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Rumpelstiltskin (1987 film)

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Rumpelstiltskin
Movie Poster
Directed byDavid Irving
Screenplay byDavid Irving
Based onRumpelstiltskin
by the Brothers Grimm
Produced by
Starring
Music byMax Robert
Production
company
Distributed byThe Cannon Group
Release dates
  • April 1987 (1987-04) (United States)[1]
  • May 1987 (1987-05) (Cannes)[2]
Running time
84 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Israel
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million

Rumpelstiltskin is a 1987 musical fantasy film, based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. In the United States, it was the first installment of Cannon Films' Movie Tales series.

Production and release

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Rumpelstiltskin was part of the Cannon Movie Tales series, a US$50 million project initiated by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus to adapt sixteen fairy tales into live action.[3][4] The film featured Billy Barty in his only lead role (as the title character),[5] and also starred Amy Irving (as Katie, the miller's daughter)[3] and Clive Revill as the villainous King Mezzer. Amy Irving's brother, David Irving (not the British author of the same name), scripted and directed;[3] their mother, actress Priscilla Pointer, portrayed the Queen.[3]

Cannon Films screened Rumpelstiltskin as the opening night attraction of its "family film festival" at 1987's Cannes Film Festival.[2] It was the first Cannon Movie Tale released in the U.S.;[1] though originally scheduled for November 21, 1986,[4] it premiered in April 1987.[1] The film was not well-received critically; Richard Harrington of The Washington Post said, "[A]ll Cannon has done...is to make a short story long. And long and longer."[1] In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave it two stars out of four and commented, "[This] threadbare musical adaptation...[is] likely to bore even the small fry."[6]

MGM released Rumpelstiltskin on DVD in 2005.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Harrington, Richard (April 16, 1987). "'Rumpelstiltskin': Fractured Fairy Tale". The Washington Post. p. C.06. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (1987). Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook. Andrews and McMeel. p. 21. ISBN 0-8362-7942-5.
  3. ^ a b c d New York Times News Services (October 20, 1986). "10 major directors set for 'Aria'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 14. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Darnton, Nina (September 7, 1986). "Season Preview: Film; Major Directors Offering Their Wares". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Monush, Barry (2003). "Billy Barty". Screen World Presents The Encyclopedia of American Film Actors: From the Silent Era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 49. ISBN 1-55783-551-9. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Maltin, Leonard (2008). "Rumpelstiltskin". Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009. Signet Books. p. 1182. ISBN 978-0-452-28978-9.
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