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When BLANCANIEVES was first released in theaters, I took a long, careful look at the preview clips and decided it was not for me. But when I found the DVD at the library, I decided to give it a shot, expecting to turn if off within a few minutes. Boy, was I surprised. I actually LIKED it. Even better than The Artist. Reasons:

I was fascinated by the retelling of this old fairy tale in a new way. It stayed within the realm of fantasy. Also, I enjoyed the perversity of some of the themes (necrophilia, and some very dark humor). If one does not read the synopsis first, it is a surprising and entertaining experience.

The only criticism I can muster is that some scenes went on way too long, and some very important clues to the story were cut short! How did the father and the evil-stepmother formulate their marriage and why did he get locked in the attic? The music score was fine, except for a few interludes of loud clapping, stomping and castanets. And I am not fond of bullfighting so those scenes were hard for me to watch, but it was not much worse than Blood And Sand. However, as a whole, this picture is really worth a try. I don't keep up with box office records or contemporary film so I hope it was financially successful enough for other film makers to get into more silent film.

Danny

I didn't like Blancanieves, The Artist was much, much better (if these must be compared). I found Blancanieves visually beautiful, but it's story was boring (especially the first half) and it lacked warmth and humanity. Aki Kaurismäki's Juha (1999) was also better than this one.

Well, I'm going to see Blancanieves once again but don't know when.

Danny and Murnau: Juha had an advantage that the other two faux silents you mention don't. At that point people could still shoot a real black and white picture, Nowadays with a few exceptions the black and white is actually color, faked into black and white later in the lab, That makes quite a difference (Like turning your TV color control to black and white )

filmnotdigital wrote:Danny and Murnau: Juha had an advantage that the other two faux silents you mention don't. At that point people could still shoot a real black and white picture, Nowadays with a few exceptions the black and white is actually color, faked into black and white later in the lab, That makes quite a difference (Like turning your TV color control to black and white )

People can still shoot a real black and white picture at this point too. THE ARTIST was intentionally shot in color and then altered because actual B&W cinematography came out too sharp for the film stock of the period the director was trying to emulate.

Danny I adored it. I found it visually stunning. It was one of my favorite films from last year and I saw it three times in the theater. I just recently bought the DVD. Absolutely brilliant.

Christel

I have only just recently come by this picture and I was pleasantly surprised by it.

Surprised because it demonstrates quite well that there are people about in this day and age who are quite capable of making a pantomimed picture and that "silent" pictures can easily tell a story. Dialogue is the icing on the cake that we have taken for granted for over 80 years and at times we don't really need it.

"Blancanieves" crams as much into the first reel as a typical modern day picture might take a full two and a half hours to get through.

The photography is brilliant and I particularly liked the linkages and effects. There was art in this picture, care taken in framing each scene. The camera wasn't just pointed and cranked. Similarly the set wasn't flooded - it was lit.

The storyline took a little while to get to the similarity to the "Snow White" of the Brothers Grimm alluded to in the title, but get there it did in a very novel way. Not that I am saying there was anything wrong with the lead up.

The little girl who plays the lead in the first part of the picture played her part very well and is truly charming. The step-mother is the personification of evil and also done well. In fact all the acting is a pleasure to watch. There are no extreme mannerisms, all is quite natural - with a few added touches of panache.

If I have any dislikes in the picture, perhaps I would have preferred an orchestral accompaniment throughout. I find someone singing in a silent picture somewhat distracting - but this was handled by the audience seeing a gramophone record playing on the screen. I also abhor bull-fighting - but luckily I didn't see a poor animal harmed.

This film is well worth having a look at - what with this and "The Artist" - are we to see a re-emergence of silent cinema? I hope so. A lot of people at the coming of talkies thought that the two mediums would exist side by side. I can't see why they can't...