Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

JohnHowardReid Throughout the 30s, the 40s and indeed well into the 50s, M-G-M was the principal mainstay of Saturday nights at the pictures with a ready supply of historical melodramas and spectacles, escapist musicals, friendly knockabout comedies (not too rough or downmarket) and above all high-grade soap operas that no other studio could match.By the early 1960s, M-G-M had lost a great deal of its exhibitor support. No longer was the lion an instant guarantee of entertainment quality, but even the entertainment value of such films as Night of the Quarter Moon, The King's Thief, The Rack, Gaby, I Accuse, The Living Idol, The Seventh Sin, Underwater Warrior, Count Your Blessings, The Beat Generation, Key Witness and All the Fine Young Cannibals was decidedly tatty. The studio did not help relations with its once lapdog exhibitor friends by its brief flirtation with Cinerama. Here was a three- screen, three-projectors, three 35mm films process that could only be shown in theatres expensively re-equipped. So what was the film like? Rather dull actually. All the framing story directed by Henry Levin was a real bore, save for some wonderfully picturesque scenic shots of castles in Bavaria. George Pal's fairy- tale material was certainly more lively, with the process' potential entertainingly explored in a runaway coach sequence. All the same it was hard to enjoy the film because of Cinerama's many technical shortcomings. The three screens were often imperfectly joined, the dividing seams were always visible, and the luminosity of each screen sometimes varied considerably, accentuating a flickering effect that was almost always present, though at times less noticeable than others.But the biggest drawback was that the screen was simply too big to accommodate actors. Scenery, yes, special effects, maybe; but human beings, especially grossly dull humans like Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm and Claire Bloom — whose deadly lack of charisma seemed inordinately magnified — definitely not. The support players came out of it best, but even the best of them — with the notable exception of Russ Tamblyn — seemed dwarfed and over-awed.

Boba_Fett1138 This is a well made entertaining little movie, told in a wonderful fairytale kind of way and with a great atmosphere, that makes you feel like a child again.This movie had all the potential to become a real great and classic children movie but unfortunately the movie makes some bad choices. The movie can be seen as 4 in one. It features 3 told fairy tales and then there is the storyline regarding the brothers Grimm themselves. The whole story of the brother Grimm is perhaps not the most interesting told one (especially not for children) and its not as wonderful and fairytale like as the actual fairy tales told in this movie. And the brothers Grimm have written some of the most marvelous and best known fairy tales but yet this movie decides to use some lesser known and less great fairy tales ('The Dancing Princess', 'The Cobbler and the Elves' and 'The Singing Bone'). In my opinion it makes the movie a bit of a missed opportunity. It's not a bad movie now but the whole movie gave the feeling it all could had been more entertaining, humorous filled and a bit shorter. The movie had easily could and also should had ended 15 minutes earlier. The movie now needlessly goes on for too long.The fairy tales are definitely the best told parts of the movie. They flow well, have a fun feeling and atmosphere all over it and all makes you forget your worries for a while. It's kept all perfectly childish and it ensures that it never ever becomes too scary for the young ones.The movie is filled with some wonderful and lovable characters and they're being played by some good actors. Laurence Harvey and Karlheinz Böhm aren't really believable as brothers, mostly because of their looks and very different accent of course but they're still of course good actors. Some supporting roles are there for Terry-Thomas, Buddy Hackett and Billy Barty among others.The movie was made filmed in 3-camera Cinerama. Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen. So a technique that works only in cinemas. On the small screen it just doesn't look good and it looks like the images on screen are cut in 3 parts but back then movies just weren't made for home release of course. The movie is good looking. Deliberately campy with its fairytale sequences and good and realistic in its 'real world' sequences. The sets are all nice (Oscar-nom) and so are the costumes (Oscar-win). The stop-motion effects in the movie are all fair looking but it's nothing too impressive really. Wasn't Ray Harryhausen available for this movie?Good entertainment, for the whole family.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Caz1964 I saw this on TCM last week usually its shown at a really awkward time for me such as 11am in the morning when I'm at work,the only chance i had of catching it was to view it at 5am on a Sunday which was my only chance,i wasn't disappointed. The story is about the early days of The Brothers Grimm and how they got inspiration to wright so many wonderful stories.Laurence Harvey gives a good sensitive performance as the brother Willhelm who was more of the dreamer of the two and who almost gives up when he becomes ill during the latter part of the film only to get better when his invented characters come to him in dream form and urge him to get better and continue to wright,which he eventually does. Also in the film are three separate fairy tales my favourite being the first one The Dancing Princess which contains a lovely dance routine between Russ Tamblyn and Yvette Mimuex, Mr Tamblyn is full of charm and shows off his clever gymnastic skills in a story which is also humorous and has some clever special effects such as the invisible cloak.The Singing Bone starring Terry Thomas is also very humorous although the dragon doesn't look scary in the least,but then this was probably intentional as the story is made for children. The three stories are all very colourful and not overlong and would suit a young child's attention span.This is definitely a film that can be enjoyed by all ages,I've often heard that this film was so much better on the big screen,that i can well believe although i think the TCM version is good ma by not as good but it will do. I along with a lot of other people am wondering when they are going to release this on DVD,as i wouldn't mind a copy.

martingj 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!