This is gonna be tough, y'all. I want to review the movie without giving anything away. I figure the best service I can do here is to tell you what happens in the book, since the movie left so much of it out and changed so much, and nothing will really be spoiled.
The movie itself was dynamic, a much better production than the first one. The first one didn't disappoint me in the least, mind you. It was faithful enough to the book and I cried from about the middle on. This one was all action, which Lewis really was not. There was a lot of fighting and battles. Much was put in which just didn't happen in the book. As I watched I understood why, since it made for a gripping film. The book, had it been rendered faithfully, would have been slow and sluggish. The point is, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as a movie. It was awesome.
The book. What I missed. I missed seeing Aslan. He came in near the end. I missed seeing Bacchus and Silenus - I was really looking forward to seeing them personified. I missed the freeing of the school marm and the children in the town of Beruna. I missed the bacchanal. The wild party. The mythical creatures come to life. I missed meeting all of the creatures of the forest and seeing their character.
I also missed the strength of the development of the theme of bondage for the Narnians, the theme which came to a pinnacle in the release at the end. In the party which didn't happen.
What I appreciated about the bondage theme - it was there in part - was the imagery in the destruction of the bridge of Beruna. I'd never seen, in the book, the visual of the parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites move to freedom. When I think about the book, it was there, I think, but I absolutely adored the visual of the film. It made me cry. It took my breath away.
The Telmarines were definitely done right. I hadn't even thought, coming in, how they would be portrayed. Initially I thought I was in an old spaghetti western set in a castle. The people, the atmosphere, the accents and dress - perfection. When I read I don't see pictures, so as unprepared as I was for them as a people, I also didn't have a visual which was ruined by them. The Telmarines absolutely made the movie.
And can I just tell y'all that I am madly in love with Prince Caspian. Oh. My. Word. Gorgeous. Go see it. :)
Oh!Oh!Oh! I almost forgot! I LOVED Caspian's nightshirt! I HAVE to find a pattern and make one just like it! He's wearing it in the beginning and wears it nearly halfway through the film. GORGEOUS!!!
Until I write again ...
Flea
13 comments:
wow I already knew I wanted to see it... you dont get mental images when you read (something well written?) that makes me sad I love the mental images I get ... some are way out there others are right on the money!
Hugs
laura
Grands and I are going to see it on our Fun Friday excursion this week sounds great!!
I can't wait to see it, but since we are freaks who never actually go to movie theatres, we will have to wait for Netflix to have it.
I'm off to the movies (Mark thinks I'm shopping for groceries!). Shh....don't tell!
Flea, I didn't know you had a store for Fred and Bessie! Which shirt do you think Mark would like (the spaghetti one?!?!). Let me know--okay? I want to get him something from the Fred and Bessie line!
Hey, congrats on your one-year anniversary in pictures (fun stuff!).
I hope t take Aurora to this in the next couple of weeks. She's going on a school trip this weekend so I'll have to wait until she returns.
I can't wait till it comes out on video. We're just too cheap to go to movies and I know the kids will love it.
I'm dying to see this too! Can't wait.
L.O.V.E.D I.T.!.!... I think the thing my kids loved the most was the message "God can do ANYTHING, no matter what the circumstances look."
I have to admit that I loved Narnia and can't wait for Prince Caspian to come out on DVD. Ummm... our kids are grown & gone. Yup, we're total geekzoids. However, since Mr. Snooty is deaf & won't admit it, we wait until the movies come out on DVD. Otherwise, no one else can hear the movie either, lol.
Great critique!
I can't wait to see it! A couple years ago I wrote a VBS curriculum that went along with LW&W and we used clips from the movie during the time everyone was together. A guy from the church made a huge wardrobe that was placed in front of the sanctuary doors (which had been removed) and we had fur coats hanging so that the kids all had to push through the coats to get into the sanctuary which had been turned into Narnia. It started out winter and we slowly changed it to spring and summer as we went through the week. It was a lot of fun!
And YOU changed your avatar. See, I am paying attention. Thanks for the review-- I really am excited. I figure we should get it by July...
I cannot wait to see it!!!!
cannot.wait.to.see.it.
the first one was the second movie we saw in theaters after Gavin was born (he was nearly 2 back then). I was thrilled with how much it stuck to the book, which I hadn't read since middle school (heck, some of the make-up and actors looked just like the drawings in the books). I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. :)
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