The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch And The Wardrobe (4 Disc Special Edition) [2005]

See Larger Image	List Price: £26.99 Our Price: £12.28 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Starring: Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton, William Moseley, Ray Winstone, Georgie Henley Directed By: Andrew Adamson Average Customer Rating:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: Parental Guidance Binding: DVD EAN: 8717418098766 Format: Anamorphic Label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Number Of Items: 4 Publisher: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2006-11-20 Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm Theatrical Release Date: 2005
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: small, minor & Disneyfied fantasy flick, don't expect LotR-type classic Comment: Like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Wizard of Oz" and "Harry Potter" series, "Narnia" creates its own fantasy universe with its own set of facts and realities. Narnia is a vast land of snow and glaciers, where a wide variety of magical and mythological creatures such as fauns, centaurs, cyclops, griffins, dwarves, rhinos, beavers, wolves and other kinds of beasts live in. No need to mention mighty Aslan and his archenemy Jadis, the wicked White Witch. In this magical backdrop, "Narnia" tells the story of four siblings who get into this enchanted realm through a mysterious wardrobe while they are in a temporary stay in a country manor. But they have a big problem: Narnia has been under the dark spell of the White Witch who turned it into a world of "eternal winter", and they gotta help Aslan and his loyal followers realize the prophecy to end the winter and bring peace and joy to Narnia. Needless to say that "Narnia" is full of Christian references and religious allegories while telling the tale of the battle between good & evil. Aslan impersonates Christ who altruistically self-sacrifices for saving the "betrayer", then rises again and brings about resurrection of the animals who were petrified by the Witch. Edmund impersonates Judas Iscariot, a lost and self-serving soul, who betrays the "good" being enticed by the promises of the Witch and finally redeems his soul by practicing virtue. Also, "Stone Table" scene is worth remembering. Using such religious references, "Narnia" stresses moral values & virtues, and emphasizes strict adherance to them. As a fantasy film; its settings, CGIs and special effects are out of the world; yet human characters are rather thin, dull and Disneyfied. The film fails to create any emotional attachment to them. Actually, Disneyfication is ubiquitous from start to end. Unlike the portrayals of C.S. Lewis' book, there are no violent or bloody moments in battles and in Aslan's torture & sacrifice scene. Don't expect neither the groundbreaking battle scenes, nor excellent character development and high dramas of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But keep in mind that the target market of "Narnia" is children, and this makes it decent & satisfactory. If you're fan of this kind of material, just enjoy it. (3.1/5.0) Customer Rating: Summary: Better, but barely Comment: There is no arguement that this extended cut works better on some levels the original didn't. With all shorter versions, cuts were made to preserve pace and drama, so at times these qualities aren't so intense - and yet at others, they are more intense (such as the chase after Edmund breaks the stained glass). Some scenes include pleasant little moment, but apart from two sections at the battle, that's all they amount to - little moments. The transition of Narnia from snow to summer is better explored in this new release, the Phoenix dividing the fighting troops too amongst others. A let down for me was that they used the same audio commentaries, just re-edited. The second disk is the same as the original release from what I can tell - though disk 4 is the one worth watching. I never owned the original, but had seen it many times -so this investment was worth it for me, though admittedly, this film isn't very extended. George Lucas extended Star Wars I when it came out on DVD but he didn't call it extended nor did he draw attention to the fact, and it was probably a more sizeable addition than Andrew Adamson's. Still, not a loss by any means. Customer Rating: Summary: Good, but not as extended as I would have liked! Comment: When I heard that there was going to be an extended version of LWW, I was very excited, especially being a big fan of the Lord of the Rings extended editions, which added considerably more to the films, and brought them closer to the spirit of the books. I was hoping the same would follow for LWW, but my wishes were only partially satisfied. There have been various reports that the film is extended by half an hour. Not so - I think they've managed to squeeze in another 10 minutes or so. Most of this 10 minutes consists of wider establishment shots, some of which are worthwhile, but some of which just seem to slow the pace of the film. Unlike LOTR, there are no added scenes which were omitted from the theatrical edition, just a few little bits and bobs added in. Some fans will be pleased to know that the most additions are in the Battle of Beruna sequence, which do serve to enhance an already impressive scene. However, you can't help feeling that the extra 10 minutes could have been put in the theatrical version without too much trouble. The movie is definitely better as a result of the additions, but only by a little bit. It's not a revolutionary change. If you're just a passing fan, and already have the theatrical version, I would suggest that you'd probably be better off buying something else. If you don't have the theatrical version, or you're a manic Narnia geek (like me), then it's worth getting. Customer Rating: Summary: Worth it for the extras? Comment: I have to confess, I gave my original two-disk copy of the film away back in the summer: partly because I knew the recipient would treasure it, and partly as an excuse to buy this version when it emerged. Perhaps that's my point: I'd find it diffficult to justify owning both versions. The two extra disks offer an agreeable and solidly-researched documentary on Lewis and the Chronicles (very little that will be news to anyone who's done their homework, but nice all the same) and a 150 minute "making of" documentary that more or less follows the course of the film. Both are better for being linear programs, without the need to navigate a system of menus, bells and whistles. And both are worth having. On that basis alone, I'm happy to have forked out £25 for the set and the original film. The film itself doesn't incorporate a vast amount of new material, and several things that I'd looked for didn't make this cut (e.g., the "romp" after Aslan's resurection and the dancing scene from the trailer). However, I find it difficult to give this film in any guise less than 5 stars (4 for added value relative to the original is fair). Considering how the LWW could have been massacred by a less sensitive, faithful and intelligent treatment, I'm happy to embrace Adamson's interpretation and overlook the bits I would liked to have changed. I'd probably have been wrong in any case :o) Customer Rating: Summary: Was it worth? Comment: IMHO, to extend a movie one needs to add some REAL additions into the story with the respect given to the "short" version. The brilliant examples are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and Kingdom of Heaven. The screening version of this wonderful movie which was released on DVD before supports the book in the best way it could! The spirit is there, the story is well-delivered, and the special effects plus the battle scene are super additions to the overall result! However, this "extended" version made us think only of those unfair moneymakers who didn't put these 9 or 10 minutes into the original version to keep them for doubling their revenue by the end of year.... I could say that those several frames added to this release added nothing to the story, to the movie, and to the idea. The battle scene has the most significant air-battle sequence which is not worth buying, but.... this is exactly their goal - to tease us. The bonus materials are probably interesting. Haven't watched them all, only the beginning of Disc 2 (of 4) - too angry with Disc 1 to go on... Still I love the book and value the original work very much, so I can't rate it lower than 4 stars. More Reviews