The fantasy genre is quickly rising as a contender for horror or sci-fi, as a generation raised on YA fantasy content and anime comes of age and looks to movies as a source of the genre’s “greats.” Typically, the entire fun of fantasy is that keyword “fantasy,” meaning an escape from reality. However, now and again, fantasy throws some history into the mix, creating an experience still tethered to reality, no matter how fantastical the story gets.
At least 5 famous fantasy films also happen to be informative and (at times) accurate about the historical period they are set in. Others use real-world history to shape their world, lore, and characters. However, all five deliver thrilling cinematic experiences that bend the boundaries of reality while also making you learn something historical in the process.
Matt Damon plays an Irish archer/warrior who leads an international group of mercenaries on an expedition to China to secure gunpowder for their arsenal. Instead, the mercenaries join a sacred Chinese warrior clan in a battle to protect the Great Wall of China from alien monsters that reappear every sixty years to lay siege to it, hoping to break through into the world of men.
What You Can Learn: The Great Wall is steeped in Eastern fantasy tropes, and none of the story is based on actual historical facts. However, the setting and context of the film are historically educational: The Song Dynasty of ancient China, and many of the details and aesthetics used to recreate it are all based in real history. Despite accusations that the film was “whitewashed” by making Matt Damon the lead, history shows that China was indeed the original home of gunpowder, which became a tactical resource sought by many different military and mercenary forces. Even elements of the “fantasy” lore are based on ancient Chinese fantasy legends that are worth learning more about after seeing the film.
In ancient times, a Viking prince watches his royal family fall when his bastard uncle stages a coup, and narrowly escapes being assassinated himself. Years later, that prince, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård, is a grown warrior fighting for a different Viking clan – a “berserker,” able to channel primal spirits that make him unstoppable in battle. When Amleth hears word of his traitorous uncle Fjölnir’s (Claes Bang) fall from power, he sees an opportunity to avenge his slain father and rescue his hostage mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman). Disguising himself as a slave, Amleth sneaks into his uncle’s village, only to learn that nothing is as it seems. A Slavic sorceress named Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy) joins Amleth, as they use both sword and magic to bring down Fjölnir and his forces.
What You Can Learn: Director Robert Eggers is known for creating masterful artwork from supernatural horror and mysticism explored in period-piece settings (as seen in films like The Witch and Nosferatu). The Northman is definitely a dark fantasy film, but it’s pretty insightful about actual Norse history, mixed with real ancient myths and cultural lore from that region. If you can catch the names of gods, spells (or any character name, for that matter), there’s a lot to learn. It’s also a great primer for more history-based content about the Nordic region, like the TV series Vikings.
Odysseus (Matt Damon), king of the Greek City of Ithaca, leaves for war against Troy under the command of King Agamemnon (Benny Safdie). After a long, bloody campaign lasting years, Odysseus envisions a dastardly plan to use a gift (the Trojan Horse) as a means to infiltrate Troy’s walls and breach its formidable defenses. After the Fall of Troy, the Greek army sets sail for home, but Odysseus finds his journey sabotaged by the gods, who are angry at his transgressions. Odysseus and his men suffer years of struggle and death on their voyage home, encountering all sorts of monsters and mystical creatures along the way. Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, Queen Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and Prince Telemachus (Tom Holland) try to bend custom so that Odysseus’s throne stays empty, but cunning suitors like Antinous (Robert Pattinson) begin brazen scheming to force the royal family into choosing a new king.
What You Can Learn: Ironically enough, Christopher Nolan did almost too good a job turning Homer’s epic work into a grounded vision of Ancient Greece; viewers were so busy arguing about historical accuracy they seemed to forget that Homer’s work is entirely based in myth and fantasy, and not actual history. Still, the film has sparked discourse that has led to everything from a surge in people seeking out classic literature to surges in inquiries about actual Greek history, the lore of Greek mythology, and more.
An 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) has his life shattered when his pregnant wife dies. Falling into alcoholic despair, Louis is found one night in New Orleans by charismatic vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise), who offers Louis the gift of a new, eternal life. Lois accepts and is soon reborn as a vampire, but is horrified by the predatory life of seducing and feeding on humans. The twisted “family” grows when Louis drains a dying young girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), whom Lestat also turns into a vampire, posing her as Louis’s daughter. The trio live happy for a while, but over the years resentment and betrayal take root, and the vampires face dire consequences from each other and the ruling powers of the vampire world.
What You Can Learn: Presented as a present-day (1990s) interview that a vampire is giving to a reporter about his long life, Interview with the Vampire is a brilliant mix of historical fiction, supernatural horror, and dark fantasy, which rightfully established Anne Rice as one of the best novelists of her generation when it was published in 1976. The book is full of both American and European history and cultural insights – especially the southern plantation system and its world of wealthy aristocrats, as well as putting the strange brew of cultures in Louisiana (like Creole) in a mainstream cinematic spotlight. Director Neil Jordan and his team received an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction due to the level of historical detail they beautifully recreated, and AMC’s TV adaptation of Interview with the Vampire goes even deeper with its insights.
The kingdom of Sparta is renowned for birthing, raising and training the finest warriors in Greece. When the Persian Empire and its leader, King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) arrive on Greece’s shores ready to conquer it, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), the King of Sparta, rallies 300 of his fiercest warriors for a suicide mission to meet the entire Persian army head-on and hold them back long enough for Greece to cut through its political snares and summon the entire might of Greece to repel the invasion.
What You Can Learn: Zack Snyder’s 2006 film was an adaptation of Frank Miller’s 1998 comic miniseries, and was one of the first examples of 21st century blockbuster filmmaking being done on green screens with massive amounts of CGI in the visuals. It looked like a comic book come to life, but also taught viewers an actual piece of history. The Battle of Thermopylae was an actual three-day battle fought during the Greco-Persian Wars in 480 BC, which Frank Miller dramatized for his comic. Much of the film’s depiction of Sparta and its customs is also in line with history, but the mysticism, monsters, and the depiction of Xerxes and the Persian Army aren’t quite what we’d call “educational.”
Are there any other fantasy films that also gave you a history lesson? Let us know about them in the comments.
