'90s Class?: Snow White- A Tale of Terror (1997)

 A Story most known for its Disney adaptation gets a darker take here.  This 1997 Film was made to be released in Theaters, but ended up on Showtime.  Showtime- We're Not HBO.  

In the time since this one came out, we've had a few more Films covering this Story.  At one point, we had Mirror Mirror coming out around the same time as Snow White and The Huntsman (which somehow got a Snow White-less Sequel).  

Can this match up to the original Grimm Fairy Tale though?  I'll put some comparisons in as we go.

The Cast includes Sam Neill and Sigourney Weaver, who supposedly took the role since it gave a more nuanced part for the Evil Queen.  She wanted to know why a Good King would marry her.

Does the Film live up to 20 years of hype (for me)?  Is it a forgotten gem?  Let's find out...

In the Cold Open- it is quite snowy out there- the Good King and his Wife get in a carriage crash and she's wounded.

She tells him to save the baby, which means (implied but not shown) cutting her open.

NOW the Film starts properly.

Years later, Snow White is a precocious young girl who loves her Dad.

Nothing can come between them...

...except his new Wife (Weaver).

In the original Story, she marries the Good King when Snow White is only a year old and learns that her beauty will be surpassed by White when she's seven.

Um...ew, I think?

Things turn for the Queen when she has a still-birth and is apparently rendered infertile.  Mind you, I think they still used leeches, so...maybe don't trust the Science here.

This was aggravated- at least in her mind- by Snow White wearing a white dress (rejecting the one she was given by the Queen) and everyone is distracted for her (dubbed) singing.

Time to consult the Magic Mirror.

Instead of the Huntsman, she uses her long-time companion (a Mute Master of Sleight of Hand) to try and kill White (who's about 18- hopefully).

He, of course, fails and kills a pig instead.  Did...you just rip-off an American Story for your German Folk Tale Adaptation?

She ends up with...well, not the Seven Dwarfs.  It sure beats using CGI for the effect like one Film did.

When the Queen learns that she's still alive, she, of course, kills her lying Assistant.

After that, she uses her magic to try and kill her, which leads to some of the not-Dwarves to die via crushing Earth and falling trees.

The Leader is not a fan of this.

The Evil Queen finally resorts to transformation and deceit to poison Snow White.

In the Story, she tries this three times.

First, it's a crushing corset.  Then it was a poison comb.  Lastly, it was the apple.

After all of this work, Snow White is fake dead for....five minutes of Screen Time.  No, really.

Alongside her former Fiancé (a character so unimportant that I didn't mention him until now), the trio try to stop the Queen and save the King.

They go full Horror Movie here, with crazy people, killer dog and more. 

The Fiance dies (oh no?) and we get a big showdown between Snow White and the Queen.

 Of course, good wins and the Magic Mirror shatters, wounding her before the fire kills her.

All of our (living) heroes reunite as the Cabinet that held the Mirror closes.  The End.

A good, if oddly-paced Story.  I like the Setup.  I like the finale.  In the middle, we find some problems with too much focus on some things and not enough on others.  Problems with the middle is definitely an American problem.

The Production Values here are quite good.  It looks like a Period Film, even if it is an imaginary Period.  They shot it in Czechoslovakia, which aids the Film to look as realistic as possible.  I'm sure they have stories.

Weaver shines as the Queen, who feels like a real person who manages to be driven crazy by her own imaginary problems and slights.  Yes, White isn't nice to her.  She is the second Wife, after all, who's there to 'replace' her Mom.  Did the King tell her how she was born, by the way, or did he gloss over that?

Snow White: A Tale of Terror is good, but flawed.  It is chock full of style and atmosphere...but a bit slow in the middle before it nails the ending.  It also features a 'knock-off' Wizard of Oz Character...

Next up, we stick around the '90s for a little bit longer.  Do I go with Psychological or Medical?  Stay tuned...

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Czechoslovakia's Beauty and the Beast

Before this weekend is over, I might as well take one last look at this Czech Film...

In Beauty and the Beast, 'Belle's' Father is transporting some goods to sell in order to pay off his debts.  In this Version, the random Wolf attack is now the arrival of the Beast!

Father flees on his horse, while a woman from the Caravan runs from a POV Monster (The Beast).

It chases her to an abandoned Cabin and then kills her!

Clearly that is what the other Versions were missing: the random death of Peasants at the hands of our Hero!  I sure hope he stops killing people and animals to drink their blood when he's a Human!

The moral here: don't deliver fine goods via Carriage.  I mean, why not just use FedEx at this point?!?

Rare Flix: Czechoslovakia's Beauty and the Beast (1978)

To celebrate Disney's new Film, why not look at the most obscure version possible?  

Today's Film is Beauty and the Beast, only it comes from a Country that *technically* no longer exists.  

It also comes from a time that really celebrated Arthouse Films, so that should inform this one quite a bit.  

Do I need to recap what the Plot is?  

This one is a somewhat-faithful Adaptation that also manages to slip in some stuff that didn't make it into Disney's Animated Version.  

There is no Singing Candlestick though, so don't be too disappointed.  

It comes from the Director...of nothing I've ever seen before.

How many Films from Czechoslovakia have you seen?  

This one makes some interesting changes to the look and feel of the Tale, so it is definitely worth diving into...

In the Opening, we learn that our Heroine's Father is a Businessman who is in debt to some rich men.  A new deal goes awry when Wolves attack.

So yeah, that thing about the Dad being a crazy Inventor- totally made up by Disney.

Like in every Version, he ends up at the Castle and is allowed to stay the night.  Yet again, plucking a Rose is WAY too far for the Beast, apparently.

In this Version, the Rose is meaningless to him.  So, I guess, one point for Disney.

As you can see here though, the Beast is pretty, well, beastly.

To aid in the drama, they don't show him in full for another 20 minutes or so.

Our belle is forced to stay with the Beast now, which is the same, but the look of the Castle sure is more, well, Soviet Bloc.

In a part right out of the source material, but excised by Disney, our belle dreams of a handsome Prince.  Naturally, she assumes that he must be a Prisoner.

Well, she is partially-right.

In this Version, we see the biggest change.  

The Beast is...Birdman?!?

A weird, but interesting choice to be sure.

He keeps her on as in all Versions, but he doesn't let her see him.  

He also doesn't deny her thought about the 'captive Prince' either.

In the biggest change, this Beast drinks blood!  He is also taunted/challenged by a mysterious voice that is presumably just his madness.

He kills a damn Deer in this one, so just keep that in mind when...

He still 'dies' of loneliness but is brought back for the happy ending.  It is true love...for a creepy captor who destroyed what she loved, took her from her home and punished her.

The (happy?) End.

A tale is weird as hell...Beauty and the Vampire!

This one stays pretty close to the basic Story, but definitely makes its own changes to freshen it up.  The changes sure are odd!  

Is the Tale more romantic if the Beast drinks blood and is taunted by an alternate personality?  

Is it better if the Castle looks weird as hell?  

Is it better if the Beast is a big-ass Birdman?  

This one does tell the Story well, even if it is still an odd Story.  I have to wonder how it has endured so long.  In any event, this one definitely does little to make you feel love in the air.  

Sure- she thinks that his Bird form has a nice voice (since it doesn't change, I guess) and eyes.  He is the same guy who threatened her Dad, made her leave home, smashed the Statues he saw her like (while stalking her) and let her see a family Dinner...but not go home.  

He's kind of a Bird dick, in other words.  

Oh well- true love!  

If you like the Arthouse kind of stuff, this will greatly please you.  If you don't like the Story as a whole, this won't change your mind.  

As for me, well, I got some ideas for Interior Decorating...

Next up, another take on the classic Tale.  Will this one be the classic that Film Snobs remember well or just plain dated?  Stay tuned...