Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Myriam Nys A loving, careful, reverential adaptation of Terry Pratchett's first "Discworld" books. The delighted viewer will recognize many a beloved character : Rincewind, the most inefficient wizard since centuries ; Cohen the Barbarian, whose life of fighting, looting and wenching has not kept him from reaching a venerable old age ; the ruler with the iron hand in the silken glove known as the Patrician ; the vicious but wondrously efficient Luggage, with its dozens of mean little legs. The production values are high and the visual and special effects are good, as are the costumes and props. This allows the city-state of Ankh-Morpork (aka London's seedier twin) to spring to life in all its twisted glory, complete with magic university, assassins' guild and painfully enterprising real-estate owners.The series sticks closely to Pratchett's work, complete with dialogue. As a result there's many a gem to be savoured, such as the episode where Cohen the Barbarian, a very old man, is the honoured guest of some fierce warrior nomads. What, asks one of the nomads, is the highest glory, the greatest pleasure that Man can achieve ? What is it that makes life worth living ? Is it the feel of the wild, untamed wind through one's hair as one rides along the steppe ? Is it the knowledge that one has defeated one's enemies ? Is it the sound of enemy women lamenting their loss ? All eyes are upon Cohen, who ponders the matter before deciding : "Hot water, good dentistry and soft lavatory paper". The cast is a treat - where else are you going to find both David Jason AND Tim Curry ?If I've got a quibble it is that the Twoflower character was a bit simple, in both senses of the word ; not so much the fault of the actor, as of the way the character was written for the series. Apart from that, a very enjoyable series, and an excellent introduction to the "Discworld" universe.

dedeurs phonenumberofthebeast's review (2009) almost made me abandon the idea to write my own... Okay, David Jason's Rincewind is exactly as I pictured him, and Jeremy Irons and Tim Curry are quite memorable (as usual). Actually the set designers and 98% of the cast did a more than adequate job. Actors from the UK are always a delight! But the special effects look 1880's (except 'Luggage', he's amazing), the score is an attack on your eardrums, and both the orangutan librarian and Death make me wish I had chosen to watch episodes from 1970's Catweazle. (same type as Rincewind, but much funnier!) 'Death' is Pratchett's best novel character, he is mystic, dead-seriously ironic and sometimes hilariously human. And I get to see an actor wearing a cheap unmovable cardboard mask?? Come on, just some extra FX wizardry, and he would have been much more impressive, and even fearsome. Less relevant, but I always envisioned foreigner Twoflower as a little rotund semi-Asian guy. Not a robust American. (With all respect to Sean Astin)Pratchett's books constantly tickle my funny bone, even after an umpteenth re-reading. The movie made me laugh only once (and I forgot what it was).The problem, I think: Pratchett wrote novels in which the humor is not very subtle, it borders on slapstick, yet it is brilliant. Really, really funny. That man had an enormous wit. And although in the movie I heard familiar Discworld dialogues, they all fell flat. Director/screenwriter Vadim Jean clearly failed in transferring that quality.I dare not think what would have happened had Hollywood taken on Pratchett, but I do wonder what Terry Gilliam, Harry Potter's Alfonso Cuaron or David Yates (Potter again) would have made of The Colour of Magic... (Yes, it's 'colour'. It's a British title.)

Matt matt I've read the books several times, and have watched this film several times. I love them both. To quibble about the FX or the bits left out is to ignore the entire history of cinematic failure when it comes to adaptations of novels. To push play and actually see a labor of love come alive is always a pleasure, whether it's Plan 9, THX1138, or Shadowlands. The excellent cast are obviously having a great time with this. Nobody can embody quiet menace like Jeremy Irons, and he positively radiates danger with the merest raised eyebrow or bit of dignified wit. You'll never want someone in real life to say, "What are we going to do with you...." in that tone of voice. Tim curry is perfect as a power hungry wizard, barely able to keep from acting out his avarice at all times, and NEVER able to keep it from his face. Christopher Lee continues the best second act in moviedom as the voice of Death. The art direction is fantastic, whether it fit your imagined preconceptions or not. Pratchet spends so much time in the original books ladling on the sensual joys of Ankh-Morpork that nothing but a total immersion virtual reality version could ever match it's huge greasy splendor. The vision presented here has none of the stitched together second unit feel that many similar films labor under. It has the feel of a lushly illustrated Victorian fairy tale with a nod to Terry Gilliam's Brian. I obviously could go on and on, but I won't. This is an affectionate, fun romp and deserves none of the obsessively contrarian grousing Fanboys stew in. So give yourself a break from the grim Sturm and Dang of this week's fantasy release, forget the economy, and dive right in. The water's....substantial.

Badauta Until having seen "the Colour of Magic" a couple of days ago, it seemed impossible to me that the essence of a work of literature could successfully be transported into the plot-based medium of the film: this production, however, managed impressively to concentrate on the discworld novels' linguistics. The whole film is a glorious firework of puns, absurd dialogues, hilarious speeches and twisted theories, full of witty allusions to our real world's historical, philosophical, cultural, social, political, economic etc. realities, just like in the novels. The narrator's introductions sparkle playful rhetoric; the scene changes abound in funny little parallelisms; the plot follows with complete logic the discworld's crazy intrinsic reality; all characters are represented with convincing comedy, far from being ridiculed – a superb achievement especially among those "of the elderly persuasion"; thankfully, the audience is spared the usual trivial matters and unconvincing special effects; the most brilliant performance, of course, is Sir David Jason's magnificent characterisation of Rincewind in his countless dangerous confrontations from neck-romance to informal death, whose accomplishments mere words cannot describe adequately. Failing to understand the adverse criticism, I assume that many expected more loyalty towards the novels' details and maybe have not properly paid attention to the film as a whole: From hub to rim, all the important things have been preserved, the pathetic coward Rincewind, yet the only mentally sane person on the whole Disc; the ancient barbarian Cohen who has heroically survived his own legend; the frighteningly ambitious and maddening orderly wizard Trymon; the ingenuous tourist Twoflower, an expert in starting annoying discussions at precisely the wrong moments; his loyal luggage with its "homicidal attitude towards anyone who threatens its master"; and all the other peculiar personalities, officious magic devices, spells with speech impediments and curious disc dwellers carried through space on the majestic Great A'tuin... there is no reason to dwell on petty little details, when the adaptation has turned out to be the Best Film Ever. Hopefully, we will face another "near-Rincewind-experience" soon: it won't be long until he comes running past again, will it?