Customer Reviews

The Narnia Code

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Narnia Code" was an interesting movie to watch. I loved getting the back history of C.S. Lewis, from what happened in his childhood to how he became a Christian and his writing. It was also interesting to see his relationship with J R Tolkien and how they fed off each other in the early years and what Tolkien thought about the Narnia books.
Michael Ward theory really makes sense and would explain the "crazy" meaning behind some of the Narnia books. I don't know much about the old ways of astronomy but Mr Ward gives a great explanation behind it all. I even respect the fact there are many scholars of C. S. Lewis' books/life that agree with Ward's theory.
If you are a C. S. Lewis fan or just a Narnia fan this is a great film to watch. You will get some great insight and history on one of history's best authors and debaters and find the hidden meaning of the Narnia books. It's a short film, under an hour long, so it not like one of those long boring documentaries you can watch. It kept me wanting to watch more and learn more.
-------------------------------
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

I saw this on the BBC in the UK. It was an incredible insight into the mind of C.S. Lewis and the chronicles of Narnia. If you're a fan of the books, you'll love this documentary, it's amazing how they discovered this secret but once you see it explained in the documentary you'll wonder how you missed it yourself as it's so simple and the connections with the books make perfect sense. I can't wait for it to be released in the UK

I wasn't sure what to expect from this DVD on C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series, but I'm glad to say it's an informative scholarly-theory-meets-pop-culture DVD and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

C.S. Lewis' Narnia series has been incredibly popular for half a century, and different literary theorists have been trying to figure out why. The stories are magical and moving, though the writing style is mostly just "okay", at least in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (in my opinion, the quality of the writing and characterization improves as the series progresses). Most people know that a Christian allegory lies beneath Lewis' fantasy world, but it's also extraordinary that he freely puts talking animals, Father Christmas, and creatures from Greek and Roman mythology into the same fantasy universe in a rare sort of genre-cross. Could there be something else to the books, some other underlying or unifying principle that connects all the awe-inspiring but disparate elements Lewis uses?

Michael Ward came upon the idea that perhaps each of the seven Narnia books corresponds to one of the seven heavenly bodies in medieval astronomy. In the era before the telescope was invented, there was a theory of seven harmonious planets, the ones that were visible without magnification. Lewis was a medievalist who was familiar with this view of the world, and he was very fond of planet imagery, so it doesn't seem unlikely that he could have included some of the moods and symbols associated with those planets in his books.

The Narnia/planet theory says that Lewis didn't just toss some ancient planet-related images into his stories--rather, they were a symbolic starting point and a way of giving a certain structure to the books. In this new way of organizing the books, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe relates to Jupiter, Prince Caspian to Mars, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to the sun, and The Silver Chair to the moon, and so on. The evidence is all very compelling and interesting, and it makes me want to read the more detailed book on the planet theory, just so I can get the entire picture.

The DVD is very enjoyable, and ought to delight anyone who has an interest in C.S. Lewis' life and work. The love for The Chronicles of Narnia is evident in every academic commenting on the theory, and the DVD is worth watching for the depictions of Lewis' backstory, skepticism, conversion, and literary friendships alone. This was a man who was highly knowledgeable and massively talented, and this new work shows a great respect for him and a persuasive argument for his having woven some added meaning into his books.

Do I believe it? Not quite. But the lovely thing about the planets theory is that if you don't accept it, it does nothing to taint or lessen your love for the series, and if you do accept it, it doesn't mar the childhood fantasy or Christian attitudes of the books--it only adds a layer of meaning. And I'm all for scholarly exploration and delving into the symbolism of great works. I'm very glad to have watched this--The Narnia Code has sparked some interesting thoughts and even more interesting discussions in my sphere.

This movie was extremely interesting! I am not a very big fan of the Narnia series, but I do enjoy the movies that have recently been releasing. Getting to learn about the man behind these wonderful stories - and his reasons for writing this series in the first place - was, as I said, very interesting.

Set up as a documentary, this DVD first explored the life and history of C.S. Lewis in great detail. I didn't know that Lewis' childhood (or older childhood) had been so full of sorrow. To lose a much-loved parent is such a hard thing for a little boy to bear. And then to be sent away from home shortly after - still grieving from his losses! How sad!

I didn't know, previous to watching this movie, that Lewis' had been on the front lines of the war during that time. What an awful experience! His conversion was so interesting and thought-provoking. Going from a solid atheist to proclaiming Christ's saving powers for sinners...what a wonderful testimony!

The secret behind the series that Lewis wrote was also really neat to learn about. While I am not so deeply immersed in Narnia books or such a huge fan of Lewis as to spend all my time studying his books, it was still neat to learn what each book had hidden inside. And from the excitement of all Lewis fanatics, it seemed like a huge find!

I didn't find anything wrong or distasteful in this movie. If you are not a big fan of Lewis or his Narnia series, you might not appreciate this movie. As I said, I am not a HUGE fan, but I still enjoyed the history of Lewis and the `Narnia Code' that's been discovered. Pretty neat!

I received this movie in exchange for a review.

This video explains "The Narnia Code" (medieval cosmology)--the hidden layer of meaning and structure in the Chronicles of Narnia as discovered by the author. The video explains it wonderfully in a narrative that weaves in CS Lewis' life and works, his interests and his Christianity. Filmed on location in Oxford and other locales, the author is our guide as he talks to persons who knew Lewis, studied Lewis, and he narrates his own personal journey of the discovery of the Narnia code. I sat enraptured the whole time and felt like I was in Oxford myself! Beautifully filmed and organized. The bonus materials are also very worthwhile, including interviews with three persons who knew Lewis personally, and hearing them talk about Prof Lewis brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommended to anyone that loves Lewis, Narnia, and Christianity. I'm currently reading the book "The Narnia Code", also available on Amazon, and it is great!!

C. S. Lewis is best known among literary enthusiasts as the author of the famed Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven books that have captured the interest, and fueled the imagination, of young and old alike. But what do we know of the life of this charming writer?

Clive Staples Lewis was born in the late 1800's in Belfast, Ireland. Since early childhood he was fascinated with the cosmos, and because of a series of traumatic events in his younger years, he increasingly retreated into his own imaginary world.

Because of his conversion from atheism to Christianity, it has previously been believed that some of his works, to include The Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia, were overtly dealing with concepts such as redemption, sin and mankind's fall from grace; Michael Ward, however, might have discovered otherwise.

Michael Ward, the author of the recently released book Planet Narnia, stumbled into a most intriguing doorway to the hidden meaning behind the beloved Chronicles of Narnia quite by accident, as he read one of C. S. Lewis's works one night. The realization that he might have found something significant marked the beginning of a journey of discovery that culminated with a revelation which might shake the foundations of the ever popular novels. Extensive research supported the possibility that Michael Ward indeed cracked a code to enter into C. S. Lewis's unbelievable mind, and his work has brought to surface a much deeper meaning no one before ever detected.

Michael Ward's journey into the mind of C.S. Lewis is recorded in the documentary The Narnia Code, a documentary which tracks the discovery from its onset until the publication of the book. Fans of C. S. Lewis will surely be thrilled to hear that after so many years of timeless delight, the Chronicles of Narnia are going to surprise readers once again with a whole new twist.

The Narnia Code is a key to a new world - much larger and greater than Narnia itself.

i really didn't know much about c.s. lewis or the narnia stories. i do now. this is a great movie for descovering the real c.s. lewis. this movie is awesome. if you have not seen this movie then i recommend you do

This is very exciting. I would have never made this connection. I have read the books to my daughter. I never realized not once the connection between the books and the planet. I will be watching this documentary with her this Saturday. I can't wait to see the expression in her face...

I watched this on TV when it came out and found it absolutely fascinating. This is a production of quality and it is a real shame that programs of this nature are not more frequent in today's television. Very Good

Excellent production and exploration of CSLewis's mind set and knowledge and points to deeper and greater understand of the Narnia Series. Much easier to follow and grasp than reading the book, The Narnia Code, although that appeals to academically and scientifically minded persons. If you like CSLewis at all, you must add this to your collection.