Der blaue Vogel

I am a fan of the earlier Shirley Temple version and just learned today of this 1970's version. Can't seem to find it anywhere to watch. Any suggestions???

I watched this last night, taped it off a TCM showing. This film is a lot better than reviewers said. I'd say it's a must-see for Elizabeth Taylor fans. She obviously enjoyed her roles. Patsy Kensit is simply adorable in this. The film has deep, yet surreally portrayed concepts involving life and death, sin and love. Certainly perfect for young children with a strong moral philosophy. The story is fantasy, some sets are better than others, it's all very colorful and has an early 19th century feel. If you are a student of set construction, choreography, ballet in film, or escapes to alternate realities, you will enjoy this perhaps more than you think you should.

In childhood, I adored it. Seeing it after serious decades, the emotion was the same. The memories were only small crumbs. The larger - impressive presence of Ava Gardner. Today, the freshness of old play by Maurice Maeterlinck redivivus. The acting, the cast, the development of familiar story, the children, the balet moments. And, sure,the Soviet - American coproduction , în direction of George Cuckor. In short, just lovely, especialy for not so young public, a fantaisy respecting the play spirit and a seductive rediscover of a Hollywood age. Superior to version from 1940, în competition with seductive version of 1918, the nostalgia remains its basic gift.

The first co-production between USSR and Hollywood would have to be this strange kiddie film that is so icky sweet, it makes "Barney" look like "Penthouse Forum" in comparison! Some kids meet up with their fairy Godmother (Elizabeth Taylor dressed like a Mafia wife gone insane). With a wave of her magic wand, household pets, and inanimate objects come to life. The most disgusting has to be what happens to a pitcher of milk! It turns into a ballerina. To remind audiences of its milk origins, whenever the ballerina dances, we hear milk splash in a pitcher. It sounds as if the poor ballerina has a stomach disorder! The story goes that the production of this film was very rough. It went on forever. Jane Fonda supposedly kept on pestering the Russian workers, and it became an expensive mess.

I remember hearing the horrendous reviews when this film was originally released. Thirty-three years later, I finally managed to actually see it on YouTube. My, oh, my. Considering the budget and talent involved, it is indeed one of the worst films ever made. Most often, it comes across as a filmed stage play - one with incredibly bad performances. The technical aspects are well below par. The whole naive "political" background actually makes the film even more annoying...did these people actually think that they were performing some sort of noble gesture, bringing the world's superpowers together? If you haven't seen this, really, I suggest that you skip it. It might play as "good bad," if you've had a few drinks with friends. But watching this sober, is just plain tedious.