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The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Widescreen Edition)


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$19.99
$10.91*
Part No:B000E8M0VA
Manufacturer:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney

MFG Part:

DISD40987D

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4.0 / 5.0
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    Four young siblings discover a magical wardrobe and are transported to narnia an enchanted world ruled by the glacial powers of an evil white witch. With courage and heart-felt desire to save narnia the children must band together to fight the witch in a spectacular climatic battle. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 03/28/2008 Starring: Tilda Swinton Jim Broadbent Run time: 134 minutes Rating: Pg

    C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

    Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren't knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini


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    Excellent movie, excellent transfer2009-01-014 / 5
    First the movie: It's a pretty faithful adaptation of Lewis' novel. There are minor changes but nothing major. Acting is decent, direction is good, and the special effects are outstanding. The novel was a remarkable children's story of redemption and salvation, and the filmmakers avoided simplifying it or softening some of the harder edges. There isn't blood and gore, but there are still fairly intense battle scenes. Great movie for families (and I do mean families, not just kids). It's got a story most children will relate to (wicked witches, annoying siblings, events that they can't entirely control), and it's got enough meat on it to satisfy adults as well. There's isn't any vulgarity or nudity or anything like that, although the battle scenes may be a bit scary for very young kids.

    The transfer quality was outstanding; this was the first movie I purchased on blu-ray and man oh man, was it a good choice :) Notably better than the DVD on my set (50" 1080p samsung plasma).
    DVD - New Condition2008-12-305 / 5
    The movie got to me in a very timely manor. It was exactly as the seller described.
    3 stars out of 42008-12-273 / 5
    The Bottom Line:

    A perfect performance by Tilda Swinton as the White Witch, impressive set design, and a number of effective scenes are enough to recommend this movie despite the uninspired acting of its leads.
    a satisfying, solid fantasy movie that even the harshest critic can enjoy (like myself)2008-12-274 / 5
    I don't think I've ever used the phrase, "a movie everyone can enjoy" to describe a movie, but I'll do it here. OK, done. I'll give props where it's due, for a PG movie for kids, this was surprisingly engaging, non-cliché, and very, very well written.

    There aren't a lot of fantasy movies I like, and that has to do with the way they're presented to you. They present the world to you in an already existing state, bombarding you with everything without gradually introducing you to its various elements. They present these life or death scenarios without truly exploring why we're supposed to care about the world's inhabitants in the first place. I like this movie because we're learning about the world at the same rate as the four kids here (assuming you haven't read the books, which I haven't). In fact, it was the great acting done by the kids that kept me interested enough in the "pre-fantasy" portions of the movie before we finally entered the fantastical realm, after which I cared enough about the characters to be invested in their ultimate outcomes.

    **The character Lucy single-handedly kept me interested with her GREAT acting in the beginning where she was prominently featured. She was better than a good 70-83% of grown actresses that I've seen, and probably 98% of child actresses not named Dakota Fanning and a select other few. I loved her response when asked by the faun about the human beings' hand-shaking ritual. "Yeah, I don't know, why DO we do that??"

    **I loved the interaction between the kids. I loved the tension there. In most PG movies the good guys are usually black and white, you don't have ugly things like traitors, jealousy, and greed.

    **A mark of a well-written movie is how many times you DON'T have to say to a character on screen, "why are you doing that?" or "why AREN'T you doing this?" Prime example, in the beginning after Lucy returned from Narnia as she re-entered the wardrobe, the character specifically knew that she had been gone for apparently hours, so as she re-enters, the first thing she does is to shout out to everyone who inevitably will be worried about her, that she's OK. After they question her, she then realistically asks, "wait, what? You mean to tell me that after our hide and seek game, from your perspective I must've disappeared for hours, and you didn't wonder where I was???" That's perfect. That's exactly how a real person would behave, and the actress pulled off the well-written lines just as perfectly, as she questioned her siblings with a confused look. I'm pointing this out because I can specifically think of other movies with analogous situations where the lines the character would've said would've been ALL wrong, and the intonation with which the actor delivers the line would've been so unrealistically understated.

    I only have a couple complaints:

    **When the lion is lying dead on the concrete slab, and Lucy and Susan go up to him, I don't understand why Lucy was so easily talked out of using the injury healing potion she was given by...Santa Claus earlier. She first begins to use it, but then is told by Susan that it's too late, implying that since he's already dead, the potion would do no good since it's meant to heal injuries only. But how did she know the exact boundaries or properties of this magic elixir? It's MAGIC. How do you know that it won't revive him? No one specifically ever defined its limitations. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Just pour the liquid on his wound, worst-case scenario is you get red dye on his fur (I didn't know until later you're supposed to consume the potion, not apply it directly to the wound).

    **I didn't like the sword fighting scene between Peter and the witch. It just looked weak, like they were struggling to swing the sword(s). Peter, I can understand, since he's a kid, but the witch should have been a lot smoother using the dual swords.

    **This one is minor, but, the grown versions of the kids at the end just looked very goofy.

    Those are hardly plot holes or badly written scenes however. If my only major gripe about a 2 hour+ movie is the non-use of a Phoenix Down on a fallen Red XIII, then it's a pretty good movie. Sure the overall arc of the story may have been predictable, but there were still plenty of dramatic moments along the way and you enjoyed the ride. The plot didn't feel contrived, it was believable for what it was, and the characters are extremely likable, to the point where I was hoping that even the CGI animals don't get hurt or killed. This movie has a lot heart and certain charm to it that leaves you happy for seeing it.

    ***Random personal trivia: I finally saw this three years after the movie had come out, but it wasn't random. I've always had it in the back of my head that I would eventually get around to seeing this, and it was all because of an enduring three second image in my head that I remembered when they advertised this movie on TV. It was the scene at the end showing a front view of the lion and the four kids as they walk towards the camera, towards the coronation area. As corny as it sounds, there was just something noble and inspirational about that scene.
    educational standpoint2008-12-245 / 5
    As a high-school teacher for English foundations (resource students), I choose one elementary-based book that is loaded with mythical characters and easy to understand scenes. Because my students can be overloaded with standardized testing and a strict curriculum, I throw a little fun in the lesson to keep students engaged in their learning. After a shortened version of a reading, I utilize movies as a visual aide supplement to help them connect with the characters, setting, dialogue... I strongly recommend using this dvd to support your curriculum to teach on all levels of student learning (auditory, kinesthetic, visual). This movie follows the book completely.

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