Movie:
Behind the seven mountains live the seven dwarves, the most famous male roommate in fairy tale history. But if you think these guys are dwarves by birth, you're wrong! The seven "men alone in the forest" are dwarves by conviction. They have retreated into the solitude of the dark forest, never again to encounter one of those horrible, nasty, and mean creatures commonly called women. Together they pass the time with funny board games and collective scolding of the female sex.
But with the contemplative peace it is over when the beautiful Snow White (Cosma Shiva Hagen) appears in the house of the dwarves and settles there on the run from the evil queen (Nina Hagen). But on her birthday of all days, Snow White is tracked down and kidnapped by the queen and her aide (Hans Werner Olm). Now it's up to the seven dwarfs to leave their self-imposed forest exile and rescue their roommate from the queen's clutches.
Following "Der Wixxer" and "Traumschiff Surprise", "7 Dwarfs - Men Alone in the Forest" is the next big German comedy invasion to hit our cinemas. And as with "Der Wixxer", the same applies here: Mass is not always great. It is amazing what a lot of German comedians could be won for smaller and bigger appearances in the film. But the concentrated star power is no guarantee that the film is really funny. In general, the film can actually be summed up like this: "7 Dwarfs - Men Alone in the Forest" is a collection of German comedians, each of whom presents the best of his program in a familiar and popular way with fans. The plot of the film is completely secondary. Rather, one has the feeling of sitting in a Friday night TV sketch show blown up to 90 minutes. The extremely artificial decor of the film, which was shot 100 percent in the studio, supports this feeling. The fact that a good half of the gags work in the process, while the other half can be settled between flat punchlines and insufferable silliness, is then in the nature of things.
Every viewer is sure to have a favorite comedian or two in the film. Whether Hans Werner Olm, Martin Schneider, Rüdiger Hoffman, Christian Tramitz, Mirco Nontschew, Atze Schröder, Ralf Schmitz or Helge Schneider, almost every taste is covered. Of course, it is impossible to avoid being confronted with funny fellows you just can't stand. Therefore, there will hardly be a viewer who can laugh the whole movie. The saddest figure in the whole bunch of comedians is unfortunately Otto. The man who once presented the best and funniest shows in all of Germany now just seems like a dismal parody of himself. His gags in the film are either ancient and ridden to death in each of his stage or TV appearances, or they just aren't funny. Otto really is a sweet guy, but a little more courage to innovate would do him more than good.
In contrast, Cosma Shiva Hagen is amazingly good and funny as Snow White. When she plays prince and princess with her dolls, she comes across as so wonderfully naïve and stupid that as an audience member you have a blast. Congratulations to Miss Hagen, who doesn't have to hide behind most of the male colleagues in the film. But the best performances belong to two completely different actors. First, there's a guest appearance by the one and only Gandalf, which is without a doubt one of the highlights of the film. And Hilmi Sözer as a medieval bouncer is also a delight. A hilarious GZSZ parody and the new form of board games are some other successful moments of the overall quite entertaining film, which, however, squanders a lot of potential by adorning itself too much with its countless guest stars.
One more thing that is not completely unimportant, especially for parents: even if the film is marketed as a fairy tale parody, the comedy is overall not a children's film. Sure, the little ones will laugh heartily when Otto aka Bubi is constantly beaten by his fellow dwarves, or when the humor moves to somewhat lighter climes. But as soon as it touches a certain subtle level, and this does happen, viewers under the age of 10 are completely lost. Then the movie just gets boring for them, as evidenced by numerous incredibly annoying kids during the press screening. They talked, ran through the aisles or begged their mothers to go home already, because "Spongebob Squarepants" would be on TV soon. So, if you can laugh at at least three of the actors and want to do so in peace, then you should leave children under 10 at home and watch this movie. However, if you decide to visit Behind the Seven Mountains just because of one comedian, you might quickly find yourself wanting to damn the director behind selbige. For fans of current German comedy well worth seeing, otherwise overall bearable average. Nothing more, but fortunately nothing less either!
Picture:
Well done, without question, are the DVD's gaudy colors. The very strong soft-focus effect in places is quite intentional and enhances the overall very artificial look of the film. However, the sharpness of detail suffers as a result, and could have been better. Still, a well-deserved "Good"!
Sound:
There are few surround effects, so the home theater system isn't really challenged. However, the dialogue and music are mixed very coherently, so they provide no cause for complaint! Again, a well-deserved "Gut"!
Extras:
Like many other successful productions, "7 Dwarfs" comes in two editions. Once as a single DVD and as a "Zipfel-Edition" with an additional bonus DVD. The single DVD (equivalent to the first DVD of the Zipfel edition) provides a rather amusing audio commentary by director Sven Unterwaldt, as well as the "andere Ende", in which Otto hints at a possible second part. This "andere Ende" feels a bit uncharitable and is only mildly funny. A program preview with eight trailers and an exclusive DVD-Rom part closes the bonus program of the first DVD.
On the second DVD one finds then the very good, but unfortunately much too short making-of "Dawn of the Dwarfs" (16:27), which throws among other things a detailed look at the elaborate scenes. There could have been a bit more of that. Also quite amusing in parts are the interviews with cast and crew (approx. 43 min. in total) and the botched scenes (8:48). The music video "Dwarf March" (03:31) and the unused scenes (07:54) on the other hand are rather weak and not really convincing. The trailer, 3 teasers and poster designs round out the material on the second DVD. The only question is whether this bonus material really requires a second DVD, or whether the successful extras would not have had room on a DVD.
Conclusion:
Technically, the DVD to "7 Dwarfs" is absolutely fine, even if the film is certainly not to everyone's taste. The bonus material of the "Zipfel-Edition" is only partially convincing, although the making of, the audio commentary and the spoiled scenes definitely stand out positively. So definitely worthwhile for fans!
Director: Sven Unterwaldt
Number of discs 2
Languages: German (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: German, English
Image Format: 16:9 (1:2.35)
Extras: Audio Commentary, Other Ending, Making of, Cut Scenes, Missed Scenes, Interviews, Theatrical Campaign, Music Video, DVD-Rom Part
FSK: Ages 6+
Length: approx. 91 mins
Regional Code: 2