For as long as can be remembered, 'Snow White' has always been one of my favourite stories, fairy tales and otherwise. The story is timeless with lots of suspense and creepiness and some poignancy, as are the characters, especially the Evil Queen. It is one of the Brothers Grimm's most famous stories, and rightly so, and this is coming from two brothers that were responsible for some of the most deservedly iconic stories in literature (plus they put their own interesting spin on pre-existing stories, namely their darker version of 'Cinderella').
DEFA distributed a number of fairy tale adaptations from East Germany, some are better than others but they do intrigue. Mainly for seeing older versions of these stories and some have some very interesting differences to the original stories. All are worth a look, if some more for curiosity and completest sake. Their 1961 adaptation of 'Snow White' is one of their best, actually think that it is one of the better adaptations of the frequently adapted story. It is not as well known as the 1937 Disney version, the most famous version and the most historically important, love that version on its own terms and prefer it slightly personally but this adaptation is every bit as great and has a few improvement. There is a reason as to why this is one of the most successful DEFA fairy-tale films.
'Snow White' may not quite have the timeless songs of the Disney version, the dwarves' personalities are not quite as distinct from each other here and nothing in this adaptation is scarier than the transformation and the first close up reveal of the Evil Queen's hag disguise. 'Snow White' however is much more faithful (actually one of the most faithful versions of the story), with the only major change being the very end with the Evil Queen. It is not as deliberate in pace and Snow White is, while not as famous in image, is much more interesting as a character here.
There really is next to nothing wrong in 'Snow White', just that the charming music is not quite what people are likely to be humming in the streets for a while after and the staginess that can be seen in most of the DEFA fairy-tale films can be seen at times here.
With that being said, 'Snow White' is one of the best-looking DEFA fairy-tale films. It is beautifully photographed with lots of rich colour and a lot of effort went into the sets and costumes, more so than most DEFA fairy-tale adaptations. The standouts being the dwarves' cottage and the wedding costumes. The script doesn't become too camp, is lively and it feels natural. The story has all the suspense and charm of the Brothers Grimm story, the character interaction shines (especially between the dwarves and Snow White, very important as it is that relationship that is most dominant in the story) and the dwarves' grief is genuinely emotional. The film flies by with no padding and the short running time helps and doesn't feel too short.
Loved the characters, Snow White is not bland, sugary sweet or passive (too easily fooled, but that is the fault of the original story and should not be considered a fault for any adaptation), the Evil Queen is rightly despicable and the dwarves, while a little less distinct in personality than with the Disney version, are adorable with well-rounded personalities. The acting is fine, with the best performance coming from a deliciously evil Marianne Christina Schilling.
In conclusion, deserves to be better known, it is a great adaptation and film. 9/10
