HANSEL AND GRETEL: An Opera Fantasy
by Michael Myerberg, John Paul
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DVD details
Actor: Anna Russell, Constance Brigham, Frank Rogier, Helen Boatwright, Mildred DunnockDirector: John Paul, Michael Myerberg
Brand: VIE
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 72 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-30
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: V.I.E.W. Video
DVD Reviews of HANSEL AND GRETEL: An Opera Fantasy
DVD Review: Some digital video magic is needed
Summary: 4 Stars
If you've ever tried making your own animation using dolls or what-have-you, you may have found it an impossible trick to do at all, let alone well. Imagine then, a feature-length film produced this way, one painstaking frame at a time, while keeping all the little nuances of character and charm. A Herculean task indeed. But the producers of this film did exactly that. There are moments when these doll-actors seem to live and breathe.
The characters are beautifully and beguilingly designed. Gretel and her mother look VERY much like "Lost in Space" actress June Lockhart, and the witch looks like an amalgamation of Carmen Miranda, Tallulah Bankhead, and Lucille Ball. Anna Russell provides the campy, kooky witch voice, sung with operatic bravado.
Nice touches: at times the witch acts totally out of her mind, and surprisingly it makes her more convincing; Hansel is protective of his little sister, calming her when she's terrified and brushing dirt off her skirt. The father has a good singing voice and his optimism plays well against the mother's listlessness. For all her strictness, we can relate to her feelings of helplessness.
The visual backdrop to this story is a forest full of shadows and light, delightful and yet forboding. The entire film floats on the magnificent musical score by Humperdinck, and the lyrics to the music are very well translated.
Nowadays, films like "Gone with the Wind" get royal DVD treatment: they seek out and clean up the original camera negatives, correct any color problems and re-record the soundtrack digitally, cleaning up the noise. I wonder if anyone knows where the camera negatives are for THIS film? Think of the gorgeous DVD that they could make with this enchanting classic. I saw this film about 4 times in a theater in 1966, and I remember it looking stunning. This film deserves to ALWAYS look that great!
Description of HANSEL AND GRETEL: An Opera Fantasy
This DVD, Hansel & Gretel: An Opera Fantasy, may be the definitive production of one of the greatest fairy tales ever told. With brilliant imagination and technical wizardry, comparable only to Walt Disney's Fantasia, this DVD uses stop-action animation, over 35 hand-sculpted Kinemen dolls (a precursor to claymation), and lavish sets to create a fantasyland of unearthly beauty. Set to Englebert Humperdinck's classic 1893 opera, sung by some of the most acclaimed performers of the time (Anna Russell, Constance Brigham, Mildred Dunnockand Frank Rogier), the film's score, conducted by Franz Aller, won a Grammy Award and is filled with characters of unparalleled charm.The Kinemen characters featured in the film took over 15 years to develop. Compounded of intricate armatures, a secret chemical mixture for flesh, human hair, magnetized feet and truly human personalities; they are exemplary ''actors,'' able to simulate natural movements of the human body, with a variety of facial expressions that equal the range of humans.
Directed by Michael Meyerberg, this DVD, Hansel & Gretel: An Opera Fantasy, is a masterpiece, combining melodic beauty, a whimsical story, a magical settings, and delightful characters, that will delight both your children and the rest of the family alike with this inventive and original recreation of the classic fairytale.
DVD BONUS FEATURES:
Composer Englebert Humperdinck Biography
''Making Of...'' Featurette
Story Synopsis
Over 30 Scene Selections with Instant Access to Songs
Digital Dolby Stereo Audio
Digitally Mastered Audio & Video
Multi-dimensional Interactive Menus
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