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Tales from the NeverEnding Story - The Beginning

Tales from the NeverEnding Story - The Beginning

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Garbage, Pure Garbage!!!!
Review: Do not get this movie!! I repeat do not get this movie!! This movie was so bad that I had to take action. I have never written a review for anything until now!

This movie exposes the major problem with movies nowadays. The movie makers give too much time and money for special effects, digital graphics and animations, flamboyant sets and gaudy costumes, but not any money or time towards developing a story, editing, setting up atmospheres and staying with them, flow of story, development of relationships true to character, a psychology of good and evil, or even a good music score that follows the movie (instead of being off in its own universe). A movie doesn't have to have a blockbuster budget in order to accomplish these things.

Also, sci-fi fantasy movies generally don't look right with the high tech film of today. If one looks at fantasy movies from the 80's the film itself is grainy which gives the film an air already of being not from our world. Too clear and life-imitating film just makes the characters look out of place, and out of time. Furthermore, it must be difficult trying to act in a scene with a green screen behind you instead of actually being in that place, or some natural environment for that matter.

First of all (if I haven't already begun) I have a problem with movies being under 80 minutes (actual movie time, excluding credits), unless they are a comedy. Can one truly develop a plot in under 80 minutes that really brings to light human subjects and matters? hmm...

Second of all, I don't even care that it didn't follow the original movie storyline, or Ende's wonderful book (which I recommend that you read). The movie itself is bad!! Bad acting, portrayal of evil is silly (watch Willow to see a good portrayal of evil for all ages); too many scene jumps not allowing one to absorb the scene itself (why continue to go from real life to fantasy story to real life to fantasy story so quickly, it chops up the fantasy story and doesn't allow one to immerse themselves in it); stupid decisions made by the characters themselves; horrible costumes that take away emphasis from the acting (the costumes looked more like an Elementary School play being done to out-do itself); bad one-liners and even worse delivery of potent messages and normal dialogue between characters on the actors part (which should have been noticed by the producers and directors).

Oh yeah, Tell Atreyu to get that stupid look of confusion and disbelief off his face. If he was a fierce warrior he would be more confident in himself and his ability to handle situations that he has no direct control of.

Thirdly, your children should also feel as though there are being dumbed-down, taken for idiots, fooled, scammed, swindled, cheated of what could possibly be some very important life lessons (that were well told in the original movie). Do directors and producers honestly think that children can't handle more grown up storylines? I remember watching movies such as The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story when I was young and loving them, even though things went over my head. Now as a young adult I have noticed the very grown up material in them, how it was wonderfully presented with a passion (not for money or profit, but purpose), and have fully come to appreciate those movies even more.

And a movie can be fun and an educational experience (for life lessons more importantly) at the same time. There is no reason to chose one over the other. One lesson taught from this movie is how not to make a movie.

If you have already bought it, such as myself, then I feel sorry for you too. If you haven't bought it then don't even buy it used, unless you want to treat yourself to a painful experience. Don't show any support for this movie. Send it back to the studio with a letter stating your disapproval, or whatever you would like to show, if you can. I feel sorry for the actors of this film, but, hey, every actor needs a couple skeletons in their closet. And shame on the executives, the directors, the producers and the editors. You should have understood better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Garbage, Pure Garbage!!!!
Review: Do not get this movie!! I repeat do not get this movie!! This movie was so bad that I had to take action. I have never written a review for anything until now!

This movie exposes the major problem with movies nowadays. The movie makers give too much time and money for special effects, digital graphics and animations, flamboyant sets and gaudy costumes, but not any money or time towards developing a story, editing, setting up atmospheres and staying with them, flow of story, development of relationships true to character, a psychology of good and evil, or even a good music score that follows the movie (instead of being off in its own universe). A movie doesn't have to have a blockbuster budget in order to accomplish these things.

Also, sci-fi fantasy movies generally don't look right with the high tech film of today. If one looks at fantasy movies from the 80's the film itself is grainy which gives the film an air already of being not from our world. Too clear and life-imitating film just makes the characters look out of place, and out of time. Furthermore, it must be difficult trying to act in a scene with a green screen behind you instead of actually being in that place, or some natural environment for that matter.

First of all (if I haven't already begun) I have a problem with movies being under 80 minutes (actual movie time, excluding credits), unless they are a comedy. Can one truly develop a plot in under 80 minutes that really brings to light human subjects and matters? hmm...

Second of all, I don't even care that it didn't follow the original movie storyline, or Ende's wonderful book (which I recommend that you read). The movie itself is bad!! Bad acting, portrayal of evil is silly (watch Willow to see a good portrayal of evil for all ages); too many scene jumps not allowing one to absorb the scene itself (why continue to go from real life to fantasy story to real life to fantasy story so quickly, it chops up the fantasy story and doesn't allow one to immerse themselves in it); stupid decisions made by the characters themselves; horrible costumes that take away emphasis from the acting (the costumes looked more like an Elementary School play being done to out-do itself); bad one-liners and even worse delivery of potent messages and normal dialogue between characters on the actors part (which should have been noticed by the producers and directors).

Oh yeah, Tell Atreyu to get that stupid look of confusion and disbelief off his face. If he was a fierce warrior he would be more confident in himself and his ability to handle situations that he has no direct control of.

Thirdly, your children should also feel as though there are being dumbed-down, taken for idiots, fooled, scammed, swindled, cheated of what could possibly be some very important life lessons (that were well told in the original movie). Do directors and producers honestly think that children can't handle more grown up storylines? I remember watching movies such as The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story when I was young and loving them, even though things went over my head. Now as a young adult I have noticed the very grown up material in them, how it was wonderfully presented with a passion (not for money or profit, but purpose), and have fully come to appreciate those movies even more.

And a movie can be fun and an educational experience (for life lessons more importantly) at the same time. There is no reason to chose one over the other. One lesson taught from this movie is how not to make a movie.

If you have already bought it, such as myself, then I feel sorry for you too. If you haven't bought it then don't even buy it used, unless you want to treat yourself to a painful experience. Don't show any support for this movie. Send it back to the studio with a letter stating your disapproval, or whatever you would like to show, if you can. I feel sorry for the actors of this film, but, hey, every actor needs a couple skeletons in their closet. And shame on the executives, the directors, the producers and the editors. You should have understood better.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not as bad as they say, but not the greastest either!
Review: First of all, NO this isn't a GREAT movie, the acting isn't the greatest, the effects aren't the greatest either, well, do you previous viewers realize that this ISN'T made for Adults???HELLO??
its made for children, therefore it WILL have cheesy acting, and cheesy effects, yes it strays ALOT from the book, but kids will love it! its a NEW version for a NEW generation, do you REALLY think kids will think the original movie is cool??? after seeing Harry Potter? sad to say HP has KILLED the idea of Good fantasy, it has perverted a great genre, however this film is for those who want to have a cheesy good time! Think saturday morning made for tv movie! the only thing that REALLY bothered me is the ending, there ISN'T one! and the dvd says "watch for the next installment coming to home video"??? uh, its home DVD not video!

bottom line, its an entertaining film for the NEW generation, no big studio is going to remake the first film, this is it folks! so stop whining and just read the book if you dislike this version so much!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Please let it end!
Review: First off, the only reason I'm giving this "movie" more than one star is because, in the deep recesses of my mind, i still find it impossible that it could have been this bad. I mean, it remains one of my favorite novels. I even loved the first two movies. When I saw the cover of the dvd, I had to get it. In my life, I now regret few things more. If the attention and effort put into the cover of this "movie" had been half that of the "movie" itself, I wouldn't feel this deep sadness that now sweeps over me. There should be a disclaimer somewhere on the box that says "WARNING! This "movie" is NOT as good as it looks! Buy the original and for God's sake, read the book!" Bottom line: the production quality is questionable, the dialogue is deplorable (the WB would have rejected this!), and the plot couldn't be farther from that of Michael Ende's novel. A new spin is one thing, a desecration is another.
Wait! I've got an idea! What if they made this movie so bad so people WOULD go and read the book? I don't know...I'm searching for explanations here.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: fun
Review: I found this movie very entertaining. Yes, some of the elements have been changed from the original videos, so what. I thought the take on this one was interesting. Every storyteller is different and one person will see a story from a different point of view. Sometimes it is difficult to put a book into a movie form. Scenes which work in a book don't neccessarily work in a movie studio even with today's technology. If you don't get to hung up on sticking to the orginal version you will enjoy this movie. The only thing I didn't like was being left hanging until the next part comes out. But, on the other hand I will watch for it and buy it just to see what happens next.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Tales From The Neverending Story - The Beginning
Review: I was disappointed to see what they did with the original characters. And I really don't like being left hanging at the end. But my children enjoyed most of the movie, which is still about good versus evil. Since I bought it for them and not for myself, I think that it is an ok movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth a look for any NES fan
Review: I'm a true NES fan and I found Tales From a lot of fun. They seemed to take elements from the book, take them apart, and put them together in new ways. I kept finding myself thinking... well, for an example, "you can't map Fantasia!" and then a minute later, "But if you could, that's EXACTLY how it'd work." Fans should definitely see it.

That said, they did reinterpret some of the core elements of the Neverending Story that they shouldn't have messed with. There were plenty of times I cringed and wanted to throw things at the screen.

NES-purity aside, there were magical moments, some really clever writing, a few characters I wanted to strangle just to shut them up, and a lot of plain old cheesy writing. Better than the general run of kid fantasy, fun stuff, rent it. =)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loved It
Review: It is the start of a great series. They remade The Neverending Story into a great series. They remade it using todays stuff. It is a new great series. I would recomand it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I LIKED IT!
Review: Looks like I'm in the minority here but I think this was an excellent film. As an owner of the original Never Ending Story Trilogy, I thought this rendition explained a lot more. This version shows what happened to Bastian's mother and why his father was the way he was. In the original films I just thought he was an unfeeling jerk! The characters here were much more interesting and the story told much more about them. It is a classic tale of good versus evil, delivered in an entertaining manner. Atreyu, The Childlike Empress and Zeide came to life for me in this version. It showed so much more of who they were, what motivated them. The special effects aren't quite Star Wars calibre but they come across very well.

All in all, I found this to be an excellent story, well-written and well-acted. Mark Rendall (Bastian) reminded me a lot of Jason James Richter (who played Bastian in The Never Ending Story III) in the original Free Willy and I thought he was a very appealing boy who gave "Bastian" a heart the other actors never achieved in the original films. In my opinion the character of Atreyu in the original films was much too young and neither actor gave the character any believability, as was the Childlike Empress. She wasn't child-like, she was a child.

After my son and I watched this, we found the the next installment, The Gift, and enjoyed it even more.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Michael Ende Would Be Ashamed!
Review: Michael Ende would be outright ashamed if he had lived to see his novel slaughtered like this. The movies were one thing... but "Tales From The Neverending Story" is several notches below. Everything about it is bad... the costumes are laughable, the script is a joke, and the special effects make me want to gag. But tops are the characters. I must commend the makers of "Tales From The Neverending Story" for one thing - not only did they manage to destroy Ende's wonderful characters, but in some cases they actually managed to make them complete opposites! Take Bastian for example - the poor little boy, teased by his peers and ignored by his father, who finds his only refuge in books. "Tales'" Bastian seemingly hates books, and is content to walk around with his face in a Gameboy! Apparently the makers of "Tales" did not have their hopes very high, and had to stoop to adding "subtle" references to Harry Potter to draw fans. I actually laughed when I realized that red-haired Bastian's two scheming best friends were a boy with black hair and glasses, and a girl with long brown hair! Oh, but it's a VERY subtle reference, especially when the black-haired boy makes a joke about magic wands! In closing, I should note that Michael Ende tried for the last years of his life to take the rights to his book away from the man who has brought you "Tales From The Neverending Story." Please, read Michael Ende's book "The Neverending Story," and do not see this movie!


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