Customer Reviews

Faerie Tale Theatre - The Pied Piper Of Hamelin

5 star:		(5)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the early to mid eighties, Shelly Duvall produced a cable show for the then flagship HBO network called Faerie Tale Theatre. The intent was to bring classic childhood stories to an audience of young and old alike through big name stars, directors, and hip, irreverent writing. Without this series, there would not have been a "Princess Bride". Although many of these were excellent examples of the best television could offer, the finest hour (for me) was director Nicholas Meyer's interpretation of Robert Browning's "Pied Piper of Hamelin". Both faithful to the original poem and liberal in its creative embellishments, Meyer perfectly captured the eerieness of the story. The show starred Eric Idle and he makes a perfect Piper. Tall, pale, with piercing eyes and a hawklike nose, Idle looke every bit the character: part mystic, part mercenary. And his final march out of Hamelin with the children is truly the stuff of innocent nightmares. Without sentimentality, without any concession to cuteness, this episode proved that within all great children's stories lurked something magical and sinister...Just like adulthood.

I would have to agree with the previous review that this is the best episode of Faerie Tale Theatre. In adapting faerie tales for film or television, the biggest difficulty seems to be in capturing that sense of awe and wonder that the original stories invoke. Without picture illustrations and a child's imagination to fill in the blanks, the original stories often appear static and lifeless on the screen. At worst, the sublime becomes downright ridiculous. Faerie Tale Theatre is a great and entertaining show, but rarely has it captured that sense of magic. This episode is one time that is has, and the results are truly something to behold. Eric Idle is the only "name" here, but the rest of the cast is equally perfect in their roles. Nicholas Meyer creates an entire other world, utilizing medieval tones in setting and costumes, as well as an eerie score of pipes from composer James Horner. The effect is mesmerizing, and if the use of rhyme as dialogue takes some getting used to, it only adds to the haunting impact in the end. This episode may be too disturbing for the youngest children, but all lovers of faerie tales owe it to themselves to see this. It doesn't have the budget of big-screen fantasies, but I rank this right up there with the NeverEnding Story and the Dark Crystal. If you love those films, then you understand what I mean about the sublime.

Faerie Tale Theatre's "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" provides more proof of the series' extreme versatility. Based on Robert Browning's famous poem and starring Eric Idle in the title role, it is flawlessly entertaining.

An ingenious framing device opens the tale, as Mr. Idle plays Browning himself, utilizing his own poem as a moralistic bedtime story for an inquisitive boy. As the Piper, the Monty Python alumnus strikes a tough balance, being frank and truthful with a greedy, foolish mayor and his council regarding his musical ability to lure away a rat pestilence. He later turns chilling as he sets his sights on a dearer target.

A mature, poetically influenced script and an evocative soundtrack drive this fine entry in the Faerie Tale Theatre series. My only potential words of warning are that younger children may find this boring or even scary, as the rodents are very authentic and the script pulls no punches with the Piper's darker side or ambiguity. Older children and adults should love it.

I watched this over and over and over as a kid. My grandma taped it for me off the tv and brought it over (she taped a few different episodes of the series). I loved the dark feeling of it, the sadness it left. Eric Idle is almost frightening in a way in this part. I remember it used to scare my friends a little. As for the episode, it's beautiful and I am amazed whenever I watch it. The visuals are set almost like paintings in a way. The council at the table, the dark room, the town itself. It's like one big moving illustration.

If your child has some curious tastes, likes reading (the narrative can be hard to understand for young kids at times), and has a good attention span, I'd say this will be a nice gift. It's a breath of fresh air from children's movies and shows that end with smiles, not all little kids like that.

But, a non-"happily ever after" faerie tale isn't a bad thing. I know that it's an extremely unpopular choice, but this was always my favorite episode--even as a little kid. They wonderfully captured the eerie feeling of the original poem. I was always impressed by the way that they added new lines to Robert Browning's poem in a way that worked so well. It was also a delight seeing Eric Idle going from Monty Python to something as surprisingly serious as this. This is also a great way to introduce children to poetry. This helped me to fall in love with Browning's work as a child.

THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN is a fine (though a little curious) entry into the fabulous FAERIE TALE THEATRE series. Curious that the subject matter isn't really a fairytale. The story comes from the famed poem by Robert Browning.

Eric Idle is perfectly-cast as the enigmatic Piper of the title, and also appears as Browning himself at the beginning of the tale (serving as Narrator as well).

Fine production values and capable direction from Nicholas Meyer keep this episode sleek and stylish, though little children may find it somewhat boring.