Product Details

• Actors: Christina Ricci, Quentin Crisp, Timour Bourtasenkov, Evelyn Solann, Eden Riegel
• Directors: David Kaplan
• Format: Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Malaprop Productions
• DVD Release Date: June 16, 2009
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00283FMSW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,851 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

No American filmmaker has expressed the same degree of fascination with the adult themes of fairy tales as David Kaplan. But he deserves the niche. It begs noting that Kaplan staked his claim in this field long before completing his first feature, YEAR OF THE FISH, in 2007. That movie, a contemporary rotoscoped version of Cinderella set in New York's Chinatown, offers only one glimpse of Kaplan's revisionist oeuvre. His landmark short, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD recently hit DVD with insightful commentary from the director and a glimpse at his other morbid fables. Starring a 16-year-old Christina Ricci, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD tackles the standard girl-grandma-wolf plot with gloriously evocative black-and-white photography and a provocative infusion of sexual deviance. More akin to Jean Cocteau's haunting BEAUTY AND THE BEAST than any Disney variation, Kaplan's treatment of the story toys with the artistic language of silent cinema, particularly German Expressionism. Ricci's seductive gaze puts the depraved wolf (Timour Bourtasenkov) in his place, but not before he forces her through a viscerally unnerving coming-of-age experience in which she unknowingly eats the flesh of her dead grandmother. Quentin Crisp narrates with the eerie rasp of Vincent Price, while Kaplan's decision to sample Claude Debussy's L'apres-midi d'un faun on the soundtrack provides the aura of something ancient and wonderful, despite the subversiveness. The other shorts and special features help create a fuller understanding of Kaplan's obsession with the fairy tale universe. LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB, a Cronenbergian account of youth castration fears in explicit detail, was made as a color-synch project during Kaplan's film school years (Clean, Shaven director Lodge Kerrigan worked as an assistant director). Perhaps by accident of design - if we're to believe Kaplan's humble director's commentary - the 10-minute piece comes close to the masterpiece level of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. The other short, titled THE FROG KING, is 'an interesting failure,' by Kaplan's own admission. In its newly reedited form, however, the movie does make a neat prelude to the other films. On separate commentary tracks, folklore scholar Jack Zipes helps flesh ouot the meanings behind Kaplan's craft, while the director's own observations lead to the enticing perception of his mentality as Tim Burton by way of semiotic film theory. Kaplan reveals that his Hansel and Gretel screenplay remains unproduced; this new collection should help explain why it deserves a better fate. --Eric Kohn, The New York Press.

Product Description

16-year-old Christina Ricci plays the not-so-innocent LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD in an exciting and twisted take on the childrens story. Narrated by Quentin Crisp, the film is both provocative and eerie, combining childhood fiction with mature fantasy. Other stories included in the collection are Kaplans rare award-winning films LITTLE SUCK-A-THUMB and THE FROG KING. Bonus features include audio commentaries by David Kaplan and folklore scholar Jack Zipes.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen in over fifty international film festivals where it received several awards including the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and the Prix Panavision for Best U.S. Short Film at the Avignon Film Festival. After a successful theatrical run in cities across the country, LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD was televised on The Sundance Channel as well as in Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Australia, and the U.K. The film is currently being used as an educational device in universities worldwide.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" for Christina Ricci fans, December 22, 2009

By 

D. Nicholson - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories (DVD)

As a fan of Christina Ricci, I was thrilled to find this DVD release of Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories. This disk contains three short films by David Kaplan:

Little Red Riding Hood: This is the only story that Christina appears in, but she is wonderful. I started out just watching her, but quickly realized I was caught up in her character and I wanted to follow her through the woods to find out where this story would take her. I have to say that her performance justifies putting her name on the cover as well as being reason enough to give this DVD a five star rating. But there is even more to enjoy in this film. On my first viewing, I was not so thrilled with the introduction of the wolf, played by Timour Bourtasenkov, doing some kind of interpretive dance, but he quickly impressed me with his expressive face and truly brought this wolf-like creature to life. In subsequent viewings, this all fit together and drew me in much more than most short films do. This film is in black and white, with no dialog - only music and narration, in a 4:3 standard (16mm) frame typical for 1997, just over 12 minutes long. Multiple viewings recommended.

Little Suck-a-Thumb: This film is dark and twisted. It feels like a student film shot on a single set, and the performances are not overly convincing. The story took me somewhere I didn't want to go, slowly and deliberately with no surprises, and when it got there I laughed out loud. It's that strange of a story. So it was worth watching at least once. This film is in color, 4:3 standard frame, just over 8 minutes long. 1994.

The Frog King: It's Ringu (The Ring) meets Gonzo (The Muppets)... Black and white, silent with title cards (music and effects), 4:3 standard frame letterboxed to 16:9, 10 minutes. 1992.

Commentary tracks are somewhat interesting, but occasionally lost in the mix.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Short Films, April 8, 2010

By 

Taras Bulba (Can) "Jose Da Vinci" (Mexico, D.F. Mexico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories (DVD)

If you really like Fairy Tales and you know who was Bruno Bettelheim, this is a great material for you. If you are a teacher and you are giving Fairy Tales this is an incredible DVD for your course. Don't pay attention to light reviews from people who only watch Disney films. If you want three short cuts on Fairy Tales that you can interpret from a psychological perspective these are unique. I recommend the books: "The Trails & Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood" by Zipes, "The European Folktale" by Lüthi and "The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales" by Bruno Bettelheim. With these books you will see how great these little pieces are.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strange Take On A Fable, March 18, 2010

By 

G. Barnard - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories (DVD)

I recently ordered this movie because I'm a Christina Ricci fan, and have never heard of this title. It was a strange and somewhat dark version of this classic story. Even at a younger age, Christina Ricci demonstrates her sometomes erotic, yet innocent acting skills. It is a short film, but will likely leave you wondering to yourself, "what the heck is going on here?". The other stories on the video are not as interesting as Red Riding Hood, but still twisted.