Customer Reviews

small, minor & Disneyfied fantasy flick, don't expect LotR-type classic - By: H. Serkan SILAHSOR, 29 Apr 2008
Like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Wizard of Oz" & "Harry Potter" series, "Narnia" creates its own fantasy universe with its own set of facts & realities. Narnia is a vast land of snow & glaciers, where a wide variety of magical & mythological creatures such as fauns, centaurs, cyclops, griffins, dwarves, rhinos, beavers, wolves & other kinds of beasts live in. No need to mention mighty Aslan & 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 arein a temporary stayin 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", & they gotta help Aslan & his loyal followers realize the prophecy to end the winter & bring peace & joy to Narnia.

Needless to say that "Narnia" is full of Christian references & 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 & brings about resurrection of the animals who were petrified by the Witch. Edmund impersonates Judas Iscariot, a lost & self-serving soul, who betrays the "good" being enticed by the promises of the Witch & finally redeems his soul by practicing virtue. Also, "Stone Table" scene is worth remembering. Using such religious references, "Narnia" stresses moral values & virtues, & emphasizes strict adherance to them.

As a fantasy film; its settings, CGIs & special effects are out of the world; yet human characters are rather thin, dull & 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 momentsin battles &in Aslan's torture & sacrifice scene. Don't expect neither the groundbreaking battle scenes, nor excellent character development & high dramas of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But keepin mind that the target market of "Narnia" is children, & this makes it decent & satisfactory. If you're fan of this kind of material, just enjoy it. (3.1/5.0)

---

Better, but barely - By: Benjamin Wiles, 12 Dec 2006
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 & drama, so at times these qualities aren't so intense - & 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 exploredin 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, & 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! - By: jdennis_99, 11 Dec 2006
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, & 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 squeezein 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 & bobs added in.

Some fans will be pleased to know that the most additions arein 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 putin 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, & 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.

---

Worth it for the extras? - By: Matt Wills, 06 Dec 2006
I have to confess, I gave my original two-disk copy of the film away backin the summer: partly because I knew the recipient would treasure it, & partly as an excuse to buy this version when it emerged. Perhaps that's my point: I'd find it diffficult to justify owning both versions. The two extra disks offer an agreeable & solidly-researched documentary on Lewis & the Chronicles (very little that will be news to anyone who's done their homework, but nice all the same) & a 150 minute "making of" documentary that more or less follows the course of the film. Both are better for being linear programs, without the need to navigate a system of menus, bells & whistles. And both are worth having. On that basis alone, I'm happy to have forked out £25 for the set & the original film. The film itself doesn't incorporate a vast amount of new material, & several things that I'd looked for didn't make this cut (e.g., the "romp" after Aslan's resurection & the dancing scene from the trailer). However, I find it difficult to give this filmin any guise less than 5 stars (4 for added value relative to the original is fair). Considering how the LWW could have been massacred by a less sensitive, faithful & intelligent treatment, I'm happy to embrace Adamson's interpretation & overlook the bits I would liked to have changed. I'd probably have been wrongin any case :o)

---

Was it worth? - By: Mikayel Abazyan, 04 Dec 2006
IMHO, to extend a movie one needs to add some REAL additions into the story with the respect given to the "short" version. The brilliant examples are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Apocalypse Now, & Kingdom of Heaven.

The screening version of this wonderful movie which was released on DVD before supports the bookin the best way it could! The spirit is there, the story is well-delivered, & the special effects plus the battle scene are super additions to the overall result! However, this "extended" version made us think only of those unfair moneymakers who didn't put these 9 or 10 minutes into the original version to keep them for doubling their revenue by the end of year.... I could say that those several frames added to this release added nothing to the story, to the movie, & to the idea. The battle scene has the most significant air-battle sequence which is not worth buying, but.... this is exactly their goal - to tease us.

The bonus materials are probably interesting. Haven't watched them all, only the beginning of Disc 2 (of 4) - too angry with Disc 1 to go on... Still I love the book & value the original work very much, so I can't rate it lower than 4 stars.