Cheap Cds - Stardust [HD DVD] [2007] [US Import]

Back to Stardust [HD DVD] [2007] [US Import]

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Absolutely delightful, do see it!
Comment: We loved every minute of this charming fantasy tale. There aren't nearly enough fantasy films
around. I'll expand my review later if I remember but for the moment this hurried comment is to
urge people to see it if fantasy is their type of movie as I'm sure they won't be disappointed. />
The only reason I don't give 5 stars is because I was faintly disappointed by the hero's
actor. He's a lovely guy but I would have preferred him just a fraction older and a fraction more
knowing and dynamic. On the other hand, I haven't yet read the book and perhaps it's essential he is
that young and not too experienced.

Love the concept of The Wall. What fun. A DVD to
buy in due course, definitely.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Do you see what I see?
Comment: You all know the Christmas carol, so maybe you'd like to sing along with me as you read this review
about a remarkable fantasy film that should be on everybody's Santa list this year.
/>Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky,
little lamb
Do you see what I see?

A star, a star
Dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

Once upon a
time, and a long time ago, there lived a king who had seven sons. Apparently not very imaginative in
the naming department, he named them Primus, Secundus, Tertius and so on until he got to Septimus.
As per family tradition, the last brother left standing would inherit the kingdom, and pretty soon
it came down to the final four. The king changed a ruby into a diamond and cast it out into the
heavens, decreeing that the brother who found it and changed it back into a ruby would rule them
all. Of course, there can be only one, and soon it's every prince for himself.

The
story revolves around a star that tumbles to earth as a result of the aforementioned family feud,
assuming human form in the likeness of Claire Danes, who certainly does have the right sort of
luminosity to pull off the role. Soon it's open season on Yvaine, for that is the name of the star,
with Tristan (Charlie Cox) seeking a gift for the girl he loves, Lamia the witch (Michelle Pfeiffer)
out to gather some heart of star beauty treatments, and the last (but not least) prince seeking his
kingdom.

Packed with excitement, magic, comedy and romance, as well as morbid humor,
lots of murder (without blood or gore) and Robert DeNiro as you've never seen him before, you won't
even notice that you've been glued to your seat for over two hours.

It may not be
suitable for younger kids as there's a fair amount of violence and some really ugly witches (though
none uglier than Angelica in The Witches), but fantasy lovers (people who love fantasy - not the
famous personality you've been dreaming about) will find this movie absolutely amazing and
enthralling. I certainly did.

Amanda Richards

Customer Rating:

Summary: completely enchanting fantasy film
Comment: If you have a child of 9+, this is a treat. I wasn't expecting anything special, especially not with
the plethora of good adaptations of famous novels around, but my 12 year old and I were captivated.

It begins in our world ion a village called Wall, so called because it's close to a wall
guarded by an old man, which is supposed to divide our world from that of Faerie. One day, a bold
young man tricks his way past, and finds himself outside another village, where miniature elephants
are kept in cages and a beautiful young woman, slave to a witch, chooses a flower to bring him luck
in exchange for a kiss, and more. Nine months later, a baby boy, Tristran, is brought to the wall
and left with his father. When he grows up, he works in a shop and is teased and despised by the
lovely shopkeeper's daughter, Victoria.
Meanwhile in Faerie (yes, twee) the old king is dying
and his remaining sons - those who have not yet managed to murder each other for the throne - sends
a jewel up into the sky to help find the true heir. Unfortunately, this knocks a star out of the
heavens, who comes to earth as the beautiful Clare Danes. The heart of a star has the power to
return youth even to witches, and one of the three most evil ones, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, sees
it fall and sets out to find it. But Tristran, courting his sweetheart, happens to have seen the
star fall too, and has jumped over the wall to find it and bring it back as proof of his love... />What makes this film special are the unexpected twists Gaiman's script gives to traditional
fairytale elements. It's funny, mad, touching and above all exciting. The actors are all clearly
having a ball playing their parts (esp Pfeiffer) and de Niro as a cross-dressing pirate ("We always
knew you was a whoopsie", his cut-throat crew tell him, kindly)is a delight. Apart from Harry Potter
6 and The Golden Compass this is THE children's DVD to buy of 2007.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Sparkles like stardust
Comment: Fantasy is hard to find in the movies -- for every "Lord of the Rings," there's only a handful of
bad sword'n'sorcery tales for kids ("Eragon," "The Seeker"). As for fairy tales, forget it. />
But one little fairy tale HAS made its way into theatres -- an enchanting little story
loosely based on a Neil Gaiman novel. And "Stardust's" charm is its lack of pretension, and its
willingness to be silly, romantic, fantastical, sparkling and most importantly, tongue-in-cheek. And
it has pirates too.

A wall separates our world from the world of magic -- and one
night, Dunstan Thorn went over it, and had a brief tryst with a beautiful princess, who is
imprisoned by a witch. Nine months later, baby Tristan is left on his doorstep.
/>Nineteen years later, a dying king magically flings a ruby into the sky, and says that the prince
who finds it will be the new king. The two remaining princes -- and the ghosts of their dead
brothers -- et off to find it. But that ruby dislodged a star, and it plummets to the ground across
the Wall -- attracting the attention of three ancient witches, who use the hearts of stars to
restore their spent youth.

Still with me?

Tristan (Charlie Cox) also sees
the star, and the snotty girl he adores (Sienna Miller) says that she will marry him if he gets her
the star before her birthday. Tristan does manage to find and entrap the beautiful star, Yvaine
(Claire Danes), and they start off on a magical adventure of air pirates, unicorns, evil witches,
and true love.

"Stardust" has pretty much all the requirements for a fantasy and/or
fairy tale movie -- magic, love, an evil villain, and lots of odd characters to round out the cast,
and flesh out the story. Not much is actually new. But like the original Gaiman tale, the movie
winks affectionately at you as the story unfolds.

In fact, the movie only really
stumbles when it stops to ruminate on true love and how precious it is, etc. Cute, but boring --
especially since the romantic leanings of the leads are pretty clear. Director Matthew Vaughn really
shines when he's focusing on airships, goat-men, and the occasional magical sword-fight with an dead
man.

Despite the scattered nature of the plot, Vaughn directs with a smooth, sure hand,
and he sprinkles plenty of comic relief through it -- Captain Shakespeare dancing in drag, or the
Greek chorus of murdered princes. And the dialogue avoids fantastical pomposity by being just as
tongue-in-cheek ("Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!")

Cox makes an
excellent wide-eyed, slightly blinkered country boy, who turns from a bumbling suitor to a strong
young hero. Danes isn't quite as ethereal as one would expect Yvain to be, but she gives a solid
performance, and Miller is perfect as the snotty, shallow Victoria.

But while the
younger performers are solid, the veterans are absolutely brilliant. Pfeiffer is hilarious, chilling
and pouty as the constantly frustrated witch, and De Niro steals the show as a cuddly, twinkly-eyed
gay pirate who pretends to be brutal. And Peter O'Toole and David Kelly have brief but brilliant
appearances.

"Stardust" is exactly what the title suggests -- sparkling, funny, wry,
and just deep enough to be entertaining. A solid, sweet little fantasy movie.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Fabulous fantasy faery tale for all ages
Comment: Neil Gaiman, who wrote Stardust, is a treasure of modern storytelling. This film of his novel is
superbly realised and absolutely worth watching. It improves with repeated viewings, in fact. />
Gaiman wanted to write an old-fashioned Edwardian fairy-story, full of flying ships and
unicorns and evil witches, beautiful maidens and handsome young men coming of age and falling in
love. So he crammed all of that and more into the story, and the film absolutely sparkles with the
threads of the story and the characters.

It's a two hour film, which might be a bit
long for younger children to sit through, and there are a couple of points where the action slows
down (when the love affair develops) which kids will find fidgity. However the majority of the movie
absolutely romps along, following the young hero on his quest to find a fallen star and bring it
(her!) back to impress his girlfriend.

There are also some scream-aloud funny bits.
Kids will love the boy-transformed-into-girl moment; adults will crease up at the sight of Robert de
Niro doing the can-can. There's a sly wit about the whole film; look out for the bit about the
drooping boobs...

Unlike many fantasy films you don't have to sit through endless
trudging across hillsides in the rain. The quest is the backbone of the story but the joy of
Stardust is the sheer creativity and richness of each scene. You can relax and leave the plot to get
on with itself, and sit back and enjoy the superb performances (Michelle Pfeiffer is particularly
good as the beautiful-evil old crone) and each sparkling scene.

Definitely worth
watching several times, because you'll see much more of the detail with each viewing. If you didn't
catch Stardust at the movies then that's a shame, because some of the dazzling quality of the
effects will be lost at home. So watch it on the biggest screen you can -- and in HD if you've got
it. This is one film that's definitely worth it.

Excellent entertainment for adults;
young children might need a break halfway through. Afterwards, it's a film which will leave you
feeling happy, uplifted. Not too many of them around, so make the most of it!

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