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.



 

Science Fiction or Fantasy

Since I wrote my last post there's been something niggling me: I described Star Wars as science fiction but on reflection I don't think I was correct.

I've just consulted the most authoritative source I could find - i.e. In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood - where she records a discussion that she had with Ursula Le Guin (and I'd love to have been present for that) about the difference between science fiction and fantasy.

Both Atwood and Le Guin define "science fiction" as speculative fiction about things that really could happen, whereas things that really could not happen are fantasy. Thus Star Wars belongs in fantasy along with Doctor Who and dragons.

On this basis the Discworld, although many of its elements strangely echo similar elements in the Roundworld, is definitely a creation of fantasy. I'd love to see a dragon for real but it's far safer just to read about them or watch them on a screen.

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).