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The film is the first of a four-part series of shorts adapted from Dahl's short stories, including "[[The Swan (short story)|The Swan]]", "The Ratcatcher" and "[[Poison (story)|Poison]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Wes Anderson Revisits Roald Dahl in ‘Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ Trailer |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-trailer-wes-anderson-roald-dahl-netflix-1235590594/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> [[Principal photography]] took place in [[London]] in January 2022.
The film is the first of a four-part series of shorts adapted from Dahl's short stories, including "[[The Swan (short story)|The Swan]]", "The Ratcatcher" and "[[Poison (story)|Poison]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Wes Anderson Revisits Roald Dahl in ‘Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ Trailer |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-trailer-wes-anderson-roald-dahl-netflix-1235590594/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> [[Principal photography]] took place in [[London]] in January 2022.


''The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar'' premiered at the [[80th Venice International Film Festival]] on September 1, 2023, and received a limited theatrical release on September 20, 2023, followed by released on [[Netflix]] on September 27, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergeson |first=Samantha |date=2023-08-24 |title=Wes Anderson's 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Sets Netflix Release Date and Shares New Art |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/wes-anderson-wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-release-date-1234899101/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref>
''The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar'' premiered at the [[80th Venice International Film Festival]] on September 1, 2023, and received a limited theatrical release on September 20, 2023, followed by being released on [[Netflix]] on September 27, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergeson |first=Samantha |date=2023-08-24 |title=Wes Anderson's 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Sets Netflix Release Date and Shares New Art |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/wes-anderson-wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-release-date-1234899101/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Premise==
==Premise==

Revision as of 11:55, 27 September 2023

Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
File:The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar poster.jpg
Promotional release poster
Directed byWes Anderson
Screenplay byWes Anderson
Based on"The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"
by Roald Dahl
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert Yeoman
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • September 1, 2023 (2023-09-01) (Venice)
  • September 20, 2023 (2023-09-20) (United States)
  • September 27, 2023 (2023-09-27) (Netflix)
Running time
39 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, or simply The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, is a 2023 American fantasy short film[2] written, co-produced and directed by Wes Anderson, based on the 1977 short story "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" by Roald Dahl. It is the second film adaptation of a Dahl work directed by Anderson, following Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).[3] It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character alongside Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Friend and Richard Ayoade.

The film is the first of a four-part series of shorts adapted from Dahl's short stories, including "The Swan", "The Ratcatcher" and "Poison".[4] Principal photography took place in London in January 2022.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023, and received a limited theatrical release on September 20, 2023, followed by being released on Netflix on September 27, 2023.[5]

Premise

A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes, then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.

Cast

Production

In September 2021, Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company for $686 million.[6] The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar project was confirmed on January 7, 2022, the day after it was reported that Wes Anderson was set to write and direct the film adaptation, with Netflix distributing.[7] It was announced that Benedict Cumberbatch would star as Sugar, with Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley in supporting roles.[8] Rupert Friend and Richard Ayoade later joined the cast.[9]

Principal photography began in London in January 2022.[8]

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar was originally reported to be a feature film, but Anderson clarified in June 2023 that it would be one of a collection of short films.[10]

Release

The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar premiered out-of-competition at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2023.[11] It had a limited theatrical release on September 20, only in New York and California. It was initially set for a streaming release on October 13, 2023,[12] but was released on Netflix on September 27.[13]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96%, based on 23 critic reviews with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads, "With The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson returns to the world of Roald Dahl—and proves his distinctive style is a comfortable fit for one of the author's sweetest stories."[14] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 85 out of 100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

In Variety, Peter Debruge called the film "delightfully tight" and added that Dahl's short story "proves a good match for Anderson's intricate approach".[16] Similarly, Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a perfectly well-balanced reduction. It’s got most of Anderson's signature flavor notes but in healthy, clarified stock".[17] David Ehrlich of IndieWire called it "the most visually inventive film that Anderson has made thus far" and added: "Its presentation is something we’ve never really seen before, either from Anderson or anyone else, but its ethos couldn’t be more familiar to anyone who’s followed his work".[18]

Glenn Kenny from RogerEbert.com gave the film a 4 out of 4 stars and wrote that, 'It’s disarming and lovely to see a spiritual growth parable rendered in Anderson’s jewel-box style. His delivery here is not willfully eccentric but gorgeously centered. Form underscores content in "Henry Sugar" in a most delightful way.'

References

  1. ^ "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2023). "Wes Anderson's 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Sets Netflix Release Date and Shares New Art". IndieWire. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Shafer, Ellise (September 1, 2023). "Wes Anderson Confirms 'Henry Sugar' Short Film Collection Will Include 'The Swan,' 'Poison' and 'The Ratcatcher'". Variety. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  4. ^ "Wes Anderson Revisits Roald Dahl in 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2023). "Wes Anderson's 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Sets Netflix Release Date and Shares New Art". IndieWire. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Gray, Alistair (September 22, 2021). "Netflix snaps up entire works of Roald Dahl for over £500m". Financial Times. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Leishman, Rachel (January 6, 2022). "Wes Anderson to Direct Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Starring Benedict Cumberbatch". Collider. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (January 7, 2022). "Wes Anderson To Direct Adaptation Of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel And Ben Kingsley". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 12, 2022). "Rupert Friend And Richard Ayoade Join Wes Anderson's Adaptation Of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "'The Wonderful Life Of Henry Sugar': Wes Anderson Says His Upcoming Netflix Project Is Only 37 Minutes Long". theplaylist.net. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  11. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2023 | The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar". La Biennale di Venezia. July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Russell, Calum (August 1, 2023). "Wes Anderson's new Roald Dahl movie gets release date". Far Out. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (August 24, 2023). "Wes Anderson's 'Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Sets Netflix Release Date and Shares New Art". IndieWire. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. ^ "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  16. ^ Debruge, Peter (September 1, 2023). "'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Review: Wes Anderson Squeezes Roald Dahl Into a Delightfully Tight Short". Variety. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Felperin, Leslie (September 1, 2023). "'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Review: Benedict Cumberbatch in Wes Anderson's Mini-Marvel of a Roald Dahl Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Ehrlich, David (September 1, 2023). "'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar' Review: Wes Anderson's Hyper-Faithful Roald Dahl Adaptation Is 37 Minutes of Absolute Bliss". IndieWire. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
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