Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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216 of 222 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent movie, poor DVD release, August 3, 2004
Although anime is beginning to change people's minds, far too many Westerners still think of animation as a genre only fit for children. The Last Unicorn ought to be high on the viewing list of anyone who believes animation is just for kids--yes, it's a "cartoon," but it's also beautifully animated, with unique and unforgettable characters, and the storyline is as true to the original source material (book by Peter S. Beagle) as any movie adaptation I've ever seen.
In her unchanging, always-spring forest lives a unicorn (voice of Mia Farrow), ageless, wise and innocent, and without regret--unicorns can feel sorrow, but it's not the same thing. One day, when men come into her forest to hunt, she discovers that she is the last of the unicorns. With snatches of help and hints from a dizzy butterfly, she sets out to find the others. On her way she picks up an incompetent magician named Schmendrick (voice of Alan Arkin), a withered woman named Molly Grue (voice of Tammy Grimes), and eventually finds the kingdom of King Haggard (voice of Christopher Lee) and his son Lir (voice of Jeff Bridges). But in the changing, aging world of humans, can the unicorn even keep track of who she is and how the story should end?
The movie version isn't perfect. There are some awkward scenes, including a terrible duet by Mia Farrow and Jeff Bridges which never should have been included, and some scenes contain material such as mild profanity, bare breasts and depictions of death which might not be suitable for children. But there is an earnestness to this film, a magic in the way ideas are expressed, that's all too rare in modern filmmaking. This quality helps many viewers overlook the film's flaws.
So if The Last Unicorn is that good of a movie, why does it only rate two stars? Because the current U.S. DVD release is terrible. This is a full-frame release, ***not widescreen***. The DVD has poor cover art and offers zero special features. The actual transfer is grainy and blurry in spots, with no evidence of any kind of restoration work. The soundtrack has a distinctly tinny quality. In fact, the only reason one would purchase this DVD was if one had only a single copy of the film taped off television some 15 years ago and watched over and over until the VHS tape nearly wore out... rather like me, in fact.
Don't purchase this DVD. I wouldn't have done so if I had known what I know now. Instead, contact the distributors and demand a fully-restored widescreen release in North America.
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317 of 339 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is wonderful movie, but an awful release of it, March 18, 2004
Let me start by saying that The Last Unicorn is my favorite movie of all time. I have loved it since I was very, very young. However, I truly wish I had never bought this DVD.First off, the movie is full screen and not widescreen--this could easily be forgiven if the DVD didn't have numerous other problems. The picture quality is awful and looks as though they ripped the movie from the old VHS master. There are also some scenes where the contrast seems to be up too high. I know that these are not simply issues with the original movie because I have the German release and its picture is flawless (not to mention widescreen) and beautiful. This release also has one of the worst menus I have ever seen. The DVD says it has special features, but I can't find them! If you're a hardcore Last Unicorn fan, don't buy this DVD. Your old VHS version is just as good.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What lingers behind, November 3, 2003
This was one of the first movies I can remember watching, and it still haunts me. The book is one I return to year after year, and the movie does what is seldom done in adaptations and remains faithful to the text it was based on. The animation itself is wonderful, whimsical, and the characters linger in the mind long after the more mainstream looking characters of other movies blur in the mind. Almost twenty years later, the Red Bull still scares me. Schmedrick the magician is a loveable character, a failure as a magician who still keeps trying, and strikes a familiar chord in us all. I think any woman can relate to Molly Grue, still waiting for her unicorn. Even King Haggard is a sympathetic character if only in his selfishness. This is a definite must have to anyone who loves fantasy and unicorns. Though it might be a little too much for young children (it scared the pants off me the first time I watched it) it is something every child will appreciate. Heck, its something grownups will appreciate too, since I still love to read the book and watch the movie.
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by Peter S. Beagle
