Live-Action Fairy Tales: Bluebeard

- October 12, 2016

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Albert Einstein: "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

Fairy tales, literary nonsense, tall tales...whatever you want to call them. I'm a sucker for a wonderfully told, beautifully presented one. Especially when they come in live-action form. There's something...magical when it's done right. Some of these are taken right from the pages of a book, some are new takes on old tales. If you get surprised by a title, stop and think about it for a second. It'll make sense. :)

Can you think of another title that fits this dark, twisted fairy tale? Let me know in the comments section!

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Bluebeard

This French folktale was written by Charles Perrault. It is believed to have originated from an actual person (or people). It is the story of a man whose previous wives have mysteriously disappeared. He takes a new, young bride and gives her the keys to his mansion, stating that there is only one door she's not allowed to enter. Once he leaves, she enters the forbidden room to discover the bodies of her predecessors. When Bluebeard discovers what she's done, well, I guess you'll have to see.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)

This Billy Wilder-written romantic comedy stars the fabulous Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper. Although the original story is anything but romantic, they went for it.

Bluebeard (1944)

Starring John Carradine, this noir (sometimes horror) film hits the mark much more closely.

Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Charlie Chaplin does Bluebeard! Because why not!

Secret Beyond the Door... (1987)

A contemporary take on the ghastly tale.

Bluebeard (1972)

Although it starred Richard Burton and featured actresses like Raquel Welch, this was only considered a moderate success.

The Piano (1993)

This critically acclaimed drama only loosely adapts the story. It's one of those where you see the similarities throughout. It stars Holly Hunter, Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel.

Bluebeard (2009)

A French film which uses the 'story within a story' trope to pull you in-kind of like The Princess Bride? Only much, much darker.

Ex-Machina (2015)

I came across this and thought, "What? This movie's about artificial intelligence!" But it fits. If you haven't seen this brilliant sci-fi thriller...man. You should do that...the main actor (Bluebeard, for our purposes) is Oscar Isaac and he's everywhere right now.

Crimson Peak (2015)

I recently watched this gothic romance written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. While some of the elements are a little twisted around, I would absolutely put this under Bluebeard adaptations. Well done!