Little Red Riding Hood (1997) User Reviews

A delicious morsel that begs for more.

[raymond-15 · 8/10 · 8 September 2003]

This quite short film is a little masterpiece of a fairy tale. There are only three characters. The scene opens with a very sexy-looking wolf stalking Red Riding Hood through the wood on her way to dear Grandma's cottage. By the time she reaches her destination the wolf has already digested Grandma apart from a few entrails which he has reserved in a bowl for little Red Riding Hood. The wolf with lathering lips waits expectantly in bed for the innocent young maiden. "Take off your clothes" he murmurs "Throw them in the fire. You won't be needing them any more". Puzzled she complies and then into bed beside the hairy body.

Quentin Crisp's oily voice seems just right for the narration...very persuasive, very sexy. We are held in suspense waiting for the wolf's next move. Poor little Red Riding Hood, we think, she is only a little girl and completely at his mercy. How can she possibly outwit this monster?

But this Red Riding Hood, bred and brought up in the country is no simpleton. Her big round eyes have seen many things and she has learnt from Nature. She soon realises that all is not as it seems. The conclusion to the film is as interesting as its beginning and the music selected adds a lovely freshness to the scenes.

Wonderful retelling of the traditional tale

[Havan_IronOak · 8/10 · 1 September 2002]

As soon as Quentin Crisp begins the narration of this retelling of the Little Red Riding hood story, one knows that this is NOT to be the bowdlerized version that one heard as a child.

Somehow that dry aristocratic voice with its overtones of sophisticated debauchery fits this version of the story perfectly.

Here we see a story more like what must have originally been intended. But here also we see a "little girl" that is not the helpless maiden to be saved as in more current versions of the story.

Just as the narrative had an edgy "bent", the use of the music from "Afternoon of the Faun" leant an interesting perspective as well.

Overall a wonderful short. It's short films like this that keep me watching and hoping during a shorts program.

Peculiar and unconventional but not without merit

[Hayden-86055 · 6/10 · 21 August 2021]

Little Red Riding Hood is a bizarre little short film starring Quentin Crisp and Christina Ricci as the two big stars. Why Ricci was chosen despite having no lines and is presumably more expensive than any old actress is beyond me but she's a good addition. The wolf is creepy and unsettling and the plot, whilst short has some interesting, yet disturbing additions like Little Red Riding Hood accidently eating HER Grandma!

6/10: All in all a good film, simplistic in its design but makes good of some themes. Worth a watch, definitely not too dull, perhaps due to its length but it's interesting. Some of the overall perhaps more artistic themes meant to be here are not present or either lost on me.

LRRH is told the way how I have always imagined it to be told

[judithhu · 11 November 2002]

You know this is going to be different the moment it starts. Every step of the way you are surprised by the daring take on this classic tale, the mastery of the adaptation lies in the fact that nothing of the original story is changed on the surface, it's what's unspoken but suggested between the lines that turn the tale on its head. Beautifully shot in black and white, with Afternoon of the Faun playing in the background, it's a fairy tale for the grown ups.

Perfection in a short film and a fairytale

[RicciBoi · 9/10 · 6 January 2001]

If you're titillated by the gothic possibilities of The Fairytale but find Powell and Pressburger too leaden or Tim Burton too twee, then this stellar example of short-filmmaking will knock you sideways. Exactingly executed from first frame to last, this short reinterprets the Riding-Hood story along the lines of an ancient French variant and blows the lid off the long-repressed sexual subtext. Ricci is caught at (I hope not) the peak of her dark craft, as an archetype of knowing femininity; Bourtasenkov, in beautiful counterpoint of form, dances (yes, literally) an aching helplessness. Quentin Crisp's delivery of the witty script is a dry delight, and the entire piece is constructed so perfectly alongside Debussy's 'Afternoon of a Fawn' that Allegro Non Troppo won't ever quite satisfy you again. See this masterpiece and never forget it.

Simply Breath Taking

[dchughes · 10/10 · 8 April 2001]

I must say this film is gorgeous. Contrasted with a divine line of mediums. Truly worth the search, especially for an independent film collector. Although its short it has what is needed to be brilliantly eye pleasing and beautiful. By all means possible, I say see it.

Very mediocre, sometimes even bad

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 26 July 2016]

"Little Red Riding Hood" is a 12-minute black-and-white short film from 1997, so this one will have its 20th anniversary next year. The writer and director is David Kaplan and almost 2 decades later, this is still among his most known works. I cannot really see why. I guess it is because of the inclusion of Christina Ricci playing the title character. The wolf is played by Timour Bourtasenkov, a ballet dancer who never acted in film again. This gives the film at least from that perspective a bit of an artistic touch as there is no other really. I may be a bit biased as I never found Christina Ricci particularly attractive or a above-average actress and that's why I did not like this one here. The late Quentin Crisp is probably the only aspect that stands out about the film. The moment the girl gets naughty and goes to bed with her grandma (ewwww?) is somewhat entertaining, but when the talking quickly switches to her need to go for the toilet, the film hits rock-bottom. All in all, a very forgettable little movie. Not recommended.

Gorgeous and spellbinding

[ginjerly · 10/10 · 29 December 2000]

Not a moment nor a note is wasted in this little ditty shown two years ago at the Chicago Film Festival. As an English teacher, I have seen and read many versions of this tale and have used some for critical analysis in my classes, but this piece is something quite extraordinary (though not quite intended for small children). I long to possess it in my library and to show to everyone I know and meet its evocative imagery and disquieting premise: woman is not as vulnerable and naive as we are led to believe nor man so forceful and ugly. Debussy's work could not have been more aptly interpreted onto the screen. The cinematography is breathtaking.

Perfect combination of music and film

[Hitman-18 · 20 February 1999]

This is the best short film I have seen to date. It tells the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood... with a twist. Sure Granny gets eaten and so and so forth, but the sexual overtones, the humor, and especially the music, DeBussys Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, made this a great short flick worthy of your attention.

The Best I've Seen To Date

[dchughes · 10/10 · 2 September 2000]

This movie is just one of the greatest short films of all time. Dispite the fact that its only like 15min. Its still worth the long search for it. I had always thought that Ricci Would be a great Little Red Riding Hood with out knowing that she played LRRH, I knew I had To have this movie, I searched and I found it. Took a long time but absolutly worth the time.

Where can I see or purchase a copy of this short

[flashking20022002 · 10/10 · 25 August 2006]

I first saw this short about four years ago on the Independent Film Channel, Short Program 98. Since then I have been searching the internet high and low to see if the film is for sale or free to download or something. I fell in love with this short the first time I saw it. The films cinematography is bar-none the best I've ever seen. I love the way they used the black and white high contrast to create the perfect mood for this movie. David Kaplan I feel is one of the best directors out there he needs to make more shorts like this one. I want to share it with all my friends. If anybody out there knows where to get a copy of this film I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks

Astonishing Cinema. Beauty Personfied

[johnstonjames · 10/10 · 19 February 2012]

i once knew a guy that told me that "art lives". i basically thought it sounded like a cliché because you don't always feel that way about contemporary works. especially the artsy stuff that always seems obtainable mostly for elitist art show types. once in a while i feel the feeling, but in this case, i especially found this really striking cinema and obviously "art".

they don't make 'em like this. only once every other full moon maybe. i hardly ever see feature length movies this hypnotic and lyrically enchanting. i hardly see anything in cinema that easily equals the beauty of this. this was one of the most visually arresting things i've seen since Lynch did 'Eraserhead'

David Kaplan understands the archetypal and unconscious psychology of fairy tales and lore. he exercises his intuitive brilliantly and with maximum efficiency. and his learned and educated understanding of the material is obviously of good authority. not to mention he is a skilled director of his craft judging by the outstanding short films i've seen by him.

love tradition and fairy lore. i really love the 'Riding Hood' story in all of it's alarmist dogmatism. so far no telling has been better than Neil Jordan's beautiful feature film. until i saw this. Jordan has met his contemporary in Kaplan no doubt. this short film is of equal artistic merit.

a lot of people don't like to analyze anything beyond the surface. others attempt to over analyze or correct perceptions. neither approach ever really suffices. this film handles it territory with restrained confidence. for those that don't get things like this, it's not THAT hard, it's so obviously and conspicuously "art". of the most successful kind.

great traditional version of the fairy tale

[p-greenhill · 10/10 · 2 November 2010]

Viewers who don't know the traditional variations of this story, #333 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index of folktale types, may think that David Kaplan has played fast and loose with "Little Red Riding Hood." Actually, his short film is based on versions of the tale, including those found in rural France, in which the title character is quite capable of taking care of herself, unlike her namesake in the version by Perrault, who simply perishes with her grandmother at the end, or the Grimms' "Little Red Cap," who needs to be rescued by a hunter. Apart from its authenticity, though, this is a beautiful and often funny film. Cristina Ricci, the Red character, is superb, but so is Timour Bourtasenkov, the ballet dancer who plays the wolf. I can't think of a better short film to introduce to students the idea that fairy tales are not exactly what their experiences with Disney films led them to expect!