The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (DVD) (*)

$27.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Golden Globes
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital Stereo )
Italian ( Dolby Digital Stereo )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
125 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1962 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Henry Levin
George Pal

Written By:
David P. Harmon
Charles Beaumont

Actors:
Laurence Harvey ..... Wilhelm Grimm
Karlheinz Böhm ..... Jacob Grimm
Claire Bloom ..... Dorothea Grimm
Walter Slezak ..... Stossel
Barbara Eden ..... Greta Heinrich
Oskar Homolka ..... The Duke (as Oscar Homolka)
Arnold Stang ..... Rumpelstiltskin
Martita Hunt ..... Anna Richter (Story Teller)
Betty Garde ..... Miss Bettenhausen
Bryan Russell ..... Freidrich Grimm
Ian Wolfe ..... Gruber
Tammy Marihugh ..... Pauline Grimm
Cheerio Meredith ..... Mrs. Von Dittersdorf
Walter Rilla ..... Priest
Yvette Mimieux ..... The Princess ('The Dancing Princess')

Synopsis:

Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) is the dreamer, and Jacob (Karl Boehm) is the practical one, and between them, some marvelous fairy tales develop. Seguing into the first tale about the 'Dancing Princess,' co-directors Henry Levin and George Pal - also the producer - allow their special-effects artists full rein. In-between dancing, the princess (Yvette Mimieux) falls in love with a charming woodsman (Russ Tamblyn). In the second story about the 'Cobbler and the Elves,' a Christmas miracle of dedicated labor helps the cobbler out when he most needs it. In the last story, a fire-breathing dragon threatens the kingdom until a lowly servant (Buddy Hackett) saves the day. One of the highlights of this production are the Puppetoons, and another is Cinerama - three projectors working to create a three-paneled (sometimes visibly so), wide-screen panorama.

The story focuses on the Grimm brothers, Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) and Jacob (Karlheinz Böhm), and is biographical and fantastical at the same time. Both are working to finish a history for a local Duke (Oscar Homolka), though Wilhelm is more interested in collecting fairy tales and often spends their money to hear them from locals. Tales such as 'The Dancing Princess' and 'The Cobbler and the Elves' are integrated into the main plot. One of the tales is told as an experiment to three children in a book store to see if publishing a collection of fairytales has any merit. Another tale, 'The Singing Bone', is told by an old woman (Martita Hunt) in the forest who tells stories to children, while the uninvited Wilhelm secretly listens through an open window. The culmination of this tale involves a jeweled dragon and features the most involved usage of the film's special effects. Eventually, Wilhelm loses the manuscript of the Duke's family history while writing down this third story - he is actually supposed to be collecting additional information for the family history - and the brothers cannot meet their deadline. So they are required to pay their rent, which was withheld while they worked. Meanwhile, because he was wading through a stream in an effort to retrieve the manuscript (which fell into the water after his briefcase broke open), Wilhelm becomes critically ill with pneumonia and lies at death's door. He dreams that at night various fairytale characters come to him, begging him to name them before he dies. The experience causes the fever to break and Wilhelm recovers completely, continuing his work as his brother publishes regular books such as a history of German grammar and a book on law. However, Jacob, shaken by his brother's experience, now begins to collaborate on the fairy tales with Wilhelm. The two are ultimately invited to receive honorary membership at the Berlin Royal Academy, which makes no mention of the tales in their invitation. But as the train pulls into the station and Jacob prepares to make a speech deliberately insulting the Academy for snubbing Wilhelm, hordes of children arrive, chanting, 'We want a story!' Wilhelm begins: 'Once upon a time, there were two brothers'. The children raise their voices in a loud cheer...

The fictionalized lives of the story-telling Grimm brothers are brought to life in this all-star fantasy film. In the early nineteenth century, the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are commissioned to write a family history for a local Duke. Reenactments of three of their stories including 'The Dancing Princess', 'The Cobbler and the Elves' and 'The Singing Bone'.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 08 August, 2013.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

Little Lord Fauntleroy (DVD)	Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980) (Blu-Ray)	In Person (DVD)
The Craic (DVD)	Year of the Dragon (Blu-Ray)	Porgy and Bess (DVD)