Sleeping Beauty (1987 film)

Sleeping Beauty

Film Poster
Directed by David Irving
Produced by Yoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Written by Michael Berz
Based on Sleeping Beauty
by Brothers Grimm
Charles Perrault
Starring Tahnee Welch
Kenny Baker
Morgan Fairchild
Music by Michael Berz Glasman
Cinematography David Gurfinkel
Edited by Tova Neeman
Production
company
Distributed by The Cannon Group, Inc.
Release date
  • June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12)
Running time
 90 min.
Country  United States
Language English

Sleeping Beauty (alternatively: Cannon Movie Tales: Sleeping Beauty) is a 1987 American/Israeli musical film, part of the 1980 film series Cannon Movie Tales. It is directed by David Irving and stars Tahnee Welch, Morgan Fairchild, Nicholas Clay and Sylvia Miles. It is a contemporary version of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. Like the other Cannon Movie Tales, the movie was filmed entirely in Israel.

Synopsis

A childless Queen (Morgan Fairchild) and her King (David Holliday), are given a magical potion by a kindly elf (Kenny Baker). When the beautiful Princess Rosebud is born, all the fairies in the land are invited to a christening to bestow their gifts upon the child. However, the evil Red Fairy (Sylvia Miles) is left off the guest list because there are only eight golden dinner plates and nine fairies in the kingdom. Enraged, she crashes the christening ceremony and curses the Princess on her sixteenth birthday to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The wise White Fairy (Jane Wiedlin), who was tardy and therefore unable to bestow her gift, softens the curse into a magic spell in which the Princess will fall asleep for one hundred years and be awakened by the kiss of true love. The King, finding very little comfort in the White Fairy's promise, orders that all the spinning wheels in the kingdom to be destroyed, except for one which is hidden and seemingly forgotten, to try to save his daughter from the Red Fairy's fearsome curse.

Many years later, all the people in the kingdom are upset because their clothes have dissolved to rags due to the absence of spindles and sewing needles. The King and Queen travel to the far reaches and bring back reams of fabrics. During their absence, the Red Fairy, disguised as an old woman, lures Princess Rosebud ( Tahnee Welch) into a secluded old tower room and tricks her into pricking her finger. The evil curse is complete, and Rosebud falls into a deep sleep. The White Fairy uses her magic to put everyone in the castle to sleep and cover the castle in thick vines. One hundred years pass, and a handsome Prince comes to the castle and wakes Rosebud with a kiss, breaking the enchantment. The entire kingdom celebrates their awakening, and Princess Rosebud and her Prince are married and live happily ever after.

Cast

Reception

Richard Scheib from Moria.co gave it two stars and wrote: "All of the Cannon Movie Tales were cheaply shot and made. Some of them occasionally emerged okay but the majority did not. Sleeping Beauty is a dreary by-the-numbers run through of the Charles Perrault fairytale. The film pads the original story out somewhat, notably with the introduction of the character of the elf played by Kenny Baker. On the other hand, when it comes to the guts of the fairytale – ie. everything that happens after Rosebud goes to sleep – the film seems indifferent and hurried. It is hard, for instance, to understand what killed all the other heroes trying to rescue the princess when all that prince Nicholas Clay’s quest consists of is brushing through some creepers."[1]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds 48% of audience score.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Scheib, Richard. "SLEEPING BEAUTY". Moria.co. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "Cannon Movie Tales: Sleeping Beauty (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
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