Faerie Tale Theatre - Rip Van Winkle
by Francis Ford Coppola
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ed Begley Jr., Glenn Withrow, Harry Dean Stanton, John Achorn, Tim ConwayDirector: Francis Ford Coppola
Editor: Marco Zappia
Producer: Bridget Terry
Producer: Fred Fuchs
Producer: Shelley Duvall
Writer: Mark Curtiss
Writer: Rod Ash
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 49 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Starmaker II
Movie Reviews of Faerie Tale Theatre - Rip Van Winkle
Movie Review: Unfortunately, "Rip Van Winkle" takes its cue from its title character
Summary: 3 Stars
Francis Ford Coppola, Talia Shire("The Godfather," "Rocky") and Harry Dean Stanton team in this Faerie Tale Theatre production of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle." Unfortunately, the show cannot overcome an ironic plodding lethargy in the script. Despite clever if oblique references to the Eighteenth Century America Mr. Irving writes about(specifically New York) it never really finds solid narrative footing.
By his very nature, Rip Van Winkle is a passive protagonist. I can't really find fault with the way Harry Dean Stanton plays him, but I wish Mr. Coppola had given him something to do. While this may defeat the purpose of the character, a patented Faerie Tale Theatre creative overhaul is what this story needed to help the translation from page to screen. The visual highlight of(SPOILER)some bizarre ghosts add some pop to the proceedings. The sequence has aged very well.
Talia Shire is marvelous as Wilma Van Winkle, Rip's exasperated wife. I am often a stickler for textually accurate adaptations, but it would have probably been impossible to use Irving's original label for the character, the distant and politically incorrect 'Dame Van Winkle.' Ms. Shire nearly completely transforms herself, and her performance is definitely a highlight.
In a story about a man who sleeps for twenty years, the dull screenplay ultimately accomodates the title character's inaction. However, the show's ultimate message of unceasing cultural and world change in spite of individual inaction is effectively well-made in the final act. Also featuring Roy Dotrice and Mark Blankfield, Faerie Tale Theatre's "Rip Van Winkle" is mediocre, with stifled glimpses of the storytelling potential that never comes to fruition.
P.S. It's a shame Faerie Tale Theatre didn't adapt Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" instead. Special effects requirements probably made it cost-prohibitive, but I've always thought it was a much better story.
Similar DVD Movies
Faerie Tale Theatre - The Snow QueenRelease date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $8.42
Faerie Tale Theatre - Goldilocks And The Three BearsRelease date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $10.00
Classic Adventures Collection 2 (Gulliver's Travels / The Odyssey)Uni; Release date: 2010-12-21; DVD
Best price: $6.82
Price in other shops:
The Fall of the House of UsherRelease date: 2001-06-05; DVD
Best price: $11.19
Price in other shops:
Sleepy HollowDEPP,JOHNNY; Release date: 2000-05-23; DVD
Best price: $2.73
Price in other shops:
Faerie Tale Theatre - RumpelstiltskinRelease date: 2004-11-16; DVD
Best price: $8.99
A Raisin in the SunCOMBS,SEAN; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops:
The CrucibleFox; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends - The Legend of Sleepy HollowKoch International; Release date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $3.09
Price in other shops:
Rip Van WinkleGaiam; Release date: 1978-05-30; DVD
Best price: $0.85
Price in other shops: