Merlin (Special Edition)
by Steve Barron
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Helena Bonham Carter, John Gielgud, Martin Short, Miranda Richardson, Sam NeillDirector: Steve Barron
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 182 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-08
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Merlin (Special Edition)
Movie Review: A solid rendering -- full-screen version
Summary: 5 Stars
For fantasy movie fans this one is a big winner. It's Merlin's story, told in retrospect by the old necromancer himself.
The casting is near perfect, the scenery and sets are superb, the cinematography is terrific, and the story continuity is quite coherent, (the latter of which is a big problem in the subsequent "Merlin's Apprentice").
Merlin is "all good" in a time and place where nefarious scoundrels in leadership abound. He doesn't always immediately seize upon the right answers to various dillemmas as they arise but he's always first devoted to the wellness of mankind, frequently advising his "masters" to cease on the power-monging thing.
The evil witch, a nemesis of Merlin and of mankind in general, does rake on one a bit with her whispery-gravelly voice (she has a LOT of speaking parts throughout the film) but other than that, I thought that this was a fine movie. Clearly, fans of "The Lord of the Rings" films will find this movie to be of near-equal quality, albeit it's not nearly so complex as that fine trilogy.
Unfortunately, I had purchased a full-screen version of this film and the wide-screen one would clearly have been the superior choice. So, I'll pass this copy on to the neighborhood kids and then grab the widescreen one soon. At 182 minutes in length, this is a great film for rainy Saturday afternoons.
Highly recommended.
Summary of Merlin (Special Edition)
What kind of guy was the wizard Merlin, anyway? He lives a long time, raises a boy to be a king, props up a Utopian empire with his magic and wisdom, and then watches as it all crumbles under such banal forces as vengeance and betrayal. This four-hour miniseries re-tells the story of Camelot and King Arthur from the perspective of the magic man who sacrifices a great deal to guide mortals toward a better destiny. Sam Neill plays Merlin as an accessible, flesh-and-blood fellow of real passion, powerless to undo the spell of a rival (Rutger Hauer) who has virtually imprisoned Merlin's great love, Nimue (Isabella Rossellini), but gifted enough to counter the treachery of Morgan Le Fey (Helena Bonham Carter) and the wicked Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson). The battle sequences and special effects are striking and original, and it is great fun to see such art-house movie actors as Richardson, Carter, Neill, etc., in fantasy entertainment the whole family can enjoy. (An unrecognizable Martin Short must be singled out, however, for a wonderful, largely dramatic performance as Mab's sidekick, Frik.) Directed by Steve Barron (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Merlin is a nice bit of glossy revisionism of a beloved legend. --Tom KeoghDrama DVD Video
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