DLibrasnow

As someone who grew up with the C.S. Lewis Narnia books this version of 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is the one I have long waited for. Prior to this we had the 1978 animated movie and a rather low-budget BBC series, and while both were adequate neither really managed to truly capture the imagination as completely as the book has for generations of readers. Thankfully the success of the LOTR movies gave Buena Vista the courage to attempt this excursion into the fantasy realm and the result is a truly remarkable movie filled with wonder and spectacle. It really has to be seen to be believed and certainly on the big screen where all its majesty can be effectively conveyed.

I think the television listing description I read on this movie was misleading - actually no, it was wrong. According to what my TiVo said the story followed a 1920s playboy who returns from a stint in the Foreign Legion to reclaim his former lover (a mobster's girl). Obviously the person who wrote this has never seen this movie. For starters he wasn't so much a playboy as he was a boxer and for second he never returns to France to reclaim his former lover. In fact we learn through the progress of the film that the woman in question has emigrated to the United States. Okay, enough gripes about how inaccurate TV listings can be - what did I think about the movie in question. It's actually okay as far as Jean Claude VanDamme movies go, except he really doesn't do much in the way of martial arts as he has in previous films. Instead he relies more on a rifle to shoot charging North African tribesmen or fists to straighten out fellow Foreign Legionnaire's who get their kicks out of bullying their weaker colleagues. Jean Claude plays a boxer who, after reneging on a promise to throw a fight, escapes into the French Foreign Legion to flee the clutches of a murderous mobster. There he is flung headfirst into the North Africa war between the local nomadic tribesmen and the occupying French forces. What was really a treat was the presence of Steven Berkoff. It's been awhile since I have seen him in a movie. He was a very high profile in the early to mid 1980s in movies such as 'Beverly Hills Cop,' 'Octopussy' and 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' but then seemed to disappear from view. Here he plays the Foreign Legion commander who must lick the raw recruits into shape - and he dominates every scene in which he appears. The action scenes are also well staged and you feel the danger in which the troops are thrust into, the movie makers also do a good job of conveying the confusion and chaos that comes from close quarters fighting. If you enjoyed other Jean Claude movies then chances are this one will also hit the spot. It's not quite as good as 'Sudden Death' (my favorite Jean Claude picture) but it's an entertaining ride.

It may be somewhat sacrilegious to admit this, but I actually prefer this production to the David Lean classic. That is an admission however that I do not take lightly, the Lean version having left an indelible impression on my younger life and the beautiful Lara's Theme having haunted me since I first saw the original version on television back in the 1980s. No, when I sat down to watch this 2002 adaptation of the Boris Pasternak epic I was all prepared to be both disappointed and resistant to a newer version of the Omar Sharif/Julie Christie favorite - so what happened? Why am I now sitting here so impressed and involved in what should by all accounts be a poorer step child to the colorful, star-filled 1960s movie. Simply put this movie has the advantage of time. A whole hour longer than the other movie that extra time gives the production of filling in some of the blanks that inhibited to original and more fully exploring the human relationships and interaction between characters. Matheson may not have the acting ability of Sharif but what he does have is the opportunity to more fully realize the character of Zhivago. In this sense this movie is more faithful to the source material and all the better for it. Matheson plays the story of Zhivago, a man brought up in the shadow of tragedy who feels the pull of loyalty to his wife (and childhood friend) Tonya and a deep infatuation for Lara. With the violence of World War I and the Russian Revolution as a backdrop, Zhivago travels through life torn by conflict. Less colorful than the original this mini-series compensates with a strong, well defined script and some star turning performances by Sam Neill and one-time Bond girl Maryam D'Abo (as Lara's mother). Many have also dismissed Keira Knightley in her role as Lara, but I found her both competent and powerful in the role. I found myself both involved in her story and convinced by her portrayal - she was certainly a different Lara than the one depicted by Christie some four decades ago, but one no less realized or compelling. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Knightley's Lara is a more rounded character than Christie's, no doubt due to Knightley's impressive screen presence, but also the longer screen time afforded to her character. One device I found both clever and interesting was real archive footage from the period that is woven into the story in a fascinating manner. Included on this DVD is a text biography of author Boris Pasternak as well as over an hour of interviews with the cast. Prepared to be surprised by this DVD and be prepared to fall in love with a whole new version of the DOCTOR ZHIVAGO story.