Rating: 
Summary: Some of the *worst* acting I've seen
Review: Don't waste your money. Thankfully I borrowed this from the library. This is some of the worst acting I've ever seen, and a complete insult to a great book and a great author.
If the intention was to find a cast who is completely incompitent, than the goal was accomplished. Since it was made in 1990, the poor special affects can be forgiven, but not the acting.
There's not much more to say. This was disgusting.
Rating: 
Summary: Book 6 - A guide to the unending enchantment of Narnia
Review: "The Silver Chair" was the fourth book published in the Narnia Chronicles, but chronologically is the second last in the series and is published as such by most modern publishers. The story revolves around cousin Eustace (a familiar face from "Prince Caspian") and his classmate Jill Pole. Eustace and Jill narrowly escape school bullies and find themselves in Narnia. In Narnia, Aslan himself commissions them on a quest to find Caspian's missing son and heir, prince Rilian, who has been abducted by an evil witch posing as a beautiful woman and a horrible green snake. They are joined in their quest by Puddleglum, a charming Marsh-wiggle whose extreme pessimism ( "he's always expecting the worst and he's always wrong" p.93) is matched by his bravery. Together they escape the perils of giants, and by rescuing Rilian from his enchantment in the Underworld and restoring him to his father, they prevent the Green Lady from by achieving her evil ambitions in becoming Narnia's queen.As with all the Narnia Chronicles, on the level of children the story functions as a perfectly comprehensible and exciting fantasy adventure, but on an adult level it imparts powerful spiritual truths about Christianity by means of numerous recognizable Biblical allusions. Lewis intended "The Silver Chair" to portray the ongoing war against the powers of darkness. He emphasizes the truth of Deuteronomy 6 that in this war the signs of God's Word need to be carefully remembered and obeyed: "And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your minds from following the signs ... it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters." (p.24-26). Failing to follow these signs makes the task more difficult, but not impossible. These failures, however, constitute sin, which is clearly portrayed as the fault of man: "We must just own up" (p.123) and "We've brought the anger of Aslan on us. That's what comes of not attending to the signs." (p.132) The only solution is to drink from Christ the living water, for there is no other source of water apart from him "There is no other stream" (p.20-21). There are also strong allusions to the doctrine of predestination: "You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you." (p.23) "There *are* no accidents. Our guide is Aslan; and he was there when the giant King caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them; including *this*." (p.160) As always, in all the upheavals and conflicts of Narnia, Aslan is the one constant, and it is his vital involvement that enables the children to complete their Narnian quest, just as it is Christ who inspires, comforts, guides, and saves in the real world. Narnia may exist only in Lewis imagination and ours, but these underlying truths about Christ ensure that a journey to Narnia is never without profit for the real world.
Rating:
Summary: Facing and conquering personal demons.
Review: A few months have passed (since the last events in "The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"") in Earth-time and Eustace and his friend Jill, who are running from school bullies, return to Narnia (in which many years have gone by) to rescue Prince Rilian, son of old King Caspian. The Prince is being held captive by an evil witch for the last ten years. In helping the Prince, the two learn to face their own "demons." This is the fourth book published in the Narnia series and, in my opinion, should be the fourth read. In response to the reviewer from Durango, Colorado (of May 15, 1998): I say, what Old English vocabulary?
Rating:
Summary: Facing and conquering personal demons.
Review: A few months have passed (since the last events in "The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"") in Earth-time and Eustace and his friend Jill, who are running from school bullies, return to Narnia (in which many years have gone by) to rescue Prince Rilian, son of old King Caspian. The Prince is being held captive by an evil witch for the last ten years. In helping the Prince, the two learn to face their own "demons." This is the fourth book published in the Narnia series and, in my opinion, should be the fourth read. In response to the reviewer from Durango, Colorado (of May 15, 1998): I say, what Old English vocabulary?
Rating:
Summary: The best of the Narnias.
Review: Although I wore out a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was younger, The Silver Chair(SC) has grown on me since then(and I re-evaluate my rankings each year.) Even without identifying with the nastiness Eustace and Jill deal with at the book's fringes, I can recognize great characterization done well in such a short time. SC starts in the terrible school that helped make Eustace so in need of change in the precluding Narnia book, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now that he has changed, there are rumors he may need to be 'attended to.' He meets behind a gym with a crying Jill Pole, who has just been 'attended to,' and trusts her with how Narnia has changed him, suggesting they try to go back. After all, Eustace's cousins weren't allowed back, but no-one said he couldn't. They manage to get there. But no-one is allowed into Narnia without a task, and theirs is to rescue a Prince who has been lost for ten years, with his father dying and no-one to inherit the throne. Despite given four signs to watch for by Aslan, the lion that poses as a God-figure for the Narnia series, they botch a few early and get to squabbling. Only their chosen companion Puddleglum, perhaps the most compelling nonhuman character in the series(a Marsh-Wiggle: ganglier and taller than humans and unflinchingly ironic to the point of eliciting "but we can" comments by poker-faced complaints) keeps them together. They hardly feel like heroes as they go through snow and the underworld. There are two telling moments of trust at the end--after several other people have broken their trust--and the escape from the underworld is dramatic. Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole don't sound like heroic names, and they make plausible mistakes more regularly than the four siblings of earlier books--Eustace even has to face that she's adapted better than he did to Narnia. And even Puddleglum shows some errors in judgement. But the book never moralizes on this. What also separates this book from the other Narnia chronicles in my mind is how Lewis uses the end of the book. I found I didn't want to let go. By throwing in some Narnian culture(i.e. a reason why Narnia was particularly worth saving) and meetings with old friends and a reckoning of sorts at the nasty school, Lewis gives us more of what we want. Then there are the parts I can't spoil, like seeing old friends as you don't exactly expect them, or realizing you've made a mistake and need to face up to it, having to reassess the meaning behind people's actions(for better or worse) or when your mistakes have fortunate positive side-effects, and Lewis never dwells on all this. There's another interesting example to run off to. I'd recommend buying all the Narnias instead of just one book, as the whole set will be cheaper in the long run, as once you have one you'll probably want the rest. They all have Lewis's vivid imagination molded into accessible language, and although they're quick reads they encourage rereading. Even if you're not "a kid" the series is still worthwhile. When I reread the books on the bus people often say they're glad they're not the only ones still reading this sort of thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply good
Review: Another great BBC production of the Narnia Chronicles. The only thing I could wish for is that the Emerald Witch didn't sound so terribly old. I feel she should sound more youthful and enchanting, but she sounds rather grandmotherish. Prince Rilian sounds quite a bit older than one usually imagines him, but the actor who plays him is fantastic. Eustace and Jill add a lot to the production with their chemistry, and Puddleglum steals the show. I should also mention that Brian Sibbley adapts this version lengthily to include more interaction between Prince Rilian and other characters before his enchantment, which is very intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: More of the same from Narnia - which is not a bad thing
Review: Another installment in the classic children's series The Narnia Chronicles, "The Silver Chair" continues the pattern of presenting stand-alone stories that work within a grander story arc. Also like previous installments, "The Silver Chair" brings back familiar characters while also introducing new cast members, lending the story an air of familiarity while still remaining fresh. In this installment Eustace, the ill-mannered lad who learned the error of his ways in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," along with his schoolmate, Jill, pair up for adventure. While fleeing bullies at their school - a progressive and modern (for its time) institution that Lewis openly and repeatedly scorns - Eustace and Jill find themselves thrown into the world of Narnia. Once there, Aslan gives Jill a series of vague instructions to follow during their adventure. Eustace and Jill find themselves on a quest to find the lost Prince Rillian, the son of King Caspian (who in this tale makes two brief cameos as an old man). They team up with Puddleglum, a gloomy a creature called a Marsh-Wiggle who always sees the down side of things. Together, the three go in search of the Prince. The setup tells the reader right off what sort of story it will be: a traveling adventure in which the group works through a series of dangerous situations and visits new and strange lands. The story takes a few chapters to get moving properly, shortening the main quest; there are only three or so key locations. Still, those locations are a mix of classic genre archetypes and fantastic settings. For an important segment of the story - a castle of giants - genre archetypes rule the day. "Silver Chair," though it visits places in Narnia not previously seen, feels less epic than previous installments. However, a glimpse of a greater and more wondrous world near the end helps alleviate that failing. The character of Jill undergoes almost the same transformation that Eustace did in "Voyage," while Eustace himself plays the role that Edmund, Peter and the gang did in earlier books. That's not altogether bad, but it's not altogether good, either, especially if you are reading the whole series straight through. because Jill's transformation immediately follows Eustace's. All in all, "The Silver Chair" is not as engaging as others in the series, with a loose plot tied together largely by a "you must trust Aslan" theme, but does not fall nearly as flat as "Caspian." For a good stretch the story moves along at a brisk pace and offers a playful series of adventures, delivering just the sort of engaging story that makes the Narnia Chronicles such a beloved series. Sure it suffers from too slow a start and too slow a finish, both which drag the story down, but at its core it's more of the same from Narnia. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Rating: 
Summary: The Least Provocative
Review: As a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, I was (just a bit) disappointed to find this book, in which Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole go on a quest through Narnia to find Prince Rillian (Prince Caspian's son) the most formulaic. Pole and Scrubb are nipped from their alternative school (which Lewis doesn't let go by without a good ribbing) by Aslan, who sends them forth on a mission to find the prince. It has the usual quest form of the Narnian chronicles, two children from our world, helping the Narnians with an important mission, Aslan's vital intervention and a nod to a deadly sin, this one is Sloth. I thought the most compelling part of the book was the beginning when Jill meets Aslan in his land beyond the sea. Having read of this region of the Narnian world in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it was rewarding to get a further view of it. I eagerly read this book to the end, but I didn't find myself provoked by it as I had been the other Narnian chronicles. Don't skip it if you want to read them all, choose The Horse and His Boy and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe if you're only going to read a few.
Rating:
Summary: an intriguing fantasy where good overcomes evil
Review: As a Narnia junky, I must say that Mr. Lewis out did himself on this one. The story takes you to the Underground where anything can and will take place.
One of the heroes of this book is Eustace, who in earlier books was nothing but a useless brat operating on a selfish motivaional level. It is heartwarming to see him transformed into a very worthy hero.
If you like magic, mysterious ladies on beautiful horses and children being used by a higher power to bring good to the world around them, please begin reading this delicious book today
Rating:
Summary: This is BOOK FOUR, not BOOK FIVE: DON'T BE DECEIVED
Review: Beware! The evil, foul-minded people who are publishing these works (The Chronicles of Narnia) have profaned the fantastic writing of C.S. Lewis by rearranging the order of the seven books so as to confuse the reader and steal away some of the magic and wonder by imposing it in a chronological order rather than the artistic one in which it was rendered. Is the horrible time witch at play again or it could be that rascal Screwtape at work? I shake my head sadly at the poor folk who will read these books in the wrong order, actually thinking that perhaps the author meant for them to read Volume Six first. Yes, of course these books come highly recommended but I think it is most important to stress that they should be read in the proper order, which is as follows: 1. The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe 2. Prince Caspian 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 4. The Silver Chair 5. The Horse and His Boy 6. The Magician's Nephew 7. The Last Battle Please, do yourself a favor, if you are reading these books for the first time, read them in the right order.
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