The Slipper and the Rose

Amazon.com

You know the story: Cinderella rides in a magical pumpkin to the ball, enchants the prince, and flees at midnight. He finds her slipper and tracks her down, and they live happily ever after. But wait! In The Slipper and the Rose, it turns out there's more to the life of a prince than being charming. The king prefers to choose the prince's wife, one of proper social station who would provide a strong political alliance to ward off the kingdom's enemies. That's one of the twists in this 1976 British take on the classic fairy tale, one of a long line of musical versions.

The disgruntled prince, who's as much of a focal point here as the lady with the footwear, is played by Richard Chamberlain, during the years when he was taking on the classics and had not yet been crowned king of the TV miniseries. He displays a pleasant voice opposite Gemma Craven as Cinderella, and veteran character actor Michael Hordern as the king leads the supporting ensemble. Add lavish sets and lush scenery (partially filmed in Austria), humor, fun choreography, and an Oscar-nominated score full of charming songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman (veterans of such Disney movies as Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book, and who also cowrote the script with director Bryan Forbes), and you have a grand, engaging family musical. The 143-minute running time and dreamy, deliberate pace might test the patience of antsy viewers, but this is the first time The Slipper and the Rose has been available on video in its uncut version, and its legion of fans wouldn't have it any other way. --David Horiuchi

Description

The Slipper and the Rose is a grand musical adventure in the tradition of The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. This lavish production features Richard Chamberlain in a spirited retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, and the Academy Award-nominated score is provided by the Oscar-winning song-writing duo the Sherman Brothers (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). The Slipper and the Rose is a brilliant mix of fantasy and realism that will enchant viewers of all ages. No musical collection would be complete without this romantically delightful film. Audio commentary by director Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives, King Rat). Video interview with the Sherman Brothers. Promotional featurette--Cinderella Story: The Making of "The Slipper and the Rose." Available for the first time on home video in its complete, full-length version. 143 minutes. AC-3 Soundtrack. 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer.

Customer Reviews:

Wimperella...........2007-08-11

I normally don't take the time out for a review, but I am now.

I probably own at least a dozen different Cinderella movies, and this has to be one of the weakest.

Cinderella herself is a total weakling. She is entirely passive. Everything happens to her - she really doesn't take an active roll. She lets her stepmother take everything away from her. She lets herself be bossed by the stepsisters. She lets herself be talked out of marrying the prince. This Cinderella NEVER stands up for herself.

The music drags and is often inappropriate. There's a whole song and dance number in a mausoleum - the prince and his man at arms dance around the crypts of dead kings.

The only good point in this is Richard Chamberlain. The one star is for him.

Save your money - buy A Tale of Cinderella or Ever After instead - better music, and the Cinderella characters don't just let themselves get pushed around.

Simply Wonderful.......2007-03-21

I'm not an elegant writer like most people who review movies and books and such. All I can say is that I LOVED this movie. It goes beyond the simple Cinderella story, explains a lot (why did all of the fairy godmother's magic change back at midnight EXCEPT for the glass slippers?), offers memorable music and delightful characters, and is one of the movies you'll want to watch again and again. It is appropriate for children, and at the same time will have the adults laughing at humor that will go over the heads of the small children. Yes, you want to buy this movie.

''You'll Forget Every Other Love Story You Ever Saw....''.......2005-10-21

"The Slipper And The Rose" is a beautiful version of the classic Cinderella story. Made in England and released in 1976, it retells the familiar story with warmth, humor and wonderful songs by the Sherman brothers, who also did the music for countless Disney films, notably "Mary Poppins". Prince Edward (Richard Chamberlain), heir to the throne of Euphrania, is expected by his father the king (Michael Hordern) and his mother the queen (Lally Bowers) to choose a wife and settle down. To this end, they plan a court ball to which all the princesses they can locate will be invited. Meanwhile, young Cinderella (Gemma Craven) has just lost her beloved father. But things go from bad to worse for her, when her selfish stepmother (Margaret Lockwood) and spoiled stepsisters (Rosalind Ayres and Sherrie Hewson) reduce her to the status of a servant in her own home. Thankfully, however, her fairy godmother (Annette Crosbie) is waiting in the wings to see that she goes to the ball and meet the prince. The rest is up to them... With an excellent cast and fine support from Kenneth More, as the Lord Chamberlain, Christopher Gable as the prince's friend John, and especially Dame Edith Evans as the dowager Queen, "The Slipper and the Rose" is magical film-making.a few twists in the story keep it fresh, while all the charm of the original is preserved. The lavish production, handsome location photography and a witty, sophisticated script has appeal for all ages. One of the best film versions of "Cinderella" ever made. [phillindholm]

This Is A Good Movie That Is Based On The Cinderella Fairytale!.......2005-10-17

I first watched The Slipper and The Rose on TV and I liked it and thought this musical Cinderella that stars Genna Craven and Richard Chamberlain was really quite entertaining and I highly recommend it and I have to agree with the reviewers who say to buy it on DVD instead of on video! One reviewer had said to buy the video tape instead of the DVD and I'm not trying to sound mean and that I'm slamming that reviewer but I think recommending the video tape instead of the DVD is bad advice since they say that VHS tapes are going to be obslolete and go the way of Beta tapes and 8 track tapes.

Great.......2005-09-23

I loved getting the Slipper and the Rose for my wife and her Sister.

Average customer rating:

BEST MOVIE EVER!!!
Yimou's best.
Don't be fooled by the cover
Forsaken, Brave China
5-Stars for Happy Times

Happy Times
Starring: Benshan Zhao , Jie Dong , Lifan Dong , Biao Fu , and Xuejian Li
Director: Yimou Zhang
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006RCL3
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Amazon.com

A beautifully heart-wrenching movie. Zhao, a middle-aged laid-off factory worker, longs for a wife; in the hopes of marrying a pushy divorcée, he agrees to pay for an expensive wedding. To raise money, he turns a derelict bus into a place for couples to rendezvous, and brags to his fiancee about how he manages the Happy Times Hotel. When the divorcée insists that Zhao give Ying, her blind stepdaughter, a job at the hotel as a masseuse, he convinces his friends to help him concoct a fake massage parlor where the girl can work. Happy Times begins as a delightful light comedy, but as the relationship between Zhao and Ying grows, this deceptively simple movie flows effortlessly back and forth from sweetness to sorrow, culminating in a devastatingly moving ending. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

BEST MOVIE EVER!!!.......2007-02-20

I am not really 13. In fact...I am 16, and completely entranced by the essence of this movie! I was totally flabbergasted once the movie started! There wasn't huge bombs exploding or people doing crazy "Matrix" moves, but for some non-apparent reason, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I was caught, Hook, line and sinker by the the first half hour! The poor girl seemed like a rebel at first, but after you learn her story you change from judgemental to compassionate! This is a definite must see movie! I would reccomend it to a 90 year old man and to a 7 year old girl. The lessons and knowledge shared is enough to influence anyone and to leave an impression that will not be easily forgotten.

Yimou's best........2005-10-24

I really don't care for some of Yimou Zang's films that other people seem to love. Hero and House of the Flying Daggers are really great visual masterpieces, but to me they seem rather silly and unrealistic on many levels (not just technical).

However, I really love his other films dealing with ordinary people in realistic settings. Among them, Happy Times is by far the best.

This movie's central theme is about one person lying to another to bring him/her joy and meaning in existence. It is the act of deception that somehow gets turned into a great expression of love. That is an amazing thing to capture.

The actors are just perfect, especially the two leads. The girl playing the blind actress made the best performance I've seen ever.

If you like this movie, check out Shanghai Triad and Keep Cool.

Don't be fooled by the cover.......2005-05-09

I almost didn't rent this movie-because--quite simply--I thought the cover picture held promises of a silly little movie--good for maybe a few "chunky mama" jokes--boy was I wrong--this is one of the better movies I've seen recently. The movie does begin along the lines of what I expected-as Zhao creates his "Happy Times Hotel"-and there is a bit of humor--but once he begins his relationship with Ying--the story progresses into a dramatic touching relationship between the two outcasts--young blind Ying and middle aged, never married Zhao. Their relationship is not a romantic one--but a paternal one-with Zhao writing a fake letter to Ying from her father who abandoned her--among other things.
The ending is not the happy, feel good ending typical of American movies--which is probably one of the things that makes it stand out.
The movie is subtitled-which I have no problem with--but my wife doesn't normally like subtitled movies--but she loved this one. If you don't care for subtitles--give this one a try anyway--it's worth the little extra effort!

Forsaken, Brave China.......2005-02-19

Don't kid yourself reviewers. There's a whole lot more here than meets the eye. You don't have to be a friendless blind girl in a city of ten million to appreciate human frailty and kindness. Yimou Zhang is a very fine director and his vision can be thoughtful and appreciated on several levels. China is still exotic to look at from my American standpoint. The colors are garish and bright. The modern city bustles, the young are hip and making it where they can. The old worker's, many victims of the poverty and cruelty caused by The Great Leap Forward and other catastrophic Marxist disasters, are still searching for happiness. Now, in their fifties, they look about and their old factories are rusting, glass office towers are going sky high.

I'm still not sure that the actress that played a blind teen is not actually blind. Either way, she's a genius. Her final scene, forsaken, blind, but brave China, venturing into the traffic. This is filmmaking.

5-Stars for Happy Times.......2005-02-09

The only reason I watched this film was because Zhang Yimou directed it. That's the respect I have for him as a director in this industry. At first blush, I thought that Happy Times was going to be a shallow, corny type of movie. I couldn't have been more wrong. While there are more light-hearted moments than in Yimou's other works, Happy Times gives glimpse into the lives of common Chinese people and a much more penetrating and uplifting look into the human heart and human spirit.

From the reviews you should already know that Happy Times is about an aging Chinese man trying to court a potential wife. He tries to persuade her by pretending to be something he is not - the general manager of a luxury hotel. But in the process he finds himself taking responsiblity for the woman's blind stepdaughter. How this all works out in the end is something you just have to see for yourself. Trust me, it is an exquisite Zhang Yimou finish.

I am not at all familiar with the actors but they were all wonderful. In particular, actress Dong Jie gives a heartbreakingly eloquent performance as the blind stepdaughter.

Average customer rating:

Between Love and Honor
Starring: Grant Show , and Robert Loggia
Manufacturer: Vintage Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006UYOLA
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Description

Steve Collura is a photographer turned undercover cop out to infiltrate notorius mobster Carlo Gambino's business. As he works his way into the family's inner circle he also falls in love with Gambino's step-daughter Maria Caprefoli and must make a choice between his obligation to the police investigation, his love for Maria, and his growing allegiance to Gambino. When he decides he wants to escape everything with Maria and start a new life, her loyalty to her godfather forces Steve into the most difficult and dangerous decisions of his life.

Average customer rating:

Big letdown
A tense and intriguing thriller!
Great Thriller!
Pass this one by unless you're a die-hard fan

The Stepdaughter
Starring: J.J. Boone , Lee Dawson , Matt Farnsworth (II) , Cherie Franklin , and Bonita Friedericy
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000541AL
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Customer Reviews:

Big letdown.......2007-04-03

This movie had potential because of the plot i
don't recommend it to me a bad picture.

A tense and intriguing thriller!.......2006-08-24

When you dispose of a solid script, you have reached the half of the victory. The plot concerns about an awful personal disgrace. When an innocent creature is abandoned by her mother due religious, moral and social prejudices (the mother was pregnant by his lover who died in Vietnam), then she will be adopted and his stepfather will sexually abuse of her.

Around all this somber landscape of repressed rage and impotence state, this child will become woman and she will intend by all her means to find her biological mother. Since this achieved aim, a very carefully plain will be set in motion, seeking for revenge.

An effective and chilling movie where the good guys after all are not absolutely innocent. Good performances. A picture above the average.

Recommended.

Great Thriller!.......2003-06-16

After being released from a mental institution, a woman with anger problems tracks down her birth mother and applies for a job on their horse ranch. Nobody in the family has a clue that she is related to them. But when a sister becomes suspicious of her, she does some research and finds out who she really is, but not in time before the woman wrecks havoc on the family and her mother for revenge of her empty, foster-home childhood.

Pass this one by unless you're a die-hard fan.......2002-03-21

It is difficult to summarize this movie without explaining the entire plot in one or two sentences. There is a small twist at the end that differentiates it from others, but this is so minor and comes so late it is difficult to accept or care. Essentially, we are treated to an opening that introduces us to Susan Heller (played by Andrea Roth, who despite being in movies such as this has quiet a following online) who stumbles into the lives of a ranching family when his car "breaks down". She manages to win the trust of the husband (played by Gil Gerard - yes, Buck Rogers himself - who shows us all just how low you can sink) and gets a job. However, the sister does not believe her (as the formula dictates) from the very beginning, and sets out to discover the truth behind Susan.

Average customer rating:

Interesting story & well-filmed, but not family friendly!
Well made but not very redeeming
Great storytelling. Nothing good on TV, especially quality.
ADULTRY, LIES, PROFANITY and THEFT
Totally amazing!

Girl
Starring: David Auker , Jill Baker , Charlotte Barrymore , Mark Benton , and Jonathan Cake
Manufacturer: Bfs Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005N5R7
Release Date: 2001-07-01

Customer Reviews:

Interesting story & well-filmed, but not family friendly!.......2005-11-18

This three-part miniseries is based on the book written by Catherine Cookson: it tells the story of "the girl", Hannah, who's ups and downs through life are followed in great detail, as she is left by her poor, dying mother with an upper class family. The man of the house, her "father", she calls fondly "Mister"...the woman of the house hates her fiercely, and refuses to call her by name: she makes Hannah work in the house like a servant, and refers to her always as "the girl"...

It's the story of life, love, and experience for one young woman who must learn the meaning of love & friendship.
For those of you worried about content: be aware that this film is like a period drama soap opera! There are instances of violence, scenes of adultery and premarital sex (although some inferred, some bits shown), a violent beating, quite a bit of blood (a butcher is a main character, although blood is also shown in an accident in the woods), etc.

All in all, it was fairly well done, well filmed and entertaining: just be aware that the storyline is not family-friendly: if you are a die-hard period film lover like me, you will want to watch it anyways, to learn more about the time period. This story gives you a peek into a different perspective on life in those times, than if it focused on the grandeur and ease of the upper class: that alone made this film a great peek into the realistic lives of the "normal" people of this era.

Well made but not very redeeming.......2005-09-14

Actually the title is, 'The Girl'. Why amazom.com has it as, 'Girl', i can't understand. Maybe they need new glasses.
Anyways, i was really wanting to see this movie.
The film was very well made (as are most British period films), but i was very disapointed. First of all, no one in the story (set in the 1850's), was very Christian. Seems to me most proper ladies in England, at that time, were much more Christian than portrayed here. I haven't read any of Catherine Cookson's books, but i think the screenplay must have swayed from the original story, at least in that respect.
There was way too much emphasis on sadistic attitudes and adulterous characters. Even the character of the heroine cannot be much liked (unless you're a modern-day Jezebel).
You want to empathize with her, but her lack of certain morals makes it difficult. Maybe the family in this story just wasn't very Christian, but that's what makes this film lack, in redeeming qualities.
Although the costumes and sets, and the acting, were very good...overall, the story was not edifying, or even greatly interesting. If you're a hard-core lover of English period films, you may want to see it...but if you care more for what a family should be able to view, together, then you'd be better off skipping this one.
I cannot recommend it for family viewing.
*** For period film lovers.
** For anyone else.

Great storytelling. Nothing good on TV, especially quality. .......2004-10-01

Old fashioned storytelling in a movie. I recommend all the Catherine Cookson videos or DVD's. They are better (better at keeping you interested) than most Hallmark movies. Of course Masterpiece Theater movies are even better and richer. Hottie Nathaniel Parker is in one of these movies, and other hunkie British men are in the others.

ADULTRY, LIES, PROFANITY and THEFT.......2004-05-24

This movie is shameful to say the lest! If you like Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensiblity, Mansfield Park, The Girl is not a romantic story at all. Movie will be a waste of time and money.
Hannah is a thief from the very beginning as a child, she commits adultry, profanity is used throughout the movie every now and then. Not worth seeing, but you judge for yourself
Be warned!

Totally amazing!.......2003-06-18

Wow - this movie is just fantastic. Siobhan Flynn is amazing as Hannah. She is beautiful, passionate and wonderful and you find yourself hoping she will find happiness in this epic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Siobhan Flynn just tears up the screen and makes it look easy the whole time as the young girl in love. Miss Flynn is obviously destined to be a great star.

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