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The Colour of Magic

The Colour of Magic (2008)

March. 23,2008
|
6.9
|
G
| Fantasy Comedy TV Movie

As Rincewind involuntarily becomes a guide to the naive tourist Twoflower, they find themselves forced to flee the city of Ankh-Morpork to escape a terrible fire, and begin on a journey across the Disc. Unknown to them, their journey & fate is being decided by the Gods playing a board game the whole time.

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Jeanskynebu
2008/03/23

the audience applauded

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Evengyny
2008/03/24

Thanks for the memories!

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Curapedi
2008/03/25

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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Catangro
2008/03/26

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

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Tweekums
2008/03/27

This Discworld story follows Rincewind, a student wizard who is expelled from the Unseen University for failing to reach the first level of wizardry after forty years of study, and Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist. The pair meet the Broken Drum tavern where Twoflower's large trunk full of gold coins has attracted more than a little attention. Rincewind agrees to show Twoflower the sites but does a runner after being paid… however a few words from the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork explaining that he is to ensure Twoflower has a good time and returns to his homeland with a good impression of the city he returns. It isn't long before the two of them get involved in a series of adventures that will lead them to have encounters with dragons, a troll and even discover what is over the edge of the disc amongst other things. While all this is going on we see the politics of the Unseen University at work as the devious wizard Ymper Trymon murders his way to the top then seeks the ultimate power of learning the eight powerful spells in the 'Octavo'… there is just one problem; one of the spells is in the head of Rincewind.I have read a few Discworld novels but not 'The Colour of Magic' or 'The Light Fantastic' on which this is based. I thought this adaption nicely captured Terry Pratchett's Discworld even if the relatively low budget does show at times. Since it is based on the first two books one doesn't need to be familiar with the Discworld as things are nicely explained. The story is an enjoyable adventure that can be enjoyed by all ages as the scary bits are more comic than frightening and there is no crudeness to the humour. The cast do a solid job; David Jason is likable as Rincewind, Sean Astin nicely captures the stereotype of a slightly annoying but harmless foreign tourist who wants to see all the sights and Tim Curry delightfully hams it up as the villainous Trymon. Overall I found this to be enjoyable; I hope we'll get more adaptions of Disc World novels… hopefully based on the activities of the Night Watch.

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siderite
2008/03/28

I've never been able to read Terry Pratchett's books, mostly because they were too ... British. All those large words and phrasing that seems to always say more than one can possibly understand. So I was grateful for a chance to grasp a little of what all this Discworld business is all about.The film is clearly a TV movie, the special effects are simple and either completely CGI or weird mashups (like the fire breathing dragon bit), but that never bothered me because the acting was great, the story fun and the people in it clearly enjoying every moment of its making.Bottom line: like the old Shakespeare plays that BBC was doing and I gobbled up as a young child or like Doctor Who or any other of those shows that Brits do, which are cheaply done, but with a lot of soul, I really liked it. I am looking forward to watching Hogfather, next.

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Mauricio Silva Barrios
2008/03/29

Technically, this movie is very good. The effects are well done, with very high quality computer graphics for a "Made for TV" movie, that won't stand behind theatrical release movies. The outdoor scenes were all well produced, placing the actors in a "real" discworld. The customs and environment are in a child-movie style, because of the story's background (it came from a series of books made for children). But that doesn't mean low quality. It just adds to the comical overall feeling of the film. The actors followed this same comical/child-oriented line when playing their roles.About the story, it never gets boring, and a lot of things happen to the main characters. They practically cross the world in a single adventure, including a journey in "outer space". Multiple parallel plots also take place. In the end, this 3-hour movie entertains you the whole time. The main motivation is very original: following the steps of the first tourist. And the world description is ironically fun.This story has 2 main perspectives. From the Twoflower point of view, it's a story about having an open mind. One may have much fun and learn a lot when he keeps his mind open to new experiences. From the Rincewood point of view, it shows that one must have persistence; and also that, even in the face of failure, your value doesn't diminish. You're not defined by your failures and/or successes as perceived by the others.In the end this is a family movie, worth watching by itself, and even more with your children (if you happen to have any).

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baba44713
2008/03/30

One thing I don't understand. Pratchett wrote quite a lot of Discworld novels, and some of them are simply begging to be put on the big screen. Most of the "Watch" novels for example. "Small Gods" as another. However, when Pratchett actually gets on the big (ok, small) screen, they seem to make the worst choices possible. First it was the "Hogfather", which is probably one of the most esoteric and confusing Discworld novels out there. Now they take the very first Discworld novels which - while perhaps being the funniest in the series - do not really present what Pratchett's work is all about. These early two novels are basically Terry taking a jab at (but also making homage) to a fantasy genre in general. Well, perhaps the entire Discworld series is like that, but in "Color of Magic" and "The light fantastic" this parody takes the front seat while a coherent story and characters sit in the back. And this works well in written form, but as a cinematic narrative it simply fails; clever jokes get cut, simplified and/or drowned in the overall chaos, the plot has to move quickly so it is nearly impossible to absorb everything that happens (let alone enjoy it) and overall it represents a rather frustrating experience, both for the Pratchett fans as well as the general audience.The first thing that bothered me is the casting. Sean Austin is a fine Twoflower, even though I think it perhaps should have been cast by a more exotic-looking actor. David Jason, sadly, is a complete miss as Rincewind. This particularly bothers me since David is probably my favorite British actor; however he is just too likable to pull of a Rincewind. Someone like Rowan Atkinson channeling his Black Adder persona (but with less malice and much more cowardice) would be perfect. The thing is, you need to take pleasure in Rincewind constantly being put from one peril to the next; David's Rincewind is like a kooky old grandpa that you feel bad for when he gets thrown from a cliff, threatened or trampled on. And whenever he does something Rincewind-y (like taking off with Twoflower's gold), it actually feels out of character.The rest of the cast is hit-or-miss. Death is horribly puppet-like - I endured him in Hogfather but here the rubber skull should really have been lees pronounced. Vetinari is on par (even though in those early Discworld novels he most probably wasn't the "Patrician", but that's fan service for you). Tim Curry overplays Trymon to the extreme, but I guess this is due to the bad direction - many characters seem to be overacting their bits probably to infuse a sense of lightness and silliness. Just check out the faces leader of the Krull makes while doing his speech; inexcusable.However the biggest culprit is the plot. It is just too hectic, too chaotic and doesn't let the characters to develop or even establish themselves. This perhaps has a lot to with with (un)necessary exposition given by both the narrator and the characters - the plot hardly gets a chance to move along before the next bit of exposition has to get its turn.It's not all bad however. There are some superb actors involved in this, the sets and effect look fantastic (especially for a TV movie). And even though I said Jason makes a bad Rincewind, it still is a joy to watch this fine actor doing his schtick. And it IS Pratchett, after all.So I guess that bottom line I can give this a passing grade, but it's still a deeply disappointing venture. I hope they do "Guards! Guards!" next, and I hope they do it good.

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