calvinnme Seeing this in widescreen in a nice digital print (VHS can only go so far), made a huge difference for me in appreciating the film, understanding all the jokes, and enjoying the fantastically beautiful costumes and Alpine scenery. always loved the Sherman Brothers songs, especially Protocoligorically Correct (haha, my spellcheck really didn't like that one), but what I've always loved best about this movie is the way it answers all my questions about the Cinderella story period at addresses every issue that I've ever had about Cinderella:why does she put up with her step sisters' and step mother's abuse for so long? They move the funeral to just before the ball so that it seems like she's only putting it up for a little bit until she figures out what to do. you actually see them coming back from the funeral kicking her downstairs.-why the magic only last till midnight? the Fairy Godmother explains that she had to borrow the magic because she only has a limited Supply that she used up helping Cinderella make the stepsisters gowns.-why the heck is the prince is allowed to marry some commoner? Well this issue is pretty much the whole movie. My favorite song is one of the things that explains how this whole system is based on royalty marrying other royalty to keep the country strong and avoid war, etc. then they solve the issue at the end in a way that would satisfy politics. One brilliant thing I think is having all the foreshadowings of what is coming politically in the coming centuries. part of this is by setting it in the 1700s, before the various revolutions (which also makes for gorgeous costumes)There are lots of other questions that this movie solves but basically I think it's one of the better Cinderella movies. I'm glad Rocky was sold out the day my dad went to see it, or he never would have seen this movie by accident and fallen in love with it and passed that love on to me.

ianlouisiana Step forward and take a bow Mr K.More,Mr M.Hordern,Miss L.Bowers,Miss A.Crosbie, Dame Edith and Miss M.Lockwood,for your combined efforts in turning a saccharine Sherman Brothers musical from a pumpkin to something a little more substantial."The slipper and the rose" suffers from the rather basic defect of having no memorable songs whatsoever. Some of the lyrics are "clever" in a Cole Porter - ish sort of way,but the melodies are distinctly of the "ho - hum" variety.The dancing - from "Mary Poppins" out of "Oliver" - is no more than adequate ,with the honourable exception of those members of The Royal Ballet who appear as various rodents and reptiles in a sequence redolent of their "Tales of Beatrix Potter" production. Mr R.Chamberlain strides about in long boots like "Dandini" in the pantomime,his performance verging at times on the arch.I waited - sadly in vain - for him to for him to stand,arms akimbo,and toss back his head before laughing manfully and asking members of the audience onstage to take part in a sing - song. Miss G.Craven is a little too mousy as Cinderella and she is not sufficiently eye - catching as Princess Incognito to have caused such a furore at the Palace Ball. Unfortunately Mr C.Gable makes absolutely no impact as the Prince's companion and it is only the remarkable cast of British thesps that Mr Forbes gathered round him rather like a security blanket that save the "The slipper and the rose" from children's TV movie status. I must single out Miss A.Crosbie,an actress not particularly well - represented on film.She is beautiful,smart and has a wonderful speaking voice.She does not normally do cockney,scouse or geordie - the staple of Brit TV casts - and I doubt if she'll ever be in a Mike Leigh movie,but she shines here as the Fairy Godmother.Unfortunately her performance totally eclipses that of Miss Craven in all of their scenes. She is quite captivating and - along with Mr K.More - the main reason for watching this movie. There is a rather moving scene near the end where Mr More, as the Chamberlain,has to tell Cinderella that she cannot marry the prince because she is a commoner.It takes just a couple of minutes screen time but Mr More - quietly spoken and with a minimum of facial gestures - turns this brief moment into something true,speaking with genuine compassion and knowledge of human frailty,the burden of power resting uneasily on his shoulders.I would be very surprised if Mr Forbes didn't have a bit of a blub at that. "The slipper and the rose" is really two movies;the Cinderella story told competently,without great directorial sweeps,with adequate performances and dull songs and the serio - comic tale of an embattled kingdom surrounded by predator - nations waiting for one false move to justify war.This is told with wit and affection and performed by actors who play off each other with the ease and apparent spontaneity born only of years of experience and directed so well that they hardly seem to have been directed at all.They shine like a good deed on a dull day.

lauraeileen894 As someone who has become rather disillusioned with the story of Cinderella, I appreciate any film that puts a unique spin on it. My favorite example is 1998's "Ever After" with its feminist protagonist and more in-depth love story. I was happily convinced that that was the only version of "Cinderella" for me. Yet, after recently viewing "The Slipper and the Rose", I've decided this lush, 1976 musical comes a close second. Despite its daunting length of 143 minutes (parents of kids used to the breezy Disney cartoon may want to think twice about showing this to the little ones), "The Slipper and the Rose" is a beautifully photographed (filmed in Austria), immensely enjoyable lark of a movie that is a must for any fairy tale fan. It dares to address issues that other "Cinderella" adaptations fail to acknowledge: the futility of trying to find "the maiden who fits this slipper" (that's right, our prince doesn't find Cinderella in the way you'd expect), the hard knock life of a fairy godmother, and the difficulties of two people from different ranks in life to marry. Strangely enough, "The Slipper and the Rose" is almost more about the prince than Cinderella. This isn't our grandparents' Prince Charming. Our handsome prince, Edward, isn't some vapid mannequin of a human being, but an idealistic, humorous, earthy, passionate young man with his own ideas of how to live his life and find his queen. He also loathes the idea of being "the grand prize" in the ball. Edward is brought exquisitely to life by Richard Chamberlain, who lends his softly handsome face and supple singing voice to this charming tale. Gemma Craven as Cinderella is hit or miss, but she's a pleasant singer and game dancer, and brings a serene maturity to the part. We are also treated to a perfectly smarmy wicked stepmother, a doltish, Mel Brooks-like king, and an eccentric, cranky fairy godmother. The songs are catchy and delightful, written by the Sherman brothers, best known for their work in "Mary Poppins". "Protocol-igorrically Correct" won't easily leave your head, and "When He Danced With Me" is sung by Craven with infectious joy and passion. This a fine adaptation of "Cinderella" full of surprises, romance, and even a layer of complexity. If you like unique re-tellings of your favorite fairy tales, "The Slipper and the Rose" is just the film for you.

movibuf1962 I should clarify that I actually love "Cinderella" stories. I think what I really love is the challenge of how each subsequent version is going to differ from (or somehow outshine) the last one. Each Cinderella story is infused with new things, old things, and just plain bizarre things. In this telling, there is much more emphasis on the prince- after all, Richard Chamberlain is top billed. Unfortunately, the characterization of his prince Edward is no different from any other fictional depiction of royalty: born of privilege, but hating it and wanting to live like 'regular people.' (If these were actual royal figures, such a wish would never commence.) The story also expands roughly a half hour beyond the glass slipper finding its rightful owner, and for me this dragged the film out considerably. Nevertheless, it's still the quintessential fairy story.Yet I am amazed that so many posters hail it as some sort of Kirousawa-like masterpiece. Is this because it's a British film? We always seem to rate European films just a little higher than American ones, calling them high art and so forth. And as critical as so many are especially about musical films recently- RENT, CHICAGO, THE PRODUCERS, and perhaps most acerbically and nastily, DREAMGIRLS- they all seem to turn a deaf ear on this one. I did like the costumes and set pieces, but was not thrilled with most of the Sherman Brothers' score- save two rather exquisite songs. It paces a bit sluggishly and, at 143 minutes, is about 43 minutes too long. There are two saving graces: One is in the name of Annette Crosbie. Her fairy godmother is a dream and a scream at the same time. Possessing incredibly dry wit and very sly on the subject of magic, it appears that she works with other famous fairy tale heroines (some of whom are referenced throughout the film). Her introduction to Cinderella as a simple, practical woman who shuns the "sparkle and glitter," and seems to want to unionize fairies worldwide, is hilarious. And the rags-to-riches sequence built around the song "Suddenly It Happens" is magical indeed. (How could it not be, with mice that turn into ballet dancers even before they turn into horses?) The other saving grace is the ball: easily some of the most exquisite costumes ever assembled for a period film, all in an amazing rainbow of sherbet-like pastels. The ball sequence is climaxed by a glorious grand waltz, which begins with two dancers on an empty floor, then adds other couples- two and four at a time- joining into the swirling and spinning choreography, until all are waltzing in the same direction and having a marvelous time. A truly breathtaking sequence. I almost wished the film had ended right there.