Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
watership down - fantastic film, 21 Dec 2005
When i was a small child, I used to watch this film over and over again as an enchanting, exciting tale about a little group of bunnies that went on a big adventure, not really understanding what it was all about. But it was only just recently when it was on TV that i realised what a truly fantastic film this is, it can be looked at in so many different ways and have lots of different meanings. The animation is scetchy but I think that it all adds to the raw, honest beauty of this film. Some may decide thats its too violent and disturbing for little ones but never really noticed it as a child myself.
I would reccomend Watership Down to anybody, if your looking for a deep and interesting film or even just a story about a big adventure, this is it.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great film but why call it a Deluxe Edition?, 16 Oct 2007
'Watership Down' is the original adaption of the novel written by Richard Adams about the exciting and emotional tale of a group of rabbits when they are forced to leave their Sandleford homes when Fiver, who often sees visions of the future, tells them that their warren is in danger from humans. The group is then lead by Hazel and Bigwig as they make their way through the fields of Hampshire as they come face to face with danger from other animals such as rats, foxes, cats, dogs and owls as well as humans and cars. As the story goes on Hazel and the group of rabbits try to rescue some rabbits from a farm; help a bird, who in turn then helps them; join another warren of rabbits and also try to steal does from a much bigger and powerful warren known as Efrafa, leading to a shocking and brilliant finalle.
I've only just recently finished reading the book so it was interesting to see how the filmmakers would adapt this classic novel and I think that they have done a very good job of putting the 480 pages into just under an hour and a half, making subtle cuts and changes along the way. Although this dubbed a children's film, I found it to be quite gruesome and horrifying in parts, with lots of blood and gore, which I could imagine may be quite disturbing for younger viewers and certainly should have had at least a PG certificate rather than it's U certificate.
Why this is a "Deluxe Edition" is beyond me as the special features aren't great. There's no deleted scenes, no "Bright Eyes" music video and isn't a director's cut, it just has a conversation with the filmmakers and a storyboard comparison, which aren't that much fun to watch.
Overall though this is a brilliant film that stays very true to the book with only minor differences and a few characters missing. Definitely worth a watch whether you've read the book or not.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A film like no other., 31 Jan 2007
I have seen this film more times than any other. When I was a kid I watched it every night.
Yes, there is some blood in the film - and some pretty harrowing moments. This isn't a kids film, it is a family film. I know some kids were traumatised by Watership Down, and that the merest snippet of "Bright Eyes" can reduce grown men to gibbering wrecks. I can sort of empathise as the song always makes me cry (I hope nobody I know reads that sentence).
The main thing that really impresses me is the depth of social structure in this film.
The rabbits have a God ("Frith") and a Grim Reaper character. They have social structure where leaders have "Rah" suffixed to their name.
They have a folklore - in short, this film isn't about rabbits, it's about a complex social group who are fighting for survival - they just happen to be rabbits.
This isn't a Disney film, it isn't full of nicey-nicey cutesy rabbit images. It is a film that contains scenes of fighting (often quite realistic) and death. George Lucas has even said that this film was part of the inspiration behind him creating a complex universe.
The musical score is very moving, and if the high emotion of the film doesn't move you then the music will. Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes" got to number one, and is one of the most tear-jerking pieces of music I've ever heard.
The animation is fantastic, the imagery beautiful (although one scene annoys me where a rabbit - I think BigWig, but I might be wrong, runs across a field in about 3 bounds and races back within seconds to tell a story of what he saw!!)
Watch this film, wince at bits, cry at bits, and ultimately enjoy.
Afterall, how many animated family films do you know with a seagull that says "p**s off!"!?
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