supermaggie Review of Das Wirtshaus im Spessart

Das Wirtshaus im Spessart (1958)

Perfect movie, perfect Lilo, a true classic and great fun

[10/10 · 12 July 2020]

Forget the negative reviews, I guess they come from people who do not know how to have fun. This is one of the most enjoyable and still moving/not superficial movies ever. I do not like musicals at all, I despise the trend of having popular shows install a musical episode, but this does not apply to this movie at all, there is very rare singing - don't be fooled by reviews giving another impression - and the music is imbedded very naturally/lightly and in a very funny way (like the general's "Zack, Zack") . It features round characters all through (even smaller robber characters get their legend) which are likable or at least understandable/can be related to. It has a message and - most of all - it features the perfect, enchanting Lieselotte Pulver - a gem. And I do not consider this to be a not challenging starting role for her, because she fits so perfectly and fills this role with so much heart and bravado/verve and wittiness and charm like only she can. While others adored Audrey Hepburn, I adore(d) Lilo, who had much more life and verve, and while later generations thought that Buttercup was a role model waitig for a prince to rescue them, I loved how Lilo/Contess Franziska saved herself and everybody else. Much like (another classic for German viewers) Cinderella in the Czech version ("Drei Nuesse fuer Aschenbroedel"), she fought for herself and did not let anybody tell her how to behave - and in a clever and witty way. Like the more recent perfect movie "As good as it gets" this is a perfect movie from the older times. A true classic, (like Danny Kaye's The Jester) not getting old, not moldy/old-fashioned at all, still entertaining and could never be remade, since everybody did their jobs so perfectly, you could never redo or even improve it. And in addition a beautiful scenery (the Mespelbrunn (water) castle for instance). Perfect cast, perfect story, perfect look, perfect movie. If you don't believe it, check it out, you won't regret it.