Willow (film)
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Willow is a 1988 fantasy film directed by Ron Howard, based on a story by George Lucas.
Synopsis
Lucas' story is Tolkienesque; a young farmer named Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), one of a halfling-like people called Nelwyns, is drawn away from his sheltered home to save a baby girl named Elora Danan with a destiny from the evil queen who would see her destroyed. Willow is aided by the disillusioned master swordsman Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), turned to a life of roguery after the fall of his kingdom to the evil queen. They are initially thwarted but later joined by the queen's daughter Sorsha (played by Joanne Whalley, later Kilmer's wife).
Cast
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| Actor/Actress | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Val Kilmer | Madmartigan |
| Joanne Whalley | Sorsha |
| Warwick Davis | Willow Ufgood |
| Jean Marsh | Queen Bavmorda |
| Patricia Hayes | Fin Raziel |
| Billy Barty | High Aldwin |
| Pat Roach | General Kael |
| Gavan O'Herlihy | Airk Thaughbaer |
| David Steinberg | Meegosh |
| Phil Fondacaro | Vohnkar |
| Tony Cox | Vohnkar warrior |
| Robert Gillibrand | Vohnkar warrior |
| Mark Northover | Burglekutt |
| Kevin Pollak | Rool |
| Rick Overton | Franjean |
Music
The music in the film was composed by James Horner, in what is considered to be a very strong musical score. Distinct echoes of Robert Schumann's Rhenish Symphony may be heard in the triumphant theme.
Box Office Performance
Unfortunately for George Lucas, the film got spectacularly bad reviews and equally bad box office performance. This may have been due to the previews, which were badly designed and vague. Over the years, however, it has developed a cult following and is now considered one of the best made films of its genre.
Spinoffs
Video game
The film was the basis of the video game Willow, which was released in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom and also the PC. Capcom also created a Willow arcade game which played much differently than its console cousin, being a side-scrolling platformer rather than a Zelda clone.
Novels
The film was eventually followed by a trilogy of fantasy novels written by Chris Claremont (again from a story by George Lucas), with the grown-up destiny girl as the central character. The entries to the trilogy are:
- Shadow Moon (1995)
- Shadow Dawn
- Shadow Star.
TV series
In April 2005, during the Star Wars "Celebration III" fan convention, George Lucas hinted in an interview ["Thank the Maker: George Lucas", starwars.com, April 19, 2005] that given his company (Lucasfilm) was moving into television production again, there could be a Willow television series.
DVD release
Willow was released on DVD on November 27, 2001. The film was presented in anamorphic widescreen in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with its sound remixed in 5.1 surround sound.
Features:
- Available Subtitles: English
- Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
- Commentary by: Warwick Davis (Unknown Format)
- "Willow: The Making of an Adventure" (original 1988 featurette)
- "From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking"
- TV spots and trailers
- Photo gallery
References
See also
External links
- [Crossroads] - In-depth site about the film and the novels
- [Another fansite]
- [Another fansite]
- [Film Sculptor] Special Effects Sculptor who worked on the film
- [Keith Short - Film Sculptor] Images of set pieces sculpted for this film
- [The Shadow War Chronicles] Willow entries on the Star Wars Databank
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