Nostalgia Kinky

Coming soon is another splendid Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray set, this time dedicated to East Germany’s DEFA studio’s popular fairy-tale adaptations. A five-film collection featuring sparkling restorations, superb sound, and some great commentary tracks, DEFA Fairy Tales is a strong collection completed by a great set of commentary tracks. I shared some brief thoughts on each film over at Letterboxd, all of which are copied below.

Snow White (1961)
A charming and colorful Brother Grimm adaptation from East Germany, Snow White (1961) is a sweetly dazzling film from DEFA Studios. Snow White is a much more faithful and darker adaptation than the more famous Disney version, while still being perfectly suitable for children.

Director Gottfried Kolditz began his feature-length directorial career for DEFA in the mid-fifties. Samm Deighan notes during her excellent commentary track that Kolditz became most associated with these childlike fantasies for good reason, as he certainly shows himself as wonderfully adept. His direction is one of the strongest aspects of this version of the often-told tale. He’s also blessed with a strong cast, made up of mostly German character and television actors alongside relative newcomer Doris Weikow as the overly-trusting title character.

Snow White’s main selling point is its gorgeous cinematography by Erwin Anders, who brings out the film’s wonderful color palette in every scene. While Samm points out much of the film’s subtext and light political commentary, mostly this hour-long film is designed for children. Thankfully, Ander’s exceptional photography, combined with the film’s wonderful art direction, set design, and costuming, makes it an eye-popping experience for both kids and adults.

An absolute visual treat, Snow White’s looks very nice on Deaf Crocodile’s release. This HD restoration brings out the film’s incredibly distinctive colors well, and the print itself has clearly been carefully cared for. This is a terrific start to the DEFA Fairy Tales set and an easy recommendation.

Mother Holly (1963)
Director Gottfried Kolditz returns to the world of Grimm Fairy Tales two years after Snow White with the expressionistic Mother Holly (1963). Found alongside the earlier picture on Deaf Crocodile’s Blu-ray box DEFA Fairy Tales, this is another dazzling-looking film, stylishly dripping color and warmth.

The great Film historian Michael Brooke notes in his commentary track that this is a far less well-known tale outside of Europe than the earlier 1961 adaptation. I certainly wasn’t familiar with it, making it a bit difficult to get into the rather simplistic narrative centered on hard work. Didn’t matter in the slightest, though, as the film’s incredible stylistic qualities never let go of my attention. I was never less than transfixed, despite my relative disinterest in the story.

A much more daring film than Snow White, Mother Holly is a wildly bold cinema/stage hybrid filled with one surprising stylistic touch after another, none that I wish to spoil here. Like Snow White, it is again the colorful photography, fantastic costumes, and startling sets that make Mother Holly consistently wondrous. This is just a real pleasure to look at. Deaf Crocodile’s new HD restoration looks quite splendid, showing off the film’s wonderful color scheme in every scene.

Michael’s commentary track contains his standard exceptional work, filled with incredible research and great humor. I always get excited to see Michael Brooke featured. This track is a terrific listen and companion to the film.

Another easy recommendation for this DEFA children’s classic.

Little Red Riding Hood (1962)
The most overt children’s film here, Little Red Riding Hood (1962) is an extremely charming and silly adaptation of the popular folklore tale. Lovingly made by Götz Friedrich, a theater director who successfully melds cinema and stage, this is a gentle, wispy little film that’s hard not to like. Featuring live actors playing animals, wearing the most charming homemade costumes by Walter Schulze-Mittendorff, stealing the show, Friedrich creates an infectious, wonderfully stage-like work.

Schulze-Mittendorff was a prolific costume designer for good reason, although he remains most famous as the sculptor for some of Fritz Lang’s greatest masterpieces.
Dude worked on Metropolis (1927) for goodness ‘ sake!

This fun little 72-minute film moves along swiftly. It is an ideal film for children as a nice alternative to modern CGI-driven kids’ films. An incredibly slight picture, it perhaps never rises above good in its running time, but it is certainly not a bad way to spend an hour or so. I mean, there is a puppet squirrel in this and a guy dressed as the big bad wolf.
That’s the good stuff.

Deaf Crocodile’s print looks splendid, and the film’s splendid score sounds lovely. There is also an entertaining commentary track by Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Anne Golden. This is a great talk, and it helps provide some weight to a film as light as a feather.

The Devil‘s Three Golden Hairs (1977)
Considering how much I have enjoyed the other films in Deaf Crocodile’s DEFA Fairy Tales Blu-ray collection, I’m surprised by just how much I disliked The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs (1977). Perhaps because it is a comedy that I found profoundly unfunny? I just didn’t jive with this one in the slightest. Poorly directed by Egon Schlegel, this gawdy film is the only film on Deaf Crocodile’s set without a commentary track, a choice I completely understand. A/V is totally fine, but this will be the only film in the DEFA set I’ll not be revisiting in the future.

Snow-White and Rose-Red (1979)
I’m honestly not sure if Snow-White and Rose-Red (1979) can rightfully be considered among the best films in Deaf Crocodiles’s DEFA Fairy Tales Blu-ray set, but regardless, I adored this one. This beautiful final feature film from Polish filmmaker Siegfried Hartmann, Snow-White and Rose-Red has a great laid-back and warm appeal that I found irresistible.

The talented duo of Julie Jurištová as Snow-White and Katrin Martin as the more adventurous red-haired Rose star. They’re both wonderful here and look lovely as photographed by cinematographer Siegfried Mogel. The entire ensemble is just fine, all seemingly perfectly in tune with the film’s communal but warmly wholesome quality.

Perhaps because this is such an obviously seventies film, filled with leftover hippie appeal, I gravitated more towards Snow-White and Rose-Red than the earlier films in Deaf Crocodile’s set. It’s a more scattered work, less-focused than DEFA’s previous fairy tales, but I dig that. I just felt right at home watching this and can’t really explain why.

I know one reason I loved this so much is the music from Peter Gotthardt. He contributes an absolutely fantastic score. I especially loved the stoneresque guitars that can occasionally be heard, making this the proggiest film on the DEFA set.

Snow-White and Rose-Red might not be a great film, but it sure made me feel great. I had a smile on my face throughout this pleasant little treat of a film. Samm Deighan graces us with another fantastically well-researched and interesting commentary for Deaf Crocodile. She talks early on her love for the original fairy tale, but mentions that you don’t have to be familiar with it to enjoy this. She’s certainly correct, as I wasn’t, and it definitely didn’t matter. I adored this odd little East German family film from my favorite decade so very much.

-Jeremy Richey, May 2026-

This lovely collection can be ordered at MVD.