Subgenre Sampler
Rental > Foreign Cinema > Fantasy: 75 Films to Rent on DVD
- Lamb (2021)
- Dir. Valdimar Johannsson
Feat. Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snaer Gudnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson…
- An Icelandic folk horror of haunting, pastoral beauty with Noomi Rapace and Hilmir Snaer Gudnason playing a couple who live on a remote farm with…
- Pinocchio (2019)
- Dir. Matteo Garrone
Feat. Federico Lelapi, Roberto Benigni, Rocco Papaleo
- A new, live–action imagining of the iconic fairytale that focuses on the authentic roots of the Carlo Collodi story. Shot in stunning Italian…
- Border (Gräns) (2018)
- Dir. Ali Abbasi
Feat. Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson
- Remarkable Swedish black comedy about a customs officer with an extraordinary sense of smell who sniffs out a suspicious–looking traveller with…
- Happy as Lazzaro (2018)
- Dir. Alice Rohrwacher
Feat. Adriano Tardiolo, Nicoletta Braschi, Sergi Lopez…
- It's summer at Inviolata, an isolated rural estate, where an extended family of tobacco farmers toil under the rule of a domineering marchesa, and…
- Fireworks (Fireworks: Should We See It from the Side or The Bottom?) (2017)
- Dir. Nobuyuki Takeuchi
- Beautifully romantic Japanese anime set during a school summer vacation, based on Shunji Iwai’s 1993 TV series, “Fireworks”. Refreshingly…
- Tokyo Ghoul (2017)
- Dir. Kentaro Hagiwara
Feat. Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu
- A live–action adaptation of the manga series by Sui Ishida. In modern day Tokyo, flesh–eating ghouls live among humans, and after…
- Arabian Nights (2015)
- Dir. Miguel Gomes
Feat. Crista Alfaiate
- Wildly original and ambitious triptych of films set in modern–day Portugal but structured on the sprawling Arabic fairy–tale collection…
- Cemetery of Splendour (2015)
- Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Feat. Jenjira Pongpas Widner
- Mesmerising film in the director's indefinable style, set in and around a rural Thai hospital which may be haunted.
A group of soldiers…
- Lure, The (2015)
- Dir. Agnieszka Smoczynska
Feat. Marta Mazurek
- Utterly beguiling musical horror set in Poland in the 1980's, following the fate of a pair of mermaid sisters as they struggle to integrate into a…
- Beauty And The Beast (2014)
- Dir. Christophe Gans
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Léa Seydoux, Andre Dussollier…
- Opulent re–telling of the fairytale romance that blossoms between the youngest daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times and the…
- Mood Indigo (2013)
- Dir. Michel Gondry
Feat. Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh…
- Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris star in this wild interpretation of Boris Vian’s cult novel 'Froth on the Daydream' from dir. Michel Gondry.
- Blancanieves (2012)
- Dir. Pablo Berger
Feat. Daniel Giménez Cacho, Angela Molina, Maribel Verdu…
- The legend of Snow White is transposed to the bullfighting, flamenco dancing netherworld of the Spanish provinces in this beautiful and beguiling…
- Thale (2012)
- Dir. Aleksander Nordaas
Feat. Silje Reinåmo, Erlend Nervold
- An artful, serious–minded horror fantasy based on the Norwegian legend of the Hydra – a seductive, shape–shifting Scandanavian…
- Werewolf Boy, A (2012)
- Dir. Sung-Hee Jo
Feat. Joong-ki Song, Bo-yeong Park, Young-nam Jang
- One of a kind fantasy in which a teenage girl is sent to the country for her health, where she befriends and attempts to civilize a feral boy she…
- Chinese Ghost Story, A (2011)
- Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Louis Koo, Yifei Liu, Shao-gun Yu…
- A lowly scholar falls in love with a beautiful ghost, but in order to win her freedom must do battle with the supernatural. Kinetic remake of the…
- Legend of the Millennium Dragon (2011)
- Dir. Hirotsugu Kawasaki
- An impressively animated young–adult fantasy, centred on a 15–year–old school kid who is transported back to medieval Japan, and…
- Black Heaven (L'autre monde) (2010)
- Dir. Gilles Marchand
Feat. Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Louise Bourgoin, Melvil Poupaud
- An innocent young man becomes entangled with a suicidal beauty and is lured into a "Black Hole" – an eerie cyberworld of avatars with deadly…
- Goemon (2009)
- Dir. Kazuaki Kiriya
Feat. Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Osawa
- The dir. of CASSHERN helms this visionary medieval spectacle, based on a 16th century bandit whose Robin hood–style exploits are steeped in…
- Micmacs (2009)
- Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Feat. Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle…
- The dir. of AMELIE and CITY OF LOST CHILDREN stays true to form(ula) with his visual chutzpah lavished upon another idealised scenario that this time…
- Ricky (2009)
- Dir. Francois Ozon
Feat. Sergi Lopez, Alexandra Lamy, Mélusine Mayance
- Intriguing fusion of kitchen–sink drama and magical realism by the mercurial Ozon with a young baby afflicted by an alarming physiological…
- Storm Warriors, The (Storm Riders II) (2009)
- Dir. Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Feat. Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Simon Yam
- The Pang brothers helm this flamboyant, effects–heavy sequel to the OTT Hong Kong hit, delivering a mixture of wushu and wizardry with…
- Thin Match Man, The (L'uomo fiammifero) (2009)
- Dir. Marco Chiarini
Feat. Francesco Pannofino, Marco Leonzi, Gabriele Manfredi
- Modern fairy–tale about a house–bound boy determined to find the thin–match man, a figure his mother once created who lights the…
- Treasure Hunter, The (2009)
- Dir. Yen-ping Chu
Feat. Jay Chou, Chiling Lin, Eric Tsang…
- Madcap fusion of Indiana Jones and martial arts mayhem, with Mandarin popstar Jay Chou leading the charge as a protector of relics on the hunt for a…
- Woochi: Goblin Wizard (Jeon Woochi : The Taoist Wizard) (2009)
- Dir. Dong-hun Choi
Feat. Dong-won Kang, Yun-seok Kim, Su-jeong Lim…
- Mayhem is unleashed in contemporary Seoul when Taoist wizards do battle with time traveling goblins.
- CJ7 (Cheung Gong 7 hou) (2008)
- Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
- Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow turns his directing talents to the family–friendly fantasy, playing a dirt–poor father who surprises his…
- Krabat (2008)
- Dir. Marco Kreuzpaintner
Feat. David Kross, Daniel Bruhl, Christian Redl
- Faustian fantasy centred around a teenager who is lured into joining an elite circle of black magic practitioners in 18th Century Germany.
A…
- Rosario + Vampire (TV Series) (Rozario To Banpaia) (2008)
- Tskune accidentally gets on a bus to a school of monsters.
- Tears for Sale (Charleston and Vendetta) (2008)
- Dir. Uros Stojanovic
Feat. Katarina Radivojevic, Sonja Kolacaric
- The sombre title belies what is in fact a joyously bawdy Balkan fairytale that blends fantastical folklore, striking burlesque visuals and ample…
- Dororo (2007)
- Dir. Akihiko Shiota
Feat. Ko Shibasaki, Satoshi Tsumabuki
- Electrifying action fantasy based on a manga comic by the grandfather of Anime – Osamu Tezuka (ASTRO BOY), in which an abandoned samurai's son…
- Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest (2006)
- Dir. Michel Ocelot
- Exotic story–book style adventure set in the Arabic world and following childhood friends Azur and Asmar as they become rivals on a quest to…
- Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del fauno) (2006)
- Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Feat. Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez…
- A stunning, sinister netherworld fantasy that parallels an equally compelling story of uprising against a fascist military unit in WWII Spain, this…
- Death Trance (2005)
- Dir. Yuji Shimomura
Feat. Tak Sakaguchi
- Another insane, neo–samurai fantasy from the VERSUS camp involving the battle over a mysterious coffin that, if opened, could destroy the…
- Great Yokai War, The (Yôkai daisensô) (2005)
- Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Chiaki Kuriyama
- The latest cinematic mash–up from dir. Miike (AUDITION) is a family–orientated adventure in which a shy young boy from a broken family…
- Princess Raccoon (Operetta tanuki goten) (2005)
- Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Zhang Ziyi, Joe Odagiri
- Wacky musical rumpus stars Zhang Ziyi as a 'raccoon dog' who falls in love with a prince banished to her enchanted forest.
A fanciful swansong for…
- Promise, The (Wu ji) (2005)
- Dir. Chen Kaige
Feat. Hiroyuki Sanada, Dong-Kun Jang, Cecilia Cheung…
- Visually exquisite, if utterly frivolous Golden Globe–nominated romantic epic from the director of FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE relays the story of…
- Shinobi (2005)
- Dir. Ten Shimoyama
Feat. Joe Odagiri, Yukie Nakama
- Set in an ancient Japan complete with magical trappings, this action epic posits a forbidden love story between members (Odagiri and Nakama) of two…
- Devilman (2004)
- Dir. Hiroyuki Nasu
Feat. Hisato Izaki
- Clunky live–action manga adaptation saddles a dorky teenager with the fate of mankind, forcing him to adopt the characteristics of a…
- Elfen Lied (2004)
- Dir. Mamoru Kanbe
- Anime TV series adapting the earlier part of a manga of the same name by Lynn Okamoto that was considered edgy in its time due to being pretty dark…
- House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (2004)
- Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau
- The dir. of HERO follows up with an equally watchable oriental spectacle, inserting the same cartwheeling martial arts action, complete with torrents…
- Hero (2002)
- Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Maggie Cheung…
- Though no doubt diminished on the small screen, this ancient Martial Arts spectacle from the dir. of RAISE THE RED…
- Amelie (2001)
- Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Feat. Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz
- A charming romantic comedy stamped with the purely cinematic style of dir. Jean–Pierre Juenet, who here remixes intricate set pieces, editing…
- Shaolin Soccer (2001)
- Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Stephen Chow (Chiao), Richard Ng, Vicki Zhao
- With an astounding mix of Eastern fantasy, CGI effects and the game of soccer, Hong Kong’s one–man comedy machine Stephen Chow kicks one out…
- Tom Thumb (Le Petit Poucet) (2001)
- Dir. Olivier Dahan
Feat. Nils Hugon, Catherine Deneuve, Said Taghmaoui
- Ambitious, enjoyably dark rendering of Perrault’s classic fable, "Le Petit Poucet" told with trademark French twistedness and aplomb, kids will…
- Amazon (Amazone) (2000)
- Dir. Phillipe De Broca
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Arielle Dombasle
- Convoluted sci–fi adventure has jewel thief Belmondo stumbling upon an alien visitor in the guise of a twelve year old girl.
Almost…
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi…
- A fantasy–fuelled, Chinese feudal melodrama laced with jaw–dropping combat sequences (arguably the best ever staged), this represents a…
- Princes and Princesses (Princes et Princesses) (2000)
- Dir. Michel Ocelot
Feat. Arlette Mirapeu, Philippe Cheytion, Yves Barsacq
- French animation compilation made up of six episodes from director and animator Michel Ocelot's silhouette animation television series Ciné si. The…
- Afterlife (1999)
- Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu
Feat. Arata Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima
- Original, intriguing conception of what happens after life – a panel of students challenge a succession of deceased persons to choose one…
- Bird People In China, The (Chûgoku no chôjin) (1998)
- Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi
- Visually rich and accomplished drama set around a parallel journey by a businessman and a yakuza gangster to a remote Chinese highland in search of a…
- Storm Riders, The (1998)
- Dir. Wai Keung Lau
Feat. Sonny Chiba, Aaron Kwok
- The big Hong Kong hit of '98 – a super–extravagant 'flying swordsman' fantasy that ambitiously distils a popular Manga comic book series…
- Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos) (1997)
- Dir. Alejandro Amenabar
Feat. Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera
- A surrealistic nightmare unfurled with Hitchcockian precision and irony, Eduardo Noriega plays a young–man–who–has–everything…
- City of Lost Children (1995)
- Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Feat. Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet
- Visual wonderstuff from the unique genius pairing of the creators of DELICATESSEN, this is as good a follow up as one could wish for.
While…
- Bride With White Hair 2, The (Bai fa mo nu zhuan II) (1993)
- Dir. Ronnie Yu, David Wu
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Christy Chung
- Above–average sequel to the martial arts blockbuster continuing on directly from its cliffhanger ending, with the viciously insane Lin, now…
- Faraway, So Close (1993)
- Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Nastassja Kinski
- WINGS OF DESIRE sequel is again about an angel who finds himself sucked back into humanity. This discusses politics and philosophy more directly than…
- Les Visiteurs (Visitors, The) (1993)
- Dir. Jean-Marie Poire
Feat. Jean Reno, Christian Clavier
- Beleaguered, not to mention slobbish, medieval knights Jean Reno and Christian Clavier are plonked down is present–day Paris to duel over…
- Window to Paris (1993)
- Dir. Yuri Mamin
Feat. Agnes Soral
- A constantly inventive comic fantasy about a group of luckless Russkies who find they can enter gay Paris from a window in their appalling St.…
- Bride with White Hair (1992)
- Dir. Ronnie Yu
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin
- In a remote China of superstition and legend, vicious clan skirmishes result in an eye–popping frenzy of acrobatic martial arts. Resplendent…
- Delicatessen (1992)
- Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Feat. Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Karin Viard…
- Two former Ad–men splash down with an audacious, darkly comic masterpiece set in a vegetarianist, post–apocalyptic future. Consumed with…
- Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Martin Scorsese
- Opinions vary wildly over this sequence of eight re–enactments of Akira's very own dreams – stunning photography and subtle use of…
- Chinese Ghost Story, A (1987)
- Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Leslie Cheung
- The first of a marvellous trilogy of outrageous fantasies set in Ming Dynasty–era China, in which student Leslie Cheung falls in love with an…
- Wings of Desire (1987)
- Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander…
- Wenders ambitious and hypnotic film centres around two angels who can listen into human thought in pre–unified Berlin. This rich and surreal…
- Life Is A Bed Of Roses (1983)
- Dir. Alain Resnais
Feat. Ruggero Raimondi, Fanny Ardant, Geraldine Chaplin
- Ambitious fantastical oddity from dir. Resnais was made as a tribute to era–defining French directors Melies, L'Herbier and Rohmer, weaving…
- Zu Warriors (Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain) (1983)
- Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Biao Yuen, Moon Lee, Brigitte Lin…
- A renowned fantasy film, in which four medieval warriors search the universe for twin swords with which to defeat a powerful demon, which threatens…
- Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians, The (Tajemstvi hradu v Karpatech) (1981)
- Dir. Oldrich Lipsky
Feat. Michal Docolomansky, Rudolf Hrusinsky, Vlastimil Brodsky…
- Cult oddity based on the Jules Verne novel The Carpathian Castle, a sci–fi horror story about a campy count who haunts a house overlooking a…
- Legend of the Mountain (Shan zhong zhuan qi) (1979)
- Dir. King Hu
Feat. Shih Chun, Hsu Feng, Sylvia Chang
- A scholar translating Buddhist sutras visits a monastery filled with various mysterious characters, in this soothing spiritual drama with elements of…
- Magic Flute, The (1975)
- Dir. Ingmar Bergman
- An immaculately delivered version of Mozart's operatic fairytale, filmed on a special replica of the original 18th century stage.
At its simplest,…
- Arabian Nights (Il Fiore Delle Mille e Una Notte) (1974)
- Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini
Feat. Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Tessa Bouche
- For the final part of his “Trilogy of Life”, Pasolini interweaves several of the tales of the ‘Thousand and One Nights’,…
- Donkey Skin (Peau d'âne) (1970)
- Dir. Jacques Demy
Feat. Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Delphine Seyrig…
- A vibrant, whimsical and genuinely fantastic adaptation of Perrault's classic 17th century fairy tale in which a Princess (Deneuve) disguises herself…
- Cremator, The (1968)
- Dir. Juraz Herz
Feat. Rudolf Hrusinsky, Vlasta Chramostova
- Widely considered one of the greatest films of the Czech new wave, a blackly humorous fantasy horror following the increasingly deranged impulses of…
- Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
- Dir. Federico Fellini
Feat. Giulietta Masina
- Perhaps the female flipside of Fellini's 8 1/2, he again infuses stylised flashbacks and fantasies into the real world of a gregarious housewife who…
- Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
- Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Feat. Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo, Kinuyo Tanaka
- Stories by the 18th century writer Akinari Ueda are woven into an odyssey of civil–war misfortune, in which two peasant–potters and their…
- Les Enfants Terribles (The Strange Ones) (1948)
- Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Edouard Dermithe, Nicole Stephane
- A poetic drama–fantasy from the pen of Jean Cocteau (who also directed several scenes), that centres round the narcissistic,…
- Belle Et La Bete, La (Beauty and the Beast) (1946)
- Dir. Jean Cocteau
Feat. Jean Marais, Josette Day
- Cocteau brings a fine sense of fantasy to the old fable, creating a luxuriant atmosphere unique to his film–making. A true classic.
- Munchhausen (1943)
- Dir. Josef von Baky
Feat. Hans Albers
- This adaptation of the Rudolph Raspe novel about the extraordinary tall–tales of a German baron is a genuine oddity, both historically and…
- Les Visiteurs Du Soir (1942)
- Dir. Marcel Carne
Feat. Arletty, Marie Dea, Fernand Ledoux…
- Two of the Devil's henchmen are dispatched to a fairytale–like 15th century castle with an eye to corrupting its inhabitants, especially a pair…
- L'Atalante (1934)
- Dir. Jean Vigo
Feat. Michel Simon, Jean Daste
- A recently restored master work from the French film archive combines lyrical romance with inspired touches of fantasy.