Product Description

Henson fills the screen with wonderful creatures that have a wisp of J.R.R. Tolkein fantasy. Directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient), he takes us through the fantasy of recognizable European folk/fairy tales with narration by the Storyteller played wonderfully by John Hurt. The entire series on DVD for the first time! From the master Jim Henson who brought us The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Stars John Hurt, as the narrator. Adapted by Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella (The English Patient).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13671 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-08-26
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Digital Sound, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 215 minutes

Amazon.com
One of Jim Henson's finest hours was the Storyteller series that first aired on HBO in 1987. As with his other non-Muppet creations (Labyrinth), Henson fills the screen with wonderful creatures that have a wisp of a J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy. This collection of nine stories (it does not contain the Greek myths arc) were adapted by Anthony Minghella, who became an Oscar-winning filmmaker a decade later with The English Patient. Minghella weaves the narration of the storyteller (played with aplomb by John Hurt) with dialogue from the stories to beguiling effect; the storyteller doesn't simply introduce the tales.

A few of the stories have been available before on video, but this collection starts with the debut, the Emmy-winning "Hans My Hedgehog," the title role being a young disformed man who helps a lost king in the woods. Other highlights include "The Luck Child" about a king bent on destroying a commoner boy, known as the luck child ("the seventh son born of a seventh son on a week with two Fridays"). After a wizard declares the boy will grow up to be king. The fate of the king is one of those hooks that should have the kids smiling for days. Henson himself directs "Death and the Soldier," a brilliant example of how these episodes were so wonderfully complex. A penniless solider (Bob Peck) is given a magical sack and he uses it to full effect, capturing gremlins and greater evils on his way to be king. "Sapsorrow" is a curious variation on the Cinderella legend. "A Story Short" is the storyteller's own adventure. He makes a deal with a king to tell a story every day of the year. Yet on the last day, the storyteller's mind is a blank and his fate may lead him to a boiling vat of oil. Henson's work is true family entertainment and at only 22 minutes per episode, it's the perfect companion for some fine entertainment around the TV. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Fairy tales will never be the same
I'm amazed that this series has gotten so little attention. This is Jim Henson and crew at their best, making fun of the lines between fantasy and reality, costume and puppetry, and new storytelling and old stories.

All of these short pieces were unfamiliar to me, at least in part. 'Sapsorrow' turned out to contain a story I knew, or thought I did. Part of the reason these fairy tales were unfamiliar was their authenticity. These stories were originally meant for adults. They had hard, dark edges, and were not the vapid Disneyfied versions that most people know.
Lots of kids will like these stories as much as adults do, but this may be too much for younger children. This isn't Sesame Street - it's one of the dark alleys off to the side.

The narrator is one of the unexpected treats on this disk. He opens and closes each short story, talking to his dog on a fire-lit night. The narration is a treat, too. It has a wonderful rolling cadence, too musical for regular speech but too prosaic to be a chant. It may give you some idea what the old epic poems must have sounded like in their original settings.

This is for anyone who likes fantasy, who likes a rich visual experience. You just have to see it for yourself - written words can't begin to give the experience you'll find in this collection.

//wiredweird

"Real" fairy & folk tales that may scare your youngest kids
My 9-year-old and I are thoroughly enjoying these half-hour films from the old HBO series (which I had not seen before). Each story is based on some old, mostly European, folk tales - the "real" kind with mayhem, a bit of violence, and some sad endings, not the Disney kind. Thus, you may find them a tad upsetting for younger kids who have been raised to expect happy endings.

For example, in "The Heartless Giant," an imprisoned Giant lies to a young prince to effect his escape, and meets a sad end at the hand of the prince's brothers. In "The Soldier and Death," a generous soldier receives a magic bag and uses it to imprison Death himself (a very scary-looking guy). Despite dominion over Death the soldier is unhappy by the end.

So, these are stories with an almost adult level of sophistication. The production values are wonderful and the performances steller (I especially like John Hurd as the Storyteller character, who appears in all the episodes).

BUT - watch the episodes first to make sure your own young ones won't be overwhelmed. My 9-year-old is just barely old enough. My 5-year-old: not yet.

Henson and his stories
First off, I will warn you and say I'm a bit biased because I am a Jim Henson fanatic (Muppets, Fraggles, etc). And when I saw this DVD I flipped out. This is one of the best purchases I've made in awhile. The Storyteller Collection is great for 3 reasons. The first- It is some of Jim Henson's best work. The Henson Creature Shop succeeds in bringing fantastic characters to life, such as the Griffon (The Luck Child) and the Grovelhog (Hans My Hedgehog). Second- John Hurt is wonderful as the Storyteller, and his cranky dog is great . Third- These are actual fairy tales, meaning that they aren't all happy endings, yet all are beautiful stories. So if you are thinking of getting this for kids you may want to watch them first. But the bottom line is that this is a fantastic DVD collection and a must have for any fans of Jim Henson or of fairy tales.