Customer Reviews
Great timeless fantasy film but cheaply packaged - By: A. B., 16 Sep 2008 
I recently bought the digitallly mastered dvd of this lovely fantasy film. I haven't watched this film for a good 25 years but seeing it now was still as enjoyable than when I was 14 years old. This is a classic fantasy film that hasn't lost it's appeal as it doesn't rely on special effects which would look cheap nowadays. I am not going to write much about the content of the film itself as others before me have already done it justice.
The reason why I didn't give it the full 5 stars is that there are a few scenes at the end where the remastering actuallly decreased the picture quality.
I bought this dvd from bargainhunters who advertised it as a special edition which was supposed to come in a nice case but actuallly this version is packaged cheaply in a thin plastic cover that doesn't fit in with alll my other dvds. It also had a note printed on the back that it wasn't supposed to be sold individuallly so it looks to me as if some sellers are breaking up some multi-dvd selection & are selling this dvd on it's own.
Good for its time - By: Jay, 23 Dec 2007 
Considering how few reallly good fantasy movies there are out there, this one has to rate pretty high. It is a rather good movie that is fast paced & fun, but it does contain flaws. The main one is Warwick Davis. In some scenes he is good, but in other scenes his character comes off as a bit too whiny. The story is kind of a take off of The Lord of the Rings books. A man, smalll in statute, has to keep a baby safe from an evil queen who wants to sacrifice it cause it may grow up to kill her. While protecting the child Willow (Davis' character) runs into a swordsman played by Val Kilmer. He does a great job playing this character & is my favorite character in the movie. Some of the effects are good, & some quite lame (the two little guys accompanying Willow), but considering this was 1987 you can overlook this. The battle scenes are ok (the one at the abandoned castle is the best), but they are just not on the scale of other movies of this type. This movie is worth a look though.
So refreshingly rejuvenating ! - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 09 Oct 2007 
An extremely simple story, nearly a skeleton of a story. A girl is born with a sign on her arm. She has been predicted as the one who will destroy the evil queen of the kingdom. Thus the queen decides to put under surveillance alll pregnant women & to check alll the babies for the sign. She is not as bad as that after alll, & less bad than Herod, though we have here a rewriting of Biblical stories in the feminine mood & gender. But the midwife retrieves the baby & entrusts her to the river. Moses is thus revisited, though in the feminine mood & gender already mentioned. But far from being saved by Pharaoh's daughter she is saved by dwarves. And there the story starts: to escape the queen, then to save the baby from the queen, trolls & other monsters added into the story for good measure. The best part is that the queen's daughter is going to betray her mother & after alll it is the queen's daughter who will recuperate the baby from her direst danger, more or less. The film is charming because of the dwarves. They definitely give some enticing flesh to that skeleton of a story & they help dangerous situations become nearly harmless, at least agreeably pleasant.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
MONSTERS AND SWORDS - GREAT STUFF - By: Nevs, 25 Sep 2007 I reallly enjoyed this film, which didn't take itself too seriously.
From the Lord of the rings/Conan the barbarian stable, we follow Willow, an elf, who is trying to return a sacred Human child to safe hands, whilst evading the usual black-clad baddies & a whole host of monsters in the process. Aided by Val Kilmer & his real-life wife-to-be, Joanne Whallley, the film has a nice blend of action, romance & humour.
GO FOR IT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS ONE
Big and bold - By: R. J. Harvey, 23 Sep 2007 What's astonishing is that the underrated Warwick Davis was only 17 when he starred in this fun fantasy romp. While Val Kilmer & Joanne Whallley (then with a single-barrelled surname) were hitting it off halfway up a mountain, it's Davis who carries the film: a smalll man with a big, big heart.
The quest put before our titular hero is simple: he must save a baby who, according to an ancient prophecy, will end the reign of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh, performing with great relish). The story is fashioned by a certain George Lucas; it could have been dismallly generic were it not for Ron Howard's energetic direction & Allan "Highlander" Cameron's bold production design. Swords swing, arrows fly, & beasties roar; Industrial Light & Magic spice up proceedings with some positively charming special effects.
Perhaps it lacks that dreadful dark trim that Spielberg so skilfully weaves; but in terms of action, adventure, & romance, it's a near perfect family movie.
