Customer Reviews:
Chronicling Narnia.......2008-02-01
The Chronicles of Narnia are apparently the new big fantasy movie series, with the second film "Prince Caspian" coming out this spring.
But it isn't the first time that C.S. Lewis' classic fantasies have been adapted -- in the 1980s, the BBC made their own adaptation of the first four adventures of the Pevensies and their relatives. Some of the actors and special effects are frankly lacking, but mostly they are just solid storytelling.
"The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" introduces us to the Pevensie kids, four teenagers who are staying in the country during World War II. But during a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy (Sophie Wilcox) hides in a wardrobe -- and finds that the back opens into a snowy forest land, populated by mythic creatures. It's the land of Narnia, where the Pevensies are destined to become kings and queens -- if they can destroy the evil White Witch (Barbara Kellerman), with the return of lion messiah Aslan (Ronald Pickup).
"Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader" takes us forward a few years -- and centuries in Narnia. Warlike humans have invaded Narnia and driven the talking animals, centaurs, dryads and others into hiding. But young Prince Caspian (Jean Marc Perret) believes in them, and joins them to defeat his usurping uncle Miraz. And the Pevensies are called from their world to help.
No sooner have Edmund (Jonathan R. Scott) and Lucy finished one adventure than other begins: while arguing with obnoxious cousin Eustace (David Thwaites), they are sucked into a painting and land beside the Narnian ship Dawn Treader. It also happens to be Caspian's ship. The three kids accompany the young king through a sea of horrors, dragons, gold springs, slavers and magicians, right to the edge of the world...
The newly reformed Eustance takes center stage in "The Silver Chair." At his chaotic school, he confides to a bullied classmate, Jill Pole (Camilla Power), about Narnia -- and the two of them find themselves whisked there by Aslan. Aslan gives them a quest: Find the aged Caspian's missing son Rilian (Richard Henders), who was seduced away by a malevolent witch. Eustace and Jill reluctantly go, and soon find themselves enmeshed in a plan to conquer all of Narnia.
The BBC has been known to make adaptations of countless books, so it's not surprising that they tried to tackle the Chronicles of Narnia. The result is a mixed bag, with some bad acting and sketchy CGI, but still a satisfying fantasy series with some truly creepy, uplifting or just interesting.
Expect a very faithful adaptation -- the BBC preserved virtually every character, most of the scenes, and all the Christian allegory of Lewis' books. As a result, there are some truly chilling and magical scenes, like Eustace's transformations and the owl conference. The settings are magnificent, especially the giant "Dawn Treader" and Caer Paravel.
Unfortunately, it does have its bad points, mostly in the tedium that is "Prince Caspian." Some of the special effects are quite dated, including some early blue-screen effects that are almost convincing, but not quite. Costumes are very very Dungeons and Dragons, especially Miraz and his army -- very Ye Olde Batmanne. And Aslan is played by a large and almost realistic puppet, except he looks like he has arthritis and large quantities of Botox.
The acting is a mixed bag -- Scott and Thwaites give the best performances, especially since they both play obnoxious little pains who have to learn the error of their ways. And there are loads of entertaining supporting characters, like Big Mick (I swear that's his name), both Caspians, Jeffrey Perry, and Warwick Davis (in owl and mouse costumes). The only sour notes are Wilcox and Kellerman; one whines, one cackles and screeches like a hammy banshee.
Those anticipating the return of Aslan and the Pevensies should check out the BBC adaptations -- while they have some big flaws, they are still entertaining enough to enjoy.
Chronicles of Narnia Box Set.......2007-02-08
This is an excellent set with all episodes in very good condition. The special features are also a good addition. I watched this series when it first came out on tv as a child so I have good memories of it. People considering purchasing this having never seen this series before, but having seen the Narnia film, may find the effects disappointing. It was the late 1980s, however, and brings back a lot of memories. It is a most faithful adaptation of the 4 books by Lewis.
Age old question.......2006-12-09
Would maybe have the answer 42, but the second one would surely be; Disney or BBC. Now I won't point out that you get here not one but four, yes 4 Lewis adaptations by the drama meisters but also that you have in many peoples opinion a closer to the book version and overall greatly superior and more imaginative afternoon watch here with this. Withstanding Lucy being somewhat irritating as hell, Disney effects for once cannot touch this and it doesn't matter what names or money is thrown at it, as that's hardly the point.
Harry Potter, Hogwarts to you!, Lewis & Tolkein reign supreme.
That's all I have to say on the matter, and if you disagree I'll call my friend the Lion to settle it.
Classic BBC at its best!.......2006-11-08
This DVD box set contains the BBC adaptations of four of the seven books from the Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis. The first adaptation is based on the first, and best-known book of the series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. The story centres around four children who stumble into the magical world of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe. The first to discover this world is the youngest of the four children, Lucy followed by the youngest brother, Edmund. Lost and alone, he meets The White Witch. After the two return to our world, it is not long before all four brothers and sisters find Narnia and their adventure begins. From then on, they meet talking beavers, fauns, dwarfs and eventually, Aslan the lion. After the battle for Narnia their journey ends but it is not the last adventure for the four children. The adaptation with relation to the book is virtually word for word but the performances by the actors, especially the Queen of Narnia played by Barbara Kellerman, adds to the magic of the story. Each actor takes every line and makes them their own.
The second disc sees adaptations from two of the C S Lewis novels, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Both set several Centuries after The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the former is set in a time when a human, King Miraz, rules Narnia. The talking animals of Narnia have gone into hiding for fear of their lives so the tale focuses on Prince Caspian and the four children, who return to Narnia, helping Caspian take his rightful place as King. After being sent back to our world, the four children are separated and the second story, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader begins. It sees the two youngest of the children visiting their obnoxious cousin Eustace when suddenly all three are again sucked into Narnia by magic. Set ten years since Caspian took the throne and at time when Narnia is at peace with its neighbouring countries, the King decides to take a voyage with his most loyal subjects. Their task is to find seven Lords of Narnia who went missing on a voyage of their own. Much of the story centres around Eustace and his transition from nuisance to brave soul. The make-up in the production is amazing, more specifically that of the mouse Reepicheep, which will have children watching in wonder.
The final adaptation, The Silver Chair, reunites us with Eustace and introduces one of his friends Jill. It has been a lifetime since Eustace was last in Narnia and King Caspian is old. Aslan brings the two children to Narnia to go on a quest to find Caspian's missing son and heir to the throne. On their quest, the children meet more talking animals such as owls and strange creatures called marshwiggles, one of whom ends up joining them on their journey. As their journey continues and they travel outside Narnia, they encounter giants, dragons and an evil Queen.
The programme truly brings the magical world of Narnia to life and this is only helped by the costumes and makeup. The beauty is only amplified by the sets and locations which all add to the experience of a magical world. It has dated - as you would expect - the visual effects for example, state of the art at the time, will continue to entertain and scare children, but they are far from the expectations of today's cinema-going audience. I am sure, however, that children will adore all aspects of these adaptations mostly due to CS Lewis's timelessly enchanting tales.
One down side of the DVD's is that there is no feature length version of the stories. The VHS versions were edited so each story was feature length, without the credits or introductions. The DVD however, has each episode shown as it was originally aired. Television aficionados may appreciate this feature but it does get tiresomely repetitive.
The Special Features include a cast reunion with the four Pensive children in which they reminisce, share experiences and discus what they are doing now and a discussion with two of the cast members taken from a 1988 interview. There are also three Blue Peter clips, the first focusing on the creation and bringing to life of Aslan, and the others relating to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. Each is informative and fun in its own way and one of the most interesting facts taken from these clips is that more than ten million people watched The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. The set design features have little to offer but the quiz and trivia pages are a lot of fun. Each disk has a photo gallery from its adaptation and several standard biographies.
The Special Features in this collection have a good range of content although audiences are so used to a larger array of features some may feel they are missing out. It would be interesting to see more about the creation of costumes, shooting of the features and post-production but it is unlikely that this type of footage is available. In final analysis there is ample substance to inform and entertain viewers. `These fantastic tales have been magnificently bought to life and will be watched over and over by children and their parents. This Collector's Edition is elegantly presented and will make a brilliant addition to any DVD collection.
The best series in the world!!!!.......2006-03-26
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - four children are evacuated to the country. Whilst exploring the house, the youngest stumbles into the magical world of Narnia.
Prince Caspian - the four children are called back to Narnia to help Prince Caspian defeat his evil uncle and claim his throne.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia along with their cousin Eustace to aid King Caspian as he searches for the seven lords.
I read some of The Chronicles of Narnia when I was very young. I then watched "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" a few years later, and LOVED it! I never read "Prince Caspian" or "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", so that was one of the main reasons I bought this box set. I really enjoyed "Prince Caspian" but not as much as "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair", which I also read. Having said that, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" is, and always will be, my favourite, partly because it is the one in which my favourite character has a much bigger part than in the other three. For those of you who haven't seen or read those three, my favourite character is Aslan. Even though some of the special effects do look a bit old now, I think that the makers managed to make Aslan as convincing as possible. One of the really good thisngs about this is the fact that Aslan is not computer generated, but animatronic, so the children are actually looking at him, rather than looking slightly to one side of him.
One other really good things about this series is that, because it is a series, the makers have been able to stay true to the books, and, particularly in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", capture that same magic that is in the books.
Amazon.co.uk Review
This Alan Seymour dramatisation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was originally broadcast as a BBC series in 1988. Whether you take CS Lewis' unsubtle Christian symbolism on board or not, the fact remains that the cycle of Narnia novels, of which this was the first, are among the best children's fantasy stories of all time. For anyone who spent their formative years on Mars, the story concerns four children who find their way into a magical land benevolently ruled by the mystical lion, Aslan (voiced by Ronald Pickup, no less). Aslan has been deposed by the evil White Witch (played wonderfully by a screechingly camp Barbara Kellerman) who has cast all of Narnia into perpetual winter and whose eventual defeat entails a fearful sacrifice. While the special effects are firmly of the Doctor Who school, Lewis' writing is expertly transferred to the small screen and there are robust but credible performances from the four highly plausible young thesps cast in the leading roles. It's perfect for cosy family (early) evening viewing, and something that young viewers will return to again and again. --Roger Thomas
Customer Reviews:
Narnia is great.......2005-11-17
This 1988 tv series was excellent, I was 10 at the time and really enjoyed the fantasy of it, especially Aslan the lion, Mr Tumnus (the nervous fawn), The White Witch (who always gave me the creeps!), the children Lucy,Susan,Peter and Edmond, and not forgetting The Professor.
I would recomend this to both children and Adults alike. It may not be up to the special effects of todays films, ie:- Harry Potter or the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, but I still like it.
The lion, th witch, and the BBC.......2005-07-22
In the December, C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" will follow in the footsteps of Lewis' pal Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings Trilogy," with a gleaming new big-screen adaptation. In the months before it's released, however, it might be time to dust off the 1988 BBC adaptation of Lewis's first book, which is divided between the good and bad.
The four Pevensie children arrive in the country, at the start of World War II. Despite the eccentric but friendly professor (Michael Aldridge) who lives there, they're all bored. And during a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy (Sophie Wilcox) slips into an old wardrobe -- and finds that the back of it opens into a magical, snowy forest land called Narnia. She encounters a friendly faun, but when she arrives back home, she finds that none of her siblings believe her.
But soon Lucy and her siblings find their way through -- not knowing that peevish Edmund (Jonathan R. Scott) has already allied himself to the evil White Witch (Barbara Kellerman) who keeps Narnia locked in winter. She's especially desperate, because Narnia is beginning to thaw out, now that leonine Aslan is coming back to it, and the Pevensie kids have shown up to fulfil an old prophecy. But the Witch won't go down without a massive battle -- and one that might destroy the lion-messiah himself.
"The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a mixed bag -- it has more or less equal measures of good and bad. What it also has is deep fidelity to Lewis's original book, which was one of the first major fantasies to get widespread attention. And that's definitely an important detail, since the spirit of the book could easily have been lost.
The filmmakers obviously did their homework, crafting the script and dialogue to be close to Lewis's novel. And it's a credit that they pulled off some lines that could have sounded idiotic ("You're not dead, Aslan!" "Do I look dead?") in the wrong hands. They also did an excellent job of changing atmosphere, shifting from the stodgy English country house to the airy frozen Narnia, with its castles and dewy wildlands.
Unfortunately, the special effects haven't aged well. They were state of the art at the time, but now they look quite cheesy and low budget, with a few exceptions -- the scene where Lucy restores various "statued" people to life is pretty good. The other stuff ranged from primitive bluescreen to an enormous puppet playing Aslan. It's a good puppet, and remarkably convincing physically, but it still makes Aslan look like he has a wicked case of arthritis.
The acting is also divided between good and bad. Scott is particularly good as the "bad boy" Edmund, who ends up falling in with the Witch, especially when he turns on his evil mentor. He is accompanied by some good acting from Sophie Cook as Susan, and Richatd Dempsey as Peter, who also has to do a convincing battle with a werewolf. The weak links are Wilcox, who speaks most of her lines in a whine, and Kellerman, who laughs madly, coos and shrieks, and generally hams it up like a lunatic.
The new version of "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" has yet to be judged against Lewis' original novel, but the 1988 BBC version is a solid if flawed adaptation. Worth checking out.
Return to your childhood.......2005-03-23
I bought this for my 10 year old daughter who got The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe book for Christmas. We have watched it together and I was taken straight back to being a child and watching with my mum on a Sunday afternoon. Sheer bliss!
A great film worthy of all ages.......2005-03-22
The Lion,the witch and the wardrobe is a wonderful film about four children who discover the land of narnia where there are talking animals when they walk through a wardrobe.I originally saw it when i was about 7 and ive loved it ever since i still watch it and read the books even though im nearly 18 now. The story just captures you from beginning to end.I would recommend it to anyone with imagination and loves fantasy stories. There is one thing thats not so good about is how the magical animals e.g unicorn have been done they've been drawn in instead but other then that its a brillant film.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.......2005-01-25
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the 2nd book in the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis - and it happens to be my favourite out of all of them. The story begins with the wardrobe for without it Lucy would never have found her way into Narnia, or have met the Mr Tumnus the fawn or even the white witch - whose reign over Narnia has been longer than anyone knows. But work is afoot to dislodge the witch. It is whispered that Aslan - the great lion, is once again on the move. Only with his help is there hope of the white witch being defeated - and she captures Edmund.To save Edmund, Aslan must sacrifice everything. But without him the ancient prophecy cannot be fulfilled, or Narnia made free.
Customer Reviews:
A touch of magic.......2006-08-06
I thought this 1980's BBC production had much more magic and wonder than the latest block-buster film. It has a genuine war-time atmosphere and a sense of the fairy-tale about it that the excessively colourful and picture-perfect Narnia film lacks. The children play well and Mr Tumnus is utterly lovable; Edmund is a proper little brat who deserves a spanking; and Lucy is just an ordinary girl who just happens to have discovered a magical wardrobe - there is nothing glamorous or ideal about these characters, they're not covered in make-up and they're not physically faultless, so you can lose yourself in the simpleness of this production and forget that this is a film-world. Too few productions like this one come out these days! If you'd like your children to see a film in which the children don't look incredibly perfect but like ordinary girls and boys, this will be lovely. There are 8 episodes, all faithful to the book (with some minor abridgements) and they reflect the Narnia of C.S. Lewis and the mood of his book wonderfully.
The chronicles of Narnia.......2005-03-02
This is a story with a timeless appeal which my children age 5,7 and 8 were glued to from beginning to end.
There is nothing unsuitable for children and we are currently watching the other 2 companion DVDs
magic.......2005-01-19
I enjoyed this as much today as I did when I first watched almost 20 years ago. My granddaughter was enchanted. Pure magic.
A good production of the CS Lewis classic.......2004-11-23
All the cast and script are excellent in this childrens production which is only marred by the very naff special effects of the Ghosties and Ghoulies (mostly bright cartoon overlays on the live action that make no effort to blend in). The later serialisations of Caspian, Dawntreader and Silver Chair, also in this box set, have better special effects and picture quality (and are also very good). The makeup, sets and animated Aslan are very good though. My son (8) sat glued to The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe and we watched all the episodes in one evening. Picture quality on the DVD is very good. This set has now been re-released as an apparently identical BBC DVD box set but with a largely black cover.
Superb.......2004-07-18
A caveat first: this predates Babylon 5 and as such comes from a time when CGI was the sole preserve of big budget Hollywood productions rather than de facto for television. So some of the effects are, to put it nicely, naff. No doubt a modern retelling would realise the various creatures of Narnia with greater style, however it doesn't (for the most part) detract from what are classic stories played with excellent production values.
The casting, acting, and direction are first class; in addition to which this still evokes that cosy teatime serial feeling now lost in the ratings war that is Christmas. The leads clearly understood the characters they were playing and the screenplay is faithful to the book without upsetting the narrative format (Steven Kloves/Chris Columbus take note!!!)
The extras are worth the cost of the DVD (a snip at 20 quid!) and include a 2003 cast reunion that is worth watching just to see how they look now. So, until Disney and Walden Media get their act together this is *the* definitive version.
Amazon.co.uk Review
This Alan Seymour dramatisation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was originally broadcast as a BBC series in 1988. Edited here to feature length, it's simply superb. Whether you take CS Lewis's unsubtle Christian symbolism on board or not, the fact remains that the cycle of Narnia novels, of which The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first, are among the best children's fantasy stories of all time. For anyone who spent their formative years on Mars, the story concerns four children who find their way into a magical land benevolently ruled by the mystical lion, Aslan (voiced by Ronald Pickup, no less). Aslan has been deposed by the evil White Witch (played wonderfully by a screechingly camp Barbara Kellerman) who has cast all of Narnia into perpetual winter and whose eventual defeat entails a fearful sacrifice.
While the special effects are firmly of the Doctor Who school, Lewis's writing is expertly transferred to the small screen and there are robust but credible performances from the four highly plausible young thesps who are cast in the leading roles. The perfect video for cosy family (early) evening viewing, and one which young viewers will return to again and again. --Roger Thomas
Customer Reviews:
An excellent Christian movie.......2004-09-11
Evacuated to the country for their protection (during World War 2), Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund begin to explore the big house that is their new home. In a back room is a large wardrobe filled with old coats and things, but stepping through the wardrobe, the children find something fantastic, another world! But this new world is not a happy place; it is locked in the grip of perpetual winter by the magic of an evil queen (played by Barbara Kellerman).
The children learn that Aslan, the lion king of this world of Narnia, is back and can help them against the witch. But when they learn that Peter (Richard Dempsey) was actually in the witch's service they need even more help. Aslan is as good as he is powerful, and with him all things are possible. [Color, originally aired in 1988, with a running time of 3 hours.]
This movie (actually three television episodes) is a based quite closely on C.S. Lewis's book of the same title. Some of the acting is a little overdone, and the cartoon creatures look awfully two-dimensional, but the story is nothing short of excellent and the lion Aslan is surprisingly well done. Also, I do think that the creators of this movie did an excellent job of capturing the mood of the book and bringing the viewer through the story without too much cutting. (Books made into movies are often butchered!)
My eleven-year-old daughter read the book recently, while I read it a long time ago. My whole family enjoyed this movie immensely, and I enjoyed the lessons that it taught. My wife and I tried to explain the Christian symbols as the story moved along. We loved this movie, and highly recommend it to you.
Still Great.......2004-08-04
I remember this from when I was a kid. It was the highlight of Sunday evening for me and I still think it's terriffic. The effects are slightly dated perhaps but we must remember that this was a BBC Sunday evening drama and not a big screen motion picture. Plus it was the eighties so effects were limited. With the budget and technology they had I think they did a great job. All the acting was superb, the Witch whilst scary for younger viewers also had a comical edge to her especially in her scenes with Edmund and the dwarf. All the children were great and played their characters faithfully to CS Lewis's descriptions. Compared to a lot of child actors nowdays they were very natural and confident in their performances and they carried the series well. I recommend this to every one of all ages. It's still magical no matter how old you are.
the best.......2004-07-04
i just got this vid for my nan but i rewatched it i remember it from being young and it is still great . the kids of today will not relate to it prefering all the new films but im 24 and love it too bits i used to ( and still do) cry when aslan is "killed" its a must have for anyone like me enjoy all !!!
The Narnia Chronicles on video.......2003-12-31
Faithful to the original and a worthy effort for its time but thoroughly outdated today as a motion picture. The Beeb budget was not up to its ambitions, as one would expect, and it shows. This sort of budget might work for a nineteenth-century boudoir drama but it doesn't for fantasy. You need money for good special effects and they didn't have it. The direction is a bit humdrum and the acting closer to a school production. The costumes are laughable and the cartoon ghouls and magical creatures just don't do the job. Mixing cartoon creatures with real ones doesn't work - indeed I think a straight cartoon might have worked better since they form a successful middle position between the rigorous demand on the imagination made by a book and the demand to render everything externally made by the medium of film. Even for the late eighties it looks like a sellotape and string job and the mixing of inappropriate mediums poorly thought through.
Cinema is essentially a realistic medium. Fantastic plots require maximum hi-tec input to keep us engaged in that 'suspension of disbelief' needed to make them work. Especially where the special effects technology is unavoidably weak, the acting needs to be superb to make up for it. Professor Kirk is pretty good although his is only a cameo role. The Pevensey children, however, all sound and look as though they are still rehearsing their lines on screen. Even Aslan looks and sounds like a giant stuffed toy. And the White Witch manages to seem merely hysterical rather than mortally dangerous. The battle scenes are laughable - more like a school play production. The swords and shields look like they're made out of cardboard and tin foil. The costumes of Beaver and the animals generally look silly. The only ones that worked, I thought, and seemed to foreshadow 21st century realism were the centaur and the giant.
The Narnia books are among the most wonderful books of fantasy ever written, in any language, I am convinced. I have read them since I was about nine and never grown out of them. Some of the other criticism on this web site sounds apologetic about the Christian element. But C S Lewis was an agnostic who turned Christian in later life and his transformation, even if we don't all share it ourselves, needs to be appreciated. I myself am not a Christian by either birth or upbringing or conviction, yet remain dazzled by the power of the idea of redemption which lies at the heart of Christianity. Christianity as rendered in the Bible is often a grim and dour tale and very tedious for a lot of children. It is part of Lewis's genius to hit upon the idea of turning Jesus into a giant lion in a magic land full of mythic beasts and talking animals, and his calvary attended to by wartime upper middle class schoolchildren who say mundane things out of Boys Own Annual like'what a lot of rot!' and 'By Jove,' and somehow make it all work in the book! Why fudge it? I think the trick on film is to make a dated but nevertheless incomparably wonderful children's book somehow seem profoundly grown up. It's difficult to do and we should not be surprised, perhaps, if the film failed to achieve it.
The Narnia tales need to be done anew on film and it needs to be done grown-up fashion. On film, they need a director like Peter Jackson and a budget such as he has had to make the books come alive. There is quite considerable scope for developing dialogue and characterisation without departing significantly from the plot. The religious basis of the sacrifice of Aslan etc could be acted up more intensely. The Pevensey children need to come across more strongly as individuals. In fact, the film and the characterisation, in order to work, actually needs to go well beyond the original book in some respects, I think, to really work. This is because books can sketch things out and leave the rest to your imagination, while film has to render the illusion of reality and therefore a lot of things NOT in the book but in your head has to be put there as well!
I suppose I am being a little too critical of an earnest effort, but I do think that a production that clumped schoolboyishly if earnestly through the scenes without too much feeling for the inner intensity of the book did fail, even for its time. Also, given the generally positive reviews I've read on this web site so far, a contrary opinion would not go amiss to right the balance. I am at least saying that the old eighties production is worth watching to see what could be done today to improve on it, but it is no substitute for the book, or even a compliment to it. My basic criticism is reserved entirely for production and direction(despite presumed budget limitations), not for the acting since the child actors are not famous people and their output depended entirely on the direction etc. Those acting in the film did their best, but in my opinion, the Beeb were out of their depth with this one.
I suppose what I am really saying is that the Narnia tales remain much bigger in the books, in the spiritual and imaginative sense, than the existing motion picture. The books remain very definitely my primary reference point, after watching the film. We need a production and direction that can render acting, atmosphere and hi-tech realism to do credit to the books. Moreover, far from being insensitive to the inner spiritual - and yes, Christian - meaning of it all, it should keep that part of it. (Actually, this is the one bit in the existing film that did seem to sort of work). The Narnia tales might not be as big as the Lord of the Rings (after all, they were written primarily for children ) but the themes of this world and other worlds, the suggestion of more possibilities of existence than our day to day world might suggest, the battle of good and evil, and the Christian mystery of sacrifice and redemption are all quite profound, and worthy of a bigger treatment today.
Peter Jackson with a theology degree?
Magic film.......2003-11-30
This is the most magical and echanting film I have ever seen, For young children this film is one they will be watching again and again because its a fantastic adaptation of C.S Lewis'classic book. A must see for any fan of the book or for anyone that believes in magic! :)
DVD:
- The Fairies Volume 1
- The Incredibles [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Kennel Murder Case [1933] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Last Of The Mohicans [1992]
- The Life of Emile Zola [1937] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Long Walk Home [1989] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Lost Weekend [1945] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Love Letter [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Man From Beyond [1922]
- The Moon and Sixpence [1943]
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