Willow

Does this film merit a thread. Let's find out.

Note i

Promising lineage- story by George Lucas written by someone else directed by someone else

Note ii

Val Kilmer mugging>>>>>>>> Val Killer serious

Willow is Ill-oh

Note iii

Trying to find a way to say that the little person roles/performances in this are much better than the norm for the time or for the idk type of thing that they are- do I feel that when casting revolves around a physical characteristic that "that'll do" is the normal standard applied, I think I do maybe? Not necessarily with ref to a disability even- take Harry Potter for a fuckin start.

No sign of that here, willow, family, sorcerer, the village council dickhead, all great. Is that noteworthy? Feels noteworthy. Idk.

Note iv

This looks fuckin great. GREAT

Note v

Joanne whalley y

Note vi

Baby actor is good

Note vii

Man fuck those trolls

Note viii

Morphing!

Note ix

Brownies >>>> gimli/legolas

but

Ring doesn't shit itself

Call it a draw

Note x

Shield chase scene punchline is classic

it's good

Pretty great grandiloquent James Horner score even though he blatantly lifts his main theme from Schumann's 3rd symphony

the nintendo game based on it was pretty solid as well.

free me, peck

Uh, ignore the bird, follow the river.

Towatha, lo kothrock. Towatha!

darraghmac otm

This film is extremely, extremely beautiful, well-acted well-written well-edited, was one of my favourite movies as a child and I can't find fault with it today

Jean Marsh's response to her daughter's betrayal is just the best. "Turned.. against.. me? ... PREPARE FOR THE RITUAL!"

without you, i dwell in darkness

peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck peck

pairs well with the Costner Robin Hood

"Went away? 'I dwell in darkness without you' and it WENT AWAY?"

Supposedly some sort of sequel or TV series or something is underway.

well they've finished ruining Star Wars now, so it's time to get something else up on the block

This is a movie I kind of forgot existed. Haven’t seen it since adolescence, making a note to revisit.

my favorite Val Kilmer, forever and always

I had a Madmartigan action figure as a kid

hope you had a baby action figure for it to take care of, as promised

nope, my mother's heart was hardened and wanted nothing but ill for the child!

lol

Did you turn against her

Mad respect for James Horner’s shameless but highly imaginative plundering of Schumann’s 3rd Symphony throughout this

Things...are happening

Forget what you know, or think you know, and meet the young(er) cast of Willow, an Original Series streaming on @DisneyPlus in 2022. #DisneyPlusDay pic.twitter.com/e83UZ67tCd

— Willow (@WillowMovie) November 12, 2021

Surely casting a guy who looks like he could have been from a 80s gay porn who has the name Dempsey Bryk is too much

Also rewatched it for the first time in years a few months back and deems OTM:

This looks fuckin great. GREAT

Willow is Ill-oh

― map, Saturday, April 23, 2016 12:46 AM (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbveDpUZv4

Looks pretty good? Absolutely nails the tone of the film in terms of design at least.

promising!

Is that the same actor playing Vohnkar? If so I am so happy about that

That would be Phil Fondacaro and I'm not sure, I'm not seeing him in credits listings, but probably is!

Also seems like Val is due to show up in a planned second season.

!

if Davis is on board, I'll give it a shot

I'd LOVE to see Val Kilmer hamming it up as he did, now middle-aged, sounds very fun

Pleased to learn that Jean Marsh is still alive! She seemed so old in the movie I guess I just assumed she'd passed. I love Willow (the movie), I watch it every Christmas

it’s one of my favorites too!

i think Ron Howard directing helped it stay away from being exploitative of little people actors, as dmac noted way upthread. the actors obv have a lot to d that too - but i def credit howard with the mindfulness to ensure their characters are all so varied & human & great

i mean even the baby gives a great performance!!

Man you know what I love more than anything, is Davis and Marsh's delivery here:

Willow: You stupid hag! With my magic, I'll send her into the... into a...
Bavmorda: [laughs] You're no sorcerer!
Willow: Into a realm where evil cannot touch her!
Bavmorda: Impossible! There's no such place!

This movie is so wonderful

Gotta say I really am liking the look/vibe of this new show more and more.

This November, the magic returns ✨ Watch the new trailer for #Willow, an epic new Original series streaming only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/QKSU15rz2Z

— Willow (@WillowOfficial) September 10, 2022

New poster!

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,g_center,pg_1,q_60,w_965/896878eef5c4090ecc5fa994c92ee306.jpg

And new clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRyGjBizjoM

For a second there I thought that new Dungeons and Dragons movie had come and gone already.

How many of these things do we need? (Full disclosure: I saw "Willow" in the theatres, but I was also 12 or something.)

After Rings of Power sludged my brain I am all in for something breezy in comparison on this front.

I can't wait

It's interesting hearing Tony Revolori speaking mumblecore dialect (instead of standard fantasy accent) in the trailer

I've been semi-present in my attendance for all these recent fantasy series, only was enthusiastic in my response re: Sandman, but very excited for this tbh

First episode almost here! Will watch tomorrow obv.

Okay this was a great start. The antithesis of _Rings of Power_ in the best way, in that I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the season.

Oh damn this is up?!

Sure is! Interested to know what you think! Two episodes debuted yesterday.

i was kinda underwhelmed by 1st ep? but they had to load in a lot of background info so i’m not prejudging yet

hey you know what, this show is great

queer and silly and bright, giving 0.5% of a fuck for the self-serious high fantasy tone that sludges up gamehousering of dragonpowerthrones

Yeah it's been a total treat. Everything feels like it's being made up as it goes along, which is 100% vibes. It's like an ultimate fanfic, and the queer YA core of it all is indeed brilliant. Also love all the song choices and covers.

yes and heck yes, hi 5 bro! i was iffy at parts of the first couple episodes, like the first time someone said "dude" i needed to pause & recalibrate & decide if these flavors clashed or complemented, but it's won me over and i will now firmly stan this show until it gets bad or i get bored.

love the colors, the songs (even [especially?] the bratty pop punk), the dedication to shoehorning in jokes no matter how corny, the awkward teen romances, the way it's equally happy barreling straight into the cliché-est cliché or skewing off in any other random direction. it feels like everyone is having fun and i love that!

kind of didn't love the kill-your-gays-ing of the excellent woodswomen, like how dare you dangle these beautiful lives before us and then immediately snuff them out!? unnecessarily cruel imo but c'est la tv, and anyway there's still enough shaggy exuberance to keep me ensorcelled ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Alas, that will be it, at least as a show:

https://deadline.com/2023/03/willow-canceled-disney-disney-plus-no-season-2-1235300401/

Pity because I did like the crazy ending, song choice and all. (And a hint of a returning Ebersisk.)

Ah but hold up -- headlines wrong? Who knew!

pic.twitter.com/Di0vEGLyTD

— Jon Kasdan (@JonKasdan) March 17, 2023

You can't fire me, I quit!

Ha, not quite that but imagine if

More like, we're not canceled, we just released the cast to do other things, but we may get around to it in a year or 30.

Took a page from Fincher

I sick and tired of reading about Peter Jackson omitting things from LOTR beucase it "didnt advance the story" - WHo is he to judge that? I believe Tolkiein is the master Mr. Jackson, not thyself! Idiot!

im more concerned about whether or not james horner shamelessly plundered schumanns third symphony for the score for this

I assume this is the thread for ranting about the omission of old man willow from LOTR. Schumann is a horse of a differenet color

im more concerned about whether or not james horner shamelessly plundered schumanns third symphony for the score for this

I mean there’s no whether or not about it. Horner did so much of this kind of thing! I have always wondered what he thought he was doing with the wholesale borrowings. In this case, it works well. That part of Schumann’s movement is hella stirring and heroic and horners technique is dazzling as usual.
There’s another large lift in willow that I can’t remember what it is rn… Berlioz’ Faust?
Anyway, weird guy.

i

i was riffing on you saying this every two years itt

I sick and tired of reading about Peter Jackson omitting things from LOTR beucase it "didnt advance the story" - WHo is he to judge that? I believe Tolkiein is the master Mr. Jackson, not thyself! Idiot!

I love that, with no shortage of LOTR threads to revive, you decided this was an issue for the Willow thread.

If I ever meet Peter Jackson I am going to tell him Willow is better than his LOTR

Willow is imho the best example of a fantasy movie, I can't think of one I like better. Will investigate Schumann 3 and make my report

Also: I really enjoyed the Sandman series, despite it being directed by the same guy who directed the Willow series, which I extremely did not enjoy

HAve you seen Avalon https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401182/