The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
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| The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Henry Levin |
| Produced by | George Pal |
| Written by | David P. Harmon |
| Starring | Lawrence Harvey Claire Bloom Karl Boehm Walter Slezake Oscar Homolka |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Turner |
| Release date(s) | August 7, 1962 (USA) |
| Running time | 135 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) is a Cinerama film directed by Henry Levin, who had a long career directing movies such as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and the television series Knots Landing in the late 1970s and early 1990s. George Pál was the producer and was also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest grossing movies of 1962. It won three Oscars and was nominated for five additional Academy Awards. Several famous actors, including Jim Backus, are in the movie, and it uses a rarely found feature in filming wherein an overlay of two separate screens was utilized to produce various effects. For example, the scene with the dragon seems more realistic since the creature appears to be directly over the characters instead of in the background on a giant screen as was typically done.
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[edit] Plot
The story focuses on the Grimm brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob, and is biographical and fantastical at the same time. Both are working to finish a history for a local Duke, though Wilhelm is more interested in collecting fairy tales and often spends their money to hear them from locals. As the film progresses it occasionally presents tales from the Brothers Grimm, such as The Dancing Princess and The Cobbler and the Elves in such a way that they appear to be part of the plot. One of the tales is told as an experiment to three children in a book store to see if publishing a collection of fairytales has any merit. Another is told by an old woman in the forest that tells stories to children but is regarded as a witch by outsiders. The culmination of the tales involves a jeweled dragon and features the most involved usage of the film's special effects. Eventually, Wilhelm loses the manuscript of the Duke's family history while collecting more stories, and they cannot meet their deadline, so they are required to pay their rent, which was withheld while they worked. Unable to come up with the money and with the threat of death looming over them, Wilhelm tries to save them by locating the manuscripts but instead ends up in a fever. At night various fairytale characters come to him and he continues his work as his brother publishes regular books such as a history of German grammar and a book on law. Eventually, Wilhelm's works become loved by children, the idea flourishes and everyone is happy at the end.
[edit] Cinerama tells a story
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm was produced and exhibited in the original 3-strip Cinerama widescreen process. It was the first Cinerama feature that attempted to tell a cohesive story, unlike previous productions, which had all been travelogues.
