QUICK THOUGHTS: It’s only fitting Warner is releasing both Clash of the Titans and The Neverending Story on the same day on Blu-ray, the two go together perfectly. Released in 1984, three years after Titans, I also can’t remember the first time I watched The Neverending Story, but I watched it A LOT. It was always on HBO and I probably watched damn near every showing. I loved this movie and after watching both it and Titans, I was surprised to see this one actually held up much better for me.
A little over a year ago exactly, talk of a remake of this film surfaced, but not a peep has been heard since. Watching it now I really can’t see how they would do it in a way that would engage today’s audiences. Titans is camp geared toward adults, this is camp aimed squarely at children and while it holds up for someone like me, that saw it 25 years ago, I don’t think today’s audiences would be too interested, especially considering where the fantasy genre is concerned. If it’s not franchise material or based on a series of young adult novels no one is interested. A simple fantasy for younger audiences just doesn’t cut it, there has to be crossover appeal. however, I do think today’s younger children would still find this one to be a fun ride and a distraction parents should look into.
The Blu-ray isn’t necessarily impressive, but it was obviously working with source material that was much better preserved than with Titans. This film, however, isn’t overly colorful as the “Nothing” is moving in on Fantasia, which causes for a rather dark film. The high-definition transfer looked good, but not great, but then again I haven’t seen this movie in a long time which means previous DVD releases may have looked terrible in comparison.
SUPPLEMENTS: The only “feature” is the new 5.1 audio track, which marks the first time this film has been available with said audio. It sounds just fine, just as you would expect a Blu-ray disc to sound like. Nothing to get excited over, but it should meet your expectations.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I enjoyed it, and I may even return to it again. If I were a parent I would definitely buy this for my children, not only because it’s a great movie, but because it may get them excited about reading in hopes of finding similar adventures inside the pages of books on their own. I’m not sure it’s entirely worth an upgrade if you already own it, but if you don’t give, it a look.
