Short Review...
It's so true, isn't it.
Ones perception and ability to understand changes drastically as one ages.
Thanks to a friend I managed to get hold of The Neverending Story boxset. I watched the first movie only a few hours ago and it was striking. I hadn't watched it in... I cannot even guestimate how long it's been. I've never seen it in English for one. So it's been a while. My mind has matured since I was a child and the added knowledge of what the book was about also had an impact on my viewing of this movie.
For one it is exactly how I remember it. Every detail. I had forgotten how much I used to watch this movie as a child. Every scene etched into my minds eye. But being older I was able to see how badly directed it was. How erratic and jumpy the scenes were. I felt myself multiple times just being wrenched out of the moment as a scene came to an all too abrupt halt. And I could swear that some vital bits ended up on the cutting room floor. The story carries, but if it is done well that is another matter. As a child I was able to follow but as an adult I crave for more. For an understanding and a more in depth look into Fantasia and the Nothing. It all gets covered in the book, of course, but the film is a starving child in comparison. A few times I thought how very wrong this entire movie was. Wrong in a 'this is just plain bad and pathetic' kind of way. And yet it is still enjoyable.
The Swamps of Sadness were a disappointment to me. That was bad directing at its worst, if you ask me. I remember being moved to near tears when Artax was drowned in the sadness but this time there wasn't much impact. The ending where Atreyu meets G'mork was all wrong. For one that creatures name wasn't even G'mork in the book. What is the deal with Atreyu killing G'mork? A total 'WTF'. He didn't kill anythign in the book. Not even that damn buffalo. I don't quite get it. Why throw in blood and such darkness right there at the end? To show how dire everything has become? I don't know. It cerainly isn't a 'Here at the end of all things'. Things just weren't that bad. Such a vital scene filled with information and half of it cut out and the rest all distorted. My dad came in a few times and asked why I was watching such a baby film. I asked him why he was watching it if it's such a baby film. My very valid argument was lost on him. I digress. The point is... it is a childish movie, but only because the serious and interesting bits have been cut out. No wonder Michael Ende detested this movie, lol. No mention of the lies that the Fantasticans turn into once the Nothing has swallowed them up. Poo.
But away with this negativity. I need to say how very impressed I was with The Childlike Empress. As a child I remember never having liked her. I didn't understand why anyone should care about her. She was useless and feeble and the way she talked was annoying. But now I utterly love her. Tami Stronach was so amazingly beautiful. Moon Child may not have been portrayed as having white hair like snow but there was something so amazing about her. She was regal, wise... she had that aura about her that she appeared as a child but was amazingly old and much more than she seemed to be. The way she acted moved me. It made the last few scenes tense and my breath caught in the back of my throat. Definitely the highlight of the movie. And I think I kind of know how Book Bastian felt when he first lay eyes on her. It wasn't just her make-up... it was the way she carried herself and what amazing control she had to express pure and concise emotions. Whoever cast Tami should be congratulated. She was stunning. And I think I'm bloody smitten, lol!
Maybe the book helped with my perception of Moon CHild. I don't know. But whatever it was I'm glad for it.
Ones perception and ability to understand changes drastically as one ages.
Thanks to a friend I managed to get hold of The Neverending Story boxset. I watched the first movie only a few hours ago and it was striking. I hadn't watched it in... I cannot even guestimate how long it's been. I've never seen it in English for one. So it's been a while. My mind has matured since I was a child and the added knowledge of what the book was about also had an impact on my viewing of this movie.
For one it is exactly how I remember it. Every detail. I had forgotten how much I used to watch this movie as a child. Every scene etched into my minds eye. But being older I was able to see how badly directed it was. How erratic and jumpy the scenes were. I felt myself multiple times just being wrenched out of the moment as a scene came to an all too abrupt halt. And I could swear that some vital bits ended up on the cutting room floor. The story carries, but if it is done well that is another matter. As a child I was able to follow but as an adult I crave for more. For an understanding and a more in depth look into Fantasia and the Nothing. It all gets covered in the book, of course, but the film is a starving child in comparison. A few times I thought how very wrong this entire movie was. Wrong in a 'this is just plain bad and pathetic' kind of way. And yet it is still enjoyable.
The Swamps of Sadness were a disappointment to me. That was bad directing at its worst, if you ask me. I remember being moved to near tears when Artax was drowned in the sadness but this time there wasn't much impact. The ending where Atreyu meets G'mork was all wrong. For one that creatures name wasn't even G'mork in the book. What is the deal with Atreyu killing G'mork? A total 'WTF'. He didn't kill anythign in the book. Not even that damn buffalo. I don't quite get it. Why throw in blood and such darkness right there at the end? To show how dire everything has become? I don't know. It cerainly isn't a 'Here at the end of all things'. Things just weren't that bad. Such a vital scene filled with information and half of it cut out and the rest all distorted. My dad came in a few times and asked why I was watching such a baby film. I asked him why he was watching it if it's such a baby film. My very valid argument was lost on him. I digress. The point is... it is a childish movie, but only because the serious and interesting bits have been cut out. No wonder Michael Ende detested this movie, lol. No mention of the lies that the Fantasticans turn into once the Nothing has swallowed them up. Poo.
But away with this negativity. I need to say how very impressed I was with The Childlike Empress. As a child I remember never having liked her. I didn't understand why anyone should care about her. She was useless and feeble and the way she talked was annoying. But now I utterly love her. Tami Stronach was so amazingly beautiful. Moon Child may not have been portrayed as having white hair like snow but there was something so amazing about her. She was regal, wise... she had that aura about her that she appeared as a child but was amazingly old and much more than she seemed to be. The way she acted moved me. It made the last few scenes tense and my breath caught in the back of my throat. Definitely the highlight of the movie. And I think I kind of know how Book Bastian felt when he first lay eyes on her. It wasn't just her make-up... it was the way she carried herself and what amazing control she had to express pure and concise emotions. Whoever cast Tami should be congratulated. She was stunning. And I think I'm bloody smitten, lol!
Maybe the book helped with my perception of Moon CHild. I don't know. But whatever it was I'm glad for it.