Terry Pratchett's The Light Fantastic

Until I started watching the DVD I did not realise that I had two 90 minute episodes to enjoy - wizard!

Despite my limited travels in Fantasy I had recognised some of the parodies of typical fantasy themes, eg horse lords and so forth. However the director threw in a couple of extra visual parodies: I'm sure that the Docks of Ankh-Morpork also appeared in The Golden Compass and there was a brilliant reference to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy in the sequence when various characters galloped aimlessly over hills and moors.

Additionally the casting was a joy throughout - David Jason was brilliant and with not a hint of south London on show. It would be interesting to construct a flow diagram that linked the actors to other key fantasy films and series they have appeared in: from my quick calculation David Bradley has one of the highest scores with major roles in all the Harry Potter films, Game of Thrones and Doctor Who.



 

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic

Last night I started watching the DVD of  Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (as it says on the box) and was delighted to find that it is 189 minutes long, i.e. two films for the price of one. In effect I watched The Colour of Magic and still have The Light Fantastic to come.

The film was made for TV with (presumably) a TV budget but within these constraints it was excellent. The casting of the main roles was superb (I think David Jason gave a definitive Rincewind) and I finally know how to pronounce his name. inevitably there was some editing of the story but that is standard for any adaptation (especially in the disaster called The Golden Compass) but the effects were good, well up to the standard of Doctor Who (and I mean that as a compliment).