Oliver reviews Pratchett's THE COLOUR OF MAGIC on DVD

Comprising the first two of Terry Pratchett's long-running Discworld series of fantasy books THE COLOUR OF MAGIC and THE LIGHT FANTASTIC into a two-part TV serial under the first title's tag, was never going to be an easy task. For one the fans are always typically skeptical when it comes to an adaptation. When it was announced that David Jason would be taking on the role of gormless wizard Rincewind an uproar surfaced with most ridiculing that Jason, at 68, was far too old to take on the part of a character presumed to be middle-aged. The same hostility brewed with the choice of Sean Astin as Twoflower, as the fans had anticipated that the tourist companion would be of Asian not Astin origin. However Pratchett defended the choices by stating that he only ever described the character as exotically foreign and that he was very pleased that Jason got the role, a role the actor had stated he wanted to play for the past 15 years. There was less disdain with the arguably archetypal choices of character actor Tim Curry, cementing the role of chief 'boo hiss' baddie wizard Trymon and Christopher Lee lending his menacing vocals to the role of Death. And indeed the best thing about THE COLOUR OF MAGIC are the exceptional performances and clear cut chemistry among the cast. Jason and Astin make for a warm oddball coupling while Curry relishes working his evil charms in typically hammy but delightful fashion. For those unfamiliar with the books the story is set within a magical discworld that pivots on a strange moving Turtle in space and centers around the motivations of failed wizard Rincewood (Jason). Rincewood is expelled from Unseen University after 40 years of failing to master even the most basic of wizardry magic. Part of the blame must be placed on what he has stored in his head: one of the eight spells from the Octavo, one of the most powerful spellbooks in the Discworld. The spells are simply too afraid to be locked inside the same head with the Octavo spell. Eventually Rincewood meets and 'befriends' Twoflower (Astin), a property insurance salesman who is a tourist visiting the land of Ankh-Morpork. Set with the task of guiding Twoflower, the first ever tourist, by the local feared Patrician (Jeremy Irons, guest staring), Rincewood sets on an adventure with his companion into the surrounding lands. But evil new arch-Chancellor Trymon (Curry) is hot on their tale, with his sights set on retrieving the final spell from Rincewood in order to gain control of the universe and bring upon it certain doom and terror. As you can imagine there is a lot of expedition here and COLOUR OF MAGIC is entertaining to a point but suffers from rather pedestrian directing from HOGFATHER helmer Vadim Jean. The trouble is that there's a distinct lack of magic to the storytelling that should make the transition from page to screen seamless, but instead is rather clunky and at times nauseating. When, during an uplifting dragon flight through the mountains you are meant to feel carried away by the spectacle, but all you feel is kind of lost within whats going on. There should be an entertaining story here, but at times it felt that you were just spoon fed with the details of the plot rather than being swept away and becoming a part of it. And don't get me started on the decidedly ropey CGI sequences!The climax too is a bit of a let down: it should be the crescendo of the drama but instead has all the power of an amateur production play. However as mentioned the performances are what make the whole thing watchable (particularly Curry and Jason) and with such a capable cast fitting the bill you are at least allowed to marvel at what could have been. EXTRAS The two disc edition that I received came with a warm welcome introduction by Terry Pratchett himself (who also appears at the end of the film), revealing his optimism for the project and particularly the casting choices. There's also an informative director's commentary from Jean. Unfortunately the extras on my second disc didn't work, but from the menu it looks like it should to be comprised of the usual Interviews with the cast, deleted scenes, a Discworld: Tourist Guides (which one would image is some set location footage) and a Blooper Reel. VERDICT COLOUR OF MAGIC doesn't posses the same, well magic, as Vadim Jean's previous Pratchett adaptation HOGFATHER, but with an exceptional cast of familiar faces and voices (Brian Cox narrates by the way) there should be enough material here to keep the kiddies happy for the holidays. THE COLOUR OF MAGIC is available to buy now on both single and double disc DVD editions.