THE MOVIE

Adventure doesn't come any bigger than this.

Based on a story by STAR WARS creator George Lucas, WILLOW is director Ron Howard's fantasy world of medieval adventure. WILLOW stars Val Kilmer as Madmartigan, a swashbuckling warrior, and Warwick Davis as the title character. In a mythical kingdom, the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) plots to kill all infants so that the newborn princess, Elora, will never take over the throne. But a midwife sets the baby adrift in a river, and she is rescued by Willow, a farmer in Nelwyn, a peaceful village of trolls, fairies, and little folk. Willow and Madmartigan begin a quest to deliver the baby from evil while being chased by Queen Bavmorda’s daughter, Sorsha (Joanne Whalley), sent to bring the baby back to Nockmaar.

Director Howard benefited from his affiliation with George Lucas on the film--Lucas’s company, Industrial Light and Magic, contributed the Oscar-nominated special effects. Lucas, the executive producer of WILLOW, went on to create a series of books based on the world of WILLOW, the SHADOW WAR series.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Willow on DVD looks amazing! The film is presented here in 2.35:1 widescreen and with 16x9 enhancement and I have never seen it looking better. I didn’t realize how much I was missing watching it on VHS all these years. The image is sharp and nicely detailed. Everything you need to see is there and nothing is missed, it is certainly a fine effort.

Colors are strong and remain so throughout. The outside scenes in particular benefit from this as they create a real fantasy element for the film. Blacks are pretty solid but shadow detail isn’t the greatest, which is a bit of a shame really.

There aren’t many video problems with this transfer either, which surprised me greatly seeing as this film is 15 years old.

Audio:

We have two options with the audio English DD 2.0 and English DD 5.1. Both of these tracks are excellent and suit the film very well. All of the dialogue is clear and easy to hear and syncing is pretty much right on the money. All of the speakers get used fully during Willow to great effect. This DVD creates a wonderful ambiance for the film that truly brings you into its world. The score by James Horner (who I don’t like at all) is adequate and the theme is pretty cool.

THE EXTRAS

We have a few extras to top off the disc. Firstly is an audio commentary by one of my favourite actors Warwick Davis (Willow). This is a great track and Mr Davis is full of interesting facts and stories about the film, he was only in his teens when he did it!. Next we have a documentary which looks at the making of the film. This was made in 1988 and it shows a bit. It is pretty much nothing more than PR yet it does impart some useful tidbits of info.

The DVD also contains another documentary this time looking at the dawn of digital filmmaking. This is pretty interesting as it shows us just how far computer effects have come. The disc also contains TV Spots, trailers and a photo gallery.

SUMMARY

Willow is one of the greatest fantasy films ever. Everything about it is just so wonderful from the imaginative storyline and world to the performances and action, all cylinders are firing and it truly makes for cinema magic.

The DVD is excellent. The film looks and sounds better than it ever has and the extras are just icing on what is already a very enticing cake.

If you’ve never seen this film before then what are you waiting for? Here it is presented in the best way possible, it is truly a must have for anyone with a DVD.