E1 ENTERTAINMENT Shelley DUVALL'S Faerie Tale Theatre CS

Once Upon a Time (in 1980), Shelley Duvall went to the isle of Malta to work on the film "Popeye." There, she also conceived the idea for "Faerie Tale Theatre." "Popeye" has long since been forgotten, but Duvall's unique live-action faerie tale anthology series (originally produced for Showtime Cable Network) has endured beautifully.The New York Times praised "Faerie Tale Theatre" as "a remarkable achievement." The series premiered on September 11, 1982 (my 17th birthday) with Robin Williams and Teri Garr starring in a loopy version of "The Tale Of The Frog Prince." 25 more enchanting episodes followed. The Disney Animated (Cartoon) Movie Versions of Classic Children's Literature may loom larger in the collective pop-culture consciousness, but Duvall and her production team (producers Bridget Terry and Fredric S. Fuchs) display far greater respect for the faerie tale genre than Disney ever did!! Using 1980's "video magic" the remarkable "Faerie Tale Theatre" crew actually do whisk viewers away to enchanted worlds where dreams come true. Watching the entire series in one collection actually IS like watching a Storybook come to life on DVD. Praise is also due Robert C. Jones, Mark Curtiss and Rod Ash, who wrote most of "Faerie Tale Theatre's" best teleplays. It is wonderful to see lesser-known tales (such as "The Boy Who Left Home To Find Out About The Shivers," "The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina", "The Nightingale" and "Puss In Boots") alongside the big faerie tale classics (Hans Christian Anderson, The Brothers Grimm) we all love and adore! Duvall, Terry, and Fuchs create a perfect mix of humor, horror, comedy, and drama here. Each tale has a different tone, and Duvall has an uncanny knack for knowing which tales should be played for wacky comedy ("Jack And The Beanstalk," "The Princess And The Pea," "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Three Little Pigs", "The Emperor's New Clothes") and which tales should be played more for drama and pathos ("Hansel And Gretel," "Beauty And The Beast," "Rapunzel," "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs," "The Little Mermaid"). Notable directors included Peter Medak, Robert Iscove, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Nicholas Meyer, Roger Vadim, Tim Burton, and Francis Ford Coppola. Creator/Hostess (and occasional Tale Narrator) Duvall herself appears as the wobegone Miller's Daughter in "Rumpelstilskin" and the title heroine in "Rapunzel." The long list of other actors (in order of appearance) includes: Jeff Bridges, Gena Rowlands, Christopher Reeve, Jean Stapleton (as the Giant's Wife in "Jack And The Beanstalk" and Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella"), Malcolm McDowall, Mary Steenburgen, Joan Collins, Liza Minnelli, Michael Richards (before "Seinfeld"), Paul Reubens (using "Pinocchio" as a dry run for his "Pee-Wee Herman" persona), Carrie Fisher, Vincent Price, Vanessa Redgrave, Elizabeth McGovern, Rex Smith, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Lee, Billy Crystal, Lee Remick, Jennifer Beals (enchanting as "Cinderella"), Matthew Broderick, Eve Arden, Ben Vereen, Alan Arkin, Art Carney, Dick Shawn, James Earl Jones, Leonard Nimoy, Pam Dawber, Helen Mirren, Karen Black, Brian Dennehy, Treat Williams and Lesley Ann Warren. WOW! This diverse group of actors throw themselves into various faerie tale roles (be it comedy or drama) with stunning conviction. In the particular cases of Gena Rowlands, Jean Stapleton, Joan Collins, Vincent Price, and Vanessa Redgrave, "Faerie Tale Theatre" represents some of the best performances of their careers. The 7 Disc Set presents each episode in the original broadcast order. Extras include: "Faerie Tale Theatre's Greatest Moments" (A.K.A. "Grimm Party)", Original Presentation Reel, B Roll Promos, a Collector's Storybook with color production photos, and a deck of faerie tale playing cards. This Complete Collection is obviously an ABSOLUTE MUST for Faerie Tale aficinodoes! God Bless Shelley Duvall!

FAERIE TALE THEATRE is a magical series featuring some of the greatest stars performing in adaptations of the classic fairytales. Created and hosted by Shelley Duvall and originally released on video between 1984 and 1987, the episodes themselves have proven to be quite hard to come by in recent years.Now thanks to Starmaker II, the series has finally been released on DVD at a bargain price. Your whole family will love this series, though the show itself will be extra-special to those who grew up with it in the 80's (like myself).Sit back and enjoy! "The Tale of the Frog Prince" (Robin Williams, Teri Garr); "Rumpelstiltskin" (Shelley Duvall, Herve Villechaize); "Rapunzel" (Shelley Duvall, Jeff Bridges, Gena Rowlands); "The Nightingale" (Mick Jagger, Barbara Hershey); "Sleeping Beauty" (Beverly d'Angelo, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Reeve); "Jack and the Beanstalk" (Dennis Christopher, Elliott Gould, Jean Stapleton); "Little Red Riding Hood" (Mary Steenburgen, Malcolm McDowell); "Beauty and the Beast" (Susan Sarandon, Klaus Kinski); "Thumbelina" (Carrie Fisher, William Katt, Burgess Meredith); "The Three Little Pigs" (Billy Crystal, Valerie Perrine, Jeff Goldblum); "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Elizabeth McGovern, Vanessa Redgrave); "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" (Ellen Barkin, Howie Mandel); "Rip Van Winkle" (Harry Dean Stanton, Talia Shire), "Pinocchio" (Paul Reubens, Lainie Kazan); "Puss in Boots" (Ben Vereen, Alfre Woodard, Gregory Hines); "The Dancing Princesses" (Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Weller); "The Little Mermaid" (Pam Dawber, Treat Williams, Helen Mirren); "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers" (Peter McNicol, Dana Hill); "The Princess and the Pea" (Liza Minnelli, Tom Conti); "The Snow Queen" (Melissa Gilbert, Lance Kerwin, Lee Remick); "Hansel and Gretel" (Rick Schroder, Joan Collins); "Cinderella" (Jennifer Beals, Matthew Broderick, Jean Stapleton); "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (Valerie Bertinelli, Robert Carradine, James Earl Jones, Leonard Nimoy); "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (Eric Idle); "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Art Carney, Alan Arkin, Dick Shawn); "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (Tatum O'Neal, John Lithgow).All the titles are also available seperately

This is something everyone really should get. I wasn't even born when this show came on. I only know about it from a VHS tape we had. But after looking up the show, I knew I wanted to get it, and I didn't regret it. This show was, and still is amazing. The list of stars in this is mind blowing.It has been said that Shelly had a deep love of fairy tales, and let me tell you, when you look at the writing for these episodes, you can practically feel the love and care that went into them. Some episodes take pokes at the story structure, like Sleeping Beauty, but they are very affectionate pokes. And many of these adaptations play with the weak points of the basic story and make it better. Yeah, some episodes do have weak points of their own, but none of them are bad, not in the least. Even for someone in their early 20s like me that never truly saw much of the original show, who wasn't born until 1990, I really loved watching every episode.And the box is just beautiful, and so is the story book they included. True, the set doesn't have much of anything by way of special features, but considering it's Faerie Tale Theatre, I don't really see that as a problem. So to anyone reading this, I seriously recommend this item. Buy it for your kids or yourself. You'll all enjoy it. That's a guarantee, even now.

A great series really worth watching