Childhood Fantasy Without Soft Edges

Read Time:8 Minute, 39 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Into the Forest: Folktales At DEFA (Limited Edition Box Set) (Blu-ray)
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Genre: Fantasy, Folklore, Family, World Cinema
Year Released: 1955–1977, 2026 Eureka Blu-ray
Runtime: 6h 31m
Directors: Herbert Ballmann, Francesco Stefani, Christoph Engel, Götz Friedrich, Egon Schlegel
Writers: Kurt Bortfeldt, Anneliese Probst, Anne Geelhaar, Francesco Stefani, Christoph Engel, Margot Beichler, Gudrun Deubener, Günter Kaltofen, Hans Rodenberg, Egon Schlegel, Inge Wüste-Heym, Joachim Nestler
Cast: Willy A. Kleinau, Eva Kotthaus, Hans-Peter Minetti, Christel Bodenstein, Eckart Dux, Richard Krüger, Karin Lesch, Siegfried Seibt, Blanche Kommerell, Werner Dissel, Hans-Joachim Frank, Dieter Franke, Rolf Ludwig
Where to Watch: available July 27, 2026, pre-order your copy here: www.eurekavideo.co.uk

RAVING REVIEW: A princess watches her beauty disappear, a corrupt miller burns his competition, and a frightened young man wanders into Hell to collect hair from the Devil’s head. INTO THE FOREST: FOLKTALES AT DEFA is filled with the sort of images that can delight a child during the day and return to haunt their dreams once the lights go out.

Eureka Entertainment’s three-disc collection gathers five East German Märchenfilme produced between 1955 and 1977. They’re descended from the same stories that inspired countless children’s books and animated adaptations, but they don’t resemble the softened fantasy most audiences grew up watching. These forests contain talking animals, enchanted trees, and friendly spirits, but also class resentment, predatory kings, exploited workers, and grotesque punishments.

The political purpose is never far beneath the surface. Wealth brings corruption, royalty is usually cruel, and honest labor carries greater moral value than beauty, privilege, or magic. That occasionally produces some blunt lessons, although the repeated suspicion of rulers and wealthy men also gives the collection a refreshing personality. These films aren’t interested in protecting the authority figures who place young women in danger, steal from working people, or treat marriage as a financial arrangement.

THE SINGING RINGING TREE is the set’s most visually stunning film and the easiest explanation for its enduring reputation. Francesco Stefani constructs its enchanted kingdom from painted skies, impossible landscapes, and creatures that appear to have escaped from a particularly unnerving children’s book. The sets never attempt to disguise their artificiality. Their theatrical construction makes the place feel even further removed from normal life, where ponds freeze by magic, and a giant fish looks back at you with an expression that’s difficult to forget.

Christel Bodenstein plays a princess whose cruelty stems from vanity and entitlement. A prince, played by Eckart Dux, promises to retrieve the magical tree she demands, only to be transformed into a bear when she proves incapable of loving him. The princess eventually loses her appearance and position, forcing her to reconsider the animals and people she previously treated as objects. Bodenstein makes the transformation convincing because the change isn’t instantaneous. Her anger slowly gives way to embarrassment, empathy, and affection, while the environment refuses to reward her demands. The picture retains an uncomfortable edge even as its message warms, which is precisely why it remains the collection’s standout.

THE DEVIL’S THREE GOLDEN HAIRS arrives twenty years later with a comic attitude. Hans-Joachim Frank plays Jakob, an unlucky young man whose survival repeatedly frustrates a king determined to have him killed. After an attempted murder somehow results in Jakob marrying the princess, the king sends him to Hell with instructions to return carrying three golden hairs from the Devil. Egon Schlegel spends too long arranging Jakob’s journey, and the 92-minute running time makes this the most drawn-out film in the set. Once Jakob reaches the underworld, the production finds the vibes it had been withholding. The red caverns, oversized architecture, and theatrical flames create a Hell that’s both threatening and funny.

Dieter Franke’s Devil behaves less like the source of eternal evil than an irritated official who resents having his routine disturbed. That decision suits a film in which human authority is far more dangerous than the supernatural world. Rolf Ludwig’s king tries to destroy an innocent man for personal gain, while the Devil can at least be understood, distracted, and outmaneuvered. The satire sometimes overwhelms Jakob’s personality, but the final act sends the collection out with its most playful attack on power.

THE DEVIL FROM MILL MOUNTAIN carries its politics with far less of a disguise. A greedy miller and his allies destroy a competing mill, steal its flour, and force the surrounding farmers to accept his prices. Anne and Jörg uncover the scheme, while three supernatural charcoal burners help the villagers reclaim control of their food and work. Herbert Ballmann frames collective action as the genuine source of magic. The spirits can offer assistance, but rebuilding the mill requires the community to recognize its shared interest and work together.

Willy A. Kleinau plays the miller without restraint, making greed visible in his posture, voice, and expression of contempt. Eva Kotthaus gives Anne enough determination to keep her from becoming a passive witness to the conflict. The performances and dialogue can feel instructional, particularly when everyone begins representing a social position rather than an individual. The burning mills and charcoal spirits supply the darker folklore that the collection promises.

RUMPELSTILTSKIN makes the set’s most interesting changes to a familiar character. The miller’s foolish claim that his daughter, Marie, can spin straw into gold draws the attention of a king whose treasury is empty. Siegfried Seibt’s Rumpelstiltskin performs the impossible task, then demands Marie’s future child as payment.

Christoph Engel doesn’t treat Rumpelstiltskin as a creature driven by unexplained malice. He lives apart from a society poisoned by its worship of gold and fears that the child will be raised within the same corrupt value system. The king and his chancellor are the real sources of danger, while Rumpelstiltskin becomes a difficult, contradictory outsider whose distrust of them is justified. The revision changes the story without removing the threat Marie faces. Karin Lesch plays her with a mixture of fear and resolve, refusing to let the surrounding men reduce her to a source of wealth or a prize to be exchanged. The sympathetic treatment of Rumpelstiltskin gives this version a complexity missing from most adaptations.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD is the collection’s most childlike production and, depending on the viewer, possibly its strangest. Blanche Kommerell’s Red travels through a studio-built forest populated by actors wearing large animal costumes. The rabbit and bear become her friends, while the fox helps the wolf plan his attack.

The forest resembles a stage production designed from a child’s memory of woodland illustrations. Its oversized plants, painted backgrounds, and human-sized creatures create an atmosphere that alternates between inviting and odd. Werner Dissel’s wolf remains threatening, but the film removes the punishment associated with the story. He’s repaired rather than killed, turning the conclusion toward education and reintegration. Its repetitive songs, narration, and comedy aim at a younger audience than the other four features. Those choices make it the least engaging entry for adults, although the costumes and forest give it a character that’s impossible to confuse with any conventional version.

Watching the films together reveals how DEFA adjusted its treatment of folklore across two decades. THE DEVIL FROM MILL MOUNTAIN openly promotes collective ownership and resistance to economic exploitation. THE SINGING RINGING TREE turns labor into part of a princess’s emotional education. RUMPELSTILTSKIN questions the morality of wealth itself, while THE DEVIL’S THREE GOLDEN HAIRS uses comedy to make royalty appear small and desperate.

The restorations by the DEFA Foundation preserve the bold colors and handmade construction without making the sets and effects feel their age. Original German soundtracks are included throughout, with newly translated English subtitles that feel perfectly translated. Two commentaries examine THE DEVIL FROM MILL MOUNTAIN and RUMPELSTILTSKIN, while an interview explores the unsettling British television legacy of THE SINGING RINGING TREE. A video essay follows the Devil’s changing place in folklore, and three animated shorts demonstrate silhouette, puppet, and cut-out techniques associated with DEFA’s animation studio.

The 60-page book is just as valuable. Its essays explain how East German filmmakers reshaped old stories around work, class, gender, and political education, then provide individual production histories for all five films. Including the original Brothers Grimm stories allows the reader to see exactly what was altered, removed, or redirected. This isn’t decorative packaging material; it changes how the collection can be understood.

INTO THE FOREST preserves a branch of fantasy cinema that remains unfamiliar to many viewers outside Germany. The five films vary, and their educational purpose sometimes becomes obvious enough to interrupt the storytelling. Their oddness, imagination, and willingness to distrust wealth and authority make those rougher moments easy to accept. DEFA didn’t remove politics from childhood fantasy. It recognized that politics had been hiding inside these stories all along.

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[photo courtesy of EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT]

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