The Neverending Story (English, French, DVD)

At the time of release in 1984, this was the most expensive movie ever produced outside of the USA - and it is worth every cent! For my money, it is by far the best childrens' adventure film yet made! The story borrows notably from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; Dr Seuss' The Lorax and even at times from The Bible(!); but it is a great narrative that deserves all the praise it still continues to receive.

Bastian (Baret Oliver) is a young boy who suffers at the hands of bullies while on his way to school one morning. Seeking refuge in a bookshop, he is conned by the store owner, Mr Koreander (Thomas Hill), into borowing a book called "The Neverending Story" though Mr Koreander has already warned Bastian that it is not a "safe" book. Late for school, Bastian sneaks into the attic where he starts to read the book. He becomes swept up in it, and becomes a part of the adventure that takes place in a country called Fantasia, whose child Empresss (Tami Stronach) is dying.

In Fantasia, Bastian meets many strange creature, as well as the main character, Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) who is a young hunter of purple buffalo from the plains, and is about Bastian's own age. In order to save the empress, they must somehow stop The Nothing from completely destroying Fantasia! Atreyu's stauchest ally in his quest proves to be Falcor, the good-luck flying dragon with an affectionate dog-like face; but evil awaits them, in the form of Gmork - a vicious wolf-like beast who is in league with The Nothing. However, it goes without saying that good naturally triumphs in the end. The small role of Bastian's widowed father is played by Major Dad himself: Gerald McRaney!

Infinitely better thanThe Wizard of Oz, this one does not feature any irritating Munchkins; nor are there any syrupy musical numbers that tend to slow down the plot. Parental discretion would be a good idea though, as there are parts of this movie that may frighten the very young and the over-imaginative. I give this my highest personal recommendation.

When young Bastian borrows a mysterious ornately-bound book, he never dreamed turning a page would draw him into a shimmering fantasy world of racing snails, hang-glider bats, soaring luckdragons, puckish elves, a Childlike Empress, the brave warrior Atreyu and a slab-faced walking quarry called a Rock Biter. Follow The NeverEnding Story to the limits of the imagination, thanks to director/co-writer Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm) and a superstar team of technical tinkerers and magicians (with credits including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien and The Empire Strikes Back) who bring to life the most delightful characters ever. You'll cherish this wide-eyed adventure and discover The NeverEnding Story is your story

General

Studio:	Warner Home Entertainment
Country of origin:	Sweden
Release date:	2002
Directors:	Wolfgang Petersen
Dimensions:	192 x 137 x 15mm (L x W x T)
Format:
Running time:	1 hour, 31 minutes
Region encoding:	Region 2. This DVD will play in all South African DVD players.
Video format:	Widescreen 2.35:1
Languages:	English • French
Subtitles:	English • French • Swedish • Danish • Norwegian • Finnish • English for the hearing impaired
Age restriction:	PG
Categories:	DVD > Adventure DVD > Family DVD > Fantasy DVD > Feature Film
LSN:	XVY-RD0-V9M-6
Barcode:	7321917132770

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