The Storyteller
| The Storyteller | |
|---|---|
Title card for The Storyteller
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| Genre | Children's film |
| Created by | Jim Henson |
| Developed by | Anthony Minghella |
| Starring |
John Hurt as the Storyteller (Michael Gambon in Greek Myths) Brian Henson as the Storyteller's Dog |
| Theme music composer | Rachel Portman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 (Original) 1 (Greek Myths) |
| No. of episodes | 9 (Original) 4 (Greek Myths) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Duncan Kenworthy |
| Location(s) | Elstree Studios |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Jim Henson Company TVS Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
HBO (US) VARA (Netherlands) |
| Picture format | PAL |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
| Original release | 15 May – 10 July 1988 1–22 December 1990 |
The StoryTeller is a British live-action/puppet television series that originally aired in 1988 and which was created and executively produced by Jim Henson.
Reruns of The StoryTeller episodes were featured in some episodes of The Jim Henson Hour.
The series retold various European folk tales, particularly ones considered obscure in Western culture, created with a combination of actors and puppets. The framing device had an old storyteller (John Hurt) sitting by a fire telling each tale to both the viewers and to his talking dog (a realistic looking puppet performed and voiced by Brian Henson) who acted as the voice of the viewers, and was written in a language and traditional style in keeping with old folk tales.
In the "Secret of the Muppets" episode of The Jim Henson Hour, Jim Henson stated that the Storyteller has a half-puppet appearance. Heavy make-up was used to create the character, notably large ears and a prosthetic nose. The Storyteller was initially conceived by Jim Henson as an animatronic puppet character. However, Ron Mueck filmed a test with facial prosthetics, to suggest that an actor in make-up would be more effective.
The episodes The Heartless Giant, The Soldier and Death, The True Bride and Sapsorrow first aired (in that order) in the United States as part of The Jim Henson Hour. "The Three Ravens" aired as part of the Hour's twelfth episode, "Food", which was shown in the UK in 1990 and not shown in the US until 1997, when the entire series was rerun by HBO
Taken from an early Russian folk tale retold in English by Arthur Ransome and is also inspired by Godfather Death. A soldier returns home after 20 years of war, with three biscuits in his knapsack. On his way he meets three beggars to whom he gives the biscuits; in return one gives him a ruby whistle, one the jolliest dance, and the final man, who gets the last biscuit despite the soldier being hungry himself, in return gives him a pack of magic playing cards and a musty sack that has the power to trap anything ordered into it. Using the sack, the soldier manages to trap a flock of geese, and so manages to feed himself. Upon arriving at an abandoned castle overrun with small devils, he plays them in a game of cards, winning 40 barrels of gold, and when they try to kill him, he captures them in the sack only letting them go when they promise to never return. He makes one of them swear to serve him and keeps its foot as leverage. Quickly becoming rich and famous because he removed the devils from a palace that is owned by the Tzar, his luck runs short when his son becomes deathly ill. Calling upon the devil, the soldier is given a glass goblet that allows the owner to see Death. If Death is at the foot of the person's bed (as was the case with his son), he or she will recover if sprinkled with water from the goblet. If Death is at the head of the bed, nothing can be done. Then the Tzar becomes ill and the soldier, seeing Death at the head of his bed, makes a bargain with Death: his life in exchange for the Tzar's. Death takes his offer and gives the illness to the soldier, curing the Tzar. Lying in his death bed, he summons Death into his sack and stops death from happening everywhere. But as time goes on, he sees people everywhere who are waiting for death that will not come. So he frees Death, who fears the soldier and his sack so much that he refuses to take the soldier's life. The soldier, old and weary of life, seeks out a way to die. He travels down to the underworld, forcing the devils at the gates (the same ones from before) to give him two hundred souls and a map to heaven. Terrified of the sack, the devils agree to his demands. Upon reaching the gates of heaven, he asks to be let in with the souls while begging for forgiveness from God, but he is denied by the gatekeeper. He gives the sack to one of the souls, asking the soul to summon him into the sack when he has passed through the gates. But since there is no memory in heaven, the soul forgets and the soldier is condemned to live forever upon the Earth. In closing, the storyteller remarks (with a smile) that the soldier is still probably about his business. As the Storyteller tosses the bag aside, a devil emerges from the bag unnoticed by the Storyteller but noticed by the dog who dismisses it as his imagination.
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