STACK #150 Apr 2017

MORE WONDERFUL WIZARDS

THE PINBALLWIZARD – Tommy (1975) "Ever since I was a young boy/ I've played the silver ball/ From SoHo down to Brighton/ I must have played them all." He may be an wiz, but Elton John meets his match in a "deaf, dumb and blind kid" in Ken Russell's barmy film of The Who's rock opera.

old English gents, with the exception of course of Lord Voldemort, who should not be named (oops, too late!). The greatest of these is Albus Dumbledore (played by the late Richard Harris in the first two films and Michael Gambon in the rest), the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the only

contrast to the British wizarding way, with its subtle variations on established Potterverse lore. The year before he gave us an (unfinished) animated version of The Lord of the Rings , director Ralph Bakshi unleashed what might be one of the most bizarre and original fantasy tales. Wizards (1977) is set in a post-apocalyptic world where faeries, elves and dwarves have been mutated by the fallout from a

THEWIZARD – Taxi Driver (1976) This New York cabbie has been around the block a lot, that's why they call him the Wizard. "A man takes a job and that job becomes what he is. You do a thing and that's what you are," he tells disgruntled colleague Travis Bickle when asked for advice.

wizard who can strike fear into the black heart of Voldemort. He's also a grandfatherly figure to the saga's other prominent wizard – young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), whose relationship with Dumbledore helps him fulfil his destiny as the chosen one who can "vanquish the Dark Lord". Other notable wizards of the Potterverse include Severus Snape, Sirius Black and Gellert Grindelwald. FURTHER VIEWING Spin-off feature Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) relocates Rowling's Wizarding World to America, where you'll meet Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), an English wizard in New York. Or a 'magizoologist' to be precise, who carries a TARDIS-like suitcase full of fantastic fauna –

nuclear holocaust. The story centres on the power play between twin wizards Avatar and Blackwolf, stretches for three thousand years, and features a Nazi propaganda film used as a weapon. This animated cult oddity deserves a mention here for its title

TIMTHE ENCHANTER – Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) While searching for the Holy Grail, King Arthur encounters a man who can summon up fire without flint or tinder. "I am an Enchanter. There are some who call me... Tim," declares the stranger, who points Arthur in the right direction – The Cave of Caerbannog.

alone, even if it has virtually disappeared into obscurity. Another wizard-

driven fantasy flick that's well

overdue for DVD and Blu-ray revival is Dragonslayer (1981). The story

which are illegal in the US and of course get loose following a baggage mix up. He also gets accused of conspiring with the notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Newt's a nervous sort but still an accomplished wizard who plans to write the titular tome when he returns to England. Fantastic Beasts offers a fascinating

of a naive sorcerer's apprentice (Peter MacNicol) who is tasked with slaying the fearsome, fire-breathing Vermithrax, this Disney/Paramount co-production might be a little on the dull side, but it does feature one of the all-time great movie dragons. It also stars an actual knight – legendary British theatre actor Sir Ralph Richardson plays the resident wizard, Ulrich, although he looks like he'd rather be playing Richard III.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE - Fantasia (1940) Disney's episodic animated classic features Mickey Mouse – as an apprentice to the wizard Yen Sid – ingeniously using magic to get out of some manual labour, to the timeless music of Paul Dukas.

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