The Little Mermaid
December 22nd, 2009 by Al
Description
Based on one of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s best fairy tales, The Little Mermaid falls in love with a Prince she once saved during a storm. For the sake of her love, she must sacrifice everything to live with her beloved Prince. But will the Prince realize the great trials the Little Mermaid gone through for him or lose her forever? Vladimir Bychkov directs this noted life-action version made in Russia…. More >>
- 5 Comments »
- Posted in Movies
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Movie has English subtitle. The plot is different from Disney’s version. Has sad ending.
Rating: 3 / 5
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
On the whole I personally agree alot with “ceebcorry2″‘s review. Unfortunately I dare say that, to a very minor extent, yes, Disney did in a way destroy the true meaning of the story by giving it a happy ending…but I will love Ariel ’till death, because it was she who gave life to the love I have for mermaids and this story. As for the Rusalochka version…well…I expected better. I do agree that the characters are very well put to give life to the characters. The Prince is handsome, true, and The Little Mermaid does have that unearthly mystical touch…but I’m very disappointed in how the story was completely disfigured from Hans Christian Andersen’s original text! I didn’t quite fancy the mermaids causing the Prince’s shipwreck, nor the green hair exchange instead of the voice. As for the costuming…well, I agree 100% with the above-mentioned review…the fish-tails are extremely fake; but when one conciders how the movie was taken a while ago when effects weren’t at their best, I suppose they would have to do. As for the scenery, though quite green and blue with very few (if any) colourful plantation, was not bad. Personally I am hoping one day I’ll become a movie-maker (producer/director etc…), and am hoping in making the best (so far) adaptation of the original story in cinemas. I have already finished a great part of the costume designs …we’ll see in future…
Rating: 2 / 5
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
It’s not exactly like Anderson’s story, but the spirit is there and they found the most PERFECT girl to play the Mermaid. Those familiar with Disney will want to bury your head in the sand, because it’s on a different planet. I also love that they rated this G even though it has Nudity and violence. God bless the 70′s…
Rating: 4 / 5
December 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
The little mermaid is a tale from Hans Christian Anderson. The story is told to a girl in a coach. All the people in the coach play a role in the story.
Nice are the russian (not translated) songs. The underwater scenes are done well, considered that there was no computersimulation in the seventies.
The movie has a slight more happy ending than the original story. The little mermaid doesn’t die but lives for ever as a dream.
I like this version better than the Chzech version from the same period.
Rating: 5 / 5
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I’ll never understand why people who love the original version of this tale bash the Disney movie. I don’t agree at all that Disney “destroyed” the story; in fact, it’s because of tragic tales like Andersen’s that I’m glad happy endings are still around. Having said that, I do love this film. The little mermaid is a sweet ocean being looking for love in a land-prince who she saved from death in the sea. Of course, he thinks a spoiled princess is the one who saved him and completely dotes on her, totally unaware of the angelic mermaid’s true worth..or the terrible price she’ll have to pay if he doesn’t return her love.
The casting in this film is superb: the prince is a gorgeous man with a noble look in his eyes that portrays his soul; the princess who claims to have saved him is a beautiful but cold-looking woman with a face like carved porcelain. The mermaid herself is innocence and purity incarnate: as a mermaid she has aqua hair which makes her pretty face look impish; as a human, she has golden hair which haloes her face and enhances her angelic look.
The story’s great, too; while it has all the sentiments of the original tale, the writers added some very imaginative changes: for one thing, the sea-witch is actually a land-witch with a hilarious personality who aids the mermaid in her quest for love. One of my favorite changes is that the mermaid gives up her hair rather than her voice so she can actually talk to the prince (huzzah!). There’s also a new character, a vagabond, who loves the mermaid and knows her secret. One of the biggest changes involves the ending (which I won’t tell you
The film also examines the characters closely and changes their dimensions a bit: the prince, while still clueless, has a definitely noble heart which makes him less frusterating than in the original tale. The spoiled princess, although she is thoughtlessly selfish in many ways, her fondness and kind treatment of the mermaid make it hard to dislike her entirely. Even the mermaid has more than one dimension; although her human heart is nearly flawless, as a mermaid she would thoughtlessly sink ships with her sisters. In fact, she saved the prince from a shipwreck that she herself helped cause; only her unexpected love for him saved him from watery death. The character study in this film is one of the story’s strongest points.
The one true flaw in the film was, sadly, the mer-costuming; while the mermaids were lovely and mystical from the waist-up, their tails really didn’t deserve the name. It’s a shame, too, because the underwater photography and choreography are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Sorry to nitpick, but the obvious fakeness of the fins rather took away from the affect of their appearances. Other than that, I recommend the film. Even small kids could probably enjoy it, if they’re not bothered by brief tasteful nudity.
Rating: 4 / 5