DVD Review HTF Review: Peter Pan (Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[Nate Anderson]

Yes, I have the soundtrack CD as well, it's an incredible score!

 

[Sam Davatchi]

That’s where I have still reservations but I have seen the movie and heard the music only once.

As I said I thought this was a *real* good movie. The only part where Hook might be more successful is John Williams’ score which has become a classic and more successful than the movie.

So I can’t stop wondering what would have happened if they had made this movie with John Williams’ music. It’s open to discussion.

 

[Jefferson]

I've come to late to this thread,
but here goes:

I found this to be a fine interpretation of the
Barrie original, and even though the addition
of Lyn Redgrave's "aunt" character threw me at first...
i grew to enjoy it.

Next, the Disney version...which i like, as it happens...
was never entirely faithful...in fact, ALMOST
NONE of the Disney dialogue comes from Barrie at all,
which many people might not know.

So, in spite of some Darling family "backstory" added here, this is the best film version for me,
as far as capturing the darker side of the
story, and the best of Barrie's original lines...
Very nice.

Anyone interested in the history of PETER PAN
should read THE PETER PAN CHRONICLES...
informative and entertaining.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The character of the Aunt was my one problem with the film. She seemed like a completely unnecessary character. As I understand it, the reason why Hook and Mr Darling are traditionally played by the same character is because he is the villain in both contexts - Mr Darling is trying to force Wendy to grow up, while Hook is just evil. But by having the Aunt, some of Mr Darling's 'bad' purpose is given to rthe Aunt, and it almost detracts from the point.

But it's a minor criticsm of an otherwise wonderful film.

 

[Simon Massey]

Absolutely fantastic movie. The only part that bothered me was the aunt as well and the scene at the end where she ends up with a "son" was just a step to far into sentimentality to me, but fortunately the film pulled itself back from that straightaway. Didnt stop me from enjoying the film though.

Its a real shame this film didnt do better at the box office. I get the impression from the rather poor extras that there was a lot of material prepared for the DVD but they didnt bother when the film didnt do that well. A shame really or is it just another Universal double dip for the future ?

 

[Paul_Scott]

watched this as well the other night and really enjoyed.
visually, the film was amazing. in fact, i think it was more deserving of the AA than ROTK (if thats what won).
this thing was just gorgeous on every level.
a storybook come to life, indeed.

the performances were...well, it kind of seemed to wash.
on the one hand Issacs and Hurd Wood were exceptional, especially in the case of Hurd Wood.
you just don't see performnces that natural and as un self conscious very often from someone so young and inexperienced.
award caliber work, imo.

on the other hand though, Sumpter had a good character look for the part, but didn't come across as naturally for me.
there a little too much effort in the performance and gave me a push pull feeling too often.
on the one hand Hurd Woods performance is pulling me into the story, and then almost just as quickly Sumpters is pushing me back a bit.
Ludvine (or whatever her name is) also didn't work for me, although i do agree tha Tink should have been played very broadly, with lots of over the top expressions- something just didn't rub me right with LS. in this case, i think Disney knocked that character clear out of the park and a flesh and blood person will always have a hard time trying to match it.
Smee was excellant though.

the ending was a little too sentimental for me, with the Lost Boys, but a good deal better than the unused ending which i didn't think worked at all.

i have to concur on the PQ of the disc too.
a bit softer and less detailed than the better Universal discs i've seen in the past.

all in all though, a satisfying purchase.
a story with enough depth and ideas to resonate with more than just the pre-pubescant sensiblities the material is usually aimed at.
good job.



nice to see Geoffry Palmer in a movie too, wasn't expecting that- shame he didn't have more lines.