Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411170019
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Judged by any standard, Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is one the masterpieces of American film. Today, some of its conventions are dated - note Snowy's warbling singing voice - and its simple view of male-female romantic relations probably honks off some feminists, but those flaws mean little.
Viewers who haven't seen "Snow White" in several years may be surprised by the film's energy and, in the most important scenes, its horror. That's what struck me.
Those images - the magic mirror, the dark forest, the mountain in the storm, the queen's laboratory and of course, her transformation into the witch - are potent stuff. They really scared me when I first saw the film, and they still do. They may lose some of their power on the small screen but not much. With the restoration work that was done on the film a few years ago, the new video version is remarkably vivid. Now it will thrill, delight and frighten a new generation.
Though the Disney empire has been built on the studio's insipid heroes - Mickey Mouse, et al. - the bad guys (and girls) are the most memorable.
As animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas write in their outstanding book, "The Disney Villain" (Hyperion. $45), "Walt did not like the word `evil.' There may be a morbid fascination that captures us momentarily, but no one really wants to look at ugly, repulsive, heavy evil. On the screen we preferred to depict our examples of vileness through a strong design which eliminated realism and kept the audience from getting too close to the character. ... The villains we created together at the Disney studio were memorable because they were entertaining."
Johnston and Thomas are also careful to give credit to Lucille LaVerne who created the voices of both the queen and the witch. It's almost impossible to overemphasize her contribution to "Snow White."
Though it's not in the same league, "Beanstalk" will appeal to the same young audience. It's a production of Charles Band's Moonbeam label for kids' fantasy. This is a contemporary tongue-in-cheek variation on the famous story, though the elements are familiar stuff.
Jack (J.D. Daniels) is the bright son of a single mom. They're threatened by the town banker (Richard Moll), who's about to foreclose on their mortgage, until Jack happens upon some magic beans. Said beans have been discovered by a mad scientist (Margot Kidder, virtually unrecognizable under a heavy costume). The Giant (Stuart Pankin) does not live in a castle. Instead, he, Mrs. Giant and their daughter live in a celestial tract house, circa 1958.
The broad humor and the obnoxious overacting are on the level of a live-action Saturday morning TV show. The jokes are for kids only. Overall, "Beanstalk" doesn't measure up to the best of Moonbeam's previous efforts, "Prehysteria!" and "Dragonworld," but it's just the ticket for the right age group.
Back in 1981, writer Dan Greenburg translated one of his novels into a flawed but profitable teen fantasy. "Private Lessons" is based on a common bit of male wish-fulfillment, the adolescent boy (Eric Brown) seduced by the older governess (Sylvia Kristel). It's a mess of a movie, in part a half-hearted mystery, but it fit the mood of the day when films like "Porky's" made big bucks at the box office. Since then, it has become a staple of most video stores, and now it has generated a sequel, a sequel in title only.
"Private Lessons - Another Story" has nothing to do with the premise of the first. It's about a fashion photographer (Marianna Morgan) who has a fling with a chauffeur (Ray Garaza) in Miami while she's on the rebound from her philandering husband. There's nothing special in the simple story or the wooden acting, but Marianna Morgan has an appealingly different kind of thirtysomething warts-and-all glamour. And director Dominique Othenin-Girard does good work with the Miami locations and the romantic scenes. Watchable and, considering the genre, above average.
Next week: Cowboys and cops!
New releases
Speed ***
Starring Keanu Reeve, Jeff Daniels, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper. Directed by Jan De Bont. FoxVideo. 120 min. Rated R for violence, strong language.
The best of its kind since "Die Hard." This cheerfully mindless action picture rollicks along for two full hours at a mad pace. If the performances never rise above the stereotyped characters, then that's a forgivable flaw. Reeves is the tough young cop; Hopper is the psycho bad guy who'll blow up a bus if it goes less than 50 mph. Zoom!
The Favor: ***
Starring Harley Jane Kozack, Elizabeth McGovern, Bill Pullman, Brad Pitt, Ken Wahl. Directed by Donald Petrie. Orion. 97 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong language.
At various times, this is a sly sex farce of the old school, a more mature "Risky Business" with a feminist slant, and a comedy about friendship between women. It's a funny - occasionally hilarious - mixture of attractive characters and slickly conceived Hollywood formula. Not deep, just enjoyable.
Beverly Hills Cop III 1/2*
Starring Eddie Murphy. Directed by John Landis. Paramount. 100 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language.
No one expects much from a movie with "III" at the end of the title. Even so, this one is pretty lame. It's long on bullets and short on the Eddie Murphy charm that made the original film so enjoyable. The gimmick is evil doings at a Disneyesque theme park, but, like the rest of the film, it's handled so ineptly that it's not remotely engaging.
When a Man Loves a Woman **
Starring Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia. Disney. Rated R. 125 min.
A look at alcoholism, this film also wants to be a love story, but neither story line is terribly strong or original. However, Ryan and Garcia are excellent as the couple struggling to deal with her problem.
THE ESSENTIALS:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ****
Walt Disney Home Video. 84 min. Rated G.
Beanstalk **
Paramount. 80 min. (preview tape unrated; almost certainly G or PG for mild violence.)
Private Lessons **
MCA/Universal. 83 min. Rated R for nudity and sexual material.
Private Lessons - Another Story **1/2
Paramount. 86 min. Rated R for nudity, sexual material.
by CNB