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| The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Widescreen Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: Andrew Adamson
Actors: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $2.25
You Save: $17.74 (89%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (761 reviews)
Sales Rank: 417
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 143 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: DISD40987D
UPC: 786936292930
EAN: 0786936292930
ASIN: B000E8M0VA
Release Date: April 4, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: December 9, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Wackness September 24, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
Why watch Narnia when you can watch the Wizard Of Oz? They are basically the same movie, lost souls searching for themselves and a better world. The only difference is Wizard Of Oz is a timeless magical tale and there are flying monkies instead of Narnia's talking wolves. Narnia lumbers along with computer generated talking animals that look fake beyond belief. They talk like psycho adults bumbling around like fools on a mission. I'm sure it's great for children, this really is a children's film in the end. The enchantment is missing from this film. instead we get harsh winter scenes and a nasty war towards the end. I never finished the rest of the film, it had me dozing off so I shut it down before the war, I assume. If you want to see good fantasy films I would recommend The Wizard Of Oz, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy or even The Others. Narnia just didn't hit me over the head.
 Cool Fantasy Story, Bad Cutting and Length September 21, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
When this movie originally came out is theaters I was euphoric. I was overjoyed and I had never read the book. The previews portrayed this as a more vibrant version of Lord of the Rings. Luckily, my church took a group of us to see the movie in a nearby theater. After a full, undivided view of the film, I felt disappointed with what I had seen. The movie compared in no way to Lord of the Rings. However, I have now watched it on DVD without the expectations of it being anything other than The Chronicles of Narnia. I enjoyed it much more without the strong comparison to Lord of the Rings.
"Spectacular epic film-making fills the screen and your heart," says John Siegel of Good Morning America. He must have put on rose goggles before watching this one to make that kind of an overstatement. Narnia is a great fantasy story that is unfortunately hurt by length and bizarre cutting. I did walk away from this one wanting more though. If you are into the fantasy genre, you will want to add this to your collection.
Four young children: Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are sent away from a German blitzkrieg. Many children at this time were sent away from battle zones to ensure their safety. They are sent to live with a mysterious professor in a country estate. While playing a game of hide-and-go seek, Lucy enters a spare room with nothing but a wardrobe in it. Lucy attempts to hide in the Wardrobe and finds the gate to Narnia inside of it. Soon the other children enter the world. A Narnia prophecy says that when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve enter Narnia, the world will be safe again. Safe from what you may be asking yourself. Narnia has been controls by a tyrant known the White Witch. She can manipulate ice. Narnia is now completely frozen by her. All that stood in her way have fallen.
The children's only hope is to find the former ruler of Narnia, Asland. Asland has magically reappeared after thousands of years due to the humans entering Narnia. There is a war brewing between Asland and the White Witch. The four human children are the key to who will win this war.
There are almost a million film devices in this movie. Symbolism reigns supreme with many symbols that relate to the bible. Asland represents God or Jesus Christ. One of the children will have to make the choice between good and evil. Asland forgives those who betray him. It is obvious to anyone who has knowledge of biblical events. No one else will notice it. There is also a lot of foreshadowing in this film. The talk about "always winter, no Christmas" foreshadows later events in the movie, and those events foreshadow later events. I like all these devices in a movie. Considering this came from a book, I understand where all these devices came from.
Narnia is horribly cut up though. The film seems to jump from one scene to a future scene instantly. There is no explanation as to what happened between the two times. At one scene, Peter kills a wolf and Asland tells him to clean his sword. Suddenly they jump to him being knighted in the same place. It looks like a horrible cut from one scene to another. I usually would never say this, but this movie needed more fluff. It feels like the movie could have been at least twice as long for a complete presentation.
The acting in this movie is mixed. I really liked Lucy, Susan, and a few other characters. Peter and Edmund are not the best actors though. They just seem generic and do not respond correctly to certain scenes. They seem to keep a straight face the entire movie or respond incorrectly.
The extras are decent, but nothing special. There is a blooper reel that lasts a few seconds. You can turn on fun facts during the movie. There are also two separate commentary tracks. One is with the kids and director, and the other is a filmmakers' commentary. At the end of the movie, you are sick of the kids' voices though. They are interesting, but do not bring this movie up.
If you are into the fantasy genre, or have read the books, check this one out. Everyone else should find some other movie. The awkward cuts and mixed acting will keep you annoyed, but the story will keep you wanting more.
 awesome movie September 19, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This movie is great! And the high def transfer is, in my opinion, beautiful. Disney blu ray always seem to deliver outstanding picture quality (the battle scene towards the end looks incredible!) Unfortunately I do not have a home theater system set up so I can not rate the audio quality.
 Excellent September 19, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
In truth, I've never been a big fan of such fantasies, although I knew the general plot outline for the Narnia series. I've seen all three LOTR films, including the 1970s cartoon version (which was superior to the live action version), read only The Hobbit in high school, have not read any of the Harry Potter books, but thought the first three films in that series were superior to the vastly overrated LOTR trilogy in almost every way. As for Oz, I've, of course, seen the 1939 Judy Garland film classic, but only read the first two books of the several dozen in the L. Frank Baum series. I do, recall, however, an early 1970s cartoon film of one of the later Oz books that had Liza Minelli voice Dorothy. Yet, none of these film versions, at least, equal the current film version of the first of the Narnia books: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. In fact, if the book is anywhere near as good as the film then even Lewis Carroll's mighty Alice books and Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio might have to move over as the reigning titans of children's fantasy literature. Yes, I know many J.R.R. Tolkien fans will object to the LOTR series being classified a children's fantasy, but too bad. Narnia is superior in virtually every way to LOTR, and Lewis wore the children's tag with pride.... This is the result of a good screenplay, which is very hard to do for kids, for most children's films lack that child-like wonder, as if the filmmakers have forgotten what childhood was like. Cinematographer Donald McAlpine captures that point of view in many of the child's eye shots of vistas and the whimsy on the children's faces. The only downside to the film is that, like many fantasies, you have to suspend logic. For example, why does Aslan need to wait a hundred years to bring an end to the White Witch's eternal winter? He clearly has the power to do so at any time, but `The Prophecy' has foretold that it can only occur when the four children arrive. But, this is part of the suspension of disbelief that all such tales require. The score works well, and never intrudes on the film, as it too often does in the LOTR trilogy, and the film's credits end with a terrific song by Alanis Morissette.
I hope that this film does well enough that the remaining six books hit the screen, for with the amount of dreck being foisted at kids, these films will prove a nice respite. If only the Alice and Oz books are next on the film franchise conveyor belt, rather than Shrek 13 or Ice Age: Revenge Of The Neandertals. Click the heels of your ruby slippers along with me. Please.
Wonderful movie! September 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This blue ray disc is a must buy! Not only is the movie amazing, the quality that the blue ray adds is astounding!
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