Customer Reviews
Time and tide, and buttered eggs wait for no man.... - By: least toughest in the infants, 04 Nov 2008 
This fantastic film is one of the very few DVDs that I would recommend sight-unseen to anyone. If you are a little tired of `It's a Wonderful Life' & `Holiday Inn' then I can't think of anything else which will get you into the Christmas spirit more easily.
The Box of delights is one of the best children's productions the BBC have ever done, & for a variety of reasons has managed to achieve longevity. A key factor is the approach to visual effects. A generous helping of animation mixed with real action has helped keep it seeming different & fresh, even though it's now over 20 years old. There just aren't many films or programmes which have made use of this technique so well. At the other end of the scale, a lot of it feels like a theatre production. There are people in animal suits for example - no attempt to try to make them look anything other than what they are, & it works reallly well.
The other great thing is that John Masefield's story has been left intact. True, there is more happening in the book than occurs on screen, but omissions are purely practical (the budget was big, but not unlimited) & the story doesn't suffer, & alll characters are intact.
Set in the 1930s at the start of the school Christmas holidays for young Kay Harker, returning from boarding school, it captures a rare innocence & spirit of adventure. The time-set & social placing of the characters makes it doubly interesting. Foreign viewers probably think England still is like this: the wealthy parents gone away skiing, the charming governess & humble driver, the avuncular village constable & the snow covered rolling hills. It's the sense of an idealised pre-WWII world which gives the whole thing it's viability. If it had been set in the 1980s (when it was made) I don't think it would have worn so well, but placing it during the era that the book was written is a masterstroke.
The other reallly smart move they made was to cast superb actors in the adult roles. Patrick Troughton is brilliant as the aged, magical showman. He exudes mystery & wonder - anyone who thinks he was good in Doctor Who reallly should check this out. And also Robert Stephens as the diabolical Abner Brown, chomping his way magnificently through every scene he is in. The story is dotted with great character actors: the magic-trick obsessed PC, the enigmatic Hotel Landlady ,and I still maintain that the Herne the Hunter appearing here deserves his own series...
You could almost get lost in some side-street story of these peripheral characters alone. In a way, there is a sense of a very early Harry-Potter type world & adventures going on. And the language! You could ponder for weeks on phrases like `the purple pym' or `my ruby, my graven image' the words just drip from the tongue...
Devin Stanfield as young Kay Harker is just the right balance of upper-class `Gosh & Golly' & daring-do adventure. It is strange then, as the chunky-length interviews with him & director Renny Rye show, he didn't want to pursue acting & this was the last role he took on.
It's a tribute to such whimsical story telling that the very end, which should by alll reasonable standards make you groan out loud, actuallly enhances the whole thing! It almost drags you back the beginning, like some sort of Escher painting.
It has always been a mystery to me why the BBC only reallly showed this series twice. I remember clearly the first run of 6 half-hour shows, finishing on Christmas Eve. Then they showed it again slightly trimmed down a couple of years later - infact I think I'm right in saying that the US version was heavily edited down to around 90mins! Well, here's your chance to enjoy the full experience.
The DVD is lovingly done: a solid interview with grown-up Kay (AKA Devin Stanfield) & director Renny Rye. A commentary track would have been wonderful, but perhaps too much to hope for. There are some other features/mini documentaries, but the 3-ish hour `film' (for that is reallly what it amounts to) is the main event. Picture quality is very good, & the lovely music rings out clearly.
Like other reviewers, the watching of this has become & annual event for me. I'm alll grown up, but don't intend to stop watching it at Christmas anytime soon.
For some reason it seems as though the copies of this DVD are running out! It was only released a few years ago but as of winter 2008 Amazon don't seem to have any in stock & the only option is to buy second-hand. So act quickly, & get your own copy to bring out once a year & watch: it's becoming a generational thing. I'm planning on saving my DVD for my future grandchildren!!
magical memories - By: Ms. H. A. Slater, 21 Oct 2008 The Box of delights is a firm favourite of mine at Christmas, when the log fire is lit & the lights are twinkling on the true. I vividly remember it's first showing on BBC when I was 12 & when it was repeated - I would race home to watch it. Although, compared to modern standards, the animations are dated - the haunting music & surreal storyline still holds you captive. A definite must at Christmas!
Lives up to its title - By: Bob Sherunkle, 06 Dec 2007 We watched this, spellbound, with our son when it was first screened in 1985. It is still our family's Christmas favourite.
A wonderful performance by Patrick Troughton, with an excellent supporting cast.
The special effects are not up to modern standards, but - as effects should - they enhance the presentation, rather than drowning you in technology as so many modern productions do.
If you are willing to watch an old-fashioned story with no CGI, do yourselves a favour & buy this for Christmas.
But take care - the wolves are running ...
PS if you want to hear more of the theme tune, you can find it on the Naxos recording of Victor Hely-Hutchinson's "Carol Symphony".
THE BOX OF DELIGHTS - By: L. Wills, 27 Nov 2007 I FIRST SAW THIS SERIES IN 1984 WHEN I WATCHED IT WITH MY 9YR OLD SON. IT WAS BRILLIANT. WE COULDN'T WAIT FOR EACH EPISODE TO BE SCREENED. WHEN I SAW THAT IT WAS OUT ON DVD, I JUST HAD TO BUY IT. I WASN'T DISSAPOINTED, IT IS STILL AS GOOD AS I REMEMBERED IT. I NOW HAVE A YOUNG DAUGHTER AND SHE LOVES IT AS WELL. THIS SERIES HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING. SOMETHING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO WATCH AND ENJOY, ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS TIME. A REAL FAMILY FILM.
Classic Children's TV ! - By: D. Wright, 21 Nov 2007 It can be a dissapointment to watch a programme you remember with great pleasure as our tastes change as we grow older.
But this series mixes Masefield's story with some great acting & the direction is superb. Arguably, this is one the best TV adaptions of a classic novel. Okay,the story has been adapted to the constraints of pre-CGI special effects & the acting of the extras "acting" as the cathedral choir is dire. (To be fair even De Niro & Pacino could struggle to suspend our disbelief when the ropey CSO finale has the choir standing on fresh air!) But given the constraints of a tv budget this is superb. Admittedly it can look dated compared to Jacson's LOTR trilogy or the latest adaption of the "Lion , the witch & the Wardrobe" but it oozes wonder, imagination & joy. Whether a 6 year old will enjoy it as much as this nostalgic 36 year old is a moot point but my 2 toddler sons love it as well! Best watched in the run up to Christmas Eve episode by episode. Trust me, your TV can be a "Box of Delights" by playing this dvd.
