:
Gerry Crampton,
Val Kilmer,
Joanne Whalley,
more...
:
Ron Howard
see all cast/crew...
: 
: 20th Century Fox
: Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
: 126 min.
: English, Spanish
: English
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Though Willow was one of director Ron Howard's few box-office disappointments, it definitely deserves a second look. At once an epic celebration and a gentle spoof of the sword-and-sorcery genre, the film concerns the efforts by little person Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) to protect a sacred infant from the machinations of a wicked queen (Jean Marsh). One source book has assessed the picture as a combination of The Ten Commandments and Snow White. This is true enough, except that neither one of those properties offered such offbeat casting choices as Billy Barty and Jean Marsh. Executive producer George Lucas has (through the conduit of screenwriter Bob Dolman) added elements of his own Star Wars saga to the stew. The results are generally satisfactory, though the film is sometimes weighed down by too much plot, and the action sequences may not be suitable for very young children. Incidentally, this is the film where co-star Val Kilmer met his future wife Joanne Whalley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
- Commentary by Warwick Davis
- "Morf to Morphing" featurette
- "Willow: Making of an Adventure" featurette
- Behind-the-scenes Still Gallery
- Theatrical Teasers & Trailers
- 8 TV Spots
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| Lucas's most underrated movie.
by JTurner1
April 5, 2005 - 10:13 AM PDT
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6 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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From what I have been able to gather on most parts of the net, this is a movie that George Lucas detractors love to hate. And I cannot understand why. For me, Willow has been nothing but a rollickingly fun piece of entertainment from the creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Not only is this one of my favorite fantasy movies, I consider this one of Lucas's best productions outside of the aforementioned successful franchises.
The most glaring attack on Willow is that it is an inferior imitation of Star Wars--only in a medieval time and on ground. I have found this accusation laughable; despite sharing many similarities (the earnest, good-hearted young hero, roguish companion, snappish love interest, two comic sidekicks, bad guy general wearing a mask, evil queen, yadda yadda yadda), Willow is in a class by itself. The plot--which involves an aspiring magician-dwarf attempting to protect a mystic child from a nasty empress--is nothing at all like Star Wars. In fact, Lucas has been quoted as saying that he actually planned this movie long before he made his now famous trilogy. Is the story original? Not really. But no movie is ever really "original"; in fact, some of the best loved films have actually drawn upon inspiration from various other sources. As a movie that falls into this latter category, Willow does not succeed because it is imaginative or derivative. It simply weaves its own magic spell and ultimately enchants one over.
It is the well-defined characters and their relationships which partially make Willow a lot of fun, and much of the credit goes to the talented cast. Lucas's Star Wars prequels have been attacked by critics for the sometimes stale performances from the actors assembled, but the same could never be said of Willow. As the title character, Warwick Davis displays sincerity, warmheartedness, and an incredible ability to showcase maturation from an insecure farmer to a nurturing protector and unlikely hero. Val Kilmer's portrayal as the self-serving yet courageous swordsman who joins Willow makes for delightfully entertaining chemistry between him and Davis. Joanne Whalley plays Lucas's meanest heroine yet; a princess who at first is assigned to carry out her mother's cruel deeds yet eventually falls in love with Kilmer. (It is reported that they both got married after the movie was completed.) Kevin Pollock and Rick Overton provide deliciously campy humor as the pint-sized "brownie" sidekicks, and Jean Marsh is frighteningly evil as the villainess of the piece. The rest of the cast, including the late, great Billy Barty, turn in equally compelling performances as well.
Lush, stirring orchestral scores are a mandatory ingredient for a fantasy movie, and James Horner's soundtrack--which remains arguably one of his best to this day--not only overflows with choral beauty and sizzling action cues, rivals John Williams' work on the Star Wars movies in terms of staying power and magnificence. The special effects provided by Lucas's own Industrial Light and Magic, although a little dated in comparison to today's efforts, are nonetheless impressive for their time and succeed in bringing Willow's medieval settings to life without distracting from the experience.
As mentioned, Willow was savagely attacked at the time of its 1988 release (and the film sadly did not get the recognition it deserved at the box office)--believe it or not, there are still some who despise the movie even to this day. One wonders if the critics who penned their petty complaints saw the same film everyone else did ("unengaging?" "a film where nothing much happens?"). If there is even one issue I could address, it may be that some of the incidental characters lack depth and come off as a tad one-dimensional. But such a criticism is irrelevant, because Willow is, all in all, a very entertaining, involving little film that offers plenty to enjoy for fantasy buffs. There are showstopping action sequences, laughs, and some very impressive visual effects, yes, but at the core, Willow has a lot of heart... one of the major assets that most of today's big-budget CGI FX fare tend to neglect these days. It is mainly because of this, and more, that this grossly underrated film has garnered such a loyal following, and, as with most treasured classics, maintains the test of time after more than one viewing.
The DVD release of Willow is near perfect--the widescreen transfer literally blows the pan-and-scan VHS tape out of the water in terms of quality, and the audio sound mix is spectacular. The extras included on the DVD--which include making-of featurettes and an engaging commentary track from Willow himself, Warwick Davis (who, by the way, is a really pleasant guy; just hearing him recall the memories of shooting this movie delights me every time)--are very nice, but they could have been really outstanding if they also consisted of some of the scenes deleted from the movie. Oh, well; at least the rest of the package is outstandingly put together, so I will not hesitate to recommend this DVD to devoted fans. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.55)
186 Votes
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