The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

I think that "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" is a woefully underappreciated film and is far better than its current score of 6.2. And, although the film took a fast and loose look at the real lives of these men, it is most enjoyable and the stories that come to life are simply charming.

As I just mentioned, this film is a biopic that does what many do....it ignores the real story and presents a Hollywood version of their lives. Now as a history teacher, I am not thrilled by this. But the rest of the story is so wonderful, I really didn't mind very much.

The story presents the lives of the brothers once they reach adulthood...which is a shame as their earlier lives could make for a compelling film. But in addition to their lives, you see many of their stories acted out...and they are just wonderful. It also helped that it was filmed in towns such as Rothenburg in Germany...and it looks great. I really wish I could have seen this back in the day when it was presented on Cinerama....with the three screens. But I wasn't born yet and the chances of seeing it this way are minimal.

Overall, a great film for the entire family....fun and well made from start to finish.

You have to be young at heart to relish the film and I enjoyed the visuals as a child would. You know today that the two brothers wrote on two desks side by side to accommodate the cinerama screen--yet it looks so much better visually. It is not great cinema but good cinema of the sixties.

Of particular note was the Terry Thomas and Bud Hackett sub-plot which might not appear to be great technically but is funny and heartwarming even today. Laurence Harvey as Wilhelm Grimm (it was difficult to note that was the Cobbler as well) and Martita Hunt as the witch were superb. The German locations were ideal. The art direction and the puppet/animation sequences were really topnotch--who cares if there was a car visible in one shot!

In short, this is an ideal film for family viewing and the studios should consider re-releasing it for school viewing. All the kids today know of Snow White and Cinderella, but how many know of the Grimm brothers or of why Cinderella was called by that name? The film needs imaginative marketing to keep the box office jingling...

Ideally, one would be able to experience this movie as it was originally presented in Cinerama. I know that just about every child who shared that experience was completely enthralled by this movie. But even without the Cinerama presentation, this is still a very enjoyable and imaginative movie. This is one of the most successful live-action fairy tale films. The entire production is rich in color and atmosphere. The effective use of unusual locations and cinematography puts this film in a "one of a kind" category. The screenplays for the fantasy section are very fine and the biographical story is simple but unpretentious and easy to take. What really makes this sprawling fairy tale work is the wonderful cast and acting. This is an enormous international cast and includes humorous and touching performances from many of film's finest character actors. It would be wonderful to have a DVD release with comments from surviving cast members (Russ Tamblyn) and production artists.

When I was a kid I would have travelled to the moon if necessary to see anything in Cinerama and this film was no different. I have not seen it since '62 or '63 but I can still recall its magic. If I dug hard enough in old trunks I might even find its 'programme'. Amazing how blockbusters and special format pics always seemed to have accompanying booklets...or they did here in NZ at least.

If I was to view this now in some small screen format it might indeed seem corny and clumsy and dull but let me say that in three eye cinerama it was a sumptuous feast for a ten or so year old and I reckon if I was to see it again in those circumstances I would still be spellbound. How could one not be when senses are in sensory overload?

Years later I got to visit the real Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. I recall it being a bit of a a disappointment compared to the sequences where it featured in this film. Long live Cinerama!

An enchanting faerie tale anthology film, couched in a biographical story that is somewhat less interesting than the stories themselves, which is perhaps inevitable. There are a lot of stars in a lot of stories -- Russ Tamblyn shows off some of the fantastic aerobic dancing he displayed in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." If only they could have come up with a more worthy opponent for their lovely stop motion dragon than Buddy Hackett (who, on the flip side, makes for an unusual ghost).

The writing is good, and there are a lot of really fun scenes. The Cinerama process is used very effectively (wish I could have seen it on the big screen).