When I was a child,"Hansel And Gretel" used to scare me to death,particularly the bone the unfortunate boy showed to the witch.
The Grimm brothers ' widely known fairy tale has undergone some changes and,as far as the parents are concerned ,for the best.David Warner portrays a meek woodcutter who seems a little under her wife 's (Emily Richard)thumb who has sometimes cruel words -but the fairy tales are often cruel- when she tells her children going to bed that they should not awake .
The fairy tale revolves round a familiar topic: the fear of starving ,which was not only in fairy tales ("Tom Thumb " is another example ,which shows analogies with "H and G" :the candies ,cannibalism).
In this food shortage ,all is temptation:on a small scale ,the baker's shop,and on a larger one,the witch's house.But too much pastry and sweets makes you sick.
The second part is ,IMHO,less successful: the children remain true to form ,but I do think that Cloris Leachman overacts and makes her character more ludicrous than really scary .Enough is enough!The same can be said of the final "fireworks".
All and all ,it is an enjoyable show for the whole family.
Two very interesting variations on the same theme (strictly for adults and teenagers):
"Whoever slew Auntie Roo?"(1971) Curtis Harrington.
"Les Amants Criminels " (1999) François Ozon.
The Grimm brothers ' widely known fairy tale has undergone some changes and,as far as the parents are concerned ,for the best.David Warner portrays a meek woodcutter who seems a little under her wife 's (Emily Richard)thumb who has sometimes cruel words -but the fairy tales are often cruel- when she tells her children going to bed that they should not awake .
The fairy tale revolves round a familiar topic: the fear of starving ,which was not only in fairy tales ("Tom Thumb " is another example ,which shows analogies with "H and G" :the candies ,cannibalism).
In this food shortage ,all is temptation:on a small scale ,the baker's shop,and on a larger one,the witch's house.But too much pastry and sweets makes you sick.
The second part is ,IMHO,less successful: the children remain true to form ,but I do think that Cloris Leachman overacts and makes her character more ludicrous than really scary .Enough is enough!The same can be said of the final "fireworks".
All and all ,it is an enjoyable show for the whole family.
Two very interesting variations on the same theme (strictly for adults and teenagers):
"Whoever slew Auntie Roo?"(1971) Curtis Harrington.
"Les Amants Criminels " (1999) François Ozon.