This is the second attempt to fabricate a movie out of a Terry Pratchett original and it succeeds rather well. In this case, the movie is based on the first two novels in the ‘Discworld’ series, ‘The Colour of Magic’ and ‘The Light Fantastic’.
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Rincewind (David Jason), an inept wizard, is expelled from Unseen University. On a dare, he snuck a gawk at the Octavo, the book outmoded to perform the world, and one of the eight mammoth spells lodged in his head.
At the same time, Twoflower (Sean Astin) arrives in Ankh-Morpork to “gaze at it”. He’s the Discworld’s first tourist and he travels with the Luggage, a box made of sapient pearwood that moves about on hundreds of limited legs and will follow it’s owner everywhere.
After conning Twoflower, Rincewind is dragged to the Patrician’s palace and ordered by Lord Vetinari (Jeremy Irons) to guide Twoflower safely through the city.
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Twoflower, introducing the notion of fire insurance to Ankh-Morpork, inadvertently causes the entire city to burn down and he and Rincewind dash and Rincewind is plunged into several life threatening situations which he survives by sheer luck.
The edifying parts of this movie are Jeremy Irons as the Patrician and Tim Curry as Ymper Trymon, second in direct of one of the eight orders of wizardry at the university. Both play their roles with be pleased and Curry’s performance is as obedient, if not better, than that of Cardinal Richelieu in ‘The 3 Musketeers’.
The dreadful parts? Well, a lot of the pleasant scenes in both novels are left out. There is no travelling shop, no Hrun the Barbarian, no flying rock and no Tethis the sea troll. There is also no gingerbread cottage or broomstick flying.
Also, they unfortunately chose a white actor to narrate Twoflower, when it’s made sure in both ‘The Colour of Magic’ and ‘Interesting Times’ that Twoflower is Chinese. A precise shame, but Sean Astin does a astounding job at portraying Twoflower’s attitude of looking at the world through rose coloured glasses.
And they got Cohen the Barbarian’s (David Bradley) teeth substandard.
Although this movie takes a while to win going, it does pick up funnier as it goes along and there are some broad one-liners. “I am having a reach Rincewind experience.”
Christopher Lee reprises the affirm of Death, as he did in the bewitching versions of ‘Soul Music’ and ‘Wyrd Sisters’ and he has some of the best parts in the movie.
Aside from the exiguous annoyances, the movie is quite reliable, the actors are top-notch, it’s got all the wittiness you’d examine from Pratchett, and I loved it.
A live-action Terry Pratchett movie is either doomed to fail in every plan, or succeed in practically everything.
And “The Colour of Magic,” adapted from the first two novels in Pratchett’s quick-witted Discworld series, is more the customary than the latter. This one is no “Hogather” — it has rather behind direction at times — but it preserves Pratchett’s wry satirical sense of humour. And of course, it’s all about a mercenary, cowardly failed wizard.
Rincewind (David Jason) is ejected from the Unseen University, on the very day that Twoflower (Sean Astin) arrives with his many-legged Luggage. He’s approach to the Disc… to “glance at it.” But after Rincewind tries to con Twoflower, the Patrician (Jeremy Irons) orders Rincewind to be the guide/bodyguard of the Disc’s first ever tourist.
After a massive fire sweeps through the city, the two kill up fleeing Ankh-Morpork and running into all sorts of strange things — a very assertive magic sword, a floating island tubby of see-through dragons, a dramatic dragonlady in a leather bikini, astrozoologists trying to settle Stout A’Tuin’s gender, the worn Cohen the (retired) Barbarian, druids, and even getting thrown distinct off the Disc in a outlandish spacecraft. And you belief YOU had problems.
Unfortunately the Unseen University is having troubles of its possess — the magical book Octavo is acting strange, and power-hungry Trymon (Tim Curry) is scheming against the Archchancellor. Even worse, a unfamiliar red star has appeared in the sky, and the world is facing destruction. The only thing that can set aside it is the spell in Rincewind’s head.
Perhaps it’s because it’s based on the first, roughest Discworld books, but “Colour of Magic” is not quite as comical or tightly-written as its predecessor, “Hogather.” The writing is not quite as complex or as witty, and the direction sometimes feels a bit behind (such as the bar fight scene, or Trymon skulking and schemind around the University) .
But despite these drawbacks, “Colour of Magic” is mild a vastly gripping legend — it has a solid plotline and it chugs away nicely after a somewhat inactive beginning, and blossoms into full-out complexity about halfway through. Once it gets underway it starts to resemble a road-trip through fantasy-land, with our quirky tourist and wizard bungling their diagram across the Disc.
Along the arrangement there’s some fun action (an upside-down duel), silly dialogue (”You weren’t born with a mysterious birthmark in the shape of a crown, were you? “), and a general air of tongue-in-cheekness. Best of all, it’s a fantasy spoof — Vadim Jean preserves Pratchett’s clever satire aimed at the staples of your average fantasy: fantasy babes, prophecies, magic swords, retired barbarians, noteworthy artifacts, and even the conception of reality warping itself to set aside the “hero.”
Jason is wonderfully snivelly and sour as Rincewind, a failed wizard who basically finds himself repeatedly swept up into bizarre, deadly circumstances even though he didn’t want to be enthusiastic. Astin is even better as the hilariously oblivious Twoflower, who regards every peril as yet another spacious adventure (”We’re going to hasten out of world!” “I have to seek that!”) .
And there’s a talented supporting cast — Curry chews the scenery with sneering aplomb, Karen David plays a humorously over-the-top dragon-lady, and Irons has a little but unbelievable role as the frosty, efficient Vetinari. And of course, the bright Christopher Lee takes over as an increasingly disappointed Death.
“Colour of Magic” isn’t as tightly directed as it could have been, but it serene manages to be clever and quite silly.
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