Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)

The movie "Tri orísky pro Popelku" (Three wishes for Cinderella) was made in 1973. The movie was made during the Communistic period in the Czech Republic. From my point of view the movie reflects the protest on communism. The prince and Popelka question the authorities all the time. The character Popelka is presented as a strong and powerful woman, which has been a great inspiration for me as a little girl. The story of Popelka is very funny, beautiful and arousing.Popelka (Libuśe Safrankoua) has to work very hard for her stepmother. One day when the king and queen visit her village she manages to escape. In the woods Popelka teases the prince (Pavel Travnicek). A few days later a ball in announced for the prince. The step-mother sends Vinsek to the city to buy clothiers. On his way, Vinsek finds three magic hazel nuts, which he gives to Popelka. The acting of the movie is brilliant. The actors are able to convince me from their feelings, with the help of the help of the wonderful soundtrack. The scenes in which Popelka is messing with authority are extremely funny. The direction is also astonishing. The protest against communism is perfectly hidden fro the people who do not want to see it. The old fairytale Cinderella has turned into a strong story about Popelka. The filming and editing is fluently done. Every shot has a good link to the previous one. In conclusion, Tri Orisky Pro Popelku is an inspiring, funny and beautiful movie. People should definitely watch this movie to see the brilliant acting and the wonderful editing.

Okay - I'm a little biased. I'm originally from the Czech Republic. This movie is a very popular movie in the Czech Republic. I bought it last year after not seeing it for a long time, and I really enjoyed it a lot. I feel this is a much better telling of the classic Cinderella story. The heroine is spunky, fun loving and kind. Definitely not a sit-at-home and wait for my prince type of woman. I couldn't help but feel that if this story were made into an American movie (without the subtitles) it would be very well popular in the states. It is an older movie, and the sound quality was not great, but I think this movie sends a lot of good messages.

This movie is simply a staggering classic which probably will live on forever. I remember seeing this movie as I child in Norwegian and the beautiful glimps of magic moments. As a Czechoslovakian myself I've see also seen the Czechoslovak version and honestly its really there were Cinderella blooms in all its greatness although I still recommend anyone to watch it. It is perhaps not a typical Czechoslovak movie, lacking the characteristic humour and comedy aspect but it is still a feel-good movie which will make a distinctive impression on you.PS: Here, in Norway, the movie is actually the only movie which people demand has to be sent on the state channel NRK1 on Christmas Eve - claiming that there will be no proper Christmas without it; And I think that summarizes pretty much what a classic is all about!

In Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and the Czech republic this movie is shown every Christmas eve, and for many people (myself included) it won't be Christmas without it. The channel tried to take the movie of the program one year because it's such an old film, but there was a massive upheaval and luckily it was stopped and Christmas was saved and it has been showed ever since. It is a sweet Cinderella story, told in a different way then the classical tale we're used to. The movie is extremely charming and beautifully made, although without any Hollywood style special effects. Unfortunately this movie has suffered the fate of most non-English movies in the US and have been more or less completely overlooked.