The Slipper and the Rose...

Absolutely.

A highly underrated film, that I saw in the movie theatre when it came out in 1977 (right around Star Wars time).

The British version of it is out on DVD (which added a few songs and extended a few scenes), but honestly, I prefer the "tighter" edited American release that I saw in the theatre and that used to air on TV.

It's a very lavish production, and I think it would lend itself to the stage very nicely.

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I have the DVD as well, and really liked it, including the added songs and extended scenes. One of my favorite movies. :)

It's only VERY LONG if it doesn't pull you in. The unedited version is 2 hours and 23 minutes long, but I feel that it flows wonderfully and the pacing is done well so you don't notice how long it is because you're swept away in this gorgeous film.

It's one of my favorites. The cast, the score (Yes, it's the Sherman Bros. . ), the production and the scenery, a perfect fairy tale vision with an overall wonderful result.

However I never saw the edited version. I hate things being edited anyway since I feel things should be released as they were intended to and not condensed for fickle audiences.

It would work wonderfully on Broadway.


And am I the only one who thinks Annette Crosby (the Fairy Godmother) was a dead ringer for Dame Diana Rigg? I was watching the movie thinking it's a twin!

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Updated On: 1/19/07 at 04:04 PM

God bless the Sherman Brothers. They really knew how to write a tune. I love this version of "Cinderella".

WalkOn--Did you only see the DVD (longer) version?

For me, that one's too long as well. They have an added song right off the bat (2nd or 3rd number in) with the king and queen and dowager singing that is really kinda dreadful. "Find a Mate" or something like that. Ugh!

It was rightfully cut for the American release... and I always chapter past it when I watch the DVD.

If that were my first exposure to the film, it would be tough pulling me back into it and making me "happy" again.

I wish they would have had a 2-Disc release with both versions on it. But considering that this film wasn't a hit here in the US, we're lucky to see it on DVD at all!

I think the US version is about 20 minutes shorter, and it really makes a difference.

Still, it's no "My Fair Lady" or anything. But it does have moments of true movie musical magic in it. The transformation of the pumpkin and mice into the coach and horses with Wayne Sleep and others in an expensive ballet sequence is very effective. So is Cinderella's arrival at the ball. Still gives me chills! And her escape at midnight when she's running down the stairs and her hair and dress literally change in every single shot until she's back to rags, while the rose pedals fall all around her... Love it!

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You probably saw the American version then... but with commercials I'll bet it was about 4 days long.

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"We must be...protocoligorically correct!" LOL

EganFan2, the Sherman Brothers had to come up with one of those made up nonsense "buzz words" every time... and I have no idea why.

It's their trademark, I guess...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (Mary Poppins)
Fantasmagorical (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
Protocoligorically Correct (Slipper and the Rose)
Gratifaction (Tom Sawyer)
Higitus Figitus (Sword in the Stone)
Substitutiary Locomotion (Bedknobs & Broomsticks)
Fortuosity (Happiest Millionaire)

Adds a touch of whimsy, I suppose.

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Updated On: 1/19/07 at 08:07 PM

The American theatrical release is the "edited" version. I never knew there was a longer UK cut until it was announced for DVD.

It's actually very well edited. Certain dialogue scenes are trimmed slightly down in several places. The number I mentioned earlier "Find a Mate" is gone (and not needed, since the whole scene leading to the song covers the same thing).

The pace of the entire film is generally improved.

I remember there is an extended scene with the Fairy Godmother in her own house(!) trying to decide whether she should visit Cinderella or not... that was cut for the US. It's not needed either... and by seeing where she lives, I actually think it removes a lot of her mystery. Who needs a pedestrian Fairy Godmother?

Annette Crosbie is WONDERFUL in that part, BTW. Great sense of (slightly bitchy) humor and a touch of class as well as earthiness (not easy to be both!). She reminds me a little of Diana Rigg.

I believe the "Bride Finding Ball" number is about half as long... and a reprise is cut.

The other lady I love in this movie is Margaret Lockwood as the wicked Stepmother. She was the lead in Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" back in the '30s, and this was her last film, after a long absense away from the screen. She's terrific, icy and beautiful!

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I think all of "Tell Him Anything" was in the US version... but I won't swear to it.

I'm guessing you don't want to see any of it cut, so I'm not sure why you want the VHS... it will probably be "painful" for you to watch.

If it's any consolation, the movie did VERY well in the UK. A huge hit for them, in fact.

And it tanked here in the US, although it managed to get a couple of Oscar nominations. (Best Score, Best Song - "When He Danced With Me")

I was really sad when it tanked... but it was so out of step with what American movie audiences were going to back then. That was the summer of both Close Encounters and Star Wars.

I remember at the Oscar ceremony for that year, they did a MONSTROUSLY over-the-top production number for "When He Danced With Me." HUGE! And somewhere in all that massively costumed ball, there was a song being sung.

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I loved the choreography in the ballroom. And the Royal Ballet dancers as the animals being transformed by the Fairy Godmother. And Christopher Gable, a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, played John, the prince's companion. One of my favorite movies!

No worries. :)

I found this really cool site on Cinderella themed movies and it includes captures and information on the Slipper and the Rose : http://www.geocities.com/celluloid_cinderellamp/enter.html

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