Saturday, June 2, 2012

From the Princess to the Sadist - the evolution of Snow White.

By s. Saturday, June 2, 2012 , , , ,
With the release of Snow White and the Huntsman with Kristen Stewart as the iconic princess with pale skin, red lips and black hair I decided it's time to look at the other versions of Snow White's story. There is something about those pure girls from fairy tales that is a great source of inspiration for musicians, writers, poets...it's the same with Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. Here are some of the versions of the story which while always have the familiar elements also contain some crucial differences to the classic fairytale.
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
This is the most famous version of the story, with the singing Snow White, lovable seven dwarfs and charming prince who kisses her and with the kiss, brings her back to life. The magic mirror, the apple, the evil queen turning into old hag to trick Snow White - it's all here.
2. Snow White: A Tale of Terror
In this version there is a touch of gore present in it and the evil queen in a wonderful performance given by Sigourney Weaver is absolutely horrifying. Snow White is played by Monica Keena, who unfortunately fades in comparison with Weaver's work. The film, while not very good, is worth seeing just for bolder approach towards the story.
3. Mirror Mirror
"Mirror Mirror" is a lavish production with beautiful visuals and lots of clumsy humour - all the players are pretty much the way they are supposed to be, though Snow White, played by Lily Collins is a little bit more rebellious in this one, which seems to be the trend nowadays as we also saw Alice swinging the sword and slaughtering the dragon and in "Snow White and the Huntsman" Snow White is leading the army to fight against the evil queen.  
4. Once Upon a Time (TV series)
In ABC's series Snow White is cursed by the evil queen and is thrown into different universe - our universe, where she doesn't remember who she really is and she doesn't know that fairy tales are indeed true. We also see the story of how she met her prince (who is also there in our reality, as oblivious to everything as she is) when she is on the run from the evil queen. Snow White in the series is played by the lovely Ginnifer Goodwin.  
5. Rammstein - Sonne (music video)
In Rammstein's stunning video the seven dwarfs are the miners and Snow White is the woman they are trying to please by fining gold dust she then snorts - she is a drug addict. She also punishes them and teases them. She dies as the result of overdose and then lies in the iconic glass coffin which breaks when red apple falls from a tree right on top of it, after which she awakes.

18 comments:

  1. Very cool retrospective! Now I must see that Rammstein video...

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    1. Thanks! It's really a beautiful looking video and the contrast with the song is very memorable.

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  2. Great photo edits there. I wanna see Snow White: A Tale Of Terror now.

    I also have very vague memories from my early childhood about a movie called Snow White And the Three Stooges. Can't remember at all if its good. More likely not.

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    1. It's worth seeing mostly for Weaver's performance. Oh that one sounds campy at best :)

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  3. Hey, nice new banner Sati. No surprise your blog is nominated for Best Design :D

    I've been wanting to check out 'Once Upon a Time.' The dual universe sounds intriguing. I'm in the midst of writing my review of Snow White and the Huntsman right now :D

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    1. Thank you!

      It's a nice show, but a bit too cutesy for my taste.

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  4. Nice list matey!! Kristen is by far the most unfairest!!

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  5. Wow, very cool list. I wanted to look up other version of Snow White too, but don't really know much. Didn't know that Ginnifer played the TV version of Snow White, that's pretty cool.

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  6. Cool retrospective, I like it! I haven't heard of the Weaver movie or the Rammstein video, so thanks!

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    1. You should really check those two out!

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  7. Awesome to see Rammstein in the list. If only that was a full length movie :)

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  8. I really must see the Weaver movie - I hadn't heard of it but it sounds very interesting! In my recent review of Snow White and the Huntsman, I mention Once Upon a Time and Mirror Mirror and talk about how this latest Snow White sets feminism back about fifty years, despite its apparent "girl power" attitude. I'd love to hear what you think!
    http://margaretperrymovies.blogspot.com/2012/06/snow-white-and-huntsman.html

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    1. The film isn't too good but Weaver is awesome and makes it worth checking out! I'm gonna read your review asap!

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  9. Great research and post idea!
    Another interesting entry could have been Snow-White (1933). It's a crazy short. You might want to check it out.

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  10. Thank you! I'll definetly check this out, I try watching everything based on Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

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