Snow White: The Fairest of Them All

Put succinctly this film starts out OK, then quickly descends into the most appalling acting and directing I've seen in a long time. The cut to the baby is so badly done it would not credit a first year video student. The story is odd, the special effects next to dire, the acting abysmal, photography average, lighting poor and sets/location poor. There is only one saving grace to this movie and that is the welcome presence of the fantastic Vera Farmiga. Her skills transcend this movie so much that she ought to have embarrassed everyone in it. I grudgingly accept that Miranda Richardson wasn't dire, but neither was she good. Kristin Kreuk looks like some kind of manufactured doll, and in fact acts like one too. If you love Vera Farmiga's skills watch this if nothing else than for her: she totally shines. As for the rest, it's an hour and a half of your life utterly and totally wasted.

Although at times it was a little confusing as they tended to blend several fairy tale tellings into one movie, it is well worth your time to watch. It is a movie for the whole family. The characters I like best were, of course, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I don't know where they came up with the ideal of naming the Dwarves by the days of the week, but the Dwarves were neat and clever, and I liked the way that they travelled. I did not like the Wicked Queen, but then you're not supposed to and the ideal of adding a D'Jinn as sort of an overseer of the drama that unfolded was a neat twist. All in all, they did an excellent retelling of the timeless tale. Kristen Kreuk did an excellent job as Snow White.

having just seen it, i was amazed at the creative way of telling the story of Snow White. the sets were colorful, the effects were "cool" (especially the mirror effects), even it was only for TV, it said so much of the story, and a remarkable presentation by Miranda Richardson, as always it's nice to see a talented newcomer like Kristin Kreuk. all and all, i'd say a 9 out of 10 for such a somewhat original take on a fairy tale classic.

First things first: Miranda Richardson is wonderful in this movie. Absolutely brilliant. And next: This movie could have been lots better. Kristen Kreuk or whatever her name is, tries hard but is far too unresponsive and passive as the fairest of them all. This movie strays from the true tale of Snow White far too much. I mean, anyone can forgive a few minor changes, but this was really, really different. I'm not saying it should be a Disney's Snow White clone (although, Disney's version is absolutely wonderful and always melts my heart!), but it should have stayed a little more true to the story. Enough with the criticism. Even though there were major differences, there were nice touches on old things, such as the way Elspeth is told she is not the fairest one of all (Snow White's figure leans out of the mirror(s) and says 'I am. I am. I am the fairest of them all.'). Oh, and I'm glad that the evil queen is beautiful. Overall, 5 out of 10.

That is not to say that Snow White is a complete mess, I did love the costume, photography, lighting and set design, the music has a mystical quality and there are two good performances from Vera Farmiga and Warwick Davis and a great one from Miranda Richardson. On the other hand, Kristen Kreuk is very dull and passive albeit beautiful as Snow White, likewise with Tom Irwin. The dwarfs apart from the one played by Davis are lifeless and devoid of personality, the script is stilted, the pace is sluggish and the story has the basic outline of the original story still intact but the telling of it is dull and uninteresting with some scenes going on for too long. In conclusion, not terrible but hardly a fairytale come true either. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I just got a copy of the DVD from a second hand store and watched it without ever having heard of it. It is brilliant! Of course it is not a 90 minute remake of the classic fairy tale. It is certainly not a children's movie either. The makers of this movie just let their imagination run wild and every single move is surprising and any idea that was really too much was happily included in the movie. You'll be smiling from the beginning to the end. And you'll get three fairy tales for the price of one - the main storyline of the Snow Queen (Andersen) and a theme from Snow White and Rose Red (Grimm) are included as well.

This movie could have been so much better. The sets were beautiful and the special effects were very good. Many of the cast were also good. However, it's very hard to over look the flaws in the script. There were so many parts that weren't explained so you weren't sure why the part was in the movie. Some of the lines were also poorly written. The movie wasn't horrible, but overall it really could have been so much better. I gave it 5 out of 10 stars.