{"id":44991,"date":"2024-09-13T17:46:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T21:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=44991"},"modified":"2024-09-13T17:46:43","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T21:46:43","slug":"the-bootleg-files-the-selfish-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/13\/the-bootleg-files-the-selfish-giant\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: The Selfish Giant"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 878:<\/strong> \u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d (1971 Oscar-nominated animated short based on the Oscar Wilde story). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube. <\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> None.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> There might be a right issue that is unresolved. <\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: <\/strong>Not likely at this time. <\/p>\n

One of the most poignant animated films ever made is the 1971 adaptation of Oscar Wilde\u2019s story \u201cThe Selfish Giant.\u201d Directed by Peter Sander and produced on behalf of Reader\u2019s Digest, it is a truly wonderful production that received an Academy Award nomination. However, today the film is almost completely forgotten, which is a major shame.
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\u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d takes place in a bucolic English village in the Victorian era. After receiving their school lessons, the children of the village run to play in a glorious garden on an estate that is the home of a giant. The oversized occupant has been absent from his XXL-sized home for seven years \u2013 he was visiting his friend the Cornish Ogre \u2013 but upon his return he was startled to find the children trespassing on his grounds. Although there was no damage to the garden, the giant viewed them as unwelcome and constructed a large stone wall around his property, along with a sign that read \u201cTrespassers Will Be Prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without the garden, the children had no place to play and became very sad. But without the children, the garden lost its beauty. However, in the absence of the children, two new visitors turned up: Snow, a chic female figure with a long flowing white cape that blanketed the grounds, and Frost, a Nosferatu lookalike who covered the garden within an icy covering. They are soon joined by two more visitors: The North Wind, who resembled a Viking warrior, and Hail, who wore a suit of armor and danced on the roof of the giant\u2019s residence, causing its shingles to fall off.<\/p>\n

The four interlopers created a permanent winter within the walled-in garden \u2013 the spring, summer and autumn occurred beyond its stone barrier, but not within. The giant, who never left his home, was trapped in a state of melancholy isolation as his wintry self-created imprisonment dragged on. <\/p>\n

This torture was abruptly interrupted when one of the stones of the wall comes loose and the children from the village came back to the garden. As soon as the children arrived, the garden came to life and everything was in full blossom \u2013 except for a single tree where a tiny child futilely attempted to reach its branches. The giant, moved by the child\u2019s plight, came to the garden and lifted the child into the tree\u2019s branches. The child responded by kissing the giant, which melted away all traces of the selfishness that made him keep the children out. He broke down the wall to the garden \u2013 and with it, the unofficial wall that kept him separate from the wider village. The giant soon became a beloved figure in the land, although he was sad that the child he helped in the tree seemed to have disappeared without a trace.<\/p>\n

The story ends with the giant in his twilight years, and at this point the plot summary ends because of a major spoiler that should not be revealed to anyone unfamiliar with the Oscar Wilde story or this adaptation (which, I can say, softens the tale\u2019s conclusion while keeping the spirit of Wilde intact).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d has a visual style similar with the pop art look used in \u201cYellow Submarine,\u201d albeit without the excessive psychedelic flourishes. The four wintry spirits are especially striking in how they were personified. The gentle storytelling narration by British actor Paul Hecht (who also voiced all of the characters\u2019 dialogue) and the old-school folk music interludes performed by the King Sisters adds to the film\u2019s gentle charm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival and, as mentioned earlier, was Oscar-nominated. However, it lost to \u201cThe Crunch Bird,\u201d<\/a> a two-minute film based on a hoary dirty joke. While \u201cThe Crunch Bird\u201d was coarsely amusing, \u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d was far more deserving of the award.<\/p>\n

CBS broadcast \u201cThe Selfish Giant\u201d in primetime on March 28, 1973, as part of an hour-long animation set \u2013 it was paired with a rerun of \u201cDr. Seuss\u2019 The Lorax.\u201d And from there, the film seemed to have fallen through the proverbial cracks. I am unaware of any U.S.-based commercial home entertainment release \u2013 there is another animated version called \u201cThe Story of the Selfish Giant\u2019 that was released on DVD in 2005, but that was inferior to this production.<\/p>\n

I would urge you to put aside a half-hour and enjoy this invigorating and imaginative film, as seen in this unauthorized online posting. Yes, I know it\u2019s a bootleg, but it would be truly selfish not to share \u201cThe Selfish Giant.\u201d <\/p>\n