DARK FAIRYTALES

Photography by Annie Bertram

After the expectation of the Burton´s version of "Alice in Wonderland" it seems that classic tales adaptations with dark touches are the last word in the cinema industry and following this same line Appian Way (the Leonardo Di Caprio´s production company) is developing a "gothic" version of the Perrault´s classic "Little Red Riding Hood".

This trend it´s maybe a more realistic approachment to classic fairytales as long as the real ones in its origins are darker than the watered down versions that we know because original versions of this tales haven´t been writed for childs at first.

As early as 1997 we can find the first contemporary dark version of a classic tale in "Snow White: A tale of Terror", released as a TV movie and featuring Sigourney Weaber and Sam Neill.

Photography by Cyril Helnwein

Some years later Marilyn Manson announced his very personal (and of course creepy) adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" (although Burton take advantage) and we are still waiting for it....meanwhile rumours about next Burton´s film talk about a new Sleeping Beauty´s version more focused in the evil character of Maleficient.

Another project in motion, this time from Kalliope Films, is an adaptation of the classic "Hansel & Gretel" with a enchanted forest, a witch and of course...gothic touches ;-)

Photography by Annie Leibovitz

*note: Photographies in this post are not from the films I´m talking about...only to illustrate the idea of dark fairytales iconography...their respective autors are credited under everyone of them.