The Chronicles of Narnia (DVD)

The "3 disk set" contains 4 of the, I believe 5 stories by C.S. Lewis. though lion witch wardrobe is a bit on the cheesy side "never forget to wipe your sword" the rest of the stories are pretty good-superb. Baker is the best at "puddleglumb" and not because I asscoiciate him as Dr. Who, in fact, I forgot he was Dr. Who and saw only the pathetic, yet suprisingly courageous Puddleglumb in his ridiculous banter hilarity for the young, youthfully old, and maybe the old and childish too. That said, I think the main central roles had a very good choice of actors from Lucy, who some people don't like because of her buck teeth but it is a prostetic, and even if it weren't, this little girl(Sophie Wilcox) is a good actress for three movies(a long time for a little girl). Some have dumbly asked(on IMDB) how she lost her crooked teeth, it is easy to answer for anyone with 1/4 a brain and it was part of her character to "not be as pretty as Susan, explained well in "Dawn Treader" where, odviously, she had strait teeth, so what? Eustus(actor's last name unusual) and Jill Pole(Camilla Power) were surprising as well, espcially Camilla Power who performed as good as any adult! If "Last Battle" had been made(and why was it not??!) David Thawties???(if spelled correctly) would have also been through 3 films! (Power 2) I always wonderd who would play "Jill Pole" in the new 2011 movie and have suggested Decoda Fanning since these two(Eustus and Jill) are not physical characters as Edmund, Susan, and Peter, but brain users(well, as Dr. Who) Fanning would be perfect for the reason also that she is simply a superb actress for any age group! She would be a good performer for a believable Jill Pole as well. Caspian was portrayed by three actors, most notably in Dawn Treader, the young adult actor(Samual West) who sounded almost identical(in voice) to Prentis Handcock in every way from the gravely shouting to throaty normal tone of voice though West looked only 20 his voice was more mature, and if you closed your eyes you'd think it was Prentis Handcock when, in fact, it is not. Jean-Mare Perret(pronounced Peray as in Chevrolet I am thinking) was the youngest Caspian, his voice had changed from the Prince Caspian story to the end of Silver chair indicating much time had passed in the filming of these movies, it was over a year, 1989-90 I believe. Peter Wolfe was also in this(from Dr. Who: Sunmakers) as Cornilious I recognised his voice and mannerisms in Cornileous instantly from the bald wheelchair riding reptile-humanoid "Company Overseer" from Doctor Who to the bearded dark dwarvan tutor here in "Caspian". Prince Rilin(or jokingly Rittlin) is portrayed by Richard Henders(sounds a bit like the actor who portrayed Christ in the "Martian Chronicles" in 1980) and the Green Lady/Ice Queen(Barbra Kellermann) were also played by good theatrical quality actors. I am assuming Barbra Kellermann's role as both the Ice Queen and the Lady means they are one in the same, never made clear to one who has not read the books. The effects were horrid, especially the "talking' animals the raccoon(with her head screwed on backwards) was the most annoying, not Lucy's teeth! The worst, sadly The Lion God-king himself, Aslin, who was miss voiced and looked like a stuffed toy with flat toned speaking.(Liam Neeson does better as the "voice of God", meaning Aslin the Lion King.) The BBC version of him is very unconvicning. The director of the new movie said in the DVD extras there he was "reluctant to work again with talking animals" probably because he did not realise how beleivable they could be(and are not here) until he himself tried it in the new Prince Caspian movie(and they were!!!). Lewis's step son, the co producer of the new films is also on this DVD speaking in the "bookworm" reflection of C.S. Lewis. He also narrates the new Caspian DVD's Extra #2, "character section" which I like. If you have watched the new films(and there will be more in the future) do not be too put off by this 1989 production, it was made long before CGI and is just as good, especially if you were old enough to have watched it IN 1989/90 when these were crafted. Back then I thought it was great, despite being shot in "video" and not film a no no in on location (usually).The New Zealand-like outdoor scenes near the "Ettins" in "Silver Chair" where Eustes, Jill, and Puddleglumb traversed/conversed/transacted and so forth looked great in wide shot video! Location environmental sound was a nice little touch, not some big music and explosions production # or what not as in CGI B.S. where environmental ambeince would now days be totally absent in place of the odvious for morons of "now" Pre-CGI Lucas days were best! This BBC non-disney non francise production. For example, in this version of "The Lion The Witch and The wardrobe", the sound the snow makes when it falls as Peter, Susan, and Lucy walk toward the Beaver's home in the forest. Or Edmund when the witch confronts him and the winter wind whisps around her tossles(in sound) giving the feel of cold.(with a good RMS speaker set, even in 2.0. as this is formatted it is descernable to the appriciating ear.) Though the visual FX were shoddy at best, the locations(and in cases the ambience and lovely music) and the acting were what made these films! The Dawn Treader ocean scenes wernt' half bad either! I can't wait for that movie and I am to assume many video game spin-off ideas about "pirates" partaining to the Dawn treader! I cannot IMAGIN why they didn't do the last story of the Chronicles. I am to assume the "DVD Enhanced" edition to this is a clearer picture, though i do hope CGI "edits" and "Add-in junk" doesn't mosh up a classic nostalgia as it did in Doctor Who 5 doctors and Lucas Star Bores which was an insult to any real person, son of Adam, daughter of Eve or whatnot.

In order to enjoy this set of films the most, we need to keep in mind that the writer C.S. Lewis had been an atheist for a long time, and then went through a religious conversion and became a devout Anglican. (Anglo Catholic if you prefer.)We have 4 good movies in this set. (Though Part 2 is only 1 hour.)The saga begins with the first movie "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." The 4 Pevensie children, (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) journey through a wardrobe into another world where it is always winter and never Christmas. An evil queen sees to that. Though the children learn from beavers who can talk, that Aslan the Lion will set all things right. (Aslan is obviously suppose to be Jesus.) Edmund (the brat of the 4) falters and finds himself sympathetic to the queen. (Possibly from feeling bullied by his older brother Peter.) But when Edmund sees the evil of the queen, he is moved into sympathy for her victims and begins his convincing path of repentance. We then have a surprisingly disturbing and convincing reenactment of 'The Passion.' But Good Friday is soon followed by Easter Sunday.Truth be told, I prefer the old animated 70s "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." And I feel the animated one stays closer to the book. This version doesn't quite follow the book as closely. And while the more recent one had some great moments, it deviates from the book even further. But I digress.(2) "Prince Caspian" While only an hour, this 2nd chapter is the last film where we will see the 4 children together. This film stays surprisingly close to the book. (Much closer than the more recent 'Prince Caspian.') The young Caspian has been warned that his usurping uncle Miraz has a son of his own, and plans to kill of Caspian. (Undoubtedly, C.S. Lewis was thinking of the fate poor King Edward V suffered at the hands of King Richard III.) Eventually, he is forced to seek help from our 4 heroes. Caspian faces those who would rather accomplish their ends by the use evil means. (Namely bringing back the evil queen Aslan defeated in the last film.) And we have the final fight between Miraz and Peter. Deviating from the book a little, we have a cliffhanger scene that gets us ready for Part 3.(The more recent film "Prince Caspian" had some good moments. But I prefer this version, and even though it's much shorter, it follows the book more. I feel the recent film hurt the story with the dissension between Peter and Caspian, and also the romance between Caspian and Susan. (Neither of which are in the book I may add.)(3) "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" This is the first film where Peter and Susan are gone. And Lucy and Edmund must venture in without their older brother and sister. But they are joined by Caspian, (who of course is now the king), and Reepicheep. The basic thing of this film is that Caspian is looking for 7 lords who fled the area during the reign of Miraz. Caspian must face not only slave traders, but a corrupt government, as well as a pool that will test most men. Eustace (the cousin of Lucy and Edmund) is an unwilling member of the group. He behaves much like Edmund did in Part 1. (A bit nasty to put it mildly.) But like Edmund, Eustace will have his chance at repentance. And Edmund has to be the older and forgiving male here.Being honest, I actually liked the more recent film better. But this BBC film follows the book better.(4) Onto the last film. Jill Pole finds herself picked on without mercy at school. The reformed and much kinder Eustace tries to help her, and they end up in Narnia. After they lose each other, Jill is met by Aslan himself who gives her 4 signs to remember. She and Eustace find each other, they later find that Caspian has grown old, and they basically need to find Caspian's lost son and heir. They team up with a funny complainer Puddleglum. While some may laugh at his constant complaining, or even be annoyed by it, the truth is that Puddleglum rather often makes valid complaints. (Sometimes, the complainer in the group is right!)They briefly get off track (something which Puddleglum protested, AND WAS RIGHT ABOUT). But they get back on track and enter into a hell that is more a place of sorrow than anything. And it's here that Puddleglum (the complainer of all people) knows that even though they are in this terrible place, they must keep their chins up because they know they are following Aslan's directions.Without ruining this 4th chapter, I should point out that (just as he does in the book) Puddleglum has a really articulate passage that undoubtedly reflects C.S. Lewis's own turmoil as he went from being an atheist to being a Christian. He's an interesting character in that he complains to no end in ordinary situations. But in difficult situations, he keeps his head together, and really comes through for the group.Some parts of the 4th book were snipped. (Probably for time.) But all in all, this 4th film follows the book rather well.One deviation I agree with, is that this film set takes a beautiful passage from the end of Part 3, and moves it to the end of Part 4. (The last movie in the set.) As the saga is ending, Aslan tells us that he is in our world, but we have to learn to know him by the name he carries in our world.All in all, this is an excellent 4 film package that stays really close to the books.