{2jtab: Movie Review}

Willow - Blu-ray Review

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3 stars

“It is a time of dread…” and so begins Willow and the partnership between actor-turned-director Ron Howard and creator/executive producer George Lucas. It wasn’t their first partnership. That was American Graffiti way back in 1973, of course. But it was the first “hands on” team-up between the two since Howard had established himself as a successful motion picture director. Unlike today – in the cynical world of fanboys and rabid naysayers where adventure movies are ruined by comments and judgments before ANYONE has seen them – critics and fans alike were generally buzzed about the project.

While Lucas’ original story “borrows” from most every other fantasy adventure tale out there – including the biblical one involving a pint-sized Moses being discovered in the weeds by a river’s shore – the movie, especially upon a modern day viewing, is a solid testament to what once passed for quality adventure tales when Lucasfilm was experimenting with burgeoning computer effects. It’s quick, fun, and – while never original – much better at telling its narrative than today’s talent. At its core, Willow is a sweetly naive film that’s a well-balanced mix of matte paintings, practical movie trickery, and CGI.

Opening with a prophecy stating that a girl child will bring about the end of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), Willow sticks to its resolve and forces an abandoned child – the prophesized one - upon a “peck” named Willow Ufgood (Warwick “Judge me by my size, do you?” Davis) as he travels away from his home, avoiding the Queen’s daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and General Kael (Pat Roach) in search of someone – a good and king and queen – to look after her. It is a boastful warrior named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) who, after a series of run-ins and false starts, comes to the aid of Willow and agrees to help him look after the child for the safety of all in the kingdom.

Along the way, Lucas rips off himself and Tolkien and anyone else at the helm of a successful fantasy creation in his “little guy against the big machine” narrative. Okay, so it might plagiarize the giants of the genre but that doesn’t stop Willow’s magical mojo from at least being entertaining. The comedy works as does the sense of old-time adventure. One can’t help but smile at a cross-dressing Kilmer as he avoids capture by flirting and filling his bosoms with apples. The same can be said of Davis in the titular role. His performance here – while not a stranger to the genre due to his performance as Wicket in Return of the Jedi and the two Ewok spin-offs – never becomes unbelievable.

Most critics have scoured Willow for being too old for its target audience and too young and too familiar for adults but, if one is actually paying attention, there’s a nice and confident – almost admirable - stride of magic that it hits and never fails to land while getting swept up in its own mythos. This, after repeated viewings of The Goonies and above E.T. himself, was the film that gave me the movie “bug” and its bite has never left me in spite of the shortcomings others have previously noted. For me, Willow continues to have just enough magic, just enough humor, and continues to strike the right chords within. Courage, Willow.

The movie might be, as Howard states in recent interviews, a bit “slight” and the fantasy aspect might be for children’s eyes only but I guess I just don’t care. It’s not nearly as awful and pedestrian and wince-inducing as The Phantom Menace (while it certainly lays the groundwork for that awfulness). The fact of the matter is that large parts of it – even with its exposition – are more entertaining than Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. This stands of Howard’s direction, too. Yes, there’s still magic in its practical, in-camera effects.

Say what you want to about Willow but Howard the Duck it isn’t.

{2jtab: Film Details}

Willow - Blu-ray ReviewMPAA Rating: PG.
Runtime:
126 mins
Director
: Ron Howard
Writer
: Bob Dolman
Cast:
Val Kilmer; Joanne Whalley; Warwick Davis; Jean Marsh; Billy Barty
Genre: Fantasy | Action | Adventure
Tagline:
Forget all you know, or think you know.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Your leg. I'd like to break it."
Distributor:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Official Site:
Release Date: May 20, 1988
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
March 12, 2013

Synopsis: A reluctant dwarf must play a critical role in protecting a special baby from an evil queen.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Willow - Blu-ray Review

Component Grades
Movie

Blu-ray Disc
3 stars

4 stars



Blu-ray Experience
3.5 Stars

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - March 12, 2013
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: DTS 5.1; Catalan: DTS 5.1; German: DTS 5.1; Italian: DTS 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); DVD copy

Yes, there was life to fantasy films before green screens. The 25th anniversary release of Willow is testament to those wonderfully rich days. The simple fact is that this 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer overseen by George Lucas himself makes you actually believe that these characters are in these environments and that the creatures are, in fact, living and breathing the same air as our cast of characters. In glorious 1080p, much of the world and creatures of Willow – including the Ebersisk – looks better than the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Colors are strong. Black levels are never lethargic. There’s a nice balance through it all. The natural image is filmic and sharp. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is robust and perfectly engaged for continual immersion and clarity.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

Things get started with a nice collection of deleted scenes which fills in the gaps fans have spotted throughout the years of watching the film. The three documentaries here are mostly made of older material which has been recycled, rejigged and bookended by newly-shot interviews with key players from the film. The best comes from Davis, who shares footage of the video diaries he shot whilst on location. A fresh-faced 18 year-old at the time, the actor’s buzz and excitement about headlining a huge film is a fun watch, and he even managed to capture a playful and jovial side to Lucas which has seldom been seen before. Of note is a morphing documentary shot twenty years back about the special effect and the brief look at the effect of matte paintings in a fantasy setting.

  • Willow: Deleted Scenes with Ron Howard (13 min)
  • The Making of an Adventure with Ron Howard (24 min)
  • From Morf to Morphing with Dennis Muren (17 min)
  • Willow: An Unlikely Hero - Personal Video Diary of Warwick Davis (11 min)
  • Matte Paintings (1 min)

{2jtab: Trailer}

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