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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : David Kaplan
Christina Ricci (The Addams Family)
Timour Bourtasenkov
Evelyn Solann
Eden Riegel (General Hospital (TV) )
Supplied By : Fat Dot
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : June. 12, 2009
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| PLOT 16-year-old Christina Ricci plays the not-so-innocent LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD in an exciting and twisted take on the childrens story. Narrated by Quentin Crisp, the film is both provocative and eerie, combining childhood fiction with mature fantasy. Other stories included in the collection are Kaplans rare award-winning films LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB and THE FROG KING. Bonus features include audio commentaries by David Kaplan and folklore scholar Jack Zipes. |
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| THE REVIEW This DVD release is comprised of three short films written and directed by indie filmmaker David Kaplan, it's headlined by his 1997 effort LITTLE RIDING HOOD, a film in which some would argue is his most successful. Each of the films are weird in their own way, as they leave a lot open for interpretation and perhaps discussion. But one thing that I found that they all have in common is that they truly get you thinking. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (1997) - IMDb This story of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD is nothing new to us, it's a classic. It's been told to us over the years and in many ways, but most of us are familiar with only one variation. The version we are most familiar with involves a naive young girl trekking her way through the woods with a picnic basket on her way to Grandma's house. Along the way she runs into a curious wolf, who secretly wants to harm her. The wolf beats the girl to her destination, quickly disposing of dear Grandma and then proceeds to disguise himself as her, eagerly awaiting red. In the end he shallows her whole just as he did Grandma, but eventually she is freed from the wolf's stomach by a hunter. Well in this particular variation brought forth by Kaplan, presents a girl essentially growing into womanhood and is not as "stupid" as we have come to know her, she knows exactly what the wolf wants, is self-aware about her sex appeal and uses it to tease and toy with him. In the end I see it as a film about sexual exploration, sex appeal and sexual tension, it leaves off with no real conclusion, but provides enough imagery for us to imagine our own. I am the type of person who will probably never see a short film as being perfect, simply because there is just to much story material to convey in such little time. I know that by the end of this film I was left feeling half full, but that in itself isn't really a complaint as it is a nicely told story and a beautiful one to look at. Christina Ricci is especially good as she uses her facial expressions to convey herself to substitute for the non existing dialog. RATING 6/10 |
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LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB (1992) : Director's Cut - IMDb LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB is an adaptation of Henrich Hoffman's short story of the same name, from his childrens storybook Struwwelpeter. The book contains cautionary tales, the kind of tales that do not necessarily always end happily and are meant as a way of warning children of consequences should they ever do wrong. LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB is a film of such warning. The set-up is relatively simple and to the point. In the film a Mother warns her son, who is comfy in bed, never to suck his thumbs, and if he dis a tall mysterious tailor would appear and cut them off with a giant pair of scissors. Like most, her son does not pay attention and this event is exactly what happens to the boy. In the end the Mother reappears to find her son's cut off fingers, but isn't a bit surprised nor saddened, because after all....the boy was warned. Clocking in at about 8 minutes in length, LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB is a story that has no time to waste. It gets to the point, and it's so fast that before you know it, it's over. The story itself is pretty fascination and is the perfect setup for the type of story it is - it's a cautionary one, and kids would most definitely be scared off with it i'm sure. Although I did enjoy Kaplan's adaptation, I was left wanting more from it, more of a set up and build. RATING 4.5/10 |
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THE FROG KING (1994) : Director's Cut - IMDb THE FROG KING is Kaplan's adaptation of a fairy tale by the Brothers' Grimm Traditionally the story is about a young Princess who drops a golden ball into a well and with the help of a frog, she retrieves it. The princess reluctantly befriends the frog after the deed and by the film's end his spell is broken turning him into a handsome Prince. In his film, Kaplan takes liberty to modernize it a bit as the girl doesn't appear to be wealthy and it's a ragdoll that she drops in place of a gold ball. Giving proof that he is a true fan of the stories that he adapts, he also sticks to the original telling of the tale and not the modern one. The more familiar ending to this story is that the young Princess ends up kissing the hideous frog, thus transforming him into the handsome Prince. However, the original Grimm story saw the Princess throw the frog against the wall in disgust and such the impact broke his spell - this is how Kaplan chooses to tell the. Like RED RIDDING HOOD, THE FROG KING has no dialogue, but unlike it, has no narration as well. The dialogue in the film is displayed with subtitle screens and is in essence a silent movie. Kaplan himself considers THE FROG KING to be a failure due to some technicalities among other things, but I felt it wasn't too bad an effort. Sharing a black and white palette similar to the film that would follow it a few years later...it to is also brilliantly shot, it also stars another notable actress, a young Eden Riegel, whom now stars on GENERAL HOSPITAL. RATING 5/10 | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILMS The films in this collection are from a Director with a very vivid imagination, one who truly enjoys the subjects on which his films are based. The way he tells these stories may not be in the way you are used to, but they are distinct and ultimately unique, For film collectors, I feel that this DVD would be a truly unique addition to any film collection. This DVD will be released June 16, 2009 |
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