Snow White and the Huntsman
Snow White & the Huntsman is a 2012 American fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. The directorial debut of Rupert Sanders, it was written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini, from a screen story by Daugherty. The cast includes Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, and Bob Hoskins in his final film performance. In the film's retelling of the tale, Snow White grows up imprisoned by her evil stepmother, Queen Ravenna, a powerful sorceress. After Snow White escapes into the forest, Ravenna enlists Eric the Huntsman to capture her, but he becomes her companion in a quest to overthrow Ravenna.
Snow White and the Huntsman
Evan Daugherty
- Conrad Buff
- Neil Smith
- May 30, 2012 (United Kingdom)
- June 1, 2012 (United States)
127 minutes[1]
131 minutes (extended edition)
English
$170 million[4]
$396.6 million[5]
Snow White & the Huntsman was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2012, and in the United States on June 1, 2012, by Universal Pictures. The film was a box office success, having grossed $396.6 million worldwide against a $170 million budget. Critics praised the production design and visual effects, Theron's and Hemsworth's performances, and the score; action sequences and Stewart's and Claflin's performances received mixed reviews while the screenplay was heavily criticized. The film received two Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design at the 85th Academy Awards.
A sequel, titled The Huntsman: Winter's War, directed by the first film's visual effects supervisor Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, was released on April 22, 2016, with Hemsworth, Theron, Claflin, and Nick Frost reprising their roles and new characters being played by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain, though Stewart only appeared in archive footage.
Plot[edit]
While admiring a bright red rose blooming during a white winter, Queen Eleanor of Tabor pricks her finger on its thorns. Three drops of blood fall onto the snow, and she wishes for a daughter with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as a raven's wings, and a heart as strong as the rose.
The queen gives birth to Snow White but falls ill and dies many years later. After her death, Snow White's father, King Magnus, and his army battle an invading army of glass soldiers. King Magnus finds a prisoner called Ravenna, becomes enchanted with her beauty and marries her the next day.
Ravenna is in fact a powerful sorceress who used the false glass army to charm her way into the kingdom. On their wedding night, she confesses that there was a king much like Magnus that used her, hurt her, then discarded her. She kills Magnus before taking over the kingdom. Snow White's childhood friend William and his father, Duke Hammond, escape but are unable to rescue her, and she is locked away in a tower for years.
Tabor and its people deteriorate under Queen Ravenna’s rule. She periodically drains the youth from the kingdom's young women in order to maintain a spell cast over her as a child by her mother, which allows Ravenna to keep her youthful beauty. When Snow White comes of age, Ravenna learns from her Magic Mirror that Snow White is destined to destroy her unless she consumes the girl's heart, which will make her immortal.
Ravenna sends her brother Finn to bring her the princess, but Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest, where Ravenna has no power. The Queen makes a bargain with Eric the Huntsman, a widower and drunkard, to capture Snow White, promising to bring his wife back to life in exchange. However, when Finn reveals that Ravenna does not actually have the power to revive the dead, the Huntsman helps Snow White escape. The Duke and William learn that Snow White is alive, so William leaves the castle to find her, joining Finn's group as a bowman.
Snow White saves the Huntsman's life by charming a troll that attacks them. They make their way to a fishing village populated by women who have disfigured themselves to make themselves useless to Ravenna. The Huntsman learns Snow White's true identity, and leaves her in the care of the women. He returns when he sees the village being burned down by Finn's men. Snow White and the Huntsman evade them and meet a band of eight dwarfs. The blind dwarf, Muir, perceives that Snow White is the only person who can end Ravenna's reign.
As they travel through a fairy sanctuary, they are attacked by Finn and his men. A battle ensues during which Finn, his men, and one of the dwarfs are killed. William joins the group on their journey to Hammond's castle. Ravenna disguises herself as William and tempts Snow White into eating a poisoned apple before fleeing. William kisses Snow White, though nothing happens. A single tear is shed from her eye.
Snow White's body is taken to Hammond's castle. The Huntsman professes his regret for being unable to save her, as her heart and strength remind him of his wife, Sara. He kisses her yet does not notice a second tear fall from her eyes, as two kisses of true love breaks the spell. Snow White awakens and rallies the Duke's army to mount a siege against Ravenna.
The dwarfs infiltrate the castle through the sewers and open the gates, allowing the army inside. Snow White and Ravenna fight. Ravenna is about to kill her when Snow White uses a move the Huntsman taught her and stabs Ravenna to death. The kingdom once again enjoys peace as Snow White is crowned the new Queen of Tabor.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Evan Daugherty initially wrote the screenplay in 2003, when he was studying at NYU.[9] At the time, reboots of fairy tales weren't a popular film genre and, according to Daugherty, "no one really knew what to do with it."[9] More problems came when the release of Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm (2005) flopped at the box office which caused potential buyers to be hesitant about the script.[9] The script was finally greenlit after the success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010).[9]
Release[edit]
The film had its premiere on May 14, 2012, at the Empire, Leicester Square, in London. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on September 11, 2012,[25] with both the theatrical version (127 minutes) and an extended version (132 minutes) available on both formats. The film was released on the same formats in Region 2 on October 1, 2012.[26]
A book based on the film was published June 5, 2012[27][28]