The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) User Reviews (42)

Fun romp in stunning Cinerama!

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 16 December 2002]

An enchanting faerie tale anthology film, couched in a biographical story that is somewhat less interesting than the stories themselves, which is perhaps inevitable. There are a lot of stars in a lot of stories -- Russ Tamblyn shows off some of the fantastic aerobic dancing he displayed in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." If only they could have come up with a more worthy opponent for their lovely stop motion dragon than Buddy Hackett (who, on the flip side, makes for an unusual ghost).

The writing is good, and there are a lot of really fun scenes. The Cinerama process is used very effectively (wish I could have seen it on the big screen).

Feast for the eyes

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 5 July 2002]

You have to be young at heart to relish the film and I enjoyed the visuals as a child would. You know today that the two brothers wrote on two desks side by side to accommodate the cinerama screen--yet it looks so much better visually. It is not great cinema but good cinema of the sixties.

Of particular note was the Terry Thomas and Bud Hackett sub-plot which might not appear to be great technically but is funny and heartwarming even today. Laurence Harvey as Wilhelm Grimm (it was difficult to note that was the Cobbler as well) and Martita Hunt as the witch were superb. The German locations were ideal. The art direction and the puppet/animation sequences were really topnotch--who cares if there was a car visible in one shot!

In short, this is an ideal film for family viewing and the studios should consider re-releasing it for school viewing. All the kids today know of Snow White and Cinderella, but how many know of the Grimm brothers or of why Cinderella was called by that name? The film needs imaginative marketing to keep the box office jingling...

Highly flawed movie, now beautifully restored

[pacificgroove-315-494931 · 5/10 · 15 August 2022]

In summer 2022 TCM is showing the recently extensively restored, full Cinerama image version of the film, which just came out on Blu-Ray. The image clarity and color are excellent, with almost no trace of 3 camera Cinerama distortions. But the movie itself is a mixed bag, with more negatives than positives. Anyone who is moderately savvy about film technique will see that the filmmakers were very limited by shortcomings with the Cinerama process. There are no close ups or medium close ups, everything is shot in long shots or medium shots. The large majority of the film is made up of static shots, where the camera does not move. The camera never moves side to side, only in and out. And there is very distracting fish eye distortion in the interior scenes (less noticeable in the outdoor scenes).

Lawrence Harvey is lively and fun in his role, but Karl Bohm is a liability. And how is it that one brother speaks with a British accent, and the other with a German accent ? The film makes good use of Russ Tamblin's tumbling ability and he shows plenty of playful energy. The women in the cast are given little to do and do it merely adequitely.

The music is a highlight, catchy and light, though to nitpick, the choral arrangements are old fashioned for 1962, sounding more like 1940's Disney (composer Lee Harline scored Pinochio and perhaps one or two other early 40's Disney features).

Long overdue for DVD release

[BijouBob8mm · 1 September 2005]

While it's been encouraging to see a number of George Pal's sci-fi and fantasy classics finally come to DVD, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM is one of many still waiting to debut in the digital format (along with HOUDINI, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT, a complete PUPPETOONS collection, etc..) With Terry Gilliam's new THE BROTHERS GRIMM film in theaters, it would seem like the timing would be perfect for such a release.

Although available on VHS for some time, the tape doesn't do the film justice. GRIMM was shot using the three camera/three projector Cinarama process. With cast and crew members such as Russ Tamblyn (who provided commentary for Pal's TOM THUMB DVD) and stop-motion animator Jim Danforth still around, it would be nice to see Pal's fairy tale film get the deluxe DVD treatment, with the insight of surviving participants giving us a behind the scenes look at the making of the movie.

Fun entertainment, only a bit too long though.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 24 July 2007]

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.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Must be seen in the Cinerama format

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 27 May 2003]

Fictionalized (?) account of the brothers Grimm (Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm)--their lives and loves. Three of their fairy tales are dramatized.

"The Dancing Princess" stars Russ Tamblyn, Jim Backus and Yvette Mimieux. It's cute but there's a dance sequence that goes on much too long. However there is a long coach ride which makes full use of the three screens in Cinerama and provides some fantastic scenery (even on TV).

"The Cobbler and the Elves" stars Harvey and includes a little Puppetoon (stop motion animation) sequence. It's OK for the kids.

"The Singing Bone" has Terry-Thomas and Buddy Hackett fighting a very bad stop-motion animation dragon. As with the first two, it will appeal to kids.

This film must be seen in the Cinerama format--that was a short-lived process in which three screens were used to project a full picture along with three projectors running. The triple screens are used effectively all throughout the film--I can't imagine this working in a pan & scan format. Luckily, Turner Classic Movies always shows it in that format.

It's perfect family entertainment except for a few minor quibbles--at 129 minutes it's a bit too long; there are too many (bad) songs; the dances could be cut and the stop-motion animation is stunningly bad.

Still, it's beautiful to look at, the cast is very good (except for Boehm) and the whole picture has a playful quality about it. Also I've never seen Laurence Harvey so animated and full of life!

Worth catching--in wide screen only.

inefficient use of the format

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 7 December 2014]

The Grimm brothers, Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) and Jacob (Karlheinz Böhm), are working on the local Duke (Oscar Homolka)'s history. Wilhelm is more interested in collecting fairy tales from the locals but Jacob is more concerned about the Duke's work. Greta Heinrich (Barbara Eden) is a fan of their writing. The movie does show "The Dancing Princess", "The Cobbler and the Elves" and "The Singing Bone" as the stories are told by characters in the movie.

The 3-camera Cinerama looks beautiful and I can only imagine the visuals coming from all sides. I remember watching one of the travelogs in my childhood. The story itself is rather boring. Nothing is particularly memorable except for Buddy Hackett and Terry-Thomas. At least, they are funny. The leads don't stand out especially with the way the movie is shot. It's not the best use of the format. When the movie uses the format effectively, it looks marvelous. The story itself also lacks drama. They are probably better off making a shorter movie with one of the Grimm's tale and try to maximize the visual aspects. It is a cinematic oddity and worthwhile to see.

Not so wonderful!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 10 November 2016]

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.

Restore this gem on DVD, PLEASE!

[randigo · 10/10 · 24 June 2005]

Maybe it's because I grew up with this movie, and am stuck in that age, but I have always found this to be a special and magical movie experience. It was especially so on the big screen when I was 6 years old. We also had the soundtrack box edition on vinyl. So, I rated this movie highly, because I feel it truly was perfection (especially for its day), and needs to be re-discovered by families, and the young-at-heart everywhere. I hate clichés, but they just do not make them like this anymore. This gem should be restored in its full glory, and preserved and brought back to life. Hope you get to enjoy it someday.

Long but rewarding.

[jazza923 · 6/10 · 16 March 2010]

64/100. Way overlong but it certainly is creative and imaginative. Impressive special effects, perhaps not by today's standards but it must have been enthralling in 1962. It is entertaining and good for the whole family, although I can't see a lot of children being able to sit through over two hours of this. The production is impressive. It won the Oscar for best costume design and was nominated for both art direction, music score and cinematography, all of which were quite good. A lot of money went into the production, and it shows. It is divided into four segments. The Puppetoons are particularly enjoyable and the part I think children would enjoy the most.

Charming antiquated Cinerama production

[bbmtwist · 5/10 · 14 May 2017]

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) was the seventh of the eight films made in the Cinerama process and the first to be released since the last of the travelogues in 1958, a gap of four years.

The travelogue motif had been used up: there were no more places in the world to visit worthy of a two hour running time. So MGM took a chance and set up the process for two all-star, narrative films, one released in 1962 (Grimm), the other (How The West Was Won) the following year in 1963.

As back-up MGM filmed Mutiny On The Bounty in a competitive process, Ultra Panavision 70, a single strip process that was comparable in height and width to Cinerama, but lacking the overlapping seam problems and curved screen effects of the latter. Mutiny was released in 1962, the same year as Grimm.

Eventually, MGM and the industry went with the Panavision process due to a number of advantages. It was less bulky, way less costly, theaters could more easily adapt to a single projector replacement than an elaborate three projector system that also required a specific curved screen to be installed. Most importantly close-ups and medium shots could return to the screen and actors could communicate facially with each other again (the Cinerama curved screen required actors to look up and to one side of the camera to be seen in the theater as looking at the audience and/or fellow actors).

Grimm is a minor film, endearing and charming, but of no great importance. The performances all seem either wooden or theatrically exaggerated. One exception is Laurence Harvey, giving one of his most sympathetic and warmest interpretations as Wilhelm Grimm. He also gives a wonderful character performance as The Cobbler in The Cobbler and the Elves sequence. Special note is to be taken of Jim Backus, hilarious as the King in The Dancing Princess episode; Terry-Thomas, equally amusing as the evil knight in The Singing Bone episode, and the charming dancing of Russ Tamblyn and Yvette Mimieux in The Dancing Princess.

The score is charming with a jaunty main theme and a catchy up beat number, Ah Oom!, for the elves to sing while making shoes.

While the invisibility special effects (The Dancing Princess) are expertly done, the George Pal Puppetoon stop action effects for the elves in The Cobbler and the Elves and the dragon in The Singing Bone are dreadfully out of date and amateurish. Once we had digital visual effects in Jurassic Park, all the old stop action dinosaur films were antiquated, and such is the effect here. As such, these sequences will seem uninteresting to modern children after the age of seven or eight, thus limiting the appeal to a modern audience.

There is only one thrill sequence for the Cinerama cameras, with a speeding coach towards the end of The Dancing Princess sequence. The opening scenes of Napoleonic battle seem to be an homage to Abel Gance, whose 1926 Napoleon used a three camera projection process for the final battle montage.

The film has never been released on DVD in this country. As of this writing it is the only one of the Cinerama eight that has not. An old VHS manufacture was a scan and pan full screen version. Today your only chance to see this in its wide screen composition is a TCM broadcast. That print is fuzzy and the colors are washed out. This is badly in need of a digital clean up and restoration if it is to be released on DVD eventually.

All in all, this is a charming film for parents with children up to the ages of eight years old. However, its lasting value is as an antique and as a Cinerama production.

Although officially given a 135 minute running time, with Overture and Intermission music, the full print times out at 2 hours, 21 minutes, 25 seconds.

It received four Oscar nominations: Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes and Score, and won the Oscar for Costumes.

Russ Tamblyn has the distinction of appearing in both MGM Cinerama films, the only actor in the MGM roster to have done so.

Wonderfully Entertaining Family Film

[bestactor · 9/10 · 19 December 2004]

Ideally, one would be able to experience this movie as it was originally presented in Cinerama. I know that just about every child who shared that experience was completely enthralled by this movie. But even without the Cinerama presentation, this is still a very enjoyable and imaginative movie. This is one of the most successful live-action fairy tale films. The entire production is rich in color and atmosphere. The effective use of unusual locations and cinematography puts this film in a "one of a kind" category. The screenplays for the fantasy section are very fine and the biographical story is simple but unpretentious and easy to take. What really makes this sprawling fairy tale work is the wonderful cast and acting. This is an enormous international cast and includes humorous and touching performances from many of film's finest character actors. It would be wonderful to have a DVD release with comments from surviving cast members (Russ Tamblyn) and production artists.

WISH IT WAS BETTER...!

[masonfisk · 6/10 · 3 April 2022]

A hit & miss big film from the 60's detailing how the Grimm Brothers collected their stories for the joy of the world to behold. Back in the 60's the film industry was losing audiences due to the popularity of TV so film had to use different ruses to lure the crowds back. In the 50's, the widescreen format was being used to tout the epic-ness of the film experience (3D was another technique). By the time the early 60's came around a device known as Cinerama was used (3 screens to duplicate one wide screen image) to further entice people to ditch their boob tubes behind. On paper & I guess on the big screen (s), the conceit worked but when watched at home (unless its a newly restored version like the recent How the West Was Won re-release on blu-ray) then the image suffers which is the case here. There are no close-ups to speak of & much of the imagery appears muddled & blurry so my experience viewing this film was problematic at best & enjoyable in the least. Having Russ Tamblyn perform a dance number or to see the magic of George Pal (he co-directed the stop motion sequences) is a task when it shouldn't be.

Just revisited this film after 40 years

[DiSin5461 · 5/10 · 19 March 2015]

When I was eight years old, this film was re-released with - of all things - "How The West Was Won"! At the time HTWWW was my favorite movie but I remembered adoring "Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm" when I saw it as a second feature. I must have had a cast iron keister, because the nearly six hour playing time of the two movies never bothered me, and I remember going to see it more than once during that release.

Over the years, this film has stayed with me - especially the fairytale segments. I remembered that I adored the sets and costumes, loved the dance numbers and thought the movie was enchanting. How The West Was Won went to TV soon after this release, but "WWOTBG" never did (at least not in my area). In fact, I have often thought about this film but was never able to indulge myself in the nostalgia of reviewing it - until recently.

TCM finally played it over the holidays last year and I recorded it on DVR; due to a busy life, I am only now getting down to watching it again. All I can say is my how tastes change with age! The costumes and sets are still lovely and the music score is pretty good. I was especially moved this time by the Christmas song in the "Cobbler And The Elves" segment as well as the Gypsy music in the "Dancing Princess". When I saw the film in theaters it was not in Cinerama format. TCM showed it in a letterbox version, so the entire picture is represented, but the film has a distorted appearance which is sometimes difficult to watch. The movie boasts an excellent cast, but the directing is uneven, the plot is slow and the special effects are fine for the era in which this movie was made but might bore younger viewers who are used to more sophisticated technology.

I started watching the film yesterday, but I'm finding it so laborious that I am having to watch it in segments; I want to finish it to see what it is about this flick that my 8-year-old self found intriguing. The fairytale segments are still fun, but the biopic portion is downright boring. Some if the historical inaccuracies are glaring - I think at one point our heroes take a steam boat to visit a church in another city but steam boats weren't around during the Napoleonic era. Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the 1870's. The romance between Barbara Eden and Wilhelm Grimm is downright cringe-worthy.

I am sure if I could see this in a theater and in Cinerama, my opinion might be altered, but on a TV screen this film can't hold my interest. This makes me sad because I have fond memories of this film but for me it does not stand the test of time. Kids may like it but it might be a bit long and slow for today's youngsters who are used to lots of flash, explosions and action.

Still sticks in my memory

[martingj · 23 July 2003]

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!

I like it when movies feature Neuschwanstein Castle. And this one even precedes "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"!

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 21 January 2008]

I would have given "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" a higher score had they not weakened some of the scenes by turning them into musicals. Otherwise, it was a very impressive movie, even if the Cinerama doesn't translate to the small screen. It portrays Wilhelm Grimm sort of like how "Finding Neverland" portrays J.M. Barrie: very focused on a fantasy story, much to the chagrin of the serious-minded people around him.

I see that "The Dancing Princess" contains an invisibility cloak years before J.K. Rowling wrote about Harry Potter wearing one. Russ Tamblyn at first glance looks a little dorky to appear in a fairy tale adaptation, but he ends up playing the role very well. Yvette Mimieux is perfect as the princess, and Jim Backus as the king plays a role similar to one that he played in a "Gilligan's Island" dream sequence.

I considered "The Cobbler" the lowest scene in the movie. The singing elves made it a little too cute. A really neat version of that story is Friz Freleng's cartoon "Holiday for Shoestrings".

Terry-Thomas as the knight is pretty silly, while Buddy Hackett as the squire brings to the screen something that I never imagined: a New Jersey-accented person attempting an English accent! And the dragon really creates a sense of old-style cinema.

As for the Grimms themselves, Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) is the idealist while Jakob (Karl Boehm) remains the realist, displeased with Wilhelm's happy-go-lucky attitude. And that duke (Oscar Homolka)? Whereas what Wilhelm did to the duke was an accident, I would have done it on purpose, just to punish the duke for being such a jerk.

But for me, at least, the real treat here is Jeannie herself, Barbara Eden. She plays Greta Heinrich, Jakob's love interest. I swear, Barbara Eden gets more gorgeous in every movie. Had I been alive in 1962, I would have attended this movie's premiere with the aim of seeing her in a shell dress (she wore one to the premiere of "Five Weeks in a Balloon", so I assume that she would have worn one to this movie's premiere). In my opinion, the sight of Barbara Eden in a shell dress proves that there is a God! If that makes me a pervert, then so be it. I'm proud to be a pervert, and I'll always consider Barbara Eden one of the hottest actresses of all time.

Overall, I recommend "TWWOTBG". Also starring Claire Bloom and Arnold Stang. Speaking of Arnold Stang, that reminds me. He co-starred in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" with Jim Backus and Buddy Hackett (but didn't share any scenes with them). That one's my favorite movie of all time. In fact, the only thing that could have improved it any more would have been the presence of Barbara Eden in a shell dress. At least it had Dorothy Provine in a tight dress. Anyway, I recommend both these movies.

PS: the castle used in "The Dancing Princess" is Neuschwanstein. King Ludwig ordered it built as his home, but he drowned right after its completion. Neuschwanstein also appeared in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". I once put together a 6,000-piece jigsaw puzzle showing it.

Wonderful is the right word for this film!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 31 March 2021]

I think that "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" is a woefully underappreciated film and is far better than its current score of 6.2. And, although the film took a fast and loose look at the real lives of these men, it is most enjoyable and the stories that come to life are simply charming.

As I just mentioned, this film is a biopic that does what many do....it ignores the real story and presents a Hollywood version of their lives. Now as a history teacher, I am not thrilled by this. But the rest of the story is so wonderful, I really didn't mind very much.

The story presents the lives of the brothers once they reach adulthood...which is a shame as their earlier lives could make for a compelling film. But in addition to their lives, you see many of their stories acted out...and they are just wonderful. It also helped that it was filmed in towns such as Rothenburg in Germany...and it looks great. I really wish I could have seen this back in the day when it was presented on Cinerama....with the three screens. But I wasn't born yet and the chances of seeing it this way are minimal.

Overall, a great film for the entire family....fun and well made from start to finish.

Dazzling--at first--but it can't keep its energy or drive going...

[moonspinner55 · 4/10 · 10 July 2005]

Big, expensive family film is sadly ineffective. Eye-popping Cinerama is too grandiose a treatment for the otherwise simple telling of the German siblings who penned many beloved fairy tales (a few of which are enacted here). Ambitious semi-musical has gorgeous locales, OK cast featuring Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Barbara Eden and several guest stars, but far too much talk and a draggy conclusion. The cinematography, dazzling at first, is showy for little purpose, and although there are some memorable moments, the film bogs down in the second act. Russ Tamblyn has the best part as a young man spying on beautiful princess Yvette Mimieux, but the other cast members look defeated. Never a big attraction with the kids, and it's easy to see why. ** from ****

Finally it arrived

[mmcgee282 · 10/10 · 30 March 2022]

For years i would watch the none restored Panavision version on t.c.m for years i would hear that the positive prints had water damage and that it could not be restored. Then I heard rumors that the water damage is not that bad.then i hear rumors that it could be restored,but , it could cost up to 1million to 2 million dollars. The restored version is finally out. Now I know what the expense would of cost for a chemical restoration. As in the restoration of it, the film did have some damages and water spots. It turned out there was a three strip negative of the three films .It was in good shape .That would equate to 9 strips of film for a chemical restoration. That explains the prohibitive cost. Thanks to Dave Strohmair. And Tom March with the less expensive,but, still expensive digital restoration ,they preformed a successful operation.the picture quality looks great. The scene where KarlHeinz Bohem sit on the left side of the screen and Lawrence Harvey on the right side ,as their character are writing history of a royal family ,played by Oscar Homolka,in the palace at the German town where the real bothers Grimm lived, exteriors were shot in the actual town, the smile box and the cleaned up image makes the sets look right .I was kind of disappointed that time Warner did not include the curtains,but, that was just a little thing. The other cinerama travelogs were owned by Cinerama ink .So they could add the curtains. The dragon scene was far more effective seen in the curve Cinerama,as the dragon went after buddy hackett,while cowardly Knight,Terry Thomas waited outside of the cave. It looks like that some of the cast ,that was in ,It's a mad,mad ,mad ,world, Showed up in this film ,including Arnold. Stang ,as Rumpelstiltskin. The overture music and intermission music was slightly different than the turner print As I said it was a real miracle that it was finally fixed. David had to go to the three strip negatives to recreate the prologue Worth seeing.03/30/22.

A film Fondly Remembered

[backseat-2 · 5/10 · 21 October 2005]

Of this film's three re-enacted fairy tales, I can recall the first segment's carriage ride and the third segment's dragon cave from when I was little kid, and I remember loving those parts. Over the decades, I have tried to figure out which movie had those sequences, but without success. Finally I happened across this video tape in the library, and my eyes probably popped out of my head! The librarian gave me a look that said, "Aren't you a little old for this movie?".

Having watched it now, I am impressed by the extensive use of wonderful German locations, including Neuschwanstein Castle, Rothenburg, and so on. The stop motion animation is a bit cheesy, but in many ways is really very well choreographed...live actors move convincingly around the animated characters. I also wonder what technique was used for the magic cloak of invisibility in the first segment, it looks pretty good.

It seems that only the pan-and-scan version is available on video at this time, and the version I saw had a noticeable pair of vertical lines on either side of the image; I had not realized that the original film was in Cinerama with it's three screen projection - I suppose that those lines are the places where the outer two images merge with the center image. I wonder if they were as visible when viewed on the big screen? Still, there are many good things about this movie, and if one were to edit out just the fairy tale segments to another video, it would be worthwhile for kids.

Competing With Shirley Temple

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 30 December 2006]

Back when it first was out I never did get around to seeing The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm and it should be seen in the theater rather than a formatted VHS version. This was indeed a film for which Cinerama was definitely suited.

During the Fifties a whole lot of the Grimm stories were used in a shortlived series hosted by the grown up Shirley Temple entitled Shirley Temple's storybook. I think they were better presented on the big screen.

I'm not sure if these in fact are the real Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm as played by Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm. Wilhelm is the married one, in fact married to the lovely Claire Bloom, with two small children and it's those kids who keep him interested in German folklore and tales of such. The more serious minded Jacob, scholar, historian, and linguist would like to marry Barbara Eden, but that ain't happening unless the brothers finish the dynastic history they've been commissioned to write by Duke Oscar Homolka. And Jacob can't keep Wilhelm's mind on the business at hand.

The real story of the brothers is merely a plot device on which to hang cinematic presentation of three of the Grimm fairy tales and the presence of a lot of the others during a delirious fever sustained by Laurence Harvey. The regular story is directed by Henry Levin, but George Pal who probably got the biggest budget in his career to utilize in The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm gets to direct the fairy tale segments.

My favorite is The Singing Bone with Terry-Thomas as the braggadocious knight and Buddy Hackett as his put upon squire and their encounter with a dragon in a cave. That is George Pal and Cinerama at their very best.

Don't expect a whole lot from this film, it's not deep, it was meant for the kid market. And it dates not a bit though with today's computer generated special effects it would be even better if done today.

Perhaps it was better in all its Cinerama glory, though it's hard to imagine

[jacobs-greenwood · 5/10 · 11 December 2016]

Co-directed by Henry Levin and producer George Pal, this average biographical fantasy won an Oscar for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Color Art Direction-Set Decoration and Cinematography, and Score. The film was made using the three projector Cinerama process, which loses something in the translation to a television set, even in letterbox format. One can clearly see the seams between the three screens in most shots and even some tinting differences in a few scenes ("The Singing Bone" sequence being the most obvious). There is also the effect where persons in the outer thirds appear larger than their peers in the middle of the same frame. Though it must have been something to see in the theater, the effects used give the audience a "ride" or a sense of motion (most notably in "The Dancing Princess" sequence), these scenes fall flat without a 25 foot radius rounded screen.

As for the film's story, the biography is centered around the brothers Grimm, the "big kid" family man Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey) and the more serious bachelor Jacob (Karlheinz Böhm). While both are working on an historical account of the local Duke's (Oscar Homolka; his manservant Gruber is played by Ian Wolfe) family history, Wilhelm keeps trying to convince his brother that they should be capturing children's stories they hear for future generations, before they're lost forever. Additionally, he and bookstore owner Stossel (Walter Slezak) play matchmaker for the preoccupied Jacob with Greta Heinrich (Barbara Eden); Wilhelm's wife Dorothea is played by Claire Bloom. During the course of this backdrop story, Wilhelm tells (to children such as his own) or hears (from an old woman played by Martita Hunt) of these fairy tales:

The Dancing Princess story is about a King (Jim Backus) that wants to know what his daughter (Yvette Mimieux) is doing every night to wear out her shoes. He can't find out because she's been drugging the men, who've been promised her hand in marriage if they can, before she goes out. Enter the Woodsman (Russ Tamblyn), who's been given a special invisibility cloak by the Gypsy (Beulah Bondi). Naturally, given Tamblyn's talents, the Princess has been sneaking out to dance the night away with other gypsies. Utilizing the cloak, the Woodsman is able to follow her, then appear & dance his way into her heart (wearing a mask), and ultimately win the Princess per the King's promise and (mask-less) even her approval.

The Cobbler (also played by Harvey, in makeup that makes him look like Pinocchio's Geppetto) and the Elves story is a touching one about the harried craftsman who's working to complete toy elves for the poor children across the street in time for Christmas. This necessitates neglecting his regular work and jeopardizes his chances of finishing the shoes of several impatient customers (Walter Brooke, Sandra Gale Bettin, and Robert Foulk) in time for the Prime Minister's (Clinton Sundberg) party. However, when he goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, the elves come to life and finish the shoes for him. David Pal's special effects are above average.

The Singing Bone story includes a fire breathing dragon that so terrorizes his country that the King (Otto Kruger) promises to give half of his kingdom to the person that slays it. Bumbling knight Ludwig (Terry-Thomas) and his ill-treated, yet resourceful humble servant Hans (Buddy Hackett) set about to do just that, where others have failed. Long scenes sporting inferior (dragon) special effects finally produce the predicted results, the dragon is killed, but with an unexpected outcome, Hans did it. But before they return to the King with the dragon's head, Ludwig kills Hans to ensure credit for himself. However, a year later, a shepherd (Robert Crawford Jr.) finds a bone on Hans's grave which "tells" the truth of what happened. Sydney Smith narrates. Ludwig gets his comeuppance as Hans reappears before the King.

While Wilhelm hears the old woman tell this last story, he not only loses the manuscript of the Duke's family history, but he nearly catches his death of cold. Greta leaves for her home country of Germany when Jacob chooses to support his brother's family in their poverty, caused by the loss of their job for the Duke, in lieu of marrying her. Delirious during his recovery, Wilhelm is visited (dream sequence) by many of the more famous characters from fairy tales who urge him to write them down lest they disappear forever. Arnold Stang plays Rumpelstiltskin. Of course, he recovers and, while Jacob continues to write such thrillers as "Legal History", Wilhelm cranks out book after book of these children's stories. In the end, Jacob is honored with literary honors in Germany. While he's "reunited" with Greta, Wilhelm receives a welcome greeting from hundreds of German children shouting "tell us a story", which naturally he begins with "once upon a time" before the film fades to black.

a favorite movie as a child...

[pennypotions · 10/10 · 27 August 2005]

My parents took me to see this movie when it first came out. I was 12. My girlfriend went with our family and she was Mennonite. She didn't have a TV and never went to movies. But her family let her go with us. We were mesmerized by the fantastic stories and the music was excellent. It was action packed and it used a new process called Cinerama, so it felt like you were really there. It stands out in my mind as a wonderful memory. I am now a Grandma and want my 6 year old Granddaughter to see it. I can't imagine the new one being this good. Even though I love Terry Gilliam, it sounds like he has changed the core story and added the latest cutting edge special effects. There is something to be said for 'less is more.'

Simple Fun

[darth_sidious · 7 August 2000]

This picture is great fun for the whole family. The fairytale stories are nicely done, the last one is disappointing but nevertheless very enjoyable and harmless.

The film required a better script in parts, but the production values certainly make up for it. The special effects on the whole are good except for the Dragon which isn't very good.

Made for CINERAMA screen, the film loses a lot of the impact on the small letterbox screen.

Watching this in full frame on your TV will result in you losing 50% of the picture. The film probably doesn't make sense in pan and scan.

I watched it in letterbox.

Ambitious Cinerama effort

[robert3750 · 5/10 · 25 February 2024]

Cinerama was an ambitious effort to counter the "threat" of television to movie theaters. It used three 35 mm cameras side by side to produce spectacular, ultrawide immersive images. Add in 7 channel surround sound, and you had something that TV couldn't hope to compete with visually or sonically. I was fortunate enough to see This is Cinerama at the Cinerama Dome in genuine three projector Cinerama. Unfortunately, the process proved far too cumbersome and finicky to succeed commercially. Not only was the Cinerama camera difficult to use, it was very difficult to align everything using three projectors. A special screen was needed for projection, and the seams weren't invisible.

I was convinced to watch this movie because of the very high praise for the recently released Blu Ray of it. It was one of only two full length feature films using the process. Everything said about the Blu Ray is true. It looks and sounds gorgeous. It has spectacular European locations--castles, quaint villages, mountains, etc. Digital technology enabled almost perfect alignment of the three panels. The detail and colors are wonderful. Kudos are very much due to the restoration team that worked on this. It's one of the best looking Blu Rays ever made. I watched the smile box version, which simulates what it would look like on a Cinerama screen.

Unfortunately, it falls completely flat as a narrative. Laurence Harvey and Karl Boehm are rather wooden as the brothers, with an absence of any true romance or charm, or coherent tone. The storytelling segments, one about a princess and a magic cloak, and the other about a dishonest, cowardly knight and his comic relief servant fighting a dragon, fail to capture the imagination. About the only thing that I was interested in was the stop motion of the dragon and George Pal's Puppetoons.

Even though I consider the movie a failure, I have to thank Warner again for restoring it, as it is an important historical moment in cinematic history.