástico.

This the third book which Gary Gerani has brought out in the series 'top 100 ',the other two being' Top 100 horror movies' and 'Top 100 Sci-fi movies'. Like the other two it sticks to the formula with the headings who made it, what its about and most importantly (to me at any rate) why it's important. Add in photos and film posters and you have a great reference book. which is not too big but which gives clear information about each film .Choosing which films to put in must have been quite difficult and in the end it is a personal choice but I found some which were previously unknown to me and which I look forward to watching in the future. The selection covers films from the silent era to todays CGI blockbusters.Many brought back fond memories from my youth and I shall have to revisit them. If you like fantasy films then you will love this book.You can check out some of the pages at Amazon,s book dept. Recommended reading.I look forward to Gerani's next book which will be 'Top 100 comic book movies'. roll on !