Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge

It is fair to see it in the context of the period and not ignoring the purpose. It is just a simple, silly in many scenes, adaptation of the classic fairy tall. Nothing awfull , only not always inspired. But the spirit of the storytelling is far to be wrong, the performances are reasonable, the Bavarian air is a virtue and the children in the roles of dwarfs- few drops of imagination solve many details. A decent film. And nothing less. Or more.

This movie scared me so horribly when I was younger, that I refused to ever watch it again. Well, my friend talked me into doing so last night (she has been bugging me for years). And I can see why it scared me; the dubbing is pathetic, the little children dwarfs are horrifying, that prince wears a great big yellow blob on his head that's supposed to look like blonde hair, all of the characters are painfully stupid...okay, to be fair, the sets ARE quite lovely. But my friend and I just burst out laughing so many times over how ridiculous everything was! Yes, it was made in 1955, and so I can forgive the guy dressed in the bear suit who wanders out behind a tree to scare Snow White, as well as the giant fake spider web behind the queen while she is mixing potions, and the snow that looks like shredded toilet paper. But some of the dialogue in the script! I have never read the original Brothers Grimm story, but please don't tell me that Snow White cried, "Oh, can I cook and clean for you?!" after the dwarves begged her to stay. And how stupid IS Snow White? Three times the dwarves come marching home, singing their annoying, creepy songs, to find her keeled over. And the third time, they think she is dead, so they stick her in a glass coffin, in which she remains in perfect condition, until what seems to be a WHOLE YEAR LATER (what took them so long? HMM!) the prince and the hunter come alone, the prince wants to take Snow Whites body home so he can oggle it, the coffin falls down, and she WAKES UP! WOW! Aside from all this, the material is painfully stretched, with scenes with that obnoxious music blaring on in the background as various characters pace, do chores, stare off in space, eat, sleep, and march, scenes comtaning no meaningful context whatsoever. I loved the part when the dwarves "carried" Snow White inside, shouting, "Watch her head!" "This way!" "Okay, easy now" while the camera focused on another dwarf gathering water, so we couldn't SEE them doing all that hard work (since, um, they weren't). Another scene that should have been cut entirely! Oh well, I'm being reaaaal snotty. I want to see the German version but also am afraid to, for...well, you know.

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT HOST?! AHHHHH! Scary!

The story is simple. You know the characters. While it sticks to Grimm's tale for the majority of its plot, the ending is a bit Disney-fied with the death of the Evil Queen. I mean, they scared the bejesus out of us for an entire hour with the little German dwarfs, why not go all the way and give us the real horror of the Queen's death, putting iron shoes on her and making her dance until she dropped dead? For 1955, it's pretty well filmed, with very nice shots of the natural surroundings.

The US dubbed-version is a thousand times scarier, with its music and menacing voice actors. Even the narrator sounds evil. The German version is very childlike with a sort of playfulness that's seen throughout many of the film's pivotal moments.

I recommend watching both versions to get a good kick out of what the US did to a relatively harmless children's film, (even though the Queen tries to kill her stepdaughter multiple times, of course.) The US-dubbed dialog is taken directly from the German film's script. It has simply been translated.

I've read a number of reviews on this film, mostly bad, so I decided to rewatch it. It had been around 10 years since I bought a video copy of it at a local KMART store, and the film was quite sketchy in my memory. But what I did recall about it, was that I DIDN'T like it.

This 1955 version is one of the weaker adaptations of the Grimm's story, but does have it's strong points. My video is a copy of the 1965 English language version, that was shown at "Kiddie Matinees" by Childhood Productions in the 1960's and 70's. Hosted, rather badly, by Paul Tripp (the man CREEPS ME OUT!!!!) and dubbed with poor voice-overs and annoying songs, much is lost in the translation. I would really love to get my hands on a copy of the original German version and compare the two.

The film's strongest attribute is in it's title character. Elke Arendt does a fine job as Snow White. She is by no means perfect, but in this production, her talent stands out. She is pretty, despite her horrible black wig of long braids, and makes a nice storybook heroine. She has a sweet personality and kind presence in the film.

The weakest aspect of the film are the seven miscast CHILDREN as the dwarves. BADLY bearded and costumed these kids ruin the whole picture. You can never get beyond the fact that they are indeed kids in cheap Halloween costumes. Very poor choice on the film makers.

The sets are slightly above average. The little glen where the cottage of the dwarves rests is quite cozy and inviting. The cottage itself is really just a large dollhouse, but very sweet in appearance.

The script is a bit slow moving at times and tries, unsuccessfully, to broaden the Snow White story. For example, the Prince shows up with a necklace for Snow White, whom he hasn't seen in years. He says that it's for the "most beautiful woman in the kingdom". Since Snow White isn't allowed out of her room, the Huntsman (?!?) brings it up to her. He relays the message, but is overheard by the Queen, who insists that the gift must be for her then. She and Snow White exchange a few words and the Queen snatches that necklace right off from around Snow's neck, and heads to her magic mirror for her daily dose of "self- confidence".....I think you can figure out the rest. A valiant effort at adding meat to the story, but an unsuccessful one.

If you decide to try this movie out, I really do recommend finding the German version. But definitely give it a chance. The 1961 German version is FAR SUPERIOR to this one, but this one is worth a watch.

...for its time and place. Germany and Czechoslovakia produced dozens of these low budget fairytales in the post-war years. They are still ubiquitous on Sundays in Central Europe when most businesses are closed. These films are kitschy and amateurish, but charming in their own way, especially in the original language.

I initially found them ridiculous and refused to watch with my Austrian wife, but they've grown on me over the years and now I much enjoy them. This version of Snow White is among the best of these films. It's unusual in that the German script is entirely in rhyme which works surprisingly well in the original German but lends itself poorly to translation for foreign audiences. Overdubbing only complicates viewing.

Elke Arendt is a fabulous actress and her talent and skill shine through in this performance. She is a pleasure to watch.

Taken on its own terms, without modern expectations about what movies should be, this version of Snow White can provide nice entertainment on a lazy afternoon.