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Fairytales
Fairytales don’t always have happy endings, as the darker elements of this collection show.
Often cinema celebrates the sunnier side of fairy stories, with Lotte Reiniger’s silhouette animations of Cinderella, Thumbelina and Hansel and Gretel granting their heroes the required happy ending (albeit after the grisly dispatch of the villains).
But for those who like a bit of bite in their stories will relish the adult reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood in Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves, while Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair offers a rare feminist take on the fairytale. Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la bête, meanwhile, is a spellbinding, sensuous masterpiece.
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La Belle et la BêteLa Belle et la Bête
Fantasy194695 minsDirector: Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau’s ravishingly restored 1946 film is a cinematic classic. “Five stars. [This] magical exploration of the fairytale is a compelling and bizarre masterpiece” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Rent for £3.50
Rapunzel Let Down Your HairRapunzel Let Down Your Hair
Fantasy197875 minsDirector: Susan Shapiro, Esther Ronay and Francine Winham
An imaginative, experimental and playful look at myth, storytelling and female identity.
Rent for £3.50
The Company of WolvesThe Company of Wolves
Fantasy198495 minsDirector: Neil Jordan
Angela Carter and Neil Jordan's magical, radical take on Little Red Riding Hood.
Rent for £3.50
BlancanievesBlancanieves
Drama2011105 minsDirector: Pablo Berger
Pablo Berger’s imaginative black-and-white ‘silent’ movie relocates the story of Snow White to 1920s Spain – complete with bullfighting dwarfs