Time has been kind to this dazzling 1988 fantasy adventure that presents an object lesson in the auteur theory. Whose stamp is more dominant: George Lucas', who produced and created the story; director Ron Howard's; or the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic who designed the awesome special effects? The force was with Warwick Davis (mired these days in the Leprechaun video franchise) when he landed the title role as Willow Ufgood, a reluctant hero who is chosen by his dwarf community to escort an abandoned baby back to her people. Pursued by this film's version of Snow White's evil queen, a sorceress (Jean Marsh) who fears the child is her successor, Willow is aided by Val Kilmer, who helps give the movie a pulse as irreverent warrior Madmartigan. Any resemblance between the diminutive bickering Brownies and R2-D2 and C-3PO are presumably coincidental, but the fantastic creatures, including fairies and a two-headed, fire-breathing dragon, are sights to behold. Davis contributes an entertaining commentary that transports viewers deep inside the making of the film, with other DVD extras including the somewhat hokey 1988 behind-the-scenes featurette "Willow: The Making of an Adventure," and a newly produced segment about the film's groundbreaking special effects. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray Review—Apr. 9, 2013—Fox, 126 min., PG, $24.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1988's Willow sports a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include “The Making of an Adventure” featurette with director Ron Howard (24 min.), a “From Morf to Morphing” featurette with visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren (18 min.), deleted scenes with commentary by Howard (13 min.), a “Willow: An Unlikely Hero” video diary by star Warwick Davis (11 min.), a brief montage of the film's matte paintings, and a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: this popular fantasy film makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]
Willow
Fox, 125 min., PG, DVD: $26.98 January 14, 2002
Willow
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