Dvd WILLOW

A diminutive nelwyn named Willow teams up with a wandering swordsman to protect a baby princess who has miraculously fallen into his care. It is fortold this baby girl will bring about the end of the rule of evil sorceress-queen Bavmorda.

If you can find it, I recommend purchasing the now out-of-print Region-1 DVD release that came out back in 2001. Note: Considering the massive decline in physical home-media sales over the past couple of years, it comes as little to no surprise that Disney has chosen to simply recycle and re-release the same problematic and disappointing transfer that 20th Century Fox put out on Blu-ray back in 2013 (albeit now with the old Warwick Davis commentary added back in). Supposedly stemming from a 4K scan, and demonstrating many of the same controversial issues evident in the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” Blu-ray release, “Willow” feels excessively warm in its color grading, exhibiting odd contrast and awkward brightness levels to boot. Factor in the remixed and remastered soundtrack, and what you have on this Blu-ray is a presentation that bears little resemblance to what was seen and heard in theaters back when the film debuted in 1988.

Willow liberally borrows from the Biblical Old Testament story of Moses and well as from The Lord of the Rings . God and Tolkien aren't bad places to find inspiration, and Willow isn't a bad movie for it. It's a fun Fantasy/Adventure that holds up all these decades later, even with some mediocre visual effects in play, thanks to its heart, performances, pacing, and, yes, familiar but still fairly fresh storylines. Disney's Blu-ray suffers from the studio's low volume audio syndrome but seems otherwise fine once the dial is cranked upwards. There appears to be little difference, if any, in the 1080p video transfer. Disney carries over all of the Fox supplements and adds a few more. For fans who missed Willow the first time around, buying this one is a no-brainer. For those who already own the 2013 Blu-ray, the new supplements and digital copy code might just be incentive enough to upgrade. Highly recommended.

Excellent family film that jumps from one fun scenario to another. The musical score alone is among the very best made in that era of film making. A pure joy.

Having re-invigorated the sci-fi genre with Star Wars , George Lucas turned his attention to the fantasy world in 1988. Sadly, Willow failed to live up to expectations, thanks to the combination of its relentlessly formulaic narrative and Ron Howard's lifeless direction. Indeed, these days it's only really remembered for its use of early digital morphing effects. The film does have a modest fanbase, though, and we're sure that they will be pleased to see that Fox has delivered a good hi-def package, including a gorgeous restoration and some informative bonus bits (including deleted scenes and archival featurettes - with newly recorded intros). The AVC 2.40:1 1080p image is a touch muted, but reveals plenty of fine detail and does a perfectly decent job of maintaining a film-like look throughout. Aural support comes from a enjoyably bold DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack.