#sněhurka a sedm trpasliku

[princesssarisa]

Snow White Winter: "Schneewittchen und das Geheimnis der Zwerge"/"Sněhurka a sedm trpasliku" ("Snow White and the Secret of the Dwarfs") (1992 German/Czech film)

This unique Snow White is a German/Czech co-production, much like the 1973 cult classic Three Wishes for Cinderella. Indeed, the look and feel of the production mirrors Three Wishes for Cinderella in some ways: both are fairly "grounded" adaptations of their respective fairy tales, set in a medieval world with subdued colors and effective use of nature's beauty, with less emphasis on "magic" than many other retellings give us and more on the characters' personalities. This film is distinctly different from Three Wishes too, though, with more of a science fiction element, as well as more philosophizing, particularly about the nature and importance of "truth."

From the beginning, the film alternates between the world of Snow White and the wicked Queen and the world of the dwarfs. These particular dwarfs (played by actors with proportionate dwarfism, both men and women, although they all wear masculine clothes) aren't just miners, but inventors. They use the metals they mine to build an array of marvels, including a mechanical guard dog and homing pigeon, realistic automatons of the kingdom's most important people, and waterbeds long before the 1970s. They're also portrayed as a priestlike brotherhood, dressed in identical gray tunics and dedicated above all else to upholding the virtue of truth. Nor are there seven dwarfs, but eight. Disguising the eighth dwarf as a tall knight in a mechanical suit of armor, they send him into the realm of the "big people" with a gift for the King and Queen: a crystal ball which, when attached to a mirror, gives that mirror the power to speak truthful answers to any question.

Meanwhile, Snow White's beloved father the King goes off to fight in the Crusades, leaving the Queen to rule in his place. Straight away she sheds her facade of a modest, pious wife – very literally, as she tears off her gray robes and veils to reveal a red dress and luxuriant red hair – and devotes her days to parties and worldly pleasures. She then sends Snow White away to a hunting lodge in the woods, ostensibly for education, but really because the jealous Queen can't stand the sight of her. This is pure pleasure for Snow White, though, because with her comes her best friend, the lively young court fool, Andreas... and before long their friendship blossoms into romance. Unbeknownst to her (and only gradually revealed to us), Andreas is really the prince of a neighboring kingdom, sent by his father to learn utmost honesty by living as a truth-spouting jester.

When the Queen receives the crystal ball, she predictably misuses its power, never asking her mirror for knowledge to make her a better ruler, but only "Who is the fairest in the land?" Meanwhile, the disguised eighth dwarf, now known as the Black Knight, misuses his new "power" too, enjoying a life of admiration at the court and ignoring the other dwarfs' messages urging him to come home. But his choice to serve the Queen lands him in trouble when she commands him to kill Snow White. Of course, he spares her life, and she flees into the forest and finds a new home with the other dwarfs. While her youthful energy and clumsiness sometimes exasperate the serious little men (as does the fact that she can cook nothing but pancakes), they soon learn to love her anyway.

After the Queen learns Snow White's whereabouts, she makes two attempts to kill her, both in male disguises. First she dresses as an old Asian man and tries to suffocate her with a silk girdle, then comes back as a Russian doctor with a poisoned apple. Meanwhile, the Black Knight's mechanical armor finally breaks down, destroying his charade, and the repentant eighth dwarf sets out with Prince Andreas to find Snow White before the Queen does. Sadly, as they travel through a cavern, the dwarf is killed by a rockslide (classic "redemption equals death"), and by the time Andreas reaches the other dwarfs' home, it's too late for Snow White. Andreas weeps and watches over her glass coffin for three days, then asks to open the coffin and hold her one last time. But by doing so, he shakes the piece of apple loose from her throat and she revives.

The Queen's fate is a variation on the ever-popular "she breaks the mirror in anger and its magic backfires on her." In this case, she smashes the crystal ball, causing a fire which leaves her hair singed black and apparently drives her mad. She's ultimately taken away to a convent, inanely repeating "I am the fairest! I am the fairest!" Meanwhile, Snow White reunites with her father and sails away with Prince Andreas to live happily ever after.

It goes without saying that this is an interesting Snow White. It won't suit all tastes. but it's impossible to forget. The inventor-priest dwarfs in their stony gray world of mechanics are fairly cold figures compared to the dwarfs in other adaptations, but they still provide a fanciful twist on the classic story, and the constant philosophical discussion of "truth" can be preachy, but engaging too. An undebatable flaw, however, is the age gap between 15-year-old Natalie Minko as Snow White and 27-year-old Alessandro Gassmann as Prince Andreas. As written, the film gives us one of the best versions of Snow White and the Prince's love story, with their warm, playful bond from the start making the ending feel fully earned, but the obvious age gap makes it slightly uncomfortable. Still, both give fine performances: Minko's lively, willful, genuinely girlish Snow White is a refreshing change from more typical "angel in the house" portrayals, while Gassmann is equally vivid as a zany fool and as a brave, devoted prince. Meanwhile, Gudrun Landgrebe stands out as a beautiful, vivacious, sinister and cunning Queen.

Whether or not you ultimately care for this Snow White, its creativity makes it a must for anyone who considers the story a favorite.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @superkingofpriderock

[princesssarisa]

Snow White Winter: The Complete List

I did it! Starting on the first day of December and ending on the last day of February, I watched, listened to, or read every screen, stage or radio adaptation of Snow White I could get my hands on. All except Snow White: A Tale of Terror, that is, because I decided I didn't want to watch an R-rated horror version. It sometimes seemed like an impossible goal, but I met it!

Here's the complete list of all the different versions I overviewed, in chronological order:

*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1912 stage play by Winthrop Ames)

*Snow White (1916 silent film)

*Snow-White (1933 Betty Boop cartoon)

*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 Disney animated film)

*Let's Pretend: Snowdrop and the Seven Dwarfs (1949 radio show episode)

*Skazka o myortvoy tsarevne i o semi bogatyryakh (The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights) (1951 Russian animated film)

*Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (1955 German film)

*Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961 film)

*Schneewittchen (Snow White) (1961 German film)

*The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo: Little Snow White (1965 animated series episode)

*Pamuk Prenses ve Yedi Cüceler (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) (1970 Turkish film)

*Schneewittchen (Snow White) (1971 Swiss/German short)

*Festival of Family Classics: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1975 animated series episode)

*Snow White Live at the Radio City Music Hall (1980 filmed stage production)

*Faerie Tale Theatre: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1984 TV series episode)

*My Favorite Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1986 anime series episode)

*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1987 TV film)

*Cannon Movie Tales: Snow White (1987 film)

*Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics: Snow White (1989 anime series episode)

*Snow White (1990 Golden Films animation)

*Schneewittchen und das Geheimnis der Zwerge/Sněhurka a sedm trpasliku (Snow White and the Secret of the Dwarfs) (1992 German/Czech film)

*Shirayuki Hime no Densetsu (The Legend of Snow White) (1994 Japanese anime series)

*Snow White and the Magic Mirror (1994 UAV Entertainment animation)

*Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child – Snow White (1995 animated series episode)

*Snow White (1995 Jetlag Productions animation)

*Snow White (1996 opera by Luigi Zaninelli)

*Snow White (1998 Golden films animation)

*Simsala Grimm: Snow White (2000 animated series episode)

*Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001 TV film)

*Snow White: An Enchanting Musical (2004 Disneyland stage production)

*Sechs auf einen Streich: Schneewittchen (Six at One Blow: Snow White) (2009 German TV film)

*Grimm's Snow White (2012 direct-to-DVD film)

*Mirror, Mirror (2012 film)

*Snow White and the Huntsman (2012 film)

*Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs (2019 South Korean CGI animated film)

*Märchenperlen: Schneewitchen und der Zauber der Zwerge (Fairy Tale Pearls: Snow White and the Magic of the Dwarfs) (2019 German TV film)

@ariel-seagull-wings, @superkingofpriderock