Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - quick review (1 Viewer)

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway


EDIT: Can't find single-disc version online at amazon.com. Is it a brick-and-mortar store exclusive?


EDIT: However, further research reveals that the single-disc release is bare bones. Bummer.

Are you sure? I can't even find it. But the 3 disc version was only $20 on bluray, so no need to get cheaper, really.


Ah, the thread veered off-topic, and is discussing things better left to the Dawn Threader bluray or dvd threads...


Anyway, does anyone think there's a chance in hell we'll ever see the next four books adapted by this same team? I realize that the last two films "only" made $400 million, but that seems to me to be a huge success. I think they were only upset because "Lion" made well over $700M and they expected the sequels to do a lot better. I think Silver Chair would make around $400M as well, especially if it's in 3-D. If they don't film it, that means there's still a lot of money being left on the table, it seems to me. After that, they should at least finish up with "The Last Battle." At the very least. Magician and Horse were both prequels basically and they don't have to adapt them, but I think a complete seven-part series would be one magnificent thing to have.

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Ethan Riley


Magician and Horse were both prequels basically and they don't have to adapt them, but I think a complete seven-part series would be one magnificent thing to have.

It's pretty much confirmed that if they go ahead with a fourth film, it'll be The Magician's Nephew.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by Arild



It's pretty much confirmed that if they go ahead with a fourth film, it'll be The Magician's Nephew.

Really? You'd think they'd continue with Silver Chair, because if they wait too long, Will Poulter (as Eustace) might start looking too old.

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Ethan Riley .

 

[Brandon Conway]

If they get that far they will, unfortunately, have to re-cast Eustace. You figure TSC wouldn't start shooting until 2013, and by then Poulter will be 20.


Someone on Narniaweb.com also wrote a good post about why TSC can be seen as, from a film production standpoint, a dispensable story. http://forum.narniaweb.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3113


Sorry to say it, but he makes a good argument, as much as I love the book.


Of course, the easiest way to bring in the audience for TSC is to make the Green Witch a resurrected version of The White Witch, complete with Tilda Swinton... again. Fans have speculated this may be the case in the original book anyway, though I personally have always thought that was a bit of a stretch. But, hey, in a film adaptation you can go that extra leap and make it a specific connection.


If they can end up doing all of the remaining four books, it wouldn't surprise me if they go TMN, THAHB (including cameos by all the actors who played the Pevensies), and then TSC and TLB. Yes, they'll have to re-cast / re-introduce Eustace, but then they'd be able to go strongly into TLB to wrap it up. (It'll be an interesting case study to see how one can adapt TLB sincerely without turning off a major part of the non-Lewis grounded audience. That's a colossal task I don't envy of any screenwriter).


In other news, the total WW box office for VOTDT is now $414.6 million, which is nearly equal to PC's $419.7 million. Considering the budget for VOTDT was $70 million less than PC, as long as the DVD/Blu-ray sales are solid I expect The Magician's Nephew will be greenlit for a winter 2012 release, possibly shooting late this year / early 2012 in Australia.

 

[Ricardo C]

At 19 and 15, both Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley are far older than their characters were in the books, though they still did a great job in the three films they've been in so far.

Assuming Poulter doesn't age too visibly in the next few years, I think he'd be believable in The Silver Chair.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I fall in the camp of those who hold the books in extremely high regard and feel that the movies haven't even come close to the magic contained in the books. Yet I cannot stay away from the movies, either.


While I find the films, each one, coming up short, I also think that there is a lot of good in them, too. And it is in that regard I watched Dawn Treader last night.

Of course, I had one eye peeled on the aspect ratio and really wished they had kept the original 2.35:1. There were a few times, however--especially during the final action sequence with that Kraken-like character--,that I thought the action was all cropped rather closely and was wondering if the film was "opened up" at the top and bottom for the 16:9 how the 2.35:1 framing ever would have worked.

And, frankly, I wish I didn't have that thought in the back of my mind as I was watching the film. It tended to be distracting.

 

[Mark-P]

So many people are saying that nothing is missing; that the 1.78:1 frame is simply opened up on the top and bottom, but it simply is not true for 100 percent of the movie. We've already seen at least one screen capture that proves some shots have been side-cropped. But it was the director's discretion to reframe the movie, so I'm not complaining.

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

There were a few times, however--especially during the final action sequence with that Kraken-like character--,that I thought the action was all cropped rather closely and was wondering if the film was "opened up" at the top and bottom for the 16:9 how the 2.35:1 framing ever would have worked.

 

[Ricardo C]

The thing is, even with the knowledge that the AR has been tampered with, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you where the picture has been cropped, and where it has been simply opened up.

I don't approve of the MAR, but considering that the properly-framed theatrical print I saw (35mm, 3D) was a muddy mess, and that the film was shot at 1080p, I think the BD release is the best way to see the film outside of an uncompressed master. I wish it were properly framed, but damn if it isn't one of the finest experiences I've had in my HT yet.