Three Wishes for Cinderella / Tri orisky pro Popelku

Since our children were young, we've watched this memorable story in its original Czech, and with both German and English subtitles. Some versions, though enjoyable, had a bothersome graininess in the video. Thanks for remastering it as a high-quality DVD. We appreciate your efficiency and cost-effective ordering procedure, we received this DVD more quickly than we expected.

I love this movie.

Very straightforward. It was a quick turnaround from ordering to receiving the DVD.

The title of this version actually translates as Three Chestnuts for Cinderella, a reference to the three magic chestnuts that bring her three magical gifts, including the dress for the ball where the prince first notices her beauty.
In this version, Cinderella is no singing wallflower. Here, she's played more age-appropriate for the setting -- whereas the Disney version would have you see her as being in perhaps her early twenties, here we see Cinderella as a precocious teenager who hasn't outgrown a tomboyish streak. She is a fireplug, full of guile and wit, who shows that she is quite capable of making a fool of the young prince, who in turn is portrayed as a typical teenager who would rather go hunting with his friends than attend to his lessons or host a ball.
The film stars Libuse Safrankova, who was absolutely lovely as Cinderella. If you are a fan of Czech films, you might remember a more grown up Safrankova in the Jiri Menzel film, My Sweet Little Village, or as Zdenek Sverak's girlfriend in Kolya. She is a fine actress, but I think that everyone who is familiar with her role as Cinderella has a special affection for her.
One of the other appealing aspects of this film is the music from Czech tenor Karel Gott. The music borders on the kitschy, but it never goes so far overboard as to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
I highly recommend it.

I remember watching this on the Kukla, Fran, and Ollie show as a child and have been hoping for its release to video or DVD for many years. The DVD production values are, as stated in other reviews, not the greatest, but I'm just glad to have the movie.