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

[Travis Brashear]

And by forcing the issue when I've dropped it, are you not also contributing to any thread derailment? I said my sorries (not for the sentiment, but for not recalling and adhering to the forum rules), let's move on. I won't waste anymore of the thread's time on it.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Yes, EVERYONE move on!

 

[Sam Davatchi]

I saw this over the weekend for the first time and quite enjoyed it. It was better than I thought. I enjoyed it even more than Potter 3 and now regret not having seen it at a theater.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Get a front-projector, and invite a crowd of neighborhood kids and their parents over and have your *own* theater experience...crowds and all. This would make a great movie projected on a white sheet out in the back yard on a nice evening for a neighborhood block party...

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Yes, but what ever you do, it will never replace the theater experience. I'm glad I saw King Kong at a theater. I hate theaters but the truth is that it's different! Saw King Kong on DVD in good conditions but it doesn't have the same impact when you see it for the first time on the big screen.

 

[Carlo_M]

I agree Sam, but with theater conditions declining (at least in the U.S.) and 1080p projectors on the horizon of affordability, that gap is about to be closed even more

 

[Philip Morello]

Unfortunatelly based on all the positive reviews all over the place, I bought this 2 and 1/2 hour boredom. I pretty much agree with Rodney with all his points, I felt exactly the same way. Thank god it was only $15[single disc edition].No I didn't read the book, nor did HP and LOTR ones either, but liked those better especially LOTR.

 

[DeeF]

David, your reviews are AMAZING! Truly, I'm far more fascinated by what you had to say about this movie and DVD, than I am in the movie itself, which was beyond tedious for me.

And a big part of that is the story, the setup. The book itself doesn't mention (or minimizes) World War II, and its repercussions, in setting up the children's adventures.

But the movie makes a big point, right up front, about the children leaving their mother. And then, she isn't mentioned again.

Tell me that not one of those children missed their mother, FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES in Narnia.

I hated the movie, but I love your reviews David.

 

[Tim Glover]

Watched this again last night. Great dvd and great features. Excellent job Disney!

Also a fantastic movie that just keeps getting better each time I see it.

 

[Carlo_M]

Having now seen the movie, and being a fan of the book, I feel compelled to give my opinion on the film as an adaptation.

I think this has to rank right up there with the best adaptations of a book that I like. I'm sure others can come up with better, but for my money, I'm a real picky viewer when watching films of books I like, and am often disappointed to a certain degree (or worse). This movie far exceeded my expectations. It remained faithful to the book, and did the harder-than-it-sounds job of bringing the novel to life without losing much (if anything) in translation.

For all that say that wholesale changes often need to be made when books are brought to the big screen, I think this movie should be held up as an example of how, with enough effort on the screenwriting front, as well as a director who truly wants to stay true to the book, it can be done without gutting over large parts of the story. I actually now wish Mr. Adamson had been able to take a crack at Lord of the Rings.

For those who do not like this movie because of the story, that I can understand. Certainly the Chronicles of Narnia are not for everyone. But I think I can say that most people who did not like this film probably would not have liked the book either, and that's okay. I would like to hear if there are any fans of the book that were disappointed in the movie. I would doubt that there are many of those.

Bravo, Mr. Adamson and Co. Excellent film of a very good book. Just for a reference point, The Chronicles of Narnia are books I like, but I'm not a huge fan, so I think I can say that my view of this film are not colored by any sort of overwhelming love for the books. I read them fairly recently, as an adult, and so do not have that attachment that some who read and loved them as children may have.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

As I wrote at the time, the most successful part of the film is that it captured my accumulated memories of the story; both my readings of the book as a child and my memory of the BBC version from the I believe 80's. It lives up to my inflated memories of both.

EDIT: Was home to Albany over Easter weekend and it felt like an appropriate movie to watch on Easter evening, considering the theme. My entire family loved it.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Carlo: I, too, have just seen the movie for the first time. Watched it last night with my wife and 15-year old son. We all enjoyed it a great deal. My son and I had read the books (when he was much younger and I was surprised how much he retained!). My wife hasn't read any of the Narnia series.

I thought the movie was splendid. Could it have been better? Yup. But the good far outweighed the bad. I thought, at times, the pacing plodded and, at other times, went too fast. But the performances by the children and Tilda Swinton were terrific. I thought the CGI was superb and never took me out of the picture.

I, too, thought the movie was faithful to the book. Extremely so. For that it is to be a highly recommended effort. However, I have to admit that if asked I would say I still prefer the book to the movie. The movie has certainly whetted my appetite to return to the series and go through them all once again. I love that damn lamppost! If the movie encourages youngsters today to delve into the Narnia series it is doing a good thing. The movie also serves the book quite well. And, standing alone, the movie holds up all on its own. Wonderful characterizations, sensational effects, a beautiful score and a plot based on an epic story and well-done screenplay.

Since this is a review thread...let me also say I watched this DVD with its dts soundtrack and thought the soundstage was awesome! The drops of water as Narnia melted out of winter and the great battle scene truly enveloped this viewer. The picture, too, looked beautiful.

All in all, one terrific first-time viewing...with many others to follow I'm sure.

Entertainment Weekly (this week's with Tom Hanks on the cover) has a nice piece on the studio responsible for the film and their plan to complete the series.

 

[TheLongshot]

Really, this is what a good adaptation is supposed to do. Movies can never be as rich as the book, but if it gets people to read the books, it has succeeded.

Jason

 

[Carlo_M]

The beauty about this adaptation, is it shows that if you put in the work and effort, and have the talent and studio support, you can get very damned close.

I will agree that the books always come out on top, but that phrase has often been used by people in the industry as a "cop out" of sorts. If you didn't like their movie adaptation of ____ novel, it's because you don't understand that movies can't be as rich as the book, necessary changes need to take place, and you are just a disgruntled fan of the book who probably wouldn't have liked anyone's adaptation of it.

Well Hollywood, take a good look at The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This was one very faithful adaptation that was a great movie as well. No need for the cop-out phrase at all.

Others that fall in this category (in my opinion, and experience):
The Shawshank Redemption
The Green Mile
The Godfather

Dang, why is this list so short?!?!

 

[TonyDale]

>>Dang, why is this list so short?

 

[Carlo_M]

Yeah Tony I have freely admitted I haven't seen/read everything. My boggle was that I have seen quite a few movie adaptation of novels that I have read, and that list in comparison to the overall amount is quite small.

 

[TonyDale]

Carlo, it's only the tip of the iceberg. . .there truly are some great novel/bbok to screen adaptations out there, not merely paint-by-number installments like Chris Columbus' HARRY POTTER flix. . .

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Is the packaging of the two-disc set in the US the same as in the r4? Here, we have a sort of opened-up slipcase (I have no idea how else to describe it) which you slide the amaray-style disc case out of. The reason I mention this is that the art on the slipcase is the same I have seen posted here, with the lion shield art, while the amaray case is actually a picture of the wardrobe. It's really great, because it allows me to sit and really examine the artwork on the wardrobe doors, and confirm what I only suspected during screenings of the film - that the wardrobe doors aree covered in panels showing various scenes from The Magician's Nephew. Nice design work by whoever designed the wardrobe.

 

[RogerH]

Thats sounds like the R1 packaging. As for the wardrobe itself in one of the featurettes they mention the designs in the wardrobe, pretty nice imo.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Do they? Cool - I'll look forward to that. Haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Can you tell me which one, so I can skip straight to it?

What is really annoying is that I actually went to check the review, just to see whether the excellent packaging was already commented on before posting the above comment. I must have accidentally double-clicked without realising, because I completely failed to see the huge section, with a "Packaging and Presentation..." heading. I feel stupid.