Some interesting recommendations here of ten fairy tale films that are not so mainstream. I’ve seen five of these, and am intrigued by the rest. Adaptations of Grimm, Perrault, and Andersen appear, of course, but also tales from the Arabian Nights and Russian folklore; mermaids and selkies (beloved by OGOM) feature, too.
Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves (central to our 2015 conference) is among them, together with Michael Powell’s marvellous The Red Shoes, the brilliant Cocteau film of La Belle et la Bête, and one of my favourites, Peau d’Âne (Donkey Skin) by the wonderful French New Wave director, Jacques Demy.
I have not seen The Russian ‘Little Memaid’ but it sounds darkly satisfying. I saw ‘The Slipper and the Rose’ when it first came out in the late 70s ha…very unreconstructed, a princess wish-fulfilment fantasy but visually gorgeous.
Just had an impulsive moment and bought the Rusalka film, the opera, and the Pushkin poetic drama, Rusalka! I’ll be having a Slavic mermaid moment.
I’ll have to see that! The Russian selkie-like rusalka sound very scary; there’s a Dvorak opera about them, too.