Product Description

Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Sophie Winkleman, Liam NeesonDirector: Andrew Adamson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9292 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2008-06-16
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 137 minutes

Amazon.co.uk
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 symbolism 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

Synopsis
Director Andrew Adamson gives a new dimension to C.S. Lewis's enchanting story with this long-awaited Disney adaptation. As the story begins, Mrs. Pevensie in order to keep her children safe during World War II sends Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmond (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) off to stay at a professor's country estate. Away from 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 the cruel White Witch, played with great force by the pale, strong-featured Tilda Swinton. When she steps back into reality, Lucy struggles to convince her sceptical siblings of the things she's seen. After much disbelief, the others finally enter the world as well, learning that the creatures of Narnia have long been waiting for humans like themselves to appear and break the witch's spell. But in order to be of any help to the lovable talking beavers, fawns, foxes, and centaurs that they meet, the four will have to face betrayal by one of their own as Edmond cracks under the witch's tempting offer of unlimited Turkish Delights. Under the leadership of the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), can Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and the oldest, Peter, prove themselves heroes in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil? High-budget special effects, impressive performances by the film's young newcomers, and beautiful set design move this film far beyond previous television adaptations.

Customer Reviews

Great film, excellent picture, great sound
Great film, enjoyed it despite initial misgivings about watching a 'kids film'. Not going to review it in depth since so many others already have on the DVD section.

The picture on the bluray disc is excellent throughout, which does mean that some of the more dodgy special effects are shown up - though fortunately not too often. For the most part the graphics are very good, Aslan in particular is impressive.

The sound offers 5.1 and uncompressed. I could not get the uncompressed sound to work initially, but all was ok after a play around, and the uncompressed sound is very good. Footsteps in snow never seemed so loud! The 5.1 sound is also good, but does lack the detail of the lossless format.

One issue was that if I stopped playback on the ps3 (and went to the ps3 menu screen) and then restarted the disc, the disc would start right from the beginning of all the disc selections etc, which is unusual as most other discs go right back to where I left off watching. Not a big deal though.

Great family fun, this disc will show off your home cinema system.

Movie: 3/5 Picture Quality: 3.75~5/5 Sound Quality: 4.25~4.75/5 Extras: 4/5
Version: U.S.A / Region A,B,C
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:22:51 (Theatrical edition)
Movie size: 40,534,935,552 bytes
Disc size: 45,025,418,656 bytes
Average Video Bit Rate: 25.81 Mbps
LPCM 5.1 4608Kbps (48kHz/16-bit) English
DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps

Great fantasy, superb Blu-ray transfer!
You'll have already seen it to be reading this review, so the film you know about.

The blu-ray has a marvelous picture and sound, so yes, it's worth the extra money over the standard dvd.

The extras are great too, and i particularly loved the bloopers!