Mixed Review
Added 10/23/2009
Overall I very much enjoyed "Snow White, A Tale of Terror". I thought that the acting and cinematography were excellent. I love the dark, gothic atmosphere of the film. Sigourney Weaver did an excellent job as the increasingly mad witch, Lady Claudia. I have three main points of contention with the film:
1. The accents! This film has such a realistic look and feel of the middle ages. However the actors speak in American accents! They should have cast British actors or at least insisted that the cast speak in British accents. That would have been much more appropriate.
2. Monica Keena is miscast as Lilliana/Snow White. Snow White should be a gorgeous young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Monica Keena is too short, does not have a womanly figure, and as cute as she is, she is simply not pretty enough to play Snow White. Overall she is too girlish.
3. Sam Neill as the nobleman father of Snow White.In keeping with the original story, the production should have kept him a King, not merely a nobleman. Additionally, I found Sam Neill to be a rather dull choice for his role. I would have preferred a younger, more handsome and romantic actor. He simply does not seem like someone who would inspire such obessive love and devotion in Lady Claudia.
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"Never look a raven in the eye for too long. Might steal your soul and fly away with it..."
Added 9/26/2009
Make certain that the kids are safely tucked away in bed before popping this movie into the DVD player...
SNOW WHITE: A TALE OF TERROR (1997) is allegedly based on the "Snow White" fairytale as it was originally set down by the Brothers Grimm; though I suspect that very little of what you'll see on the screen will remind you of any Snow White you've ever heard or experienced before.
When he wife dies in premature childbirth (brought on by a carriage accident), Lord Friedrich Hoffman (Sam Neill) takes on the lovely Lady Claudia (Sigourney Weaver) as his second wife. All goes well until Hoffman's daughter Lilliana (played as a child by Taryn Davis) grows into a stunning young woman (Monica Keena) whose beauty and shining innocence threatens the vice-like grip which Claudia holds over her husband and the entire court.
When Claudia's only child is delivered stillborn, she blames Lilly for her baby's death and the estrangement of Friedrich's affections. Following a grisly attack on her life, Lilly flees into the forest where she's taken in by a group of miners (of which only one is a dwarf); but Claudia's magic mirror will never let her escape the wrath of the spurned stepmother...
Dark, intense, moody and quite gory in places, this SNOW WHITE won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I appreciated the Germanic storybook look of the piece, and the sensational performances of Weaver and Keena, adding a realistic flavour to their characters; this is a particularly brave turn from Ms Weaver. Gil Bellows ("Ally McBeal") throws away any prissy pretense and gives us a fairytale hero with lots of sweaty, masculine energy.
Well worth a look, but make sure to expect the unexpected!
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Snow White - A Tale of Terror
Added 8/30/2009
Not your child's fairy tale. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the witch stepmother. Good movie for teens and adults.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Snow White the dreadful fright!
Added 6/9/2009
I love this movie. I think I remember something in the news about
some angry ignorant mothers who accidentally took their kids to see it.
This movie is more of an occult flick and is not suitable for little kids
or those spooked out religious nutcases. Definitely a collectors piece
for a horror movie buff.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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One of the best interpretations I've seen,from a student of Grimms Tales
Added 3/8/2009
I watched this along with some other film adaptations of Snow White for a class I'm taking on Grimms Tales,and this is my favorite of all the movies I've seen in that class so far,so much so that I came to this page scoping out my own copy!
What you need to know about this movie is that
a.)It's NOT intended for children
b.)It follows the Grimms version more closely than the Disney version,which most of us are used to thinking of as the canonical story,and
c.)It goes out of it's way to be scary and sexual.
As far as A goes,look at the rating and the reasons for it to decide if it's for you(although I'll say now,the most gory part comes at the very beginning of the movie,with the death of Lily's biological mother).With regards to B,look for themes of rivalry between the stepmother and stepdaughter,rather than the victimization of an innocent,dumb little girl in the Disney version;three trials where the Queen attempts to kill Snow White instead of just hopping right to the apple;and more complexity in the plot than in the Disney cartoon.As far as C,I'm not a horror buff at all,and I'm rather prudish,but I thought both elements were done mildly compared with a lot of the things available to audiences now and that they made the story a lot more interesting than the innocent,insipid children's versions.
You won't find singing dwarves here;they've been replaced by patrons that the Grimms could have chosen from the oral versions of the story they collected,but didn't:robbers.And the robbers are initially hostile to Lily,threatening her with physical harm several times and scorning her for her nobility.The Prince is kind of a dork and not effectual enough for our modern feminist heroine to rely on solely.And the rivalry between Lily and her stepmother is clearly played out;Lily has resented Claudia since they met and the two have power stuggles and compete for the father's attention.Lily is initially the cruel one in this relationship,but then the tables turn,and Claudia goes mad in a manner that is portrayed as sympathetic,but still clearly posits her as the aggressor and Lily as the victim.And my favorite aspect of this version is the romantic element,which is a refreshing new look on a question students of the Grimms story often ask--but I won't say any more here,since having it revealed in the movie is part of what makes this version so cool.;-)
Overall,I'd say this is a highly enjoyable version for older audiences that stays closer to the original story but gives the viewer food for thought on it's own.Highly reccomended!
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Mixed Review
Added 10/23/2009
Overall I very much enjoyed "Snow White, A Tale of Terror". I thought that the acting and cinematography were excellent. I love the dark, gothic atmosphere of the film. Sigourney Weaver did an excellent job as the increasingly mad witch, Lady Claudia. I have three main points of contention with the film:
1. The accents! This film has such a realistic look and feel of the middle ages. However the actors speak in American accents! They should have cast British actors or at least insisted that the cast speak in British accents. That would have been much more appropriate.
2. Monica Keena is miscast as Lilliana/Snow White. Snow White should be a gorgeous young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Monica Keena is too short, does not have a womanly figure, and as cute as she is, she is simply not pretty enough to play Snow White. Overall she is too girlish.
3. Sam Neill as the nobleman father of Snow White.In keeping with the original story, the production should have kept him a King, not merely a nobleman. Additionally, I found Sam Neill to be a rather dull choice for his role. I would have preferred a younger, more handsome and romantic actor. He simply does not seem like someone who would inspire such obessive love and devotion in Lady Claudia.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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"Never look a raven in the eye for too long. Might steal your soul and fly away with it..."
Added 9/26/2009
Make certain that the kids are safely tucked away in bed before popping this movie into the DVD player...
SNOW WHITE: A TALE OF TERROR (1997) is allegedly based on the "Snow White" fairytale as it was originally set down by the Brothers Grimm; though I suspect that very little of what you'll see on the screen will remind you of any Snow White you've ever heard or experienced before.
When he wife dies in premature childbirth (brought on by a carriage accident), Lord Friedrich Hoffman (Sam Neill) takes on the lovely Lady Claudia (Sigourney Weaver) as his second wife. All goes well until Hoffman's daughter Lilliana (played as a child by Taryn Davis) grows into a stunning young woman (Monica Keena) whose beauty and shining innocence threatens the vice-like grip which Claudia holds over her husband and the entire court.
When Claudia's only child is delivered stillborn, she blames Lilly for her baby's death and the estrangement of Friedrich's affections. Following a grisly attack on her life, Lilly flees into the forest where she's taken in by a group of miners (of which only one is a dwarf); but Claudia's magic mirror will never let her escape the wrath of the spurned stepmother...
Dark, intense, moody and quite gory in places, this SNOW WHITE won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I appreciated the Germanic storybook look of the piece, and the sensational performances of Weaver and Keena, adding a realistic flavour to their characters; this is a particularly brave turn from Ms Weaver. Gil Bellows ("Ally McBeal") throws away any prissy pretense and gives us a fairytale hero with lots of sweaty, masculine energy.
Well worth a look, but make sure to expect the unexpected!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Snow White - A Tale of Terror
Added 8/30/2009
Not your child's fairy tale. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the witch stepmother. Good movie for teens and adults.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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