cinderella ( 1899 film )
film from 1899. the very first film adaptation of cinderella. you can watch the full movie for free on youtube. | cinderella | pinterest
cendrillon (cinderella), 1899 - complete film ready to play (5 min. 40 sec. )
cinderella is a fictional character who appears in walt disney pictures' 12th animated feature film cinderella (1950) and its sequels cinderella ii: dreams come true (2002) and cinderella iii: a twist in time (2007). in the original film, cinderella is voiced by american singer and actress ilene woods. for the sequels and subsequent film and television appearances, woods was replaced by american actresses jennifer hale and tami tappan, who provide the character' s speaking and singing voices respectively .
in' cinderella,' no sly asides. goodness and romance rule
possibly the earliest film version of cinderella, cendrillion (1899) was landmark for georges méliès; it founded the techniques and tricks he would later master and become famous for, earning him the title of the cinemagician. director: georges méliès writer: charles perrault (story) stars: barral, bleuette bernon and carmely country: france release date: 25 december 1899 (usa) also known as: cinderella filming locations: montreuil, seine - saint - denis, france runtime: about 6 min (dvd) sound mix: silent color: color (hand - colored) | black and white
ilene woods, n. h. - born voice of cinderella, dies at 81
the film illustrates the essence of the classic fairy tale cinderella in the version of charles perrault (1697). a fairy godmother magically turns cinderella' s rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out ?
cinderella was méliès' s first film with multiple scenes (tableaux), using six distinct sets and five changes of scene within the film. (his catalogue, by dividing the action into smaller beats, lists twenty tableaux within the film, a generous numbering probably devised for publicity reasons .) so many extras were used in cinderella that méliès designated a chief extra to lead them .
cinderella appears in the nintendo 3ds game disney magical world. cinderella' s world is one of the four disney movie worlds accessible to the player in this game, and many characters and items related to the movie appear. additionally, the player has the option of attending balls at cinderella' s castle .
i’ve found one further dreyfus film since completing part two, made by the lubin manufacturing company: the trial of captain dreyfuss [ sic ] at rennes, france (usa 1899). it’s listed in library of congress motion pictures catalog 1894 - 1912, copyrighted 28 september 1899. presumably it would have been a close copy of another company’s films (méliès ?), as was common for lubin. no copy exists, so far as i’m aware. i’ve included it the filmography for part three .
a cinderella story is a 2004 american teen romantic comedy film directed by mark rosman. the film stars hilary duff, chad michael murray, jennifer coolidge and regina king. the film' s plot revolves around two internet pen pals (duff and murray) who then meet in person at a school dance and fall in love, but two different worlds keep them apart. it received negative reviews from critics, but was a commercial success. the film was followed by two direct - to - video stand - alone sequels, another cinderella story and a cinderella story: once upon a song .
first film i' ve seen so far in this chrono project that has multiple locations / sets. also loved cinderella' s nightmare, with clocks dancing and threatening her .
cinderella is one of the official members of the disney princess franchise, appearing in several related video games, albums and other merchandise. cinderella appears as one of the disney princesses in the manga, kilala princess .
the first thing that came on my mind is that if i didn' t already know cinderella story, i would be completely lost. after reading the reviews i noted that i wasn' t the only one to think that. don' t know how the public react to this. but so wonderful to see transitions in 1899 .
how appropriate that this key early film version of cinderella was produced by georges méliès—not only because méliès was, like charles perrault, a frenchman; but also because, in the world of early cinema, he was the producer perhaps best suited to a fantasy of such delicate charm. like so many early films based on literary sources, cendrillon relies on the viewer’s familiarity with the story and serves to illustrate the plot, more than actually retelling it. by 1899 méliès had begun to develop his cinematic bag of tricks, and this, his first version of cinderella, is long on effects: the transformation of mice into footmen, of the pumpkin into a coach, and of cinderella’s ragged clothes into a fine gown. most of these transformations are accomplished in 1899 by stop - camera substitutions, but méliès still relies heavily on his stock of theatrical techniques, and when cinderella’s fairy godmother has finished working her magic, she exits the cottage by descending through a trap door in the stage .
as i attempt to watch at least one film from every year since the beginning of film, cendrillion - a story better known to american audiences as cinderella - is the first i' ve come across in the 1800' s to have a genuine narrative .
like many films of the period, cendrillon was offered in 1899 in a hand - tinted color edition. a tantalizingly brief fragment of one of the color prints has survived, and is incorporated in the reconstruction on the flicker alley dvd .
i agree that more time in the film could have been spent on cinderella’s miserable pre - ball life, and a little less on the wedding dance, however, this film is still a treat, as you indicated. i also loved the nightmarish clock sequence .
cinderella, alongside other disney princesses, is set to cameo in the film ralph breaks the internet: wreck - it ralph 2, as was announced at the 2017 d23 expo. [ 20 ]
a fairy godmother magically turns cinderella' s rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out ?
a fairy godmother magically turns cinderella' s rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the prince - but will she remember to leave... see more »
of the earlier film; both are derived directly from the original perrault tale .
david thomson, a biographical dictionary of film, london, deutsch, 1994 .
film directors – articles on the internet several online articles can be found here .
lives in film no. 1: alfred dreyfus – part 2 « the bioscope
like her counterpart in the 1899 méliès film, cinderella here is haunted by the specter of time. the hour of midnight is announced in abstractly visual terms in a charming vignette: a procession of twelve costumed figures parade across the screen, striking the hour on a chime. eleven comely young ladies take their turns; the twelfth figure is father time himself, complete with hourglass and scythe. in place of the ballet of timepieces in the earlier film, cinderella here is menaced by a single giant clock face. the twelve numerals are replaced by jeering faces and wagging fingers, then the entire circular frame gives way to the warning figure of the fairy godmother herself and her attendants .
charming, at times surreal, adaptation of cinderella from georges méliès, with art design based on the engravings of gustave doré .
mlle barral as cinderella. barral had also acted in méliès' s bedroom farce the bridegroom' s dilemma earlier that year .
according to december 1912 advertisements, the film scheduled for release on 3 january 1913 .
going all the way back to 1899, this series has certainly made its mark on society, and while all “cinderella” movies on the imdb page certainly aren’t fairy tales, or even all that true to the original story, it’s amazing at just how many times this classic has been reworked to fit a (at the time) modern audience. in addition, several others have drawn inspiration from the classic tale in an attempt to spin the story in a slightly different direction, such as 1998’s ever after: a cinderella story .
comparison of this film with méliès’ 1899 version offers a striking illustration of just how much his technique had advanced in the intervening years. with a running time nearly five times that of the earlier version, it’s hardly surprising that this cendrillon is far more elaborate than its predecessor, in terms of both story and effects. this time the story is not merely illustrated but engagingly retold: we see the stepsisters abusing cinderella at some length at the beginning of the story, and when the fairy godmother arrives, cinderella regales her with a petulantly pantomimed account of the mistreatment she has had to endure. late in the film, when cinderella has disappeared, the prince is visibly annoyed with his staff’s inability to find her. (when one emissary returns with a report of yet another fruitless search, the prince impatiently shoves him backward, knocking down a row of other attendants like dominoes !) and the dynamics of the early scenes are sweetly reversed at film’s end, when the stepsisters, arriving at the wedding, are once again surprised to receive cinderella’s forgiveness .
a fairy godmother magically turns cinderella' s rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out? méliès based the art direction on engravings by gustave doré. first known example of a fairy - tale adapted to film, and the first film to use dissolves to go from one scene to another .
cinderella was méliès' s first major cinematic success. it did well both in french fairground cinemas and at european and american music - halls, and inspired méliès to create other lavishly designed storytelling films with multiple scenes. his next film with multiple scenes, joan of arc (1900), was his first to surpass 200 meters of film in length, and was also a marked success. according to the film historian lewis jacobs, cinderella' s use of spectacle on screen also influenced the films of cecil b. demille .
seen in the film, as these devices are highly unusual in méliès' s style .
cinderella appears in the pilot movie sofia the first: once upon a princess, where she helps sofia make friends with amber, her stepsister .
founded in 1999, senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional, high quality film - related content on the internet .
cendrillon (cinderella) by georges méliès is the oldest known film adaptation of the homonym charles perrault' s 1697 fairy tale. the film was extraordinary then for having multiple scenes, using six distinct sets and five changes of scene within the film; it is also the first movie to utilize a dissolve transition between scenes. cendrillon was shot in the
glass house
studio designed by méliès himself and located in montreuil, seine - saint - denis, france. in 1912 méliès made another adaptation of the story ,
cendrillon ou la pantoufle merveilleuse
( cinderella or the glass slipper) .
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. see what’s now showing
david thomson, a biographical dictionary of film, london, deutsch, 1994, p. 504 .
another cinderella story was a modern re - telling of the original featuring the likes of selena gomez and drew seely. this version was retold as a modern story that was deemed as more of a romantic comedy and a thematic sequel to the 2004 film, a cinderella story, which was widely hated by both fans and critics. the follow - up was met with praise, which led to a third release in the (unconnected) series titled, “a cinderella story: once upon a song, ” which was also deemed a flop by critics and moviegoers .
the best introductions to méliès’ biography are david robinson, georges méliès: father of film fantasy, london, museum of the moving image, 1993, and jacques meny’s film la magie méliès (1997) .
the first credited (short) film in the history of the story was a french piece produced by georges meiles. the film met with little critical review and was deemed a complete failure at the time .
along with its imaginative technique, this film is notable for its storytelling. the plot of “cinderella” familiar to most of us today stems from the french version published by charles perrault in the late 17th century, and most of the silent films discussed above are clearly based on that model. but in the meantime the brothers grimm had published a very different “aschenputtel” (“cinderella”) in 1812, and reiniger’s film, produced in germany, preserves some elements from their version. here we see cinderella forced to pick lentils out of the fireplace ashes; the birds that help her with these and other tasks; the heroine praying at her mother’s grave; the tree that magically provides cinderella with her ball gown; and the stepsister who hacks off a large chunk of her own foot to fit it into the slipper—which is then drenched with blood !
louise lagrange, who would later appear in many french and hollywood films, plays one of cinderella' s sisters. in a conversation with the writers of a
but this is a méliès film, after all, and the plot takes a back seat to a spectacular display of screen - and stagecraft. the scene of the fairy godmother preparing cinderella for the ball—transforming the pumpkin into a coach, continuing through the assembly of cinderella’s retinue of footmen and servants, and climaxing with the appearance of her gown—is the centerpiece of the film, a sumptuous banquet of stage and movie magic that occupies about a third of the total footage. true to méliès’ background, it’s staged like a conjurer’s performance: beginning with a nondescript staging area outside the house, cutting away as cinderella gathers the mice, rats, and lizards that will be transformed by the godmother’s magic, then returning to the “stage” as more and more layers of extravagance are added, culminating in a lush theatrical tableau as cinderella prepares to leave for the ball .
one camera effect may be overlooked by the modern viewer: méliès incorporates several cross - dissolves in the course of the story. the picture follows cinderella’s progress by dissolving from her cottage to the royal ball, and dissolves back again when she returns. after the prince finds her, we dissolve again to the church exterior to see their wedding procession. in 1899, of course, these dissolves had to be performed in the camera, multiplying the complexities of méliès’ stagecraft in producing this film. one always hesitates to use the word “first” carelessly, but cross - dissolves were undeniably an innovation at this point in history, and charles musser has ventured the claim that this was perhaps the first film to use them .
for example, in cinderella there is a dance number by old father time and a chorus of girls who transform back and forth between human and clock [ see video above ]. i guess it could be argued that this enhances the fantastical theme of the film; nonetheless, it is clear that these prolonged dance sequences are an opportunity for the demonstration of méliès’s film techniques .
the cinderella castle is an attraction at walt disney world' s magic kingdom and tokyo disneyland at the tokyo disney resort. both serve as globally recognized icons for their respective theme parks. cinderella and the other disney princesses have a meet and greet attraction called princess fairytale hall at magic kingdom. [ 18 ] [ 19 ]
* * kenneth branagh’ * * s new version of cinderella opens this week; 115 years ago, france’s master of the cinema, george méliès, tackled the same haunting material. the results, long thought lost, exist in five rare minutes of film on youtube .
by 1911 the selig company was actively pursuing western film production in authentic western locations, but its chicago studio was also still as busy as ever and william selig was still attempting to crack the feature - film market. this three - reel cinderella, released in 1911 just after the thanhouser one - reel version, was part of that effort. selig recruited the well - known stage star mabel taliaferro, advertised her heavily in the title role, and lavished unusual promotional attention on the release, commissioning a special musical score and providing a special spoken lecture (a copy of which is preserved today in the academy’s selig collection) to accompany the film. both the star and the film itself made a vivid impression on vachel lindsay, who wrote in 1915: “mabel taliaferro’s cinderella, seen long ago, is the best film fairy - tale the present writer remembers. ”
reception towards cinderella has been mixed, with some film critics describing the character as much too passive, one - dimensional, and less interesting than the film' s supporting characters. other critics found her endearing, charming, and timeless. woods' vocal performance has also been praised. panned or praised, cinderella has nonetheless become one of the most famous and recognizable princesses in the history of film. with her iconic glass slippers, ballgown, hairstyle, and transformation, one of the first on - screen makeovers of its kind, the character has been established as a fashion icon, receiving accolades and recognition from instyle, entertainment weekly, glamour and urltoken, as well as footwear designer and fashion icon christian louboutin, who, in 2012, designed and released a shoe based on cinderella' s glass slippers. lily james plays a live - action version of the character in a 2015 live action adaptation of the original 1950 film .
likewise, both the sequence and cinderella' s magical transformation have been featured on several
best movie makeover
countdown lists. on stylist' s list of the
50 best movie makeovers
, cinderella placed first, with the magazine labeling her the
recipient of the original makeover .
additionally, stylist coined the list' s other candidates
cinematic cinderellas ,
alluding to the character' s legacy. [ 65 ] instyle ranked cinderella second on its list of
the best movie makeovers
, writing ,
cinderella’s fairy tale transformation is the stuff that many a little girl' s real - life makeover dreams are made of .
[ 66 ] hailing it as
[ the ] makeover of makeovers
and
the movie that started it all ,
the independent florida alligator ranked cinderella first in its list of
the best of movie makeovers
. [ 67 ] style blazer also ranked cinderella second on its list of the
top 11 favorite makeover movies of all time
, concluding ,
cinderella and her pauper to princess makeover have already gone down in movie history as one of the best transformations .
[ 68 ] calling cinderella the
original fairy godmother... makeover ,
total beauty ranked the character fifth in its article
11 best movie makeovers
. [ 69 ]
though the abrupt linear edits do suggest that zecca' s work extended to a reedit of the entire film .
david robinson, georges méliès: father of film fantasy, london, museum of the moving image, 1993 .
cinderella and prince charming are celebrating their anniversary. unfortunately, lady tremaine gets a hold of the fairy godmother' s wand and uses her ill - acquired powers to reverse time, sending cinderella back into the events of the first film. this time, however, the story is changed when new situations arise: the slipper is modified to fit anastasia' s foot and she, instead of cinderella, is promised to prince charming. cinderella, with the aide of the mice, sets out to restore her place as the prince' s bride and finally bring her stepmother to justice once and for all, although she remains completely unaware of the time reversal: lady tremaine, anastasia, drizella, and the fairy godmother are the only ones who are aware of it. [ 17 ]
a cinderella story received generally negative reviews. on rotten tomatoes, the film has a rating of 11% , based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 3. 6 / 10. the site' s critical consensus reads ,
an uninspired, generic updating of the classic fairy tale .
[ 2 ] on metacritic, the film has a score on 25 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating
generally unfavorable reviews
. [ 3 ] roger ebert called a cinderella story
a lame, stupid movie
. [ 4 ]
with the impending release of the new cinderella live - action retelling, it’s important to take a step back and understand some of the history behind this age - old story .
the disney version of cinderella was based on the french version of the tale by charles perrault, cendrillon written in 1697 in histoires ou contes du temps passé. [ 1 ]
wow. . that was quite an interesting film! albeit being short, it really was ahead of its time .
, bois d' arcy: service des archives du film du centre national de la cinématographie, 1981, pp .
mary lea bandy (ed .), rediscovering french film, new york, museum of modern art, 1983 .
john l. fell (ed .), film before griffith, berkeley, university of california press, 1983 .
cinderella (1950) the screen: six newcomers mark holiday; capitol' s' malaya' has tracy and stewart in leads - - two imports offered walt disney' s feature - length' cinderella,' at the mayfair, heads list of arrivals at the capitol at the criterion at the rialto at the palace at 55th st. playhouse
as with most versions of the story, cinderella’s magical makeover by the fairy godmother before the ball is a highlight of this film. here the transformations of pumpkin, mice, and cinderella’s gown are perfunctory, accomplished by stop - camera substitutions. but this version introduces an intriguing original idea: all these magical transformations take place inside the house. when the godmother’s work is finished, and cinderella in all her splendor is inside the coach and ready to go to the ball, one whole wall of the house suddenly disappears! the horses pull the coach out into the street and continue on their way, and the wall reappears, restoring the original interior .
like some of today’s filmmakers, some silent - era filmmakers couldn’t resist the idea of updating the cinderella theme to their own time. georges méliès, in addition to his faithful adaptations, produced in 1909 a contemporary comedy about a girl who buys a pair of shoes and loses one of them. the man who finds the shoe places a classified ad, and he and the girl meet and eventually marry—the attendant publicity prompting a new craze: shoes bought and deliberately lost by women seeking romance! vitagraph’s a modern cinderella actually did transpose the cinderella tale to a contemporary setting, with the heroine (mary fuller) and her stepsister rooming together in a boarding house. here the fairy godmother was a fellow boarder, an older lady, apparently of some means, who took an interest in cinderella, bought her a new wardrobe, and provided her own limousine to take the girl to the ball. there cinderella met the kind lady’s grandson, who later discovered her misplaced shoe, traced it to her through the shoe store, and was reunited with her for a happy ending. this picture survives today, and—although the stepsister’s suppression of cinderella is a little harder to accept in the egalitarian context of twentieth - century american society—is quite a charming little film. it can be seen online, thanks to the national film preservation foundation. the following year, after leaving vitagraph and joining the edison forces, mary fuller starred in a second film also titled a modern cinderella. but here, as with the méliès comedy, the connection with “cinderella” was a loose one: mary removed her shoes and stockings to go wading at the beach and was surprised there by an admirer (darwin kerr), who appropriated one of the shoes and later used it as a bargaining chip to become better acquainted with her .
in the wake of her father' s untimely demise, cinderella is left in the unfortunate care of her cruel stepmother and jealous stepsisters, who constantly mistreat her, forcing cinderella to work as a scullery maid in her own home. when prince charming holds a ball, the evil stepmother does not allow her to go. cinderella, aided by her kind fairy godmother and equipped with a beautiful ballgown and a unique pair of glass slippers, attends, only to have to leave at midnight when the fairy godmother' s spell is broken .
the familiar story is told here in fairly straightforward fashion, with one interesting variation. here cinderella’s father—or, at any rate, a sympathetic male character—is present in the early scenes, and mounts a halfhearted defense of the heroine. but he’s a weak and ineffectual champion, and the stepmother and stepsisters make short work of him, contemptuously overruling both him and cinderella .
georges méliès’ adaptation of the charles perrault fairy tale. it is generally believed to contain the first dissolve in film history .
tom gunning, “the cinema of attractions: early film, its spectator and the avant - garde” in elsaesser, 1990 .
some interesting creative liberties are taken with the story in the early scenes of this film. the fairy godmother (inez marcel) is introduced in the guise of a beggar woman. approaching the stepmother and stepsisters in the street, she is rudely rebuffed, but cinderella treats her with kindness and fetches her bread and water. the beggar is then magically revealed as the fairy godmother, and cinderella, having “entertained angels unawares, ” enjoys the benefit of her providence. sent by her stepmother to the forest to gather firewood, cinderella is magically supplied with the aforementioned host of fairies to help with her work. at this point, as in the selig cinderella, she has an early meeting with the prince, but here he’s in the woods hunting with his friends. when his loutish companions laugh and deride the peasant girl, the prince gallantly defends her .
at the start of the film, the titular character cinderella is working as a scullery maid in her own home for her cruel stepmother named lady tremaine and her two stepsisters named anastasia and drizella. her only friends are the birds and the mice who also live in the manor, including gus and jaq .
she prepares breakfast for the animals and for her family before beginning her regular chores. an invitation to the ball arrives at the door and cinderella desperately wants to go. her stepmother tells her she may go under the condition that she must finish her chores and find something suitable to wear. cinderella discovers her deceased mother' s old party dress and hopes to fix it so it looks more modern, but she is too busy to do so. meanwhile, when the mice see shadows of cinderella' s stepsisters throwing down their old sash and beads, jaq and gus are forced to quietly retrieve them. the mice use the unwanted items to spice up the dress. later, cinderella fears she will not be done working in time and will not be able to attend the ball, but her friends reveal the updated dress. cinderella is overjoyed and thanks her friends. she races down the steps just in time, but her stepsisters recognize their discarded items and accuse her of stealing the sash and beads. they tear the dress to shreds, leaving cinderella all by herself, and she runs out to the garden, crying .
méliès himself makes an appearance in the film as the prince' s messenger who searches for the owner of the glass slipper .
when we show films, rows j to k are held for people with mobility needs until 15 minutes before the film starts .
culturally, cinderella has had a profound influence on the fashion industry. according to sarah osman of young hollywood ,
cinderella’s gown in this film is so iconic that it' s become canon that cinderella wears a light blue dress to the ball .
[ 50 ] to coincide with the release of the diamond edition of cinderella in 2012, french footwear designer christian louboutin created and designed a contemporary rendition of the character' s iconic glass slipper. in an interview with the express tribune, louboutin said that cinderella is
not only an iconic character when it comes to beauty, grace and fairytale love, but also shoes .
the shoes are described as
made of delicate lace [ instead of glass ] to give them a look of transparency, and adorned with butterfly designs at the vamp and atop the swarovski - crystal covered heel ,
completed by louboutin’s signature red soles. only twenty copies of the shoes were manufactured. [ 51 ] in 2014, entertainment weekly ranked cinderella tenth in its article
disney princesses: ranking their hairdos - - and don' ts !
, writing ,
the lowly maid' s typically rage - inducing bangs somehow develop an almost stately character once the rest of her follicular baggage has been swept into an updo closely resembling a perky butt .
[ 52 ]
film4 negatively described cinderella as
one - dimensional .
[ 27 ] criticizing her design, roger ebert of the chicago sun - times wrote ,
if there is an obvious difference between cinderella and such predecessors as pinocchio and snow white, it' s in the general smoothing - out of the character' s appearances ,
concluding ,
snow white herself looked fairly bland, but the other characters in the first decade of disney animation had a lot of personality in their faces. they were allowed to look odd. cinderella seems to come right out of its time, the bland postwar 1950s ,
likening the character' s flawless design to that of a
draw me girl .
[ 28 ] concerned about the negative effects cinderella' s passivity could possibly induce upon children, nell minow of common sense media expressed ,
cinderella is the quintessential passive heroine rescued by a male character... so discussions about her meekness might be in order .
[ 29 ] urltoken' s laurie boeder simply described cinderella as
blah .
[ 30 ] desi jedeikin of smosh included the character in the website' s
8 fictional characters that are horrible role models for girls
list, explaining ,
i' m like so happy that cinderella found true love with a rich stranger who rescued her from her horrible life. but wouldn' t it have been better if she did it for herself ?
[ 31 ] additionally, critics have also expressed favoritism towards cinderella' s supporting cast of animal characters, particularly the comic interaction and dynamic between her pet mice jaq and gus and her stepfamily' s pet cat lucifer, often preferring them to cinderella herself while noting ways in which the heroine is constantly being
upstaged .
[ 32 ]
cinderella has since become one of the most famous, recognizable and popular princesses, both fictional and non - fictional, of all - time. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] according to the san antonio express - news, cinderella is one of the ten most famous princesses of all - time. [ 42 ] in 2013, cosmopolitan ranked the character the ninth greatest disney princess. [ 43 ]
this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don' t they' s 1000 greatest films. this…
star - film, pathé frères (france) - american mutoscope & biograph, edison manufacturing company, s. lubin (usa )
ian christie, the last machine: early cinema and the birth of the modern world, london, british film institute, 1995 .
among, cinderella' s positive reviews, michael scheinfeld of tv guide drew similarities between the character and belle from beauty and the beast (1991), writing, cinderella holds up better because the heroine seems timeless in her courage and resourcefulness, a closer cousin to belle in disney' s beauty and the beast than to other fairytale protagonists .
[ 33 ] hailing cinderella as
the most famous and beloved princess of all time ,
howstuffworks' vicki arkoff defended the character, writing ,
highly sympathetic cinderella is endlessly kind, patient, hard - working, and unassuming - - no matter how cruelly she is treated by her exaggerated, cartoonish foes .
arkoff elaborated ,
unlike disney' s passive, naive snow white, disney' s cinderella is a princess who decides to take charge and change her life for the better, rather than just wait for things to happen that might solve her problem .
[ 34 ] interestingly, review aggregator rotten tomatoes' general consensus reads that, in addition to
the rich colors, sweet songs, adorable mice ,
the
endearing (if suffering) heroine make [ s ] cinderella a nostalgically lovely charmer .
[ 21 ]
pathé - frères, the legendary french company that would produce la petite blancheneige, a notable version of “snow white, ” in 1910, tackled “cinderella” first with cendrillon ou la pantoufle merveilleuse in 1907. prints of cendrillon were evidently produced with pathé’s distinctive stencil - color process, as were prints of the later blancheneige. the film was distributed in the u. s. as cinderella, and a 1908 cinderella, referenced in american trade journals but as yet unidentified, may well have been a reissue of the 1907 pathé film. coincidentally, that 1908 release was reviewed by moving picture world in the same issue—and on the same page—as another pathé release known alternately as donkey skin and donkey’s skin. although far less familiar to us today, “donkeyskin” is actually a variant strain of the same folktale tradition that produced “cinderella. ” maria tatar discusses the links between the stories on pp. 102 - 06 of the classic fairy tales, and also offers her translation of the perrault version of “donkeyskin, ” which is reasonably close to the continuity of the 1908 pathé film, judging by the extended synopsis in that same issue of moving picture world. i’ll be updating this entry as i learn more about these films .
christmas, 1899. you’re not getting a radio, or a new car, or contact lenses, or, if you have the sniffles, a lovely dose of penicillin. more than a century ago, life was very different—but even back then, there was a holiday movie about a girl who started in rags and ended up in chiffon, who had mean stepsisters and a dastardly stepmom, but who nevertheless snagged a prince .
in 2003 woods received a disney legends award for her role as the voice of cinderella. in 2010 she died at the age of 81, of alzheimer' s disease. [ 44 ] according to the spokesman - review, woods once said in an interview with starlog that
i love the idea that after i’m gone, children will still be hearing my voice [ as cinderella ]. ” [ 45 ] in 2013, film school rejects recognized woods as one of
7 no - name actors who had iconic roles
, ranking the actress first and writing ,
woods... really set the bar high, as she managed to audition for the part of cinderella without even realize she had done it .
[ 46 ]
her fairy godmother appears to make her dreams come true and transforms her torn dress into a beautiful shimmering silver gown. before cinderella leaves, her godmother warns her that the spell will be broken at midnight. at the ball, cinderella dances with prince charming and they immediately fall in love with each other. as twelve o' clock approaches, she hurries to leave, hoping to prevent the spell from breaking at the ball, which could cause her to get caught by her stepmother or stepsisters. in her haste, she loses one of her glass slippers on the staircase but fails to retrieve it in time. cinderella hurries into her coach as it prepares to leave. the spell breaks and cinderella is in rags once more before reminiscing her dance with the prince and thanking her godmother for all she' s done for her. the next day, the prince announces he will marry the woman whose foot fits into the glass slipper. lady tremaine hears cinderella humming the same song that had played at the ball and figures out cinderella was the girl prince charming fell in love with. cinderella is locked in the tower by her stepmother, who refuses to let her have the opportunity to try on the slipper, but her animal friends help her escape. she hurries downstairs to try on the glass slipper. knowing the slipper will fit, lady tremaine plots revenge by causing the footman to trip and shatter the slipper, causing a fire when it hits the ground. cinderella reveals that she has kept the other slipper. she tries it on, and it fits perfectly. she and the prince are married soon after. [ 15 ]
though it' s the condensed version that would be expanded in 1912, this short film captures the overall plot of the movie quickly .
the tiff cinematheque series the enchanted screen: fantasy in silent film begins saturday, august 5, with many screenings featuring live piano accompaniment .
it is a classical story about cinderella, her evil stepmother, and the prince, but told with caustic satirical undertones by the soviet writers evgeny schwartz and nikolai erdman. many phrases from the movie became aphorisms .
like the reiniger film discussed above, this other german film preserves some elements from the brothers grimm, along with some of the perrault standbys and some delightful inventions apparently hatched by berger himself. the fairy godmother (frieda richard) plays a strong and proactive role here, not only providing the magic that enables cinderella to attend the ball, but stepping in on numerous other occasions to help her out of some difficulty. the scene of cinderella’s escape from the ball, just before the stroke of midnight, demonstrates the film’s charm and cinematic invention: as she nears the palace doorway, her coach, visible just outside, suddenly explodes and is replaced by a clock tower reminding her of the time. she evades the pursuing prince and crosses a lovely little bridge with an ornate covered section in the center and breakaway sections at either end. when the prince reaches the bridge, the godmother causes the outer sections to swing away from the center, stranding him there, then tosses a cloak of invisibility over cinderella, who uses it to disappear and make her escape .
méliès modeled the film' s visual style on the engravings of gustave doré, who had illustrated the story for an edition of perrault' s fairy tales. (doré was stylistically influential across méliès' s career, especially in this film and in his film adaptations of four other works doré had illustrated: red riding hood, blue beard, the wandering jew, and baron munchausen' s dream .) the direct inspiration for the film of cinderella was probably a stage adaptation premiered in 1896 by the théâtre de la galerie - vivienne and played by the troupe raymond at méliès' s own theatre of illustions, the théatre robert - houdin, at christmastime of 1897; méliès may also have been inspired by the théâtre du châtelet' s lavish 1895 stage production of the story .
that zecca had
massacred
the film, cutting out the best scenes, including one in which pumpkins race each other across a garden .
once thought lost forever, this is the earliest known film of any shakespeare play. derived from the her majesty’s theatre production of king john, this surviving fragment contains only one scene, although the original presented four scenes and ran at four minutes in duration. courtesy of eye film institute
the american biograph at the palace – an advertising film for biograph films (which were billed in the uk as american biograph) at the palace theatre, london, highlighting films of the dreyfus trial. from richard brown and barry anthony, a victorian film enterprise. (1999) .
the iconic
bibbidi - bobbidi - boo
musical sequence in which cinderella' s fairy godmother magically transforms the character' s tattered rags into a beautiful ball gown has garnered widespread critical acclaim, receiving positive reviews, accolades and recognition from several entertainment critics. allmovie described the sequence as
splendidly done ,
[ 35 ] while hitfix deemed it the film' s best moment. [ 60 ] according to urltoken, the transformation of cinderella' s dress into a ballgown remains a common favorite and
one of the most iconic pieces of disney animation because of what it means for the titular character .
[ 61 ] stylecaster wrote that the scene is responsible for introducing the common
movie makeover ,
writing ,
ever since cinderella ditched those rags and threw on a ball gown and a pair of glass slippers, movie audiences have fallen for the beloved transformation storyline .
[ 62 ] featuring cinderella in its list of
13 movie makeovers that still totally rock our socks off
, glamour summarized the scene' s role in the film as
the movie makeover that sees a merry band of rodents help cindera [ sic ] lla to make the perfect dress, eventually go to the ball and ultimately win the heart of a prince .
[ 63 ] urltoken also included cinderella in its
favorite movie makeovers
list, accrediting the film and disney with
first introducing us to the head - to - toe makeover ,
concluding ,
unrealistic expectations are born .
[ 64 ]
gus and jaq, with help of the other mice, and, of course, the fairy godmother, set off to make a new book to narrate what happens after the ending of the previous story by stringing three segments of stories together, resulting in three individual stories :
aim to please
,
tall tail
, and
an uncommon romance
. in the first story, cinderella and prince charming return home and a party begins shortly afterward. in the second story ,
tall tail
, cinderella works on planning to build up a festival. the mouse named jaq in the previous film has become a human named sir hugh. and in the third story ,
an uncommon romance
, cinderella helps her younger stepsister anastasia reconcile with the baker, even though her stepmother lady tremaine has forbidden it. near the end of the film, she reads the book that the mice made for her. [ 16 ]
would be better if it weren' t for the weird pacing—we' re only two - thirds of the way through the film when cinderella tries the slipper on and is reunited with her prince. compared to the brisk pace with which the rest of the story has been told, the final wedding and dance scene feels like it was meant for a longer movie .
though it may be something of an inappropriate speculation, given dreyfus’s jewish faith, there is something of the christian stations of the cross in the early dreyfus films. each illustrates the key stages in the victim’s noble passage to the point where false justice is executed through a series of tableaux. in each the victim is noble, passive, and wronged. the narrative does not develop in a form that is understandable to anyone new to the story, but instead represents passages of suffering told through tableaux that the faithful will recognise as having special meaning. it is interesting that the main multi - scene film narratives made in the 1890s are the two l’affaire dreyfus films, assorted lives of christ (by lumière, pathé and others), and méliès’ cendrillion (1899), or cinderella – another episodic tale of suffering and redemption .
the film’s detailed synopsis indicates that this was a lavish and mostly faithful adaptation of the tale—with another variation. here the prince (t. j. carrigan), to avoid being forced into an arranged marriage, fled his father’s castle in disguise, and he and cinderella met in the first reel, each unaware of the other’s identity. this led to a plot complication later on, when cinderella was “heartbroken” to discover that her romantic ideal was the prince—apparently under the impression that he had forgotten her in the meantime. needless to say, the two were reunited and all ended happily .
history has shown a fond interest in the generational retelling of great stories, fables and fairy tales, and cinderella is just the next in a long - line of successful refreshes of classic tales. a quick search of previous cinderella movies leads to the conclusion that this refresh might be slightly different from most, as the imdb page alone credits over 100 previous attempts at retelling the story, or tailoring it to fit new audiences, or generations .
in 1965, the rodgers and hammerstein musical was again produced and released as a direct - to - television film, this time starring an 18 - year - old lesley ann warren in the leading role. this film was re - broadcast (in color) annually for the next 10 years .
for extensive background information on the dreyfus affair, the personalities and the issues involved, see the generally excellent dreyfus rehabiliated website. unfortunately its section on the films of the affair is muddled. for a concise and informative book acount, see eric cahm, the dreyfus affair in french society and politics. for an atmospheric eye - witness account of the second trial itself, read g. w. steevens’ the tragedy of dreyfus (1899), available from the internet archive .
after its musical adaptation, rodgers and hammerstein had their go at a remake (their first of three) in 1957. this made - for - television film featured julie andrews as cinderella and was the most successful adaptation to date. the 1957 version boasted the largest audience in history (at the time of its premiere) with a total of 107, 000, 000 people having seen the film. to put that into perspective, that was a full 60 percent of the population in the united states at the time .
lest we forget, walt disney himself produced a version of “cinderella” during the silent period—although his version was, by definition, about as loose as an adaptation can get. this cinderella was one of the laugh - o - grams, the series of “modernized fairy tales” that walt and his friends produced in kansas city at the very beginning of their animation careers. here the traditional tales were deliberately satirized and used as springboards for a series of contemporary jazz age gags, and cinderella was no exception. in fact, considering the playful satire of the young laugh - o - gram artists, it’s surprising how much of the traditional romantic mood of the tale survives in this reel. as subsequent decades of cartoon production would reveal, something about the “cinderella” story beguiled the most mischievous cartoon - makers who set out to lampoon it. even that inveterate prankster tex avery indulged in a fleeting romantic interlude in his 1938 warner bros. short cinderella meets fella. in this laugh - o - gram version, walt and company interrupt their irreverent gags and non - sequitur puns long enough to allow cinderella and her prince a brief moonlit moment on the balcony, their silhouetted figures outlined against the night sky. it’s a nice moment, achieved with the most basic of production resources—modestly suggesting the charming fantasy worlds that walt would later create on the screen in the sound era.
cinderella ( french : cendrillon ) is an 1899 french film directed by georges méliès , based on the fairy tale by charles perrault . it was released by méliès 's star film company and is numbered 219 – 224 in its catalogues , where it is advertised as a grande féerie extraordinaire en 20 tableaux . 
cinderella (french: cendrillon) is an 1899 french film directed by georges méliès, based on the fairy tale by charles perrault. it was released by méliès's star film company and is numbered 219 – 224 in its catalogues, where it is advertised as a grande féerie extraordinaire en 20 tableaux.
cinderella (french: cendrillon) is an 1899 french film directed by georges méliès, based on the fairy tale by charles perrault. it was released by méliès's star film company and is numbered 219 – 224 in its catalogues, where it is advertised as a grande féerie extraordinaire en 20 tableaux.