The Impact of Fantastic Visual Imagery in Movies

by Breumaster | created - 1 month ago | updated - 3 weeks ago | Public

Some movies use surrealistic images to lead the audience into a special narrative for underlining and supporting a captivating story, so they become stunning. We only considered movies with more than 100.000 ratings and an avarage rating of 7.0 or higher (according to April 2024) and also iconic optical milestones, then with even a lower rating than 7.0.

Which of these movies makes the best use of its images?

Please tell us here.

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1. Poor Things (2023)

R | 141 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

88 Metascore

An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef

Votes: 255,475

2. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War

98 Metascore

In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú

Votes: 703,399 | Gross: $37.63M

3. What Dreams May Come (1998)

PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

44 Metascore

Chris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.

Director: Vincent Ward | Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow

Votes: 114,479 | Gross: $55.49M

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

R | 99 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

88 Metascore

A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody

Votes: 887,553 | Gross: $59.10M

5. The Fountain (2006)

PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

51 Metascore

As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.

Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ellen Burstyn

Votes: 248,859 | Gross: $10.14M

6. The Fall (I) (2006)

R | 117 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

64 Metascore

In 1920s Los Angeles, a bedridden patient in a hospital captivates a young girl with a fantastic tale of heroes, myths, and villains on a desert island.

Director: Tarsem Singh | Stars: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Kim Uylenbroek

Votes: 116,749 | Gross: $2.28M

7. The NeverEnding Story (1984)

PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family

46 Metascore

A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney

Votes: 157,094 | Gross: $20.16M

8. Big Fish (2003)

PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

58 Metascore

A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange

Votes: 459,095 | Gross: $66.26M

9. Labyrinth (1986)

PG | 101 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

50 Metascore

Sixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.

Director: Jim Henson | Stars: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson

Votes: 149,730 | Gross: $12.73M

10. Sin City (2005)

R | 124 min | Crime, Thriller

74 Metascore

An exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.

Directors: Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba

Votes: 794,069 | Gross: $74.10M

11. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

R | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

81 Metascore

A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.

Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan

Votes: 534,042 | Gross: $72.86M

12. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi

77 Metascore

In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke

Votes: 881,857 | Gross: $6.21M

13. Dark City (1998)

R | 100 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi

66 Metascore

A man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.

Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt

Votes: 212,427 | Gross: $14.38M

14. Stalker (1979)

Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

85 Metascore

A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko

Votes: 144,891 | Gross: $0.23M

15. Eraserhead (1977)

Not Rated | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror

87 Metascore

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates

Votes: 127,587 | Gross: $7.00M

16. Brazil (1985)

R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

84 Metascore

A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.

Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond

Votes: 211,345 | Gross: $9.93M

17. Suspiria (1977)

R | 92 min | Horror

79 Metascore

An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.

Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé

Votes: 105,549

18. Videodrome (1983)

R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

58 Metascore

A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.

Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky

Votes: 103,104 | Gross: $2.12M

19. Barton Fink (1991)

R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller

69 Metascore

A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner

Votes: 129,025 | Gross: $6.15M

20. The Dark Crystal (1982)

PG | 93 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

66 Metascore

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.

Directors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz | Stars: Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz

Votes: 71,526 | Gross: $40.58M

21. Tommy (1975)

PG | 111 min | Drama, Musical

66 Metascore

A psychosomatically blind, deaf, and mute boy becomes a master pinball player and, subsequently, the figurehead of a cult.

Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John

Votes: 22,649 | Gross: $34.25M

22. Zardoz (1974)

R | 105 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

46 Metascore

In the late 23rd century, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.

Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton

Votes: 24,578 | Gross: $0.07M

23. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

G | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Family

69 Metascore

The legendary Greek hero leads a team of intrepid adventurers in a perilous quest for the legendary Golden Fleece.

Director: Don Chaffey | Stars: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith

Votes: 31,068 | Gross: $4.58M



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