The Chronicles of Narnia: TLTW&TW DVD

[Erekose]

Yep. I got it. Actually got it yesterday on my break, but only got the chance to watch it this late morning and early afternoon.

I enjoyed it... with certaion reservations.

Somehow I got the same sort of vibes as I get when watching LotR.

Lots of small niggly things, and a couple of major things.

On the positive side, I liked the characterisations and the way they develop. I don't have any gripes with the actors, especially the children with one exception.

I have to say.. I found Jadis to be... a let down. My "concerns" were realised. Somehow she kept reminding me of "The Borg Queen" (which incidently I thought was a grave mistake in the Star Trek film and subsequent episodes.. but thats a different story), both in terms of appearance and mannerisms.
Yes, Jadis was the "White Witch", but even before reading MN I always assumed this to be a question of complexion and/or attire and not because of her being a sort of down-beat "Snow Queen".

In the film she came across as a sort of cross between The Borg Queen and Jack Frost. Her compexion having a sort of implication of silvery frostness rather than being pale. In fact in some scenes she didn't seem very pale at all. Even flushed at times.

However I did like Jim Broadbents depiction of Digory, even if the events weren't exactly "true". The Spirit was kept to.

One thing I did miss though was that Edmund knew Aslan was a lion before going to Jadis, and made the mistake of thinking that the stone lion was Aslan, which made his actions and comments more.. poignent. Somehow I think they kept the beavers from describing Aslan so that it would come as a "suprise" (huh!.. What? .. Surely every would know? or at least the vast majority? So where's the point?)

I also missed the sewing machine.

BUT

Overall, I enjoyed it. The "pluses" far outweight the "minuses".

Scenery excellent
Music excellent
CGI excellent
Actors and acting .. excellent

Seeing it on a bigger screen would have been better, but at least this way got to see it in peace and tranquility.

Okay.. thats enough of my rambling

[Pete]

[A#minor]

I'm going to buy my LWW DVD today! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

[Puddleglee]

I've only seen the film at the pictures, and I was left with a feeling of disappointment. I also missed the 'other' lion, and the fact that his replacement kept the graffitti after he'd been reanimated seemed so disrespectful, both of the poor cheetah and the book - after all, Lewis' point is that Edmund is being very childish by drawing on the statue.

My main gripe, though, was with the script. The children's dialogue was far more early 21st Century than mid-WWII, and there were very few direct quotes from the book, with even the prophesies being cut short or mangled.

I did, however, love the acting (I thought all of the children were great), the scenery, the effects (especially the animals talking) and the battle (even if bits of it reminded me of LOTR).

[Syren]

[Pete]

Syren, I think you'll find that there is no extended edition of LW&W to be coming out - just a special edition. Which I believe has just been released over there in the US, and which I know is going to be released here in Australia (or Tasmania at least) on 26 April.

Hmmm...Puddleglee, personally, I found the graffitti remaining on the lioness (not cheetah) was a nice little humourous touch - after all, Narnia is meant to be somewhat more lighthearted than other stories (such as Lord ofthe Rings), so I personally thought it was a pretty good touch.

As for the dialogue of the children being too early 21st century, I'm not sure I can agree with you there...it seemed to me to be believably 1940s language.

Though I do agree with you, they didn't build up the mystery of Narnia (in the conversation with the Professor) or of Aslan (when the children were at the Beavers house) as much they could have.

Over all though, despite that minor disappointment I just raised, I thought it was brilliant. Ohhh...they could have fleshed out the resurrection scene a bit longer - the death scene was perfectly done (IMO) but they could have made the resurrection more joyful and made the girls wait slightly longer before the resurrection...ahh well, over all, I can't wait to see it again!!!

[Mornamoice]

My hubby went out this evening and bought the DVD and I have it playing on my computer now.

[A#minor]

Just watched it! Love it! Love it! Love it!
Except for the bits where they keep insisting, "We must go home.", and except for the bit with the river, and except for the bit.... Yes, well, you get the idea.

There is one Easter Egg that I could find. On the main menu, go up to the Aslan head at the top and there is a screensaver type thing with scenes from Narnia and music. Not much really.

The bloopers were hilarious! Love it! Love it!

[Therese]

Did you get the deluxe set?

[Therese]

I loved at the end of the movie where they roll the credits, then go back to Lucy trying to get back into the wardrobe, with the professor reminding her that she can never go back the same way, or know when.

[A#minor]

[Erekose]

[Stanley Anderson]

The review in our paper indicated a two disc set. Here is the review:

Two Oscar-winning dramas, one that everyone thought would win the Best Picture Academy Award and the one that beat it out, arrive on DVD today with some nice extras.

But those extras pale in comparison to those on the wonderful two-disc version of a fantasy film whose worldwide box-office take ($691.8million) is almost three times as much as the two dramas combined. The fantasy flick with the great extras is, of course, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (Disney, $34.95).

Lovers of DVD extras will find plenty to cheer about in this stunning two-disc version ("Narnia" is also available in a single disc version for $24.95) of the film about four British siblings who travel to a magical world, where they join forces with the mighty lion Aslan to battle the evil White Witch, Jadis.

To begin with, there are two solid commentary tracks, including an absolutely delightful one with director Andrew Adamson and his four young stars. In addition there are bloopers, Narnia facts and plenty of fascinating features on the making of this entertaining film as well as a wonderful documentary on C.S. Lewis, the author who wrote the book the film is based on.

[Esther]

[Gwendolen]

I have some issues with the film itself, of course, but I love the dvd. I still haven't watched everything. One thing I did not like, however was one feature (sorry, I can't remember which) where the narrator was discussing Aslan. When she talked about the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea there was a colour illustration of the Tisroc from HHB in the background, as if to imply that the Tisroc was the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea.

Hopefully I'm just interpreting it wrong, but...

Oh by the way, are you sure that your store didn't have the Special Edition (or whatever it's called). In the store I got it at, there was a big display of the regular version in the front, but you had to go to the back of the store to get the other version.