Chronicles of Narnia...

[Biltmore Bob]

Went and saw Chronicles of Narnia with my my two youngest, 7 and 9, yesterday. I was hesitant about going because of the longish run time. The kids just loved it. My 9 year old actually put it all together and recognized that there was a redemptive theme to the story...oh it warms the heart. if only filmakers would make more...

 

[Solid Citizen]

Narnia

Biltmore Bob, we saw the movie a week ago & were very impressed having never read Lewis's books. Got a funny feeling this movie is a holiday sleeper thats generating a lot of viewer interest & also hurting King Kong! Peter

 

[Section10]

I saw it too and it is definitely a good movie. I still don't like Disney much, though. I was never entirely able to forgive him for turning animals into people.

 

[jamespowers]

Biltmore Bob, we saw the movie a week ago & were very impressed having never read Lewis's books. Got a funny feeling this movie is a holiday sleeper thats generating a lot of viewer interest & also hurting King Kong! Peter

Yep, King Kong is getting its 200 million plus budget butt kicked by Narnia and there is no end in sight. I predict Kong will be a King-sized box office bomb. Perhaps the DVD sales will make it at least make some sort of profit. I know I won't go see it. Narnia is another story. I remember the cartoon version.

Regards to all,

J

 

[jake_fink]

Seven and nine are the right ages for this. I went with my wife because she loved the books as a child. I hated the books when I was young. The kids are annoying, and there are no consequences to the novel whatsoever. It's like C S Lewis was writing with a nanny looking over his shoulder saying, Now, C S, be sure to put your toys away when you're done playing. What are we supposed to feel when Edmund is held captive, deprived of turkish delight and taunted by a garden gnome. I laughed, but I was the only one in the theatre who did. The whole Christian myth thing, as deliberate and obvious as it is, is overshadowed to me by a creepy Freudian thing. They pass through a wardrobe lined with fur to see a lampost standing up in the night. Puh-leeze.

Also, it was too noisy so I couldn't sleep, and it was too cold out to leave.

I'm sure I'll like King Kong more.

 

[Lauren]

I think it was alright. But that's about it. The battle scene with the phoenixes was very cool. The costumes were pretty bad- um- they didn't have heels like that in the 40's and their short sleeves are too short. The hairstyles at the train station weren't even close to period correct. The costumes when they were crowned looked like Halloween costumes. I give props for the white witch costume in the battlefield. The entire thing was made of chainmail- very impressive. Not something I would like to put my time into! I liked Tumnus very much. I though he was a great actor. The movie was too long in part and much too short in other parts, but overall entertaining.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

The whole Christian myth thing, as deliberate and obvious as it is, is overshadowed to me by a creepy Freudian thing. They pass through a wardrobe lined with fur to see a lampost standing up in the night. Puh-leeze.

I'm glad my kids know more about Christ than Freud.

 

[Section10]

Of course the Narnia story is simply an allegory. It isn't meant to be an illustration of reality. If you want reality, go watch Paris Hilton in 'The Simple Life'.. Yet allegories can accurately illustrate the truths of principles and belief systems and C.S. Lewis was very good at doing just that. It is entertainment and also a teaching device for those who are open to its purpose.

 

[scotrace]

Five Attendees

Two adults, three girls ages 9, 9 and 12. The 12 year old liked it a LOT. The remaining four were "eh. Was ok."
My wife and I had read the stories and the trailers raised high expectations, but we found it weak, cheesey and, as Variety said, "stumblebum." It was OK. Don't care to see it again.

Will see Kong next week.

 

[CherryBombRock]

I found this somewhat dull and didn't do juctice to my memories of it from my childhood!
I can also remember a British earlier version (BBC) which really captured me when I was young - Sunday evenings before dinner...ahh those were the good 'ole days! Mind you if I saw it now I'd probably cringe!

 

[MudInYerEye]

The apple falls far from the tree.

Douglas Gresham, the producer of NARNIA, is the stepson and heir to the fortune and copyrights of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. He is a staunch evangelical Christian and commited anti-abortion activist. Gresham comes from a very interesting parentage. His mother was a Jewish woman named Joy Davidman. His father was a New Yorker named William Lindsay Gresham, a volunteer for the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. Both commited atheists, they campaigned together for leftist causes in the 30's and 40's. Both were members of the Communist party. Eventually Joy Davidman became a acclaimed poet, while her husband rose to fame as the author of NIGHTMARE ALLEY in 1946. NIGHTMARE ALLEY, a tremendous bestseller, was an ode to the evils of American greed, religion, and government in the form of a fable featuring a ruthlessly ambitious carnival mentalist named Stanton Carlisle. The next year it was brought to the big screen in a film of the same name starring Tyrone Power. The film version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY is now widely regarded as the epitome of Film Noir and is really a must-see. With his newfound fortune, Gresham became increasingly unhappy and bitter. He drank to excess and became abusive to Davidman and their young son. Wallowing in despair, Davidman became enchanted with the Christian writings of C.S. Lewis, eventually moving to England to become a Christian and follow Lewis, leaving Gresham behind. Davidman and Lewis married. Gresham commited suicide in 1962.
I've been a fan of NIGHTMARE ALLEY, both the book and the film for many years. Considering his drastically opposing views on politics and religion, I've often wondered what Douglas Gresham thinks of his father as I've never heard him discuss him in interviews.

 

[Baggers]

Finally saw "Narnia..."

Simply put, it was okay. I was entertained by it and enjoyed the story, but to me it was "Lord of the Rings Lite."

I think any criticisms of the film can be boiled down to attempting to target a younger, less sophisticated audience with a much smaller budget than Peter Jackson did with his films. And if you take that into acount the film actually works. The screening we went to yesterday (3:40 p.m. on a Saturday) was almost full, which I thought was great for a film that had been out for over a month. The audience was mainly families with children (I think we were the only adults in the house old enough to appreciate the blinking stop light gag in the preview for Pixar's upcoming "Cars." We were certainly the only ones who laughed out loud at it).

Unfortunately, the lack of money shows. Technically it seemed uneven. Most of the effects shots were excellent, but then you'd see a simple shot of live action characters against a moving background that just screamed GREENSCREEN!! that my wife even noticed it. That the costumes and props looked cheap in spots only reinforces my small budget theory. I think they spent all their money on the big sweeping effects shots like the battle sequence, 'cause they certainly didn't spend it anywhere else, including the cast.

It's a shame. I can only hope that if they ever make a sequel, they will budget the kind of money necessary to do the stories justice. Otherwise, they'll always be hitting just short of the mark.

Oh, my two biggest period nit picks? The German bomber pilot's foot on the rudder pedal waving in my face with the modern lugged rubber soles, and the woman at the train station wearing the (WAAF?) uniform who thought the decorative turnup round the back of her service dress cap was an earflap and had it turned down over her blonde hair. What was the costumer smoking at the time to think that was the correct way to wear that cap? Oh well, more proof that anyone who uses a modern period film for costume research deserves what they get.

Cheers!