Amazon.co.uk Review
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was nicknamed "Disney's Folly" by contemporary observers; they doubted that the short cartoons shown before the main film could ever successfully make the transition from filler to feature presentation. Surely, no one would sit still for over an hour to watch an animated film, their eyes smarting from the bright colours on screen? Fortunately, Walt Disney and his army of artists persisted and the world's first full-length animated feature was finally released in 1937 to widespread acclaim.
Adapted from the Grimm fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is chillingly dark in places, reflecting its roots in European folklore, but the deft Disney touch ensures that the overall tone remains light and the story develops apace, swept along on the perfect musical score. Any lingering gloom is quickly dispelled by the superbly characterised dwarfs and by the humorous antics of the various irresistible fauna that threaten to steal the show in several scenes. The pioneering animation is breathtaking and songs such as "Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work", now firmly embedded in popular culture, are seamlessly interwoven with the action.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs happens to be an interesting technological milestone in cinema history--it is also an enduring masterpiece of family entertainment. To the millions who have fallen under its spell over the years, this magical fairy tale remains one of Disney's most enchanting and best-loved films. Only Grumpy could resist. --Helen Baker
Customer Reviews:
Silly title but what a film.......2006-05-17
This film is a truely dark and gothic take of the animated original. Not quite scary but certainly creepy, the acting throughout the film is superb (espically Sigourney Weaver as the wicked step mum.) Its brilliantly filmed and truely suspenseful, a little bit slow at the start but once the film gets going its hard to take your eyes of the screen. A real must watch.
It's not that scary.......2006-02-07
This is a good and a more realistic idea of what Snow White was really about. I didn't find it scary, it makes you jump, otherwise it's more disturbing and grim. ie. If you want a pretty girl living with dwarves, singing song and being snogged by a handsome prince, this is not your film. I enjoyed it... was entertaining and mysteriously dark. It's cool... it's good... watch...
Amazon.co.uk Review
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was nicknamed "Disney's Folly" by contemporary observers; they doubted that the short cartoons shown before the main film could ever successfully make the transition from filler to feature presentation. Surely, no one would sit still for over an hour to watch an animated film, their eyes smarting from the bright colours on screen? Fortunately, Walt Disney and his army of artists persisted and the world's first full-length animated feature was finally released in 1937 to widespread acclaim.
Adapted from the Grimm fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is chillingly dark in places, reflecting its roots in European folklore, but the deft Disney touch ensures that the overall tone remains light and the story develops apace, swept along on the perfect musical score. Any lingering gloom is quickly dispelled by the superbly characterised dwarfs and by the humorous antics of the various irresistible fauna that threaten to steal the show in several scenes. The pioneering animation is breathtaking and songs such as "Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work", now firmly embedded in popular culture, are seamlessly interwoven with the action.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs happens to be an interesting technological milestone in cinema history--it is also an enduring masterpiece of family entertainment. To the millions who have fallen under its spell over the years, this magical fairy tale remains one of Disney's most enchanting and best-loved films. Only Grumpy could resist. --Helen Baker
On the DVD: the video quality on this DVD is stunningly clear. Though it is noticeable that the film is nearly 65 years old, Disney has done a great job in the cleaning process: the bright colours shine clearly, the blacks are deep and the whites clear. There is little to no visible wearing on the film and the digital transfer has done wonders in restoring Snow White and her seven little pals. The sound is very clear and you get a real sense, in places, of the newly mastered 5.1 Dolby Sound enhancements that have been added, making for enjoyable listening to the well-loved songs.
The extras on disk one are plentiful and give a real insight into the making of Snow White. Little was done in 1937 for the filming of behind-the-scenes documentaries, but what could have been included has been. The audio commentary is strung together from interviews with Walt Disney himself, all of which are fascinating, and to keep the kids happy there is a familiar Disney sing-along and a Dopey game to play.
The disk two extras are packed with information on the movie and Disney, from the 3-D virtual tour of the Snow White kingdom, that also has some documentary information, to an outtakes section showing abandoned footage and ideas that were never included in the final movie. There is also an informative timeline of the creation of the Walt Disney Studios that includes some deleted scenes from the movie. Altogether, great additions to a classic film. --Robert Hyde
Customer Reviews:
Snow White.......2007-11-07
Very impressed with the speed and effeciency of delivery. Watched it this afternoon, it has not lost any of its magic - well worth the money.
The best Disney movie of all time.......2007-10-31
This is the movie that established Walt Disney's reputation as the master of children's cartoons. Even by today's exacting standards, the animation is top notch.
Perhaps the best test of Snow White's enduring charm and beauty is to sit a variety of children between the ages of 5 and 10 in front of it and watch how they become spellbound by it. Visually there is so much to see and enjoy. The detail is stunning. A collection of hugely talented and imaginiative people have vividly brought a stunning array of characters to life in a magical way - magical is truly the perfect word to describe this work of genius.
Of course, adults can enjoy Snow White again and again too. One of the joys of this movie is seeing your sons and daughters enjoy it as much as you did, when you first saw it. And, when you see it again after a gap of 25 years, its power still amazes you.
You could describe this movie as a rite of passage, something that every child should see, and why not - we all love a well-told story, which this unquestionably is. This is film that connects one generation to the next. Perhaps the only other movie that does this is "The Sound of Music".
My only gripe is that Disney releases it so rarely to preserve its value. So next time it comes out, I recommend you buy two copies because younger children will quickly damage the DVD in their eagerness to watch the film umpteen times.
What else can I say but thank you, Walt. It is a masterpiece.
The start of Disneyfication.......2007-10-22
It's quite funny that today, as I trudged into University, the module we would be studying in the lecture was Animation, and the history behind it. As a young kid, I had seen Snow White many times, with varying experiences (mostly scared!) and so it was great to bring it all back this morning in what would normally be a few hours of boredom.
Snow White, released amazingly way back in 1938, could easily be one of the most important films ever created. That might sound ambitious, considering the other advances in life at the time, but to even dare and ask the audience to sit back and watch over an hour of animation was a gamble itself. In the early 1930's, a 'cartoon' was up to 6 minutes of black and drawings that could take months and months to make.
The reason this film actually was a milestone is because of Walt Disney's quick thinking....
1. Copyrighting Technicolour - The ability to master videos in full colour, which no other company could use)
2. Rota-scope - The ability to create life-like animations of people by tracing an original video of an actor. This was filmed with 2 actors and then drawn! This is how such life-like movements could be drawn by Snow White (just a young actor) and of course the evil queen.
3. "Disneyfication" begins - The original Snow White story was a grim and dark tale that had a clear moral. Walt Disney wanted this film to appear to an audience that could be entertained, hence for the first time, we get the 'happy ever after' ending. Note also how the whit, glamour, and humour normally associated with animations at the time was lost.
4. Technological advances - Disney had made a special machine (almost as high as a house) that generated the 3-D effects in the movie, and enhanced such features as wind, rain, and room-spiral actions. A massive machine separated the cells, and then could allow for precise arrangement to make shakey pictures and movements a thing of the past. Every movement, as you'll see, is 100% precice thanks to this clumbersome contraption.
Of course, we should all know the tale of Disney's Snow White by now, and even if you don't it'd be a shame to spoil the film. While in typical Disney fashion, its fun and suitable for the family, with plenty of 'simple' gags and funny moments from the 7 dwarfs, it does have its scary moments. I'm not trying to sound like a wet-blanket - it's just a fact, and even now looking back I can understand why I hid by the couch cushions at certain scenes. But this surely proves how animation has changed - what was once an attempt to bring a watcher into the film and let them experience a moral, now is just a cheap attempt at making money at School Half Terms, when Mr and Mrs Average clogg up the roads with 4x4's, and head down the cinema's!
It reeks of elements from it's time, whether it be the Mask that speaks in the Queens mirror (its actually a voodoo style mask, as people at the time was fascinated by cultures abroad, especially Egyptology), or the character of the Evil Queen that was actually a spiff off a celeb at the time, Better Davis, who herself played evil characters.
Snow White is a milestone in animation history with beautiful artwork, and though its later counterparts may have easily exceeded it in terms of entertainment (the 40's/50's were a good era) they all still kept the roots of teaching morals up until the funny but lame 60's (The Jungle Book, with its laughably bad spiff of The Beatles. Still a great film!). If you've seen all the other Disney films and think they can't be topped, this should be watched anyway for the education of how perfect animation can be, and what we miss today.
DISNEY'S FIRST FEATURE LENGTH ANIMATED FILM IS AN ALL TIME CLASSIC.......2007-10-11
To call Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a classic goes without saying that practically everyone has called it such. It is a great film, but there are certain factors that make it so, and without them the film could've gone the other way and become important more for its technical breakthrough(s) than for the content. The fact is a story with the utmost simplicity like Snow White, the chief characters- Prince Charming, the wicked Queen/witch, and of course Snow White- are all very basic, simple, if not one dimensional than basely two-dimensional characters. It's appropriate, to be sure, as it is based off a Grimm fairy tale. Despite the beauty and charm of the early scenes, its really on par entertainment-wise with the Silly Symphonies Walt Disney produced in the 30's.
This also goes without saying that Snow White's run through the woods is one of the highlights of the film, still bringing a sense of terror and the surreal for the adults in the audience (if you're a little kid it could be one of the scariest things you've ever seen). But then- just as Snow White settles into her little 'hide-out' in a house she thinks occupied by messy, orphaned children- we're introduced to the seven dwarfs, and this is where the film picks up most of its energy, laughs, and complete and total balance. In a way, not to analyze too deep for a filmed fairy tale, they each represent the different sides of men, and so it gives the film the appropriate human dimensions it needs (in this, also setting up practically all the hand-drawn Disney films of the next seventy years or so). It's tempting to say which are my favorite, or whom I got the most enjoyment out of. There would be three, two for more obvious reasons, one for subtle ones.
Dopey, who is almost a perfect re-incarnation (in Disney Dwarf form of course) of Harpo Marx- he's a lovable idiot, with barely two sounds in the course of the film, who (and I hate to sound sappy) brings out the laughing kid in anyone. Grumpy, who I found to be maybe the most complete character in the film, has attitude to spare, and gets comic bit after comic bit happen to him from the animators- and yet, there is heart behind him, and when its revealed in key parts of the film, they act as the most emotional points. There is also Sleepy, who also barely says a word, but who's physical movements are really divine little moments among the big, inspired musical numbers. Indeed, there are little moments throughout the film that help make up the greatness: the mood and atmosphere in the Queen's dungeon of witchcraft; the scene where the dwarfs go to sleep (a fly that rests on Sleepy's nose); the traits given to the animals in the forest (that little turtle is hilarious).
All these parts help to add to the basic structure of the story- Queen wants the good looks, goes after her once the hunter fails, gives her the poison apple, then it goes even more predictable from their (though in a good way). The detail of the animated scenes, the backgrounds, the visual effects, are often mesmerizing. And the songs, which were some of the most standard I heard from the Disney oeuvre as a kid (they were always on those Disney 'Sing-along' videos) are still whimsical most of the time. Then there is also the icing on the cake- the voice of Snow White, Adriana Caselotti (who got contracted into this being her only film role, based of producer/uncredited director Disney's insistence), brings something to the film that's hard to describe, except to say that it's, well, serene.
Even if she's not the strongest character, her main goal of making people around her feel good and inspiring happiness makes her watchable, and in a way lovable. It's a very curious, though important, factor that she (and Prince Charming and the Queen pre-witch) are animated very traditionally, apart from the cartoon-like dwarfs and animals. Its a reminder of the film's, and Disney's, strongest success- that as an imagined and visualized fairy tale, the representation is strong, and touching. In the new century studios move away from hand-drawn animated films, but it's a good idea to look back to the early Disney films, if not for just nostalgia (or to watch with your kids) to get a sense of the experimentation, the purity of it. It remains one of only several animated films, from any country or style, to have the crucial elements come together- music, voice-talent, usage of colors, and cinematography.
enchanting yet twisted disney picture.......2007-09-11
To date, this is is still one of my favourite Disney films alongside 'Jungle Story' and 'My Mother's A Cat'. Back in 1932, Walt Disney had just discovered animation and was testing it out with some sample footage...that sample footage was to become 'Snow White'.
An elegant film, shot originally in black and white, then with the color restored in the eighties, it is supposedly a family film but I would advise not letting anyone under about fifteen see it as it has some deeply disturbing themes.
Snow White is seemingly a nice helpful young girl, but many people gloss over how she breaks and enters into a property not belonging to her. She also strikes up a very suggestable friendship with seven small men who she meets in the woods, which I found rather sinister.
Then there is the issue of the queen trying to kill Snow White in various evil ways, another very adult theme in my eyes. It is rumoured in the original version the queen kills one of the dwarves in a rage of frenzy.
The seven dwarves, Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey, Happy, Sneezy, Sanchez and Sleepy are overused in the film and are confusing. It is hard telling which drawf is which and there were times I had to leave the room because I was finding it too stressful working out who was who.
Snow White is voiced by Margot Kidder and all of the Dwarves are played by Burl Ives, both actors turn in adequate performances but are upstaged by the Queen, voiced by the great Fay Wray.
The DVD has been withdrawn I understand people were questioning the 'U' certificate and there has been talk of raising it to at least a '12'. When this move is made I for one will be a lot happier and might start enjoying the film again.
Customer Reviews:
Even better than the Faerie Tale Theatre version!.......2002-08-18
This is an epic motion picture event that no family should miss out on! Diana Rigg is delicious as the wicked queen. Billy Barty is adorable as Iddy, the head dwarf. Sarah Patterson is beautiful as the more mature and graceful Snow White and Nicola Stapleton is nice is her role as little Snow White. Ever since I saw this version of Snow White, I have fell in love with the classic Cannon Movie Tales video collection. I would recommend that anybody sees this. It is one of those movies that you should watch when you are in the mood for a witty and adventure-filled journey through the fairy tale world!
Customer Reviews:
Stunning.......2007-12-21
I LOVE this film. I live in the UK and wanted to buy it so i could watch it at home however after i checked with all these sellers i found out that none of them are selling this movie for the region that england uses. So everyone in England would find this certain product useless. I personally feel i wasted my money on thermite (the cheapest seller of this DVD ) because it has not arrived yet and it was my girlfriend who bought this, as she didn't realize that this DVD is unusable in England because she doesn't use Amazon much.
As i said before i ADORE this movie, so yes buy it however if you want this DVD to work in the UK, buy it From someone else.
Darker than Disney..........2007-03-26
"Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.... Who's the Fairest of them all?"
Miranda Richardson speaks to the Mirror on a regular basis after she is magically transformed from a lonely, extremely unattractive, blemished peasant to a Beautiful, Ravishing, Queen, a transformation she revels and delights in!! She has a wonderful on screen presence and with her fine features, flame coloured hair and elegant medieval costumes, she carries the role of beautifully, with wonderful acting. She is beautiful on the outside, but definitely not within. (Which you can see in her eyes, as well as her actions.) As Snow White points out, when the Prince tells her that she herself is beautiful... "What does that mean?.... Beautiful... Do a person's outsides have anything to do with them being kind or considerate or careful towards others?.... No.... Or gentle... or generous?.... No.... Or loving.. or giving.. or just.. or wise." Kristin Kreuk is suitably cast as Snow White with her smooth flawless white skin, long shining dark hair and red lips, capturing the innocent sweetness and beauty of this fairytale heroine. Beautiful inside and out ..... but haunted by an inner sadness and feeling quite unloved. She is an unhappy and vulnerable girl trying to grow up, who feels isolated and cut off. There is no maternal figure in her life, as her stepmother is cruel, cold, jealous of her beauty and always working against her.
This film breathes new life into the Classic that is "Snow White" creating a very colourful film. For instance, the garden with its beautiful flowers and vibrant red rose bushes, which the King delights in, as did his first love and true love, Snow White's mother, who passed away shortly after childbirth, leaving the unfortunate Snow White in the hands of the wicked Queen. The King is blinded to the Queen's cruelty, as he is under a spell that began with a blizzard, a sinister creature, three wishes and a mirror smashed into pieces, a shard of which entered his eye blinding him to the queen's cruelty and binding him to her in an obsessional way which he believed to be love. His obsession with the Queen leads him to neglect his daughter and refuse to see the Queens nasty treatment of the Princess. The tragic Garden Gnomes also add colour to the garden and are not all that they seem, which Snow White finds out later in the film when she meets seven strange colourful men, unusual in the fact that together they can form a Rainbow. (A symbol of Hope).
The Mirror which the Queen regularly admires herself in is exquisite, in fact it is a mirrored room. It has a wonderful effect, and she can see herself from all angles. She also has a hand held mirror, which has many uses, such as being an instrument for evil purposes... The Queens illusions are shattered when Snow White is suddenly revealed as the fairest of them all, and the Prince rebuffs the Queens Advances, which she punishes by transforming him. Bored of the King who no longer has glass in his eye and can now see clearly, she had tried to cast her spell over the Prince, but the Woodchopper accidentally falls victim instead and it is he she sends to kill Snow White, while the King is helplessly trapped elsewhere.
In the Land of Fairy Tales nothing is simple and Snow White runs for her life into the forest. The Queen is a mistress of disguise and manipulation and soon catches up with her, fuelled by the Green Eyed Monster, Jealousy, and tempting her with a Blood Red Apple, much to the distress of the seven men and the prince. But, as they say, what goes around comes around, and the Queen has her worst fears realised as the mirror is smashed... As it shatters and the Queens cruel reign comes tumbling to an end, good triumphs over evil, Snow White is resurrected, the ice melts and transformation takes place. Everything becomes clear... Nothing tarnishes Beauty as quickly as a Wicked Heart...
Take a Trip back in Time to this popular Fairytale classic with modern twists. A truly enchanting film, capturing the darkness, magic, suffering and unrequited love that often lurks beneath the surface of most fairy stories, but obviously, culminating with the triumph of light over dark... A superb and colourful re-creation.
EXCELLENT........2007-01-19
What an amazing film. I was mesmerised, I simply couldn't take my eyes off the screen for a minute! I bought it after seeing it on TV and then my 9 year old son, husband and 81 year old mum watched it. They were equally enthralled by it. Amazing film. It was so unusual..so well done, such good actors who were perfect for the part that they were given to play.
Just SO interesting. When I watched it the second time I couldn't remember the whole story which was great..it felt like I was watching it for the first time..not many films can boast that, with all its twists and turns..the magical bits were great too ie the mirrors and the bear in the 'snow ball'. I could watch it again and again and still be captivated.
I even sent my daughter a copy!
Very highly recommended.
Great retelling of a classic fairytale! So magical!.......2003-12-13
I loved this film! All the stories you read about as a child. The feeling of being transported into such a magical and mesmirising place. It's so beautiful and enchanting. There's a few extra scenes that make this movie so much more enjoyable. It's set in such a peaceful almost tranquil atmosphere. That's magic in itself! Whether you're 13 or even 31 please watch this movie! It deserves the recognition!!!
wonderfully surreal for both kids & adults..........2003-10-25
Hallmark have been making elaborate made-for-TV productions for some time, but this dark retelling of Snow White is certainly unusual. This is a fairytale the way The Brothers Grimm would have told it, full of life but disctinctly surreal.
John [Tom Irwin] and Josephine are a poor couple living in a forest. After the birth of a daughter, whom they name Snow White, Josephine dies. Trying to protect his child, John becomes trapped in a blizzard. Weeping for his infant, his tears free the Green-Eyed One, a horrifying creature trapped in the ice. Out of gratitude, he grants John a wish, convincing him to wish not only for food and shelter, but to marry a Queen. For the Green-Eyed One has a sister to marry off, and John is granted a lavish castle with the formerly hideous, but now beautiful Elspeth [Miranda Richardson], who soon becomes jealous of her step-daughter's beauty.
Screen writers Caroline Thompson and Julie Hickson are clearly not content to follow the established version of Snow White and embelish their story with a number of new elements, which certainly keeps things interestingly original. It has its own unique charm with a host very well designed characters. Interestingly, both writers have worked with Tim Burton (Hickson and Burton even dated for a time) and the darker influence that mingles with a plot that is generally sweet is sometimes reminiscent of Burton's style, though perhaps not quite so dark. The result is something mellow, without being too taxing to watch.
Queen Elspeth is certainly the most interesting character, due to a delightfully wicked performance by Miranda Richardson. Irwin fails to invoke much sympathy from the audience, and while Kreuk certainly looks the part of the innocent princess, she often lacks screen presence, leaving her character bland and without personality, and making it difficult to empathise with her. Far more enjoyable are the seven dwarfs (Wednesday, you will note, is in fact rather tall to the dismay of some purists, but we discover he is accepted by the others because of his child-like mind, suggesting "height" is not solely about appearances, but is rather about one's mental attitude). Named after the days of the week, and donning colourful clothing, these are quirky but intriguing characters, which much amusing banter between them.
The visual effects are sumptuous throughout, putting some big budget productions to shame through its careful usage, in a particular all effects involving the mirror. The Queen's circular room of mirrors is great, entrapping and distorting characters. The medieval costumes are always perfect, with long flowing sleeves and a perfect fairytale appearance. Sunday's subtle costume and makeup to reflect his half-statue/half-man appearance is excellent. The dwarfs ability to "rainbow" and teleport is also an interestingly conceived idea. The cinematography is equally wonderful, capturing scenes perfectly, and using a palette of bright and bold colours to great effect. Also noteworthy is the Green-Eyed One's makeup, which is truly terrifying, fitting this dark tale of sinister plot twists.
Despite some superfluous threads, such as the glass shard and Snow White's love interest who serves little purpose but to be turned into a bear and wake her at the end, this is a beautiful production, and it is wonderful to see a darker, "Grimm"-er version of this classic tale which is intended for childrens' viewing, not just adults. The whole family can truly enjoy this (in part due to Richardson's performance which even adults cannot find dull!) although the very youngest of children may not appreciate its surreal atmosphere.
Customer Reviews:
Oh no, it's not Disney........2007-09-21
This is great value for a 3DVD set but be aware that these are not the Disney versions, so you will probably not recognise the look or the songs, and your favourite moments from watching as a child will be missing.
DVD:
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DVD List
DVD