Willow (DVD)

While it would be safe to say the majority of the world only knows him for his involvement in the creation of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film legacies, it's wrong to say that this is a fair summary of his career in film. While his directorial career may not be the most consistent, he of beard and plaid shirt has produced a number of notable pictures since he took us back to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. He lent his name and weight to Akira Kurosawa's epic Kagemusha and children's favourite Labyrinth, but arguably the most Lucas-esque of all his producer credited films is Ron Howard's 1988 feature Willow. While it would be wrong to say Willow ...  Read the complete review

Long ago in the distant 80's before Peter Jackson made the fantasy genre his own with 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy fantasy films were going through a bit of a rebirth. The genre seemed to become popular with filmmakers following on from the Star Wars sci-fi boom of the late 70's. Unfortunately the output was largely dreadful, for every quality film like 'Excalibur' there were also plenty of dreadful ones like 'Beastmaster' or 'Red Sonja'. Willow came out towards the end of this period and at the time was touted has showing off the most sophisticated special ...  Read the complete review

This is probably one of the darker fantasy fables available, and I will gladly say 'they don't make them like this anymore'. If there's one thing I love about Willow, it is that it had a Star-Wars feel to it without being too epic or overpowering. It has a great little story that you can just dip into without planning to watch a six film marathon and then spend the next week repeating your favourite quotes. When Willow, a humble 'Nelwyn' farmer, find a 'Daikini' on the banks of a river, he finds himself on a mission to return her to her own kind, unaware that she is the child of a prophey. Willow finds himself battling Bavmorda, an evil, with the ...  Read the complete review

Somehow Willow had passed me be since its release back in 1988 until just recently, when I saw it for a mere £5 in one of the shops at the hospital I work in. I’ve always been curious about it as I remember a lot of hype at the time of its release, and of course it was brought to us by George Lucas of Star Wars fame. The story is a very traditional fantasy tale with a few biblical overtones thrown in for good measure. An evil queen rules (just where do they find all these evil queens?!?) but there is a prophecy about a child, who bears a certain mark, who will bring about her downfall. She has all babies checked for this mark, and the idea is that when it’s ...  Read the complete review

W.I.L.L.O.W Story by George Lucas and Ron Howard Staring Val Kilmer(Madmartigan) Joanne Whalley (Shorsha) Warwick Davis (Willow) Billy Barry (General Keel) Jean Marsh(Queen Bavamorda) A midget named Willow finds a baby girl on small raft by the river. This infant is important, she is a Princess and evil Queen Sorceress Bavamorda wants her dead. Willow is with company containing an infant, a lone swordsman named Madmartingan and two dwarf like critters. They trawled to ancient city of Teer Asleen where little infant Elora is destined to rule some day. In time they are joined by good sorceress Raziel who fought ...  Read the complete review