Snow White and the Huntsman
Rent & Buy
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the Queen. In order to obtain immortality, The Evil Queen needs the heart of Snow White. After Snow escapes the castle, the Queen sends the Huntsman to find her in the Dark Forest.
What critics thought
A visually striking but dramatically uneven fairy tale retelling, the film drew sharply divided responses: admirers pointed to its genuinely dark atmosphere and Charlize Theron's ferocious performance, while detractors found it slow, overlong, and undermined by a script that flattens its characters into archetypes. Kristen Stewart's Snow White was the single most contested element, with some critics tracking a convincing arc from timid girl to warrior and others finding her performance too blank to anchor a kingdom's worth of destiny.
“Snow White and the Huntsman reinvents the legendary story in a film of astonishing beauty and imagination. It's the last thing you would expect from a picture with this title. It falters in its storytelling, because Snow White must be entirely good, the Queen must be entirely bad, and there's no room for nuance.”
Roger Ebert·Roger Ebert.com
“an absolute wonder to watch and creates a warrior princess for the ages. But what this revisionist fairy tale does not give us is a passionate love – its kisses are as chaste as the snow is white.”
Betsy Sharkey·Los Angeles Times
“[a] slow, boring film that has no charm and is highlighted only by a handful of special effects and Charlize Theron's truly evil queen.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Stewart's Snow White... pouts her lips, bats her bedroom eyes, and scarcely seems to have more on her mind than who might take her to the senior prom—let alone the destiny of an entire kingdom.”
Scott Foundas·Film Comment
“Ravenna hates living in a world where men can feed on women's beauty and then toss them away. She's a fascist of feminism, and Theron's acting has the blood of operatic anger coursing through it.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Cast & Crew
Rupert SandersDirector
Kristen StewartSnow White
Chris HemsworthThe Huntsman
Charlize TheronQueen Ravenna
Sam ClaflinWilliam
Ian McShaneBeith
Ray WinstoneGort
Nick FrostNion
Noah HuntleyKing Magnus
Toby JonesColl
Eddie MarsanDuir
Lily ColeGreta
Rachael StirlingAnna
James Newton HowardComposer
Evan DaughertyWriter
John Lee HancockWriter
Hossein AminiWriter
Greig FraserCinematographySnow White and the Huntsman
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the Queen. In order to obtain immortality, The Evil Queen needs the heart of Snow White. After Snow escapes the castle, the Queen sends the Huntsman to find her in the Dark Forest.
What critics thought
A visually striking but dramatically uneven fairy tale retelling, the film drew sharply divided responses: admirers pointed to its genuinely dark atmosphere and Charlize Theron's ferocious performance, while detractors found it slow, overlong, and undermined by a script that flattens its characters into archetypes. Kristen Stewart's Snow White was the single most contested element, with some critics tracking a convincing arc from timid girl to warrior and others finding her performance too blank to anchor a kingdom's worth of destiny.
“Snow White and the Huntsman reinvents the legendary story in a film of astonishing beauty and imagination. It's the last thing you would expect from a picture with this title. It falters in its storytelling, because Snow White must be entirely good, the Queen must be entirely bad, and there's no room for nuance.”
Roger Ebert·Roger Ebert.com
“an absolute wonder to watch and creates a warrior princess for the ages. But what this revisionist fairy tale does not give us is a passionate love – its kisses are as chaste as the snow is white.”
Betsy Sharkey·Los Angeles Times
“[a] slow, boring film that has no charm and is highlighted only by a handful of special effects and Charlize Theron's truly evil queen.”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“Stewart's Snow White... pouts her lips, bats her bedroom eyes, and scarcely seems to have more on her mind than who might take her to the senior prom—let alone the destiny of an entire kingdom.”
Scott Foundas·Film Comment
“Ravenna hates living in a world where men can feed on women's beauty and then toss them away. She's a fascist of feminism, and Theron's acting has the blood of operatic anger coursing through it.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Adventure, Fantasy, Drama
Cast & Crew
Rupert SandersDirectorKristen StewartSnow WhiteChris HemsworthThe HuntsmanCharlize TheronQueen RavennaSam ClaflinWilliamIan McShaneBeithRay WinstoneGortNick FrostNionNoah HuntleyKing MagnusToby JonesCollEddie MarsanDuirLily ColeGretaRachael StirlingAnnaJames Newton HowardComposerEvan DaughertyWriterJohn Lee HancockWriterHossein AminiWriterGreig FraserCinematographyRent & Buy