Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19207 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4

Synopsis
This lavish set includes an all-new, extended edition of the film. Director Andrew Adamson (SHREK) gives a new dimension to C.S. Lewis's enchanting story with this long-awaited Disney adaptation. As the story begins, a group of child evacuees, Edmond, Susan and Peter are packed off to stay at a professor’s house in the country. Away from war-torn London and under the care of a strict housekeeper, they are instructed to stick to themselves and stay out of trouble. But when an innocent game of hide-and-seek leads young Lucy to a spare room containing a large wardrobe, she discovers something that will change their lives forever. Inside the wardrobe there is a world frosted with ice and filled with magical beings. Known as Narnia, the land is stuck in eternal winter at the hands of a cruel White Witch.

Customer Reviews

small, minor & Disneyfied fantasy flick, don't expect LotR-type classic
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)

Better, but barely
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.

Good, but not as extended as I would have liked!
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.