I've seen the film on "YouTube" and personally I loved it a little more than the beloved Disney film. Diana Rigg (Emma Peel in "The Avengers") steals the show as the film's Wicked Queen. Even though her costumes and hair are dramatically over the top and hideous it suits the character but the gold potato sack and the spider leg hat that she wears while preparing the poisoned apple had me thinking "How can someone who is so vain wear something so hideous even if they could?" But the song that she sings when plots to have the huntsman kill Snow White had me LOL! Sarah Patterson (Rosaleen in "The Company of Wolves") really held her own as the Fairest One of All herself. She is well cast as the innocent young princess who did no wrong to her stepmother. Equally well cast is Nicola Stapleton who plays Snow White as a little girl.The dwarfs (led by the late Billy Barty) were hilarious! Their scenes with Snow White were well played.
... View MoreCannon Movie Tales were a low budget string of films that had remarkably big stars in them, but were really much too corny for most people's taste. I highly urge everyone to avoid the clunky adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast". The only other one I've seen is "Snow White", which is marginally better... but that's damning with faint praise, considering this version of "Snow White" isn't particularly good and has a considerable list of faults.Take, for instance, Snow White and the Prince's meeting. He meets her right after she is awakened from the poisoned apple (instead of a revitalizing kiss, the piece is jostled out of her mouth). Instead of a courtship, they immediately marry in what is easily the most joyless and mechanical wedding to ever appear in a children's film. Neither couple looks remotely happy. It could be because they haven't had a properly dated; but then, when has that ever been important in fairy tales? Couldn't one of them at least crack a hint of a smile? As the Evil Queen, Diana Rigg seems to channel Gloria Swanson from "Sunset Boulevard". In every scene Rigg was in, I waited with baited breath to hear her say, "All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up!" Rigg also has a dreadful musical number (and the poor dear can't sing a note) and an appallingly hideous wardrobe. We're talking foot-high headdresses and shapeless, sequined tunics. Don't you think someone as vain as the Queen would be a little more fashion savvy than this? The editing is also inexcusably poor. When little Snow White (Nicola Stapleton) is running from the hunter trying to kill her, there are random, stock footage close-ups of animals that play no part in the scene whatsoever, like the lingering shot of a python that has no payoff at all. And for such a climactic, pivotal scene, it was rather boring and ineffective.The dwarfs are at least partially amusing, acting like a bunch of aging vaudevillians, and painfully attractive brunette Sarah Patterson ("The Company of Wolves") plays Snow White. She brings nothing new to the part, but since Snow White isn't supposed to be interesting, that's to be expected.Normally, I write reviews warning people against bad movies. However, this version of "Snow White" is worth a watch for its corny screenplay, bad acting, and some of the most ridiculous sequences ever. Remember when I mentioned the poisoned piece of apple coming out of Snow White's mouth? It actually flies out of her mouth, in a hilarious, bad blue screen effect, and soars through the sky and hits the Evil Queen in the head. Words fail me.Grab a movie buddy and have a some MST3K-style quips ready for this delightfully campy fairy tale.
... View MoreA classic film in it's own right. Produced silently by Cannon Films in 1987, it is one of the best family musicals that has ever been made. Most saw this on the Disney Channel in the late 80's or mid- 90's. It has gained the reputation of cult classic and is possibly awaiting a new DVD release.Starring Diana Rigg as the evil queen, this adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale is not only faithful to it's source( Right down the the eating of Snow White's liver), but tells it as a delightful family musical. Having this be a musical made the tone lighter, instead of dark and scary like the original fairy tale. Nicola Stapelton and Sarah Patterson are the embodiment of the character. Ms. Stapelton is exactly what I think of when I see Snow White as a young girl. Ms. Patterson is the total spitting image of the older Snow White. She is one of the most gorgeous actresses I have ever seen and it's a shame that she has drifted into oblivion.This production is lavish to say the least. The settings and sets are unbelievable. The queen's room is especially beautiful and weird.It reminded me of a mix of Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast and Dario Argento's Suspiria. It is stunning. The costumes are no less inspired.If you can find this great film, get it! You won't regret it!
... View MoreDiana Rigg, is outstanding, Nicola Stapleton as young Snow white is...young Snow White..,and Sarah Patterson is the epitome of Snow White.Sarah Patterson is such a wonderful surprise...I couldn't have anticipated a truer character. It is no wonder the prince fell in love immediately. They all are talented actors, but I saw the characters, not actors.
... View More