The Chronicles of Narnia: The Complete Four Disc Collector's Edition [DVD]

The main theme is lovely listening to. Although not available on Blu Ray, it is still of good quality considering the technology they had back then. Watch this collection from last century as well as the trilogy made this century where Liam Neeson starred as Aslan. You will not be disappointed.

I don't remember the TV series as a child, but I knew they existed and after having got back into the Narnia series around the time of the first movie I wanted to see what they were like.The first impressions are that they are very faithful to the books- almost every aspect is just as you'd expect from the book. It obviously attracts criticism because of the age of it- the effects, costumes etc are very obviously outdated now, but despite this it holds up in general. Aslan is very well done- the main problem with him is the mouth movement, he's actually better done than I expected him to be! The talking animals are all blatantly people in animal costumes, but they are actually well done- obviously some are better than others though. I was pretty impressed with Glimfeather the owl! The other thing is the cartoony creatures that are used sometimes- these stick out like a sore thumb, but at least they seem to affect the people on screen pleasingly.The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is very strong (as you'd expect), well acted and because of being a TV series instead of movie isn't hurried. The acting is good from everyone, the witch is overly dramatic, but it adds to the charm.Prince Caspian & Voyage of the Dawn Treader are enjoyable, but Prince Caspian is only 2 episodes long, and Dawn Treader is only 4 (the other 2 are 6), so these are obviously more hurried. Prince Caspian isn't given enough attention, it's basically rushed over as a setup to Dawn Treader, but at least what there is is well done. I think it is visual effects wise a step up from LWW. Dawn Treader is really really good, it could have done with being a bit less rushed though.Silver Chair is actually what I'm currently watching. I'm actually really enjoying it, this and Caspian were the 2 books I didn't like so much, but Silver Chair I really enjoy here. Again it feels a bit squeezed into 6 episodes, but everything seems to be covered from the book somehow.Overall I can highly recommend them- If you like Narnia in a big way then you can't fail to enjoy them. If you've never read the books then I'd recommend you do that instead- I think for me the whole thing holds together alot better that way. In the TV series I haven't so much had the impression of Narnia as a huge world like the book does such a good job of creating.I personally wouldn't like to say that it is better than the new movies- more faithful, yes. But they haven't strayed too much I don't think.Really, the people I'd recommend this to are the fans of the Narnia books, not so much the people who have only the new movies to go by- if you know the book I think you'll probably get a little more out of it.Unfortunately there is no Magician's Nephew, Horse and His Boy, or Last Battle here, maybe they would have really needed better technology and budget to do those justice though.

Watching these wonderful series again just takes me back to Sunday afternoons in my childhood!Even now, surrounded by the CGI world of movies where stunning effects are everything, I was still impressed and delighted watching this set of the BBC series again. As the new movie shows, the mythical creatures are created by CGI to look as real and 3D as possible. In the BBC version they have combined cartoon animation for the creatures, mixed in with the actors. BUT, this all adds to the beauty of it and still works very well and is pleasant on the eye.The children actors for the most part are very good, the costumes are excellent and the thing I was still in awe of was Aslan! I'd forgotten what an amazing piece of design he was!! In "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe", the White Witch is just so evil, a baddie in the time when baddies really DID look evil and had the right cackle! Yes, some of the scenes are simplistic and occasionally wooden in the acting stakes, but it all adds to the nostalgia and magic somehow.This DVD box set is a beautiful set, with clear menus to navigate. The Special Features disc is a great bonus; it was nice to see the actors together again in the 2003 Interview, and hear what they'd been up to. There are also behind-the-scenes featurettes from various TV progs from the time etc.The transfer to DVD has been excellent. This is a set all the family can enjoy again and again. BRILLIANT!!

I bought this boxset purely for nostalgic reasons, because I really enjoyed the 2005 big budget blockbuster version and wanted to revisit the first one I ever saw. I bought it for myself, but my kids insisted on watching it with me, which I hadn't planned, because I feared it may not have aged well.Funnily enough, the kids loved it! Yes, they laughed at some of the costumes, and some of the dialogue, but we ended watching all six episodes of TLTWATW in one sitting. It was a little like when I would watch it with my brothers on Sunday afternoons. It's certainly more faithful to the book than the movie was, sometimes to its detriment. When you've seen TIlda SWinton, Barbra Kellerman seems outrageously hammy as The White Witch now. The final battle is essentially Peter and Edmund waving their swords at cartoon sprites. It just doesn't work. No amount of rose tinted nostalgia can mask the fact that the Disney version pretty much trumps this one in every way you can think of. But I still love watching this on rainy days.Prince Caspian seems really rushed to me. Given that I grew up reading the book, there's just so much they left out. I wish they'd spread out the story rather than cramming it into two episodes, because we don't get to see the character development the books portrayed. Stlll, the children's acting has improved, Miraz is wonderfully villainous, and the final battle is considerably better this time around.When it comes to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, there is really no comparison between the TV series and the film. This version is superior to the movie, without a shadow of a doubt. Samuel West simply IS the adult Caspian, Eustace Scrubb is as annoying here as he is in the book, Reepicheep is wonderful, and even though I haven't read it in a while, I don't remember spotting anything that had been left out. From the slave markets, to the island of the voices, to the three sleepers, to the dark island, to Goldwater... everything is there, and it's done so well, given the BBC's relatively meager budget. Yes, the dragon looks quite awful now, as does the Sea Serpent. But that was to be expected thirty years on, and it doesn't hurt the story that badly.The Silver Chair was my favourite book of the series as a boy, and here they've done it justice. It's a six parter, so it doesn't feel rushed or cut in any way. Camilla Power makes for an excellent JIll Pole, and Scrubb is of course far mare likeable. Tom Baker as the dour but stalwart Marsh Wiggle Puddleglum is an interesting casting choice, but it works. Aslan is not very involved in the story, which I think is a good thing - he kept popping up in Dawn Treader! Oh and of course Barbra Kellerman hams it up again, this time as The Lady of the Green Kirtle. I will say the Earthmen look nothing like how I imagined them, though. And Prince Rilian is awfully shouty.Obviously A Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle never received the adaptation treatment - probably because by the 80's the books may have been considered mildly racist. It's a real shame, because I like both books, as well as The Magician's Nephew, and i think the Beeb could have done something really good with them.The bonus features are also worth checking out - it's interesting seeing the Pevensie kids all grown up and there's an exhaustive database of nearly every actor in the Chronicles. I never thought I'd be watching these again, yet here I am. Bless the BBC.

Love the BBC series. Not all the books were made into movies.

La mia figlia preferita

Diese Box mit den drei von der BBC (nicht DISNEY!) produzierten Narnia-Filmen ist etwas für die Fans der Bücher. Soweit es die Dramatisierung und die beschränkten cineastischen Möglichkeiten der zwischen 1988 und 1990 hergestellten TV-Produktion zuließ, hat man sich sehr an Lewis' Beschreibungen und Dialoge der Bücher gehalten.Und daher verschmerzt man gerne die etwas schwache Auflösung.

Timeless stories by C.S. Lewis

The "3 disk set" contains 4 of the, I believe 5 stories by C.S. Lewis. though lion witch wardrobe is a bit on the cheesy side "never forget to wipe your sword" the rest of the stories are pretty good-superb. Baker is the best at "puddleglumb" and not because I asscoiciate him as Dr. Who, in fact, I forgot he was Dr. Who and saw only the pathetic, yet suprisingly courageous Puddleglumb in his ridiculous banter hilarity for the young, youthfully old, and maybe the old and childish too. That said, I think the main central roles had a very good choice of actors from Lucy, who some people don't like because of her buck teeth but it is a prostetic, and even if it weren't, this little girl(Sophie Wilcox) is a good actress for three movies(a long time for a little girl). Some have dumbly asked(on IMDB) how she lost her crooked teeth, it is easy to answer for anyone with 1/4 a brain and it was part of her character to "not be as pretty as Susan, explained well in "Dawn Treader" where, odviously, she had strait teeth, so what? Eustus(actor's last name unusual) and Jill Pole(Camilla Power) were surprising as well, espcially Camilla Power who performed as good as any adult! If "Last Battle" had been made(and why was it not??!) David Thawties???(if spelled correctly) would have also been through 3 films! (Power 2) I always wonderd who would play "Jill Pole" in the new 2011 movie and have suggested Decoda Fanning since these two(Eustus and Jill) are not physical characters as Edmund, Susan, and Peter, but brain users(well, as Dr. Who) Fanning would be perfect for the reason also that she is simply a superb actress for any age group! She would be a good performer for a believable Jill Pole as well. Caspian was portrayed by three actors, most notably in Dawn Treader, the young adult actor(Samual West) who sounded almost identical(in voice) to Prentis Handcock in every way from the gravely shouting to throaty normal tone of voice though West looked only 20 his voice was more mature, and if you closed your eyes you'd think it was Prentis Handcock when, in fact, it is not. Jean-Mare Perret(pronounced Peray as in Chevrolet I am thinking) was the youngest Caspian, his voice had changed from the Prince Caspian story to the end of Silver chair indicating much time had passed in the filming of these movies, it was over a year, 1989-90 I believe. Peter Wolfe was also in this(from Dr. Who: Sunmakers) as Cornilious I recognised his voice and mannerisms in Cornileous instantly from the bald wheelchair riding reptile-humanoid "Company Overseer" from Doctor Who to the bearded dark dwarvan tutor here in "Caspian". Prince Rilin(or jokingly Rittlin) is portrayed by Richard Henders(sounds a bit like the actor who portrayed Christ in the "Martian Chronicles" in 1980) and the Green Lady/Ice Queen(Barbra Kellermann) were also played by good theatrical quality actors. I am assuming Barbra Kellermann's role as both the Ice Queen and the Lady means they are one in the same, never made clear to one who has not read the books. The effects were horrid, especially the "talking' animals the raccoon(with her head screwed on backwards) was the most annoying, not Lucy's teeth! The worst, sadly The Lion God-king himself, Aslin, who was miss voiced and looked like a stuffed toy with flat toned speaking.(Liam Neeson does better as the "voice of God", meaning Aslin the Lion King.) The BBC version of him is very unconvicning. The director of the new movie said in the DVD extras there he was "reluctant to work again with talking animals" probably because he did not realise how beleivable they could be(and are not here) until he himself tried it in the new Prince Caspian movie(and they were!!!). Lewis's step son, the co producer of the new films is also on this DVD speaking in the "bookworm" reflection of C.S. Lewis. He also narrates the new Caspian DVD's Extra #2, "character section" which I like. If you have watched the new films(and there will be more in the future) do not be too put off by this 1989 production, it was made long before CGI and is just as good, especially if you were old enough to have watched it IN 1989/90 when these were crafted. Back then I thought it was great, despite being shot in "video" and not film a no no in on location (usually).The New Zealand-like outdoor scenes near the "Ettins" in "Silver Chair" where Eustes, Jill, and Puddleglumb traversed/conversed/transacted and so forth looked great in wide shot video! Location environmental sound was a nice little touch, not some big music and explosions production # or what not as in CGI B.S. where environmental ambeince would now days be totally absent in place of the odvious for morons of "now" Pre-CGI Lucas days were best! This BBC non-disney non francise production. For example, in this version of "The Lion The Witch and The wardrobe", the sound the snow makes when it falls as Peter, Susan, and Lucy walk toward the Beaver's home in the forest. Or Edmund when the witch confronts him and the winter wind whisps around her tossles(in sound) giving the feel of cold.(with a good RMS speaker set, even in 2.0. as this is formatted it is descernable to the appriciating ear.) Though the visual FX were shoddy at best, the locations(and in cases the ambience and lovely music) and the acting were what made these films! The Dawn Treader ocean scenes wernt' half bad either! I can't wait for that movie and I am to assume many video game spin-off ideas about "pirates" partaining to the Dawn treader! I cannot IMAGIN why they didn't do the last story of the Chronicles. I am to assume the "DVD Enhanced" edition to this is a clearer picture, though i do hope CGI "edits" and "Add-in junk" doesn't mosh up a classic nostalgia as it did in Doctor Who 5 doctors and Lucas Star Bores which was an insult to any real person, son of Adam, daughter of Eve or whatnot.