I did not have the chance to watch the first movie in the Chronicles of Narnia story arc, but I was lucky enough to see the film in theatres. Saying that, the Blu-Ray transfer that Disney has created is simply stunning. The audio is as crisp and as clear as anyone could experience in the theater, while the video is rich and vibrant, showing the otherworldly allure created by the director. The three-disc special edition is the way to go with Prince Caspian, as there are a number of additional features and additions present that will ensure that viewers will have the discs in the player for weeks, if not months to come.
The featurettes are, in my honest opinion, the strongest piece of the Prince Caspian puzzle: one need only watch a featurette like “Sets of Narnia” to properly understand the amount of work that was put into creating a compelling film. “Big Movie Comes To A Small Town” is another interesting addition to the set, showcasing what a film production does to the city in which it takes up shop. Where the featurette may not show the negative side of what happens when a film has a production in a city, the depth in which this mini-film plumbs is without comparison. The inclusion of a digital copy in this set will be a delight for anyone that owns a video iPod or similar device (Zune); while shrunk down considerably for these devices, the video and audio transfer is just as eye-popping as were on the full-sized version.
This may be the last installment of C.S. Lewis’ vision, as the film did not fare as well as some would have liked in the theatre. Here’s to hoping that brisk DVD and Blu-Ray sales of this title are enough to show that a dedicated set of fans exist for further films in the story line.
Where there may not be a market for film adaptations of the remaining five films taken separately, two or three films would be all that is needed to wrap all loose storylines up and create one of the strongest sets of films ever released.
Rating: 8.4/10
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Blu-Ray) / 2008 Walt Disney / 149 Minutes / http://www.disney.com /