In the 70s, people started exploring their individuality like never before. Hippies grew out their hair, disco dancers flocked to the clubs, and in England punk rock was being invented. With people's tastes being so different from one another, it's no wonder that the fantasy films of the era have little in common. While each of these films is a classic in its own way, they are as different as disco and punk.

Star Wars (1977)

"Wait a minute. That's not a fantasy film," you're probably grumbling right about now. Yes, the film takes place in a high-tech outer space world: a realm usually reserved for science fiction movies. Star Wars makes "best of" lists in both genres, though, and mostly because, despite all the space gadgets, it has a story that is pure fantasy. Think about it: if you replace the light sabers with swords what have you got?

At its core, Star Wars is the classic fantasy battle of good and evil. It takes place in an unknown realm with unusual creatures. It features an unlikely orphaned hero who has to be trained to use magic (they call it "the force", but it's strangely like magic). The hero even gets instruction from a kindly old wizard-like master. Add a princess and several epic battles and you've got yourself a classic fantasy movie. No more arguing! It's practically King Arthur in space.

The Hobbit (1977)

People who have seen this animated version of the Tolkien novel in more recent times might balk at the suggestion that it's a classic. Even people who did see it in the 70s will admit it's got serious problems. However, the Rankin Bass team (the folks who brought you the classic Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer TV special) were the first to make a movie version of a Tolkien novel. Despite its flaws, fantasy fans ate it up with spoons.

The animated Hobbit was owned and watched by every fantasy novel-reading, comic book-collecting nerd I ever knew back then. They showed it to anyone who would sit still for it, even as they pointed out its flaws. See, the movie version was a way of sharing Tolkien with people who had never read the book. It was a way of bringing together a group that previously seemed like a little secret club. The Hobbit was full of dorky songs and bad drawing, but its importance as a fantasy movie can't be overestimated.

Eraserhead (1977)

Fantasy took a weird but genius turn with the first film of director David Lynch. Difficult to describe in words, it lacks a linear plot, streaming forward with scenes and images that seem like the viewer is dreaming them. The essence of the surreal storyline is the birth of a mutant reptilian baby to Mary X and Henry Spencer. The two live in what appears to be an industrial town, dwarfed by the sounds of grinding gears and the clanging of metal. The setting is dark, bleak and apocalyptic.

In true Lynch style, the film resonates with images that are disturbing but intriguing. Lynch joins sounds and pictures together in a way that highlights the grotesque, but makes it also seem beautiful. If you've ever seen something that you've described as "so ugly it's almost pretty", you have some idea of what this film is like. The addition of characters like a woman inside the radiator who sings haunting songs only adds to the bizarre tapestry of Eraserhead.

Strangely, all of these classic films came out in the same year, further highlighting the wide variety of fantasy available at the time. Weird surrealism, epic battles or cartoon dwarfs: no matter which you preferred, it was there. Each of these films deserves recognition as a classic, and each has influenced film in vastly different ways. You can still seethe legacy of each if you go to the movies today.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Kelly.
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