Snow White and the Huntsman

[dangermousie]

I finally saw Snow White and the Huntsman (going to the movies is tricky when one has a toddler) and I loved it!

It was dark and epic and inventive and made me feel all the intensity fairy tales made me feel when I was a child. Also, the older I get, the more I like women-centric heroic narratives and this was that rare beast - a mythic adventure tale with a heroine and a villainess at the center. So good.

You know me, I am the ultimate shipper. Yet I shocked myself by being happy Snow (btw, I love KS in this - Twilight is forgiven) ended up with neither William nor the Huntsman - she needs to experience the world and normal life and not just jail and hair-raising survival adventure before she embarks on a relationship. The Huntsman (mmmm, Chris Hemsworth makes me weak at the knees) is still mourning his wife and seeing her in Snow, and William (whom I shocked myself by adoring) hasn't had the chance to get to know her yet - his feelings are childhood attachment and guilt. Sp yes, breathing space for everyone.

Please tell me there will be a sequel? And a director's cut?

And now I crave a movie about Joan of Arc.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kirsty/]

It was dark and epic and inventive and made me feel all the intensity fairy tales made me feel when I was a child. Also, the older I get, the more I like women-centric heroic narratives and this was that rare beast - a mythic adventure tale with a heroine and a villainess at the center.

SOLD. This sounds great.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yay, hope you like!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

There will be a sequel! Amazon added a listing for the dvd yesterday so I'm crossing my fingers for a directors cut. (Hopefully one with more Snow/Ravenna when Snow was younger and without the gross "don't flatter yourself"line.)

People complaining about the lack a of romantic ending make me give them a stern look. Everyone involved there needs therapy, not romance. Ok, William just needs to give other folks his age a chance now that the "10 years of obsessive guilt" bit has hopefully been worked out.

Others have complained about how much it seems to borrow from other fantasy movies, but I love it FOR it's obvious love of older epic fantasy movies. It has a Willow inspired plot and the Snow/Huntsman relationship seems based on Willow and Dragonheart and a lot of Legend's imagery and i love those movies.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I saw some LOTR influences as well but what the movie reminded me most of were these Czech and Hungarian movies of my childhood - they did great live action adaptations of fairy tales that combined the fairy aspects with some grittiness. I am thinking of Three Nuts for Cinderella and similar.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Most of the LOTR influences I saw were things that LOTR drew from earlier fantasy movies, really. (Not that there's anything wrong with that for LOTR or SWATH, it's not like there aren't standard bits that are standard because they WORK and are a wise narrative choice even if not the most original.)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The two LOTR influences that struck me were the glass army at the start and the shot of them wandering around very NZ scenery (do you know where they shot this btw?) But I agree, a lot of 1980s fantasy influences too.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

There's a similar (if less majestic and with more people) travel shot in Willow and I believe a pretty similar one in 10th Kingdom too. (I'm also pretty sure the coat Snow suddently had right after-Huntsman's?-was a nod to 10K too, in which the heroine is suddenly wearing what might be the coat of her protector/love interest who was initially hunting her in the queen's service.) Really, though, if you have a party travelling on on foot or horseback and want to get the scope of the landscape and distance established in one good shot, your options are a bit limited (though I seem to recall Stardust managing to be a bit creative in that regard).

I think the movie was actually filmed in a lot of locations. I think it was Chris Hemsworth who commented that he thought they'd just be shooting in one or to places and then found out they were going everywhere. (I suspect this is part of the movie's huge budget, even though it's performed well enough to justify it.)

[algelic.livejournal.com]

I didn't like this movie. And I had great expectations for it.

I guess Snow White was the worst character of all here. KS... you still suck.

In my mind I kept saying that "Snow White - A Tale of Terror" (available on YouTube) is MUCH better than this.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

MMV, I liked it and all :)

[rectherapyfreak.livejournal.com]

Poor KS, it is not her fault she played a flat character in twilight. The character was just as flat in the book imo. So her acting was spot on!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

True

[jamieguo48.livejournal.com]

Style over substance, and it's too bad because I liked the look of it, which is dark and epic. Unfortunately, I have to agree with algelic. Snow White had zilch development. I thought she would turn into this powerful warrior through years of training, only to learn her armor and sword really are just her accessories..

Instead, the majority of the movie is spent in the dark woods (or whatever they were called), meeting the dwarfs and huntsman, and it's only at almost the very end that she's reunited with her long lost childhood love aka Prince Charming. She sleeps for a while, and when she wakes up, she manages to rally the people to fight for her (why I don't know since she did absolutely nothing besides being her father's daughter to deserve it).

The armor, the sword (that she spent, what, all of ten minutes training with?) I don't know why she bothered carrying it since she never got a chance to practice using it.

They get to the castle, and in a major anticlimax, defeat the Queen in like two seconds. Seriously, it took what 10 minutes or so? All in all, a sad disappointment.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ehhh, I loved it. It's a fairytale and I am comparing it to Eastern European (Chech and Hungarian) fairytale moves of my childhood - it has a darker, properly medieval vibe but it's still a fairy tale.

Also, I am glad they didn't have her be proficient with sword and armor - it's my huge pet peeve in movies. There is a reason knights started training in childhood.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

The Messenger is ridiculous and over-the-top (and I still sort of love it anyway). But the Leelee Sobieski Joan of Arc movie (I'm blanking on the title) was good, too? (I think, it's been something like ten years since it was aired)

ANYWAY. I loved SWatH a great deal. I thought it was epic and wonderful and gorgeously-shot. And I was shocked, but loved that the ending wasn't "and then Snow marries the prince" and that it was almost more of an epic "this is the chosen one of legend who will heal the land" kinda narrative.

My fingers are crossed that the sequel will get made (I think it's been green-lit?)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thanks, I am going to check both of these out.

Yes, the ending reminded me a lot of Aragorn's coronation in ROTK (minus the bride) and I loved it.

[je12-vz09.livejournal.com]

agrees with the both of you. :)

[puion.livejournal.com]

I love the TWIST with the kiss that woke Snow White up....

That was good!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm, yes.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes ;)

[ginger001]

I was with some doubts about it but I liked it! Probably for the main reasons you posted... and I got out of the theatre thinking that I needed more fairy tales in my life (isn't the director going to try Sleeping Beauty next or something? with Angelina Jolie? or was a rumor)...

Anyway, I really enjoyed it and although I found William too hot for words, I kind of agree with the end... That way I wouldn't be heartbroken if she chose the Huntsman...

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

There are 2 Sleeping Beauty-based movies in the works: One is actually a Maleficient movie with Angelina Jolie. That one, presumably, is pre-fairy tale and specifically based on the Disney movie. The other (and this is the one that I believe has the same creaters as SWATH and the recent Alice in Wonderland, though I don't know if Rupert Sanders is involved) is supposed to be about Briar Rose travelling through a dreamland while under the spell. (Presumably breaking the curse herself.) Maleficient is cast and in production with at least one still out, the other I think is still in the very early stages. I think they've cast the heroine but I forget who.

Sam Claflin has this odd thing where he looks terrible in almost any promotional image (he fares a bit better in screencaps) but looks good in action. He's pretty good at the "medieval warrior" bit. (He had lots of preptime for William in Pillars of the Earth.)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I surprised myself by how much I loved it.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

I have yet to watch Snow White and the Huntsman (it only just premiered in Australia last week, typically, and I haven't had time), but I love the visuals already. By all accounts its done well enough for them to greenlight a sequel, and this time it'll be focused more on the Huntsman. I'm certainly not complaining, because any Chris Hemsworth is good Chris Hemsworth as far as I'm concerned. That man has more projects lined up than any other Hollywood workaholic, though, so we won't have to spend a single year over the next few years without seeing him in a movie, LOL.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I just need to add that the Leelee Sobieski Joan of Arc is an oldie but goodie! It came out when I was about 10 and I remember watching it on TV and crying a river.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, thanks. I wonder what happened to LS - she used to be the next big thing.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Ditto - there was all this fuss about her after Joan of Arc and she received all sorts of award nominations for it, and then... poof! she disappeared. I wonder whether it's because her agent is fail at scoring her good gigs, or whether it's her own choices of projects - either way, it's clearly not working out! I mean, she was in one of those horrific Uwe Boll films (In the Name of the King or something), which is not exactly something you want on your resume.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, yay! More CH is always a good thing. For some reason, he really does it for me.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Heck yes! The only way in which he can make me swoon over him even more than I do already is if he'd cut his hair; I generally hate long hair on men and although it actually looks okay on him, I still prefer him with short hair. Fingers crossed he'll cut his hair when he does that black ops movie! Or if not, have him hack it off for In the Heart of the Sea!

I'll end this comment with hot Chris with short hair:

[gruskek.livejournal.com]

I actually prefer him with long hair but he's cute either way :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I prefer long hair but this looks gooood!

[joonni.livejournal.com]

I liked the movie a lot, I loved the visuals, and I totally have the hots for Chris Hemsworth. My love started with Thor but I have a thing for dark-haired men so Chris Hemsworth with brown hair just launched me over moon. If he had taken his shirt off in this movie too, I would have probably just died in the theater.

I found both kissing parts to be unintentionally funny. I guess it was because I could see it coming from a mile away and I knew what the result would be.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that kissing a corpse = not sexy :P

Yes, mmm, Chris. I prefer him blond though :P

[once-a-weaver.livejournal.com]

This one has been on my wish list for months. I can't seem to get myself into a theater these days, but I do want to see this movie.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, it's gorgeous so I rec.

[gruskek.livejournal.com]

I mostly enjoyed the movie but felt there was a lot of wasted potential. The characters had very little development and there were some glaring plot holes.
The scenery/costumes/visual effects etc. were a treat to look at, though. There were some really memorable scenes that were worth seeing at the cinema.

I liked the cast for the most part. The person I have major complains against is KS (and no, I haven't seen Twilight nor do I generally have anything against her). There were scenes in which she was captivating even but also a lot of ones where she seemed spaced out and not fully in it. A very hit and miss performance.

To be fair to her she is very young and I think a more experienced director could have brought more out of her. Rupert Sanders has a flair for visuals but I don't think he's that great at guiding actors (the rest of the cast seemed to be doing their own thing - more successfully than KS but they could have been better at times too).

I am actually very pleased with the ending :) I liked the subtlety and not rushing into things. Plus it gave me and my mom a bit of a Roman Holiday vibe xD The huntsman being kind of "she's out of my league now" and them looking at each other that way with her in full regalia in a room full of people etc.

I would like to see a sequel. It was the sort of film that's fun to watch at the cinema with one's family so I wouldn't mind repeating that. And if you make the first a set up for something bigger many flaws can be forgiven.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I agree about development (of which I hope to see more on next movie$. I guess I just cut it slack because of its genre.

[gruskek.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm actually complaining because it was surprisingly good in some aspects and could have gone beyond the typical quality of a fairytale-ish flick like this. And I do love this genre a lot too, and often am forgiving towards those films :)

[je12-vz09.livejournal.com]

exactly my thoughts! ^^ i actually now conclude that Kristen's a really good actress provided that she has lesser lines.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup yup yup agreed. She has presence, but her line delivery is off.

[akosikae.livejournal.com]

The movie is okay. I'm even sold on the Snow white+Huntsman pairing, but I'm still disappointed with KS's acting.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think she could have been better but I was OK with her.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

What's crazy about KS is I just read she's the #1 top paid actress in Hollywood at the moment. Which is insane considering whe owes it all to Twilight, which required next to no acting...

I still really want to see this but like you stated, "going to the movies is tricky" with kiddlywinks in the house.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I think she must have gotten percentage of the gross for Twilight for it to make any sense...