Where oh where have all the great sword and sorcery epics of yesteryear went and gone!? Coming at the tail-end of a bit of a mini-revival in the 80s, Willow was designed to be the big-budget, family-friendly cousin to the more hard-edged albeit lowbrow fare such as Conan The Barbarian and The Beastmaster. While it only achieved moderate success at the box office Willow remains a charming if slight fantasy that has developed a strong cult following over the years.
On hiatus from the Star Wars saga, producer George Lucas tapped director Ron Howard - long before he became the top-tier, megabucks director he is today - to bring Willow to life, and the film also has the distinction of being the last of Lucas's "traditional" effects epics before the advent of CGI. For the story, Lucas leans heavily on biblical references, but it is the film's placement of the spiritual into new and unique fantastical settings that sets it apart.
As our story begins, the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda is cowering under the weight of a foretold prophecy, in which a "sacred child" will lead to the end of her reign. She sets out to capture every pregnant female in the kingdom, and if a baby bears the fateful "mark," it will be murdered. But one enterprising midwife snatches the chosen one from the clutches of Bavmorda, and soon the baby has washed ashore and into the hands of the kindly Willow Ufgood and the land of the "small people." Soon Willow sets out on the adventure of his lifetime, meets up with the dashing Swordsman, and sets out to save the child and the kingdom.
While not particularly original in terms of story, Willow has some impressive visuals and exciting action sequences, supported by strong cast who thankfully doesn't descend into camp. While Kilmer is a fine leading man and his chemistry with future-wife Joanne Whalley is a treat to watch, it is really Warwick Davis as Willow who steals the show. With a grin a mile wide and boundless enthusiasm, the entire film rests on his big little shoulders, and he handles it with aplomb. Jean Marsh is also a hoot as the evil Queen Bavmorda, who like all the great villains of the silver screen cackles with glee and revels in her unholy badness.
While Willow is often too cutesy for its own good and lacks the harder edges of a Conan or the B-movie pleasures of a Beastmaster or Sword & The Sorcerer, it's an enjoyable mix of fun and adventure that is probably the most accessible. The non-CGI effects are a bit dated but still impressive, and despite the clunky climax, this is definitely one of Lucas' best non-Star Wars or Indiana Jones efforts.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Presented in a brand-new, THX-certified 2.35;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Willow looks mighty good. Unfortunately, I've never been a huge fan of the film's visual look, which I find to be rather murky and dark and lacking in vibrant colors. While this new transfer is a noticeable improvement over the previous laserdisc and VHS releases, it retains the film's rustic, dank look, so may not be as eye-popping to those used to today's more clean visual styles.
That said, just about every aspect of this transfer is mighty nice. The print is near-pristine, with little in the way of blemishes or defects to distract, and even grain is surprisingly minimal. A few of the effects shots involving mattes and composites are a bit dirtier, but the cleanup job on this transfer is really most impressive. Colors are again very subdued, though the occasional splashes of rich amber hues, midnight blues and deep reds can be striking. Colors are clean and never bleed or smear, and blacks are spot on. Contrast is also very good even in darker interiors, with strong shadow delineation except for a few slightly muddy and soft shots. And unlike the recent Phantom Menace transfer, edge enhancement is thankfully minimal at best, and I noticed little in the way of compression artifacts. A very nice presentation.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Boasting a new 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track, the audio is not quite as exciting as the video but still very good. Like many remixes of films from the 80s, it sounds as if some of the surround effects are processed while others are truly discreet. While the score and dialogue appears confined to the front three channels aside from a bit of bleed here and there to the rears, effects are well-rendered across the entire soundfield for a fairly engaging and enveloping experience. Overall dynamics and fidelity are strong, with a warm and natural feel with clean highs and supple lows. Imaging across all channels is fairly clean and transparent, though again aside from the effects front-to-back pans sound a bit obvious and processed. The .1 LFE channel is fairly strong with plenty of kick, though just a bit shy of the today's punchier, bass-heavy spectacles. Overall, a strong remix.
Also included are English and Spanish 2.0 surround tracks, along with English subtitles and Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
After the disappointing laserdisc release in the early 90s, which was way overpriced and lacking in any real supplements, Lucasfilm and Fox have finally delivered a special edition of Willow that the film's large cult has been waiting for for years.
First up is a screen-specific audio commentary with Willow himself, Warwick Davis. I've never listened to a commentary with an actor going strictly solo, but was surprised it was as strong as it was. Davis seems very well prepared and has a very engaging and pleasant speaking voice. I don't know if he rehearsed this track, but he is very informative not only about his role but some of the production challenges, recollections on working with his fellow cast members, and the many laughs on the set. Oddly, however, the editing of the track is somewhat strange...Davis sometimes repeats the same comments more than once, as if he was recorded twice, once by himself and then again by with prompts by an offscreen interviewer. Or maybe it was just me?
Also included are two fairly detailed featurettes, both of which are presented in full frame. The 20-minute Willow: The Making Of An Adventure was originally produced in 1988, but is much better than your average EPK. Shot on film and looking aged and scratchy, this offers some great onset production footage and interviews with the main principals, including a pre-panda bear George Lucas, director Ron Howard, actors Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley and the those two little pixie guys, as well as the effects crew including ILM's Dennis Muren. Even the narration isn't that cheesy this time, and while a truly new retrospective documentary would have been nice, this isn't bad filler at all.
However, we do get a new look at the film's pioneering, early CG "morphing' effects courtesy of the team at Automat Pictures, Willow: Morf To Morphing. Here we get 24-minutes worth of effects footage and new interviews with Lucas, Howard, Muren and the ILM crew, While again I continue to be disappointed that the main focus of DVD extras these days seems to be all about the effects (especially when filmmakers like Lucas keep proclaiming that they "make movies about people") this is a sharp look at the film's antiquated but charming "morf" work. Willow definitely was a building block on the way today's highly-evolved CGI effects, so it is nice to see the talented production crew get their due.
Rounding out the extras is a decent still gallery with about 50 on-the-set production photos (no text description is provided, however) 2 theatrical teasers and the theatrical trailer (all in anamorphic widescreen) and no less than 8 TV spots. No DVD-ROM or other interactive features are included, nor a collectible booklet, which would have been a nice bonus.
Parting Thoughts
While maybe not considered a true modern classic like the Star Wars or Indy Jones films, Willow continues to charm its large and loyal cult following and I think even today's more jaded younger audiences will find a lot to enjoy here. This is a very nice disc, with a sharp new remastered transfer and 5.1 soundtrack, a strong commentary from Warwick Davis, and a couple of entertaining featurettes. A solid bargain for only $26.95, this is an easy recommend.
