lww, v.3.0, in which I finally watch the beginning, no, *really*

[bedlamsbard]

And by the beginning, I mean the first twenty minutes or so, at which point I got to the part hwere I'd watched the middle and stopped. But! A few reactions.

1. I love the beginning of that movie so, so much, because it's such a great contrast. Britain at war! Narnia at war!

2. Man, the Pevensies' mother must be so confused when her kids come home and they're all calm and grown up -- except for Peter, of course, who's gone completely insane and no longer listens to her at all.

3. Peter is such a big brother. I want one.

4. On the train, Peter is reading Biggles Goes to War. Yes, I googled it. Yes, I am that much of a geek. Here's the Wikipedia article, which explains more. Biggles is a "fictional pilot and adventurer" -- very British, in other words. Also, pilot. Oh, Peter. Suddenly I feel a whole lot more love for little LWW Peter, because I have the feeling that post-LWW he looked at all his books and went, "What the hell is this shit? The world isn't like this," and threw them out.

5. Peter watching the soldiers! Oh, Peter. (Yes, occasionally I notice the other characters too. This is not one of those times.)

6. *squints* I have the feeling that Tumnus has never seen summer, that what he says in LWW is just him going, "Well, I heard it was awesome," because if he doesn't, then he's over a hundred. Which is obviously not impossible, but...I like him if he's never seen summer!

7. Wow, those Narnians are civilized, especially compared to what we see in PC. I think they regressed in technology over thirteen hundred years.

8. I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH. Narnia. How did you manage to pull off what HP failed at and LotR did with twenty million more hours of footage? *hearts*

Comments

[reni-m.livejournal.com]

I think Narnia worked so well because the books are written with such few details ... unlike LotR and HP where the film adaptations work better when longer. Unfortunately, HP needed some longer things ... like everywhere. Damn, you JK for being so detail heavy with random scenes taking place in the middle of the book.
*shakes fist*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly, and the creators really respected the source material. (Same thing with LotR, but we're talking Tolkien, who was, like, at the exact opposite of the spectrum from Lewis as far as details went.) Where with HP...well, for one thing, they started making the movies before the series was even finished, and they kept switching directors. (Momentary Narnia panic: WHY ADAMSON WHY?)

[lassiterfics.livejournal.com]

Waaaa, Ed going back to the picture!, Peter just trying SO HARD. HE'S TRYING SO HARD, bless him. Random fact: when it came down to choosing between two actors to play Peter, it was between Moseley and the soldier that Peter is staring at in the train station. Isn't Moseley's characterization AWESOME, like, how you can totally see the seeds of PC!Peter in LWW!Peter, this wee little boy trying to be a man, and in my head I'm just thinking, "Aww, honey, you're going to be ROYALLY FUCKED. But not as much as your sister!"

Tumnus is AWESOME. Rewatching LWW totally made me realize how awesome he is, with his daddy issues and questionable morals! omg tumnus. and omg he has never seen the summer! <33333333

WHY IS IT NOT 2010 ALREADY HOLY SHIT omg gimme SEA ADVENTURES and EDMUND and lots of Edmund/Caspian fic OMG

[saturns-hikari.livejournal.com]

WHY IS IT NOT 2010 ALREADY HOLY SHIT omg gimme SEA ADVENTURES and EDMUND and lots of Edmund/Caspian fic OMG

My thoughts EXACTLY! On one (large) hand, I'm very sad because no Susan or Peter NO PETER on the sea adventures NONE! but then my Edmund glee takes over. Dawn Treader = WET and CHAINED UP EDMUND!

[lassiterfics.livejournal.com]

WET and CHAINED UP EDMUND
omg i knoooooooooooooooooooooow. it is already my favorite scene.
I am holding out for a little Peter and Susan either at the end or the beginning. Like, I think it would make sense if they show at least a few seconds of Susan's growing distance with Narnia.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

This is what is making me happy about VotDT, despite all my doubts. Chained up Edmund.

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

GAH! We have to wait until 2010?

*dies*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, yes, and yes. I was just watching the first twenty minutes going, "Oh, little Peter! You are so cute trying to be grown up!" and then in PC, he's...well, he is grown up, more or less. And he just seems so little and so young and he's trying so damn hard, and he's staring at the soldiers and he's reading war books and just...oh, Peter. Holy God, Moseley and Adamson and EVERYONE, because no one should be able to pull off characterization and worldbuilding THAT subtle but somehow Narnia does it. Impossibly Narnia does it, and they pull it out of what's basically next to nothing.

I want PC on DVD RIGHT NOW so I can compare everything.

Except changing directors! This makes me nervous in oh so many ways. (And please please please side mention of Peter GOING OFF TO WAR, new director and/or writer(s), because everything else makes enormous amounts of sense, so you can do this too.)

[lassiterfics.livejournal.com]

Ya the subtletyyyyyyyyyyyy. Where did I read this: there are just, like, moments in PC especially that seem like it's from the brain of, not Hollywood, but a fic-writer hell-bent on characterization overanalysis. 'Cos it's true! <33333333333

I think they should have Susan and Peter in the beginning or the end, especially if they are going to make all seven books, to show Susan's growing distance and to a lesser extent Peter's enduring faith. Maybe a letter from them or something, but HOPEFULLY MORE.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

It is. It is. I have no idea how they did that in a big-budget movie or how they found people in Hollywood that think like that, but OH MY GOD THEY DID.

They're not going to make all seven books, I think, because HHB and Magician's Nephew aren't all that, well...interesting, and there's not as much as a connection. But we need Susan and Peter cameos! Heck, at least mention them.

(You know what hurts about Susan in England? That everyone's all, "Oh, Susan's not that smart, she's just pretty," and compared to Susan in Narnia...my God, people.)

[reni-m.livejournal.com]

Isn't there a bit (like one sentence) in VoDT saying that Peter was studying with the professor to get ready for university? Not to burst your war!Peter, cause that would be kickass, but being a soldier and a student would be very different things and could potentially change the canon (well, what we know of it). *shakes fist at Lewis's vague details but in all honesty loves them because it makes a good movie*

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, but Lewis's timeline doesn't make sense, because post-LWW, he completely forgets about the war going on. There's still a draft in England until the mid-1940s, and even if we go with bookverse Peter's age and Lewis's timeline, Peter should be old enough to get drafted around either VotDT or SC.

Also, it doesn't technically say university, it just says "big exam." Which I choose to regard as a military exam, or...I don't know, something.

[franceica.livejournal.com]

2. I can't even begin to imagine the extent of her confusion. Must be scary for her. All her children suddenly become so grown-up.

3. I want one, too! Such a big brother.

4. OH MY GOD you actually went into such details. You are awesome. I am never that observant, even when I have watched it for so many times.

5. OH PETER! Indeed.

8. Yes, I love this movie SO MUCH.

But I will miss Peter so much when Dawn Treader comes out. *cries* PETER! *sniffs* Wouldn't be able to see him just make me feel sad, so very sad.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

1. And what are the chances they're going to listen to her? At all? I mean, in their minds, they haven't seen her for fifteen years; she's practically a stranger. And they're kings and queens of Narnia. (It has to be worst with Peter, because I really, honestly think he never even tried. Also, I bet he stole knives from the kitchen and slept with them, and at least once, woke up with said knife to someone's throat. Hopefully it was Edmund and not his mother or father. Also, my Peter at least? Screaming nightmares. In Narnian. So now he's screaming in tongues, and carrying knives, and strangely distant...)

4. I am seldom this observant, except I kind of got a glimpse of the title and was suddenly intensely curious, because these filmmakers are nothing if not subtle. And now I am THRILLED, because it's so very Peter, and yet at the same time, so very heartbreaking, because in about a week he's going to read that book and laugh and laugh and laugh and in fifteen years or so, when he comes back, he can't even look at it because it's such a lie.

I am desperately hoping for at least a mention of Peter in VotDT. (Tell me he's gone off to fight in the War. PLEASE.) Or cameos! Peter and Susan and the Pevensie parents dropping Edmund and Lucy off at the Scrubb house! Peter hugging Edmund and Lucy and telling them to keep their eyes open! Or something.

[franceica.livejournal.com]

1. Pray that it is Edmund. Or at least Susan, or Lucy. Otherwise I can imagine a household crisis coming up. If it's their father just came back from the war in the night; he doesn't want to wake his children and just want to have a look at them when they sleeps, but is greeted by a knife at his throat... Shudders. I HOPE it is not Mr. Pevensie! Seriously!

4. I should go back and watch this scene again. But I am so happy with what they do with the details. I may not have realized them at once, but the process of slowly discovering them is so much fun! And I just love that.

Yes! Mentions, cameos, flashbacks, and whatever they could fit in will do! Just please, give me some Peter there! Anything. I am very desperate here. *sobs*

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

1. Well, if the kids were evacuated any time between 1940 and 1943, they probably stayed with the Proffessor for at least a year... By the time they get back from PC and conceivably move back home, their mother might put down some of the oddness to war shock/ independence fostered in the country/ etc. C.S Lewis' chronology is very screwed, mind, because he says VOTD is only two years after LWW and yet the war is apparently over... *GRUMBLE*

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Have you got your hands on the creating narnia book yet?

They actually *thought* about #7 when it came to the look/feel of the armour and kit for PC.

They specifically aged and re-worked kit from LWW so it was clear that it was hand-me-downs to create the idea of people who are essentially shiftless refugees in their own country and having no resources due to hiding out in caves and the forest. Whereas under the Witch they had homes and lives and villages and forges. Just horribly repressed with nasty taxes and threat of death for minor infractions.

They even talk about the black and red dwarfs' stuff - how in LWW they were distinct tribes, but in PC they'd had to merge together to survive so all the symbols and design got merged and collated.

Weta thinks too much and are utter, utter, utter geeks. They have reasons and research and character motivation for the tiniest details on someone's armour. WE LOVE WETA.

#2 : we need more fic on this. Lots more. 'Dear, aren't you frightened?' '...what of?' 'Dear god, what happened to their dreams? Why is my youngest daughter discussing battle tactics?' Police bring Peter to door. 'Mrs. Pevensie, your son came to report being mugged. The problem was tracking down the specific alley so we could get the mugger to hospital because he had a broken wrist, ribs, arm and internal bleeding...'

#3 : big brothers with a fixation on soldiers until they get it beaten out of them by *actual* military training are NO FUN. (my brother was like this until he got sent to a public school that gave you officer training as part of it) trust me on this. Also see Edmund's reaction to Peter in early LWW.

#8 : Blame WETA. I think the term 'they fan and thus infect everyone else on the production.' :falls in love all over again with films: and oh, just think what they'll do to VOTD...

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Not yet, maybe when I get to New Orleans. I just -- god, they think like ficcers. They think like FANS. It's amazing. It's unbelievable. I mean, Peter Jackson beat them into shape when he did LotR, but all that was was warm-up for Narnia. HELL YES. (Now, if they screw it up for VotDT, I will cry. Don't make me cry, Hollywood!)

2. *snicker* Or better yet, seemingly sweet Susan. "Try and mug me? Try and rape me?" *breaks bones* Later, wide eyes. "I just don't know what came over me, officer. I was so scared..." Even later. "Peter! Why didn't you help your sister?" "Since when does she need help? She had everything under control."

3. I'm sure I'll see this up close in person...especially since I'm planning on doing ROTC in college, at least until it kills me.

[saturns-hikari.livejournal.com]

2. YES!

[swift-tales.livejournal.com]

3. Didn't Lewis mention that they'd actually forgotten about where they'd come from before they went back to England and magically got all their memories back? How is that for screwing up your mind. Imagine, they had one set of memories in England before Narnia, apparently they had another set of memories in Narnia (without those of England after a couple of years) and then all of a sudden those two sets of memories mix and merge and mesh when they go back? They went from not remembering their mother, to having to actually listen to her again.

Also, about VOTD, I think that Peter will at least be mentioned by Caspian, if nothing else. Wouldn't it make sense for Caspian to ask after Peter and Susan and how they've been even if Caspian knows that the two oldest Pevensies will never come back to Narnia? I mean, according to the movie, Caspian and Susan had a thing going on, so naturally Caspian will want to know how she's doing. And Caspian had that whole "I pass my sword unto you" thing going on with Pete, and there's a certain measure of respect in that, so you know, wouldn't he want to know about Peter too?

(Also, if he wants to ask about Susan, he'll have to ask about Peter too just to avoid looking like an stupid ass)

I know that Adamson made more sense then Lewis in his battle strategy and some of his character development (he has the mind of of a ficcer, that one) but would the new director be so logical too?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, but we are talking about Lewis here. *scowls* So screwed up.

Right, it doesn't make any sense for Caspian to not ask about Peter and Susan, especially after his thing with Susan. So hopefully we will get news of them there, even if they aren't mentioned elsewhere. *is hopeful*

Adamson brought in military advisers. Adamson is, like, a god among directors. Please, please, please let the new director be just as good. (Alos, again: WHY ADAMSON WHY?)

[swift-tales.livejournal.com]

That's true, Adamson is amazingly good... I like Bryan Singer too, but Adamson is a god amongst directors, there's no way around that.

[1aquaesulis76.livejournal.com]

Love the details you find to talk about, which grab you! Your way of seeing Narnia and how the Pevensies relate to the land before & after isn't 100% the same as mine, but I reckon it's in the high 90s!

1 - Mmm - exactly

2 - Yes! Oh yes, please!

3 - No. I have a younger one, he's enough. A big brother bossing me around, no. I can always add another cousin without noticing though.

4 - In defense of Biggles! I was introduced to the books when I was about 11, and it inspired my love of flying to this day. In fact, I can still identify WW1 fighter planes by sight! Capt WE Johns was a pilot during that war, and wrote from experience. Yes, he was writing primarily for kids, so downplayed the blood and guts, as well as upping the fun, but he described the 'shellshock' (TSD) and breakdowns many went through; the sheer unrelenting machine of war, the grim reality of losing too many friends and fellow flyers far too young and far too soon. Many of the 'exploits' were true as well - young men needing a release from the traumas they were seeing day after day, and going completely overboard.

I have a sneaky feeling that Peter re-read them when he got home, filled in the blanks, and raised a glass (or ten) to the boys who never came home - before handing his collection down to Edmund.

5 - Oh, teenage boys, hoping the war wasn't going to end before they got their chance to fight. If only Peter knew....

6 - *hugs Tumnus* James McAvoy gets me every time.

7 - I really love the detail here - showing the decline of Narnia better than any speech could convey.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

4. Ah, okay. I was raised on Burroughs and never heard of Johns before I googled it, so.

[ghostrunner7.livejournal.com]

Yes, occasionally I notice the other characters too. This is not one of those times.

I hear you, sister.