Snow White and the Hunstman (2012)

[Archivist]

If this has its own thread elsewhere, can a mod please merge it?

I saw this a couple of weeks ago and I have mixed feelings about it.  The cinematography and direction was decent, albeit a little disjointed.  There's a scene where Snow White inhales the spores of hallucinogenic mushrooms and starts seeing things, and I wonder if this was inspired by the director doing a little mushies on the side?  The direction certainly looked like it in some places.

The acting was very decent and the Charlize Theron's Queen was sleek and almost reptilian in her coldness.  I can see the Illuminati conspiracists naming her as one of the Reptilian overlords after this movie.  Chris Hemsworth played a solid Huntsman and yet Snow White's childhood friend, now grown, almost seemed like an afterthought.

The visuals really bothered me.  Every long landscape and wide interior shot had an oddly smeared look, as if the DoP had forgotten the lenses and ended up using toilet rolls covered in cling-wrap instead.  The close ups of the actors were better and properly focused but there was a lot of odd 'mess' in the image characteristics.  It was so unlike the very crisp and clean movies we see today that I actually got out of my seat and asked an attendant outside if we were watching a 3D version, as the visual sense of blur and doubling was so bad.  He promised to check the focus in the projection booth, which he did, and nothing was any better.

At first I thought this was just the session we saw, but in talking to another friend who had seen it in another country, I found that this was the case there, too.  So this blurry visual style was deliberate?  Ugh!

I didn't mind the movie but it's not really something I want on blu-ray, if that's any indication.

[BoyScoutKevin]

First, of all, let me say that I have not see this film, but it is a film I gave some considerable consideration to seeing, before I decided to save my money and not see it. But, I have seen the trailer for this and the trailer for "Mirror, Mirror," and this one comes off looking alot better than "Mirror, Mirror."

This film and "Mirror, Mirror," though, were not the only films slated to be made on the subject of Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. Walt Disney Studios was thinking of also doing a live action version of the subject, which was to be set in China. But when "Mirror, Mirror" died at first and "Snow White and the Huntsman" is seemingly doing no better at the box office, Walt Disney Studios decided not to go through with the project and killed it.

[indianasmith]

I saw this with my 18 year old daughter, and we both really loved it!

[Archivist]

Indy, a question: did the long landscape shots look weirdly blurry or unfocused?  I find it odd that a director would choose to make parts of their movie like that unless going for some kind of effect.

[indianasmith]

I didn't notice that, but I've watched a LOT of movies since then.  It didn't register with me, anyway.

[Pilgermann]

Indy, a question: did the long landscape shots look weirdly blurry or unfocused?  I find it odd that a director would choose to make parts of their movie like that unless going for some kind of effect.

Haven't seen the film but it's very possible that you watched a presentation that just wasn't properly focused.

[ulthar]

But, I have seen the trailer for this and the trailer for "Mirror, Mirror," and this one comes off looking alot better than "Mirror, Mirror."

MIRROR, MIRROR is supremely annoying in many ways, but not without its enjoyable moments.  I cannot say I'd "recommend" it, but if you find yourself watching it, I doubt it will be the worst movie experience of your life.