Snow White has come to be an archetype in world culture (even Japanese are quite familiar with the story, the 1937 Disney animation is a classic), so I was thrilled to see this 1961 East German live action version (which came with SuperIllu magazine today).
Years ago, I've often read this fairy tale to my then young daughters, so I was familiar with the story, which the movie rendered quite OK. Except - the classic ending was very watered down. As Wikipedia has it, "As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes are brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She is then forced to step into these and dance until she falls down dead." In this movie, the evil queen is just ordered to leave the (however small) country of Prince Charming forever. Of course, to get a rating of "0 years and up", you can't show such drastic gore...
I liked the sets (castles, the dwarfs' house) and costumes (especially at the young king's wedding), as well as the dance. The dwarfs looked not so convincing to me, and didn't provide much fun. I read that "Purzelbaum, Ordnung!" was a classic appeal to kids in then East Germany, but well...
After the first viewing I was a bit disappointed (maybe I had expected more interesting details?). Last night I watched it again, back to back with Dornröschen (1971), and must say that this film is worth multiple viewings.
Years ago, I've often read this fairy tale to my then young daughters, so I was familiar with the story, which the movie rendered quite OK. Except - the classic ending was very watered down. As Wikipedia has it, "As punishment for her wicked ways, a pair of heated iron shoes are brought forth with tongs and placed before the Queen. She is then forced to step into these and dance until she falls down dead." In this movie, the evil queen is just ordered to leave the (however small) country of Prince Charming forever. Of course, to get a rating of "0 years and up", you can't show such drastic gore...
I liked the sets (castles, the dwarfs' house) and costumes (especially at the young king's wedding), as well as the dance. The dwarfs looked not so convincing to me, and didn't provide much fun. I read that "Purzelbaum, Ordnung!" was a classic appeal to kids in then East Germany, but well...
After the first viewing I was a bit disappointed (maybe I had expected more interesting details?). Last night I watched it again, back to back with Dornröschen (1971), and must say that this film is worth multiple viewings.