Wednesday night my siblings and I decided that we wanted to watch the BBC 1988 version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Our Mom had borrowed it from the library, so we stuck it in the DVD player and curled up in the basement to watch it.
And...wow...
It was SO different from the 2005 version that I love. To be fair, the 1988 version was excellent for its time, but watching the same rendition of a story remade by filmmakers 17 years apart, it was fascinating to see how much film has changed over the years.
Remember when Peter gets knighted by Aslan and then fights his first battle with the wolf? Well, I decided to take that scene from each of the two different live-action Narnia movies and put them together so we can see the difference between them.
1988
This clip is kind of long, and I couldn't find a shorter one, but if you fast forward around 3 minutes you'll get to the scene of Peter fighting the wolf.
Again, this was just so different. I understand how it was good for its time, but me and my brothers found this fight scene really, really funny...(we also found it slightly disturbing...)
2005
I'm a big fan of this movie. They stayed pretty close to the books, the acting was amazing, the music was absolutely amazing...I could go on forever. As one of my favorite movies, I of course think that this version is ten times as good as the other, but that's just my opinion.
After watching these clips it made me wonder, "Which version would C. S. Lewis like best?" Lewis was an old soul who loved the old fashioned and the simplistic. But on the other hand, he loved stories. I think that the 2005 version does a better job with the story and characters, but the 1988 one is more simplistic and old-fashioned.
After watching these clips, which version do you like better? Which version do you think Lewis would like better? Comment below and tell me! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Oh, my word. I haven't seen much of the old movie before. It was quite funny to watch! Thanks for this amusing post, E. G.! I loved it!
I have to say that it cracks me up to see how different the two movies are. Aslan is WAY better in the new one, and (Because I sword fight) I can tell that Peter has no idea what he is doing, which perfectly portrays the Peter from the book.
wow. I wasn't even aware that there was an older movie! The older one reminds me a lot of The Wizard of Oz. Both have their own movie magic. But I have to say my favorite had got to be teh 2005 one. Maybe I'm a little biased on that decision 😅 but I think, just from watching those short clips, that the 2005 movie did a slighly better job. But like I said, I'm probably biased on that.
We watched the "battle" from the 80's LWW... it was hilarious
I’ve never read the books, but think I have seen a movie on one where Aslan dies and then lives again. Both of the clips were probably the best production for their time. I am not really into fantasy or sci-fi, even it is represented to explain a truth.