Must See : The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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Is that right? hmmmmm, maybe I should sell mine.... :rolleyes:

I was wondering why they have released The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe first when it is Chronicle No. 2??? Anybody know why that is?
 
I went to see it yest, and really enjoyed it.. it did feel a bit rushed to me.. and the professor wasn't in it nearly enough.. he didn't even speak to Peter and Susan proper (like he does in the book).. and he seemed a bit too "obvious" about believing in Narnia.. whereas in the books, he just had a "twinkle in the eye" about it if u get what I mean

Btw.. I know the books were written in a more "innocent" time.. but did anyone else think Mr Tumnus inviting Lucy back for "tea and sardines" screamed phedophile... :rolleyes: lol I just couldn't help thinking that when they met up :o
 
Some fine points there, magwitch. In the spirit of spirited debate, a couple of thoughts...

WARNING - SERIES SPOILERS ABOUND!!!

Again, Pullman changes what is in the books. The crucial book here of course is The Last Battle (gee, can you imagine the fuss on all sides if that ever gets made!!!!). In the Narnian world, there is an alternate religion which worships Tash. There is a character, Emeth, who is a devout Tash worshipper and a good man. But in the end, he is given a "buy" - when he says to Aslan he is not a follower of him but one of Tash, Aslan replies "Child, all the service thou hast done for Tash, thou hast done for me".

Now actually this is all dreadfully bad news for the evangelical Christians who are so quick to claim this series for thier own. Evangelicals believe that unless you accept Jesus in this life, you are going to Hell. Lewis' Narnian theology is very different. By analogy, this is saying a good devout Muslim gets into heaven without any Christian conversion at all. It seems to be that it doesn't matter what your faith is or even none, but what is your heart? Then if you have a good heart you will recognise Aslan AFTER death, not necessarily before. So to take the analogy to its logical conclusion, a humanist would be welcome if the humanist ultimately discovered that there was more to life than they'd always believed.

As to the business of "the world is what you make it", this is a perfectly reasonable perspective. Why wait for a Lion that doesn't exist, and even if he did would order everyone about? Pullman seems to enjoy believing in God enough to torture him - his view of God is clearly at odRAB with classic Christian view, or that of Aslan. Having defeated evil witches et al, Aslan's charge to his kings is always "rule with fairness and love", then he leaves them to get on with it. Not much to object to there, really.

Why is Pullman really so angry at a theistic perspective? Because he believes - as fact - that the theists are deluded. Therfore he has turned his views into his own moral crusade. By doing so, I think Pullman has become the very thing he claims to decry. And when he so blatantly changes the facts in the book to support his argument, I get nervous.

I'll tell you why Pullman's rhetoric makes me nervous. His athiesm sounRAB every bit as absolute and dogmatic as that of the religious nutter. Although people are rightly quick to point out all the terrible atrocities and wars waged in the name of religion, there have been many secular conutries in the 20th century with an extreme version of Pullman's ideology, and they were led by people such as Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. His views to me genuinely sound more extreme and dangerous than Lewis', who in the end represents a pretty moderate perspective.

Just my penny's worth...
 
Can I just interrupt the deep discussion to say I really enjoyed the film (just back indoors) but thought Neeson's Aslan sounded bored and on the point of falling asleep all the time. And I wasn't too impressed by the actor who played Susan.

Other than that, I must have really enjoyed it because I wasn't itching to get outside for a cigarette at any point.

And the POTC trailer looked a bit good too :D
 
I went to see it last night and was quite blown away. I grew up reading the books - in fact they were my favourite books as a child. So it was quite an incredible experience to see Narnia recreated on the big screen. Visually, it was everything I dreamed of and more.

I had no problems at all with the acting either. I think the annoying character traits in Susan and Peter were entirely intentional - they helped provide motivation for Edmund's feelings towarRAB the others. Although I totally agree that the actors playing Lucy and Edmund were the stronger two of the four, they had far more important parts. And it was fascinating to watch a situation where a little girl is the most intrepid character and her older brother and sister are rather cautious and conventional, without any of that being in any way overplayed.

Tilda Swinton was quite magnificent, and so perfectly cast! She looked the part to perfection. Although I had a couple of flashes of Borg Queen, and Ripley-with-a-dash-of-Alien, I thought they were good inspirations for her to use. :D


I liked Jim Broadbent - I can't see what he could have done better with his few seconRAB onscreen. I did have an issue with Liam Neeson though - very much so! Aslan's accent and persona were completely wrong and that was the only disappointment of the film for me. However I suppose the director had some major decisions to make regarding a character who symbolises God - and I'm guessing he decided to play down that aspect and lean towarRAB Disnification, in an attempt to avoid furious accusations of blasphemy.


How infuriating! Well, I think it's worth seeing twice. I hope you agree, and will have a better time next time. :)
 
I guess the Professor could have had more time onscreen, but I prefer the time to have been given to the children and Narnia. I think they just decided to cut out the complexity and portray his understanding with a minimum of fuss. I would have felt slightly impatient if he'd spent lots of time twinkling at them. :D


No I didn't think 'paedophile' at all. After all he is a faun, and he was very frightened of her when he first met her! I was alarmed when she immediately agreed to go off with him, but then she is a very intrepid character. :)
 
Lol, I turned to my wife and said exactly the same during the film!

I thought it was good but rushed in places - like the battle - should have been more and slower and less on all the deliberation (especially Susan with the annoying mouth). After all, how many of the viewers have probably read the books already?

Couldn't help feeling I wanted to White Witch to win though, after all, it was the gorgeous and brilliant Tilda Swinton and she had the white tigers on her side. ;)

Although other people's kiRAB annoy me immensely (even my own sometimes), I thought Lucy and Edward were well cast and did a good job - just wanted the others to die in the battle.

Aslan - poor voice (Liam Neeson), should have been much deeper.

The Professor - what a waste of the great Jim Broadbent - bring back the translator for the Spanish Infanta!

Tumnous - thought he looked a little too greasy to be a nice fawn - like trusting your daughter to Ken Shabby.
 
I saw the movie on Thursday and loved it. Hubby felt it was okay, but not great. I do wonder if part of this is down to the fact that I emersed myself in the world of Narnia as a child whereas he can't remember if he read any of the books.

Watching the film I felt like a child again.

I could feel my heart pounding as Aslan was about to make his first appearance. I cried when Aslan died, even though I knew full well he was going to come back to life again

My only regret about the movie? That my 22 month old son is not old enough to go with us and share the experience.
 
I enjoyed the film, but wasn't really blown away by it. I felt it was true to the book, but was a little let down by the mentioned battle scenes and any scene involving death. I guess they brushed over these parts a little to avoid getting a higher rating and scaring to many children.

I also have always thought Mr Tumnus to be a little older and more 'bumbling' however, I thought it was still played well.

The BBC version was excellent, and I didn't find this version to be much more spectacular then that.

The White Witch was superb and she did an amazing job with the role. I would have expected to see a little more panic on her part, especially when the Winter was ending.

There are some cheesy moments - especially with Peter, but I'm probably being too fussy.

Anyway, it's still a great story and a decent film for the family to enjoy over christmas.
 
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