Dreams can reveal a lot about a character, so it's no wonder dream sequences are a favorite device for movie storytelling. In many movies, such as the recent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, dreams become a separate metaphysical world accessible to the characters and the audience. Whether the dream world is a major location for the events of the story, or dreams are utilized to illuminate something about a character's subconscious, the trippy visuals and bizarre mechanics of dream sequences make them especially memorable.
The movie lovers at Letterboxd submitted their picks for the best dream sequences in films. These films, ranked according to their Letterboxd rating (out of 5), represent the most mentioned among -generated lists for the "Spellbound" showdown.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) - 3.8
Back in the mainstream conversation due to its influence on A Nightmare on Elm Street weaponizes dream sequences. Dreams are the haven from which Freddy Krueger, a vicious serial killer, attacks his teenage victims.
The classic 1980s slasher (and its sequels) features numerous iconic dream sequences, but one of the most memorable comes when final girl Nancy falls asleep in the bath. Pulled beneath the surface, Nancy finds herself drowning in a deep body of water, clawing for the sides of the bathtub. Combined with the unsettling shot of Freddy's claw emerging from the water, this sequence is simple, effective, and terrifying.
Brazil (1985) - 4.0
The bureaucratic dystopia in Terry Gilliam's satire Brazil is so mind-numbing and absurd that the only escape is to dream. In a series of increasingly dark dream sequences, put-upon government employee Sam Lowry imagines himself as a winged knight in pursuit of a mysterious maiden.
Dreams in Brazil are an expression of deeply felt inner desire, ambition, and individuality: all things suppressed by the pressure of bureaucracy. Even when they're terrifying, placing him in combat with intimidating foes, Sam's dreams are preferable to the nightmare of reality.
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) - 4.0
One of the The Wizard of Oz creates true magic in the transition from sepia-toned Kansas to vibrant, colorful Oz. Dorothy steps into a fantastical world of witches, wizards, talking animals, and flying monkeys; like many dreams, it happens to feature some familiar faces from back home, taking on new identities.
When Dorothy wakes up at the end of the movie, home safe in Kansas, it's revealed that her adventures in the Emerald City were all a dream. While this might be a bit of a let-down after audiences so fully invested in the story world, the lesson Dorothy takes from the experience is timeless.
La La Land (2016) - 4.0
With its tapestry of homages to classic Hollywood musicals, La La Land frequently dips its toes into fantastical sequences: a traffic jam-turned-reverie à la 8 1/2, Mia and Sebastian dancing among the stars. It's not until the finale, however, that La La Land launches into a full dream sequence.
With Mia and Sebastian crossing paths long after their relationship has ended, the characters dream of an alternate ending, in which they stayed together. It's heartbreaking, and when reality crashes through, it's just as jarring as waking suddenly from a dream.
The Big Lebowski (1998) - 4.1
The Coen Brothers' neo-noir The Big Lebowski unexpectedly places slacker-Buddha Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski at the center of a conspiracy. With the frequent setting of the bowling alley and soundtrack of '70s classic rock, the film explores complex philosophies, like absurdism and nihilism. Naturally, the Dude's dreams pick up a little of everything.
Both dream sequences in The Big Lebowski present the Dude's insecurities and desires with surprising theatricality. Busby Berkely-style musical numbers, Wagnerian opera conventions, Freudian implications, and even Saddam Hussein make cameos. The psychedelic dream sequences are part of why The Big Lebowski holds up so well.
Inception (2010) - 4.2
Christopher Nolan's smash hit Inception broke box office records and audiences' brains. Following Dom Cobb and his team of "extractors" (spies who infiltrate a subject's dreams to steal - or plant - critical information), the movie spends much of its time and energy fleshing out the mechanics of the dream world.
The premise allows for mind-bending, kaleidoscopic visuals at every turn. Inception's climax dives deep into the layers of a dream, combining realistic sequences with troubling logic and impossible physics. As Cobb and his team penetrate deeper and deeper into the subconscious, Nolan ratchets up the tension and delivers an extraordinary spectacle.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) - 4.2
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind imagines a procedure that can remove a person's unwanted memories; in Joel's case, the memories to be removed all feature his ex-girlfriend, Clementine. As Joel goes under for the procedure, audiences travel through a series of Joel's dreams, memories, and unconscious thoughts.
Helmed by director Michel Gondry, who cut his teeth making surreal music videos, Eternal Sunshine swims with dream logic and phantasmagoria. As Joel tries to cling to his memories, they slip through his fingers in stunning visual metaphors. The sheer detail and beauty of the dream world, along with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet's excellent performances, make this one of the most rewatchable movies of the 2000s.
Mulholland Drive (2001) - 4.2
Beware the spoiler: Mulholland Drive is essentially one long dream sequence. As its characters draw closer to the center of the mystery, the film lures the viewer into accepting increasingly unusual, surreal occurrences: the cowboy, the Hollywood conspiracy, and Club Silencio, for example. In other words, Mulholland Drive works on the audience the way dreams work on the dreamer.
In the midst of a dream, even though nothing makes any real sense, bizarre events can seem perfectly logical. It's only upon waking that the dream seems strange. In the hands of the singular David Lynch, the director responsible for some of TV's best dream sequences, the dreams of Mulholland Drive land with aplomb.
Vertigo (1958) - 4.2
Considering it was Alfred Hitchcock's collaboration with Salvador Dalí in Spellbound (1945) that established many cinematic dream sequence conventions, it comes as no surprise that the master of suspense continued to hone the craft.
His later film Vertigo combines surreal animation, psychedelic lights and colors, symbolic images, and a nagging sense of dread to create a visceral cinematic experience. Vertigo's dream sequence compounds the tension already mounting in the film. It's also a marvel of Technicolor, taking advantage of technologies that weren't as common during Spellbound's production.
8 1/2 (1963) - 4.3
Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical masterpiece 8 1/2 begins with a dream sequence. The main character, Guido, languishing in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam, finds his car filling up with smoke. Guido's panic subsides, however, when he finds a fantastical solution: he climbs through the window of his car, reaches upward, and floats straight into the sky. The brief scene has all the absurd logic and unsettling gaze viewers expect in a dream sequence. It sets the tone for 8 1/2's surreal, mythologized exploration of Guido's past.
The sequence is also a frequent subject of homage in later film; it's referenced in La La Land, Joel Schumacher's Falling Down, and even the music video for R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts." While the film features other dream sequences, the opening scene remains the most recognizable and legendary in cinema history.
