DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Chronicles of Narnia - THOROUGHLY RECOMMENDED (1 Viewer)

[CaptDS9E]

I never read the book , but I must say I really enjoyed the movie. Excellent film all around, and I am going to watch it again this weekend

 

[Chad E]

I picked up the two-disc CE today, and I have a question about the packaging. On the inside of the front flap, it shows a picture of the set, and seems to be showing a separate slipcover. I just rechecked DaViD's review, and it also mentions a slipcover. The version I got doesn't have a separate slipcover... it's more of a cardboard case, which has a flap that opens on the front (much like the platinum releases) that closes with small "velcro" like fasteners. The keepcase slides into the box when the "flap" is open. Actually, it looks like this part of the packaging is also in the picture. But the "main" cover art is on the flap, and there is no "separate" slipcover. (I'm not sure I'm explaining myself clearly... sorry!)

At any rate... is this the typical packaging released in Canada? Or do some Canadian retailers have the version with the separate slipcover? Just curious.

On the plus side, the yellow "Version française incluse" circle is actually a sticker this time, instead of part of the cover art!

 

[Joel C]

Chad E - the picture simply shows the front/outer cover twice, once open and once closed, so you can see the cover. There is no other slipcover you are missing.

 

[Chad E]

D'oh! :b

Thanks for the info, Joel C. Much obliged!

 

[PatW]

Yeah, I removed it and unfortunately it left a round circle of sticky glue. I'm going to have to find a way to remove that without ruining the cover.

 

[Mark-P]

The "Approx. 135 Minute" running time as stated on the packaging is quite an approximation considering that the movie runs 142 minutes 50 seconds on the actual DVD!

 

[Travis Brashear]

Mark-P, I noticed that, too--way off the mark, Buena Vista!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

I'll update my review with the right run-time.

Thanks for that correction!



I noticed that too...no deleted scenes which is usually a staple of Disney SE sets. I'll bet, as you say, that's being held for an extended cut...which is fine with me.

 

[BrettB]

Regarding the sound; they don't refer to the DD track as 'DD 5.1'. I can't remember the exact wording but they call it something similar to their DEHT. Seemed a little odd.

I guess no one gives a rip about the 2 little collectible artwork thingys. I kinda like them.

I noticed a little sound sort of like a chirp whenever navigating the menu. Please tell me you hear it too.

Check the gate!

 

[AlexF]

it took me a minute to figure what you were referring to, and then i recalled the 'postcards' my gf pointed out as we were going through the packaging for the dvd and decided whether or not to use the steelbook from Future Shop or keep the set in the nice book/wardrobe-like packaging. as it stands, we've left it in the original packing, and put the steelbook on the shelf beside it. if only because it looks pretty.

 

[Sean Laughter]

Bought this yesterday and watched it for the first time. I never saw the film in the theater so it was a nice little surprise. It's also been so long since I read the book that I was going in pretty fresh.

I liked the movie overall, had a few issues with it - thought it looked a little flat (thought it could use a bit more punch to the mood) and wasn't really feeling Aslan. I don't remember how the book worked it but I really didn't feel attached to him nor did I feel the children should be so attached to him, so the whole Stone Table thing didn't really work on an emotional level for me, either for my feelings towards the characters or my believability of the girls' reactions. I liked the music too, a bit more pop influenced and lighter than, for example, the LOTR scores, but it works well for the material.

Otherwise I really liked the film. The DVD is very nice as well, glad to see it got a recommended here. I did get the 2-disc, though I've had no chance to look at any of the extras yet, aside from the bloopers on the first disc. Again, it's a lighter DVD then the extended LOTR discs, but that's actually a relief, I'm not sure I have the energy for that amount of lengthy stuff again - at least not three films of it!

Anyway, glad I picked this one up, and I'll probably run out and get the score CD today as well.

 

[TedD]

Watched this last night, but the best I could give the video would be a "3.5". Soft, over filtered, lacking fine detail, consistently visible ringing, etc. Certainly not up to Disney's recent release standards. Other aspects of the movie were very enjoyable, but the video quality took me out of the mood. IMHO, the DVD transfer is certainly not comparable to a properly projected 35mm print, despite the opinions stated in the initial post. (2 disc version)

Qualia 004, scaled to 1920x1080 on an HTPC, 5' x 12' 2.40:1 screen, viewed from ~14'.

Ted

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Ted,

as always thanks for sharing your detailed observations and for elaborating the particulars of your viewing system and seating distance.






did you see *this film* projected via 35mm?

Had I not seen Narnia projected theatrically *twice* in two different venues (2 different prints) and noticed the same problems I see on the DVD in the actual prints (except the mild halos--obviously that's only on the DVD), I would have said exactly what you said above.

However, the prints *really did* look that way in the theater. So the DVD is showing you how theatrical film prints really did look: "Soft, over filtered, lacking fine detail" describes the 35 mm film-print exactly! I want to be clear that I'm not disagreeing with you about the look of the DVD...I'm *only* confirming that the actual projected theatrical 35mm film print looked the same way!


When I talk about an HD version looking more like the digital IP and looking "better" as a result that was my way of addressing your observations. However, that would also produce an image sharper and more detailed than the projected prints in the case of *this* movie.


By the way,

I want anyone curious about this issue to realize that my observations comparing the DVD to the projected theatrical film print weren't random or an afterthought...I actually *went* to see this movie in the theater for this precise reason...to be able to compare the look of the cinema image to the projected DVD. And one of those film-prints I saw projected the night before I watched the DVD screener! It doesn't get any better than that as far as reviewing opportunity!

-dave

 

[TedD]

David, Thanks for the explanation. It could simply be that the digital intermediates were rendered at 2K (or lower) resolution and the details either didn't exist or didn't survive the duplication process. Although, closeups in scenes that had no special effects didn't look up to par for recent Disney releases either. At any rate, it sure draws me out the mood of the story.

It's still a worthwhile purchase, regardless.

Ted

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Ted,

I'm just curious...what other recent Disney live-action DVD titles would you say look subtantially better? (excluding animation...just live-action DVDs)

 

[TedD]

"Blue Car", "Flight Plan", "Proof", "The Very Thought Of You" come to mind as DVD's I have viewed recently with good level of details. The things I look for are skin textures being visible in closeups, film grain is reproduced realistically, and reasonable detail in backgrounds. All of this accompanied by a minimal level of edge outlining or ringing in the image.

Ted

 

[Jay Pennington]

Thanks for the great review, David!

I also thank you for not labeling it as "WARDROBELY RECOMMENDED" or the like.

 

[Travis Brashear]

What about, "Mr. Tumnus gives it two hooves up!"?

 

[ScottR]

The 2-disc packaging, while elaborately designed is cheap...I had to go through almost every copy at two stores to find one where the gold lettering of Narnia was peeling off. This one won't survive very long without shelf wear.

 

[Carlo_M]

Okay, I bought the 2 discer and plan to watch it this week. Now I have read the book, but NOT seen the movie, so I am speaking a bit out of turn, but I'll say this:

I'm fairly familiar with adaptations of novels to books, and even tried to tackle a few myself when I was unhappy with the theatrical versions (currently tackling certain scenes on The Two Towers).

Obviously the most common complaint is that novels are cut to be brought onscreen, a necessary evil. If you want to know how necessary, try writing a screenplay of your favorite book and you'll find out.

That said, I've read TL,TW&TW and when I heard it was coming onscreen, based on my experience I thought "well they'll turn what should be a 2 hour movie into 90-100 minutes". I can't believe the theatrical is as long as it is! Now I'm really excited to watch because if you gave me free reign to make whatever movie adaptation I wanted, and asked for an estimated run time, I would have said around 2 hours. Nearly 2 1/2 is, actually, a bit surprising to me. And the fact that they're mulling a DC...I'm wondering is they didn't *add* stuff from the other novels!

I'm sure I may change my mind on some of the above comments once I watch the film. But my initial reaction to the run time and the potential extended cut is one of surprise, because the book is not really that long.