Customer Reviews

Stardust (Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(300)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The story begins in the 19th-century village of Wall. But Wall isn't your average country village -- it guards a low, stony wall between mundane England and the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. No one crosses the wall -- except for young Drustan Thorn, whose curiosity led him to an otherworldly market and a single night of passion with a captive gypsy -- or princess -- and nine months later he was given a son, Tristan, who was left for him by the wall.

Flash forward 18 years, and Tristan (Charlie Cox) hopes to win the heart of his beautiful but shallow love, Victoria (Sienna Miller), by recovering a star that fell somewhere beyond that wall. So Tristan sets forth on his own journey in Stormhold. Meanwhile in that magical land, the dying king (Peter O'Toole) has set his four surviving sons on a quest for the crown. And the witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) is seeking the heart of the star for an entirely different purpose, one that probably will not turn out well for anyone else involved in the story.

Despite initial trepidations over seeing a favorite Neil Gaiman story converted to film, "Stardust" is all I could hope for. The settings and scenery are lush and beautiful. The effects are seamless and spectacular. The score by Ilan Eshkeri is dramatic. Narration by Ian McKellen is compelling. And the casting is exceptional, from Robert De Niro as the delightful sky pirate Captain Shakespeare to Pfeiffer as the sumptuously evil witch.

Claire Danes is absolutely radiant as Yvaine, who in one way or another holds the resolution of every quest. Poised, beautiful and sporting a great English country accent, Danes glows even without the benefit of special effects. And Tristan Thorn is a classic everyman hero, a simple young man who grows and flourishes on his journey; Cox captures the role perfectly. A relative newcomer to the screen, he's without question an actor to watch.

Gaiman is a brilliant writer, a man with an imagination like no other. Fortunately, director Matthew Vaughn bucked the Hollywood trend by respecting the source material, creating a splendid film, one that will surely become a classic for generations to come.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(NET) editor

Wall looks like just about every other English village, but it hides a secret. It's not jolly old England on the other side of the wall. Few mundane English travelers ever make it over the wall and back. Drustan (Nathaniel Parker-Ben Barnes) is one of the few--and nine months later, a son was delivered to him at his doorstep.

The son Tristan (Charlie Cox) grows to 19 and falls in love with Victoria (Sienna Miller) a woman well above his means. He fears his ability to capture her heart is failing, til they see a star fall on the other side of the wall--and Victoria tells him if he will seek out the star, she will be his.

Thus, begins Tristan's quest for true love. Instead of a star, he finds a maiden Yvaine (Clare Danes) who turns out to be the earth-bound embodiment of the star. Unfortunately, Victoria is not the only person who wants the star.

From here, we encounter a multiplicity of plot complications including a King (Peter O'Toole) who sets his sons against each other in a fight for succession to the throne, a pirate (Robert DeNiro) with an interesting secret) and a triad of witches who seek the star to extend their lives and (ahem) beauty.

I loved reading Neil Gaiman's story. STARDUST is one of his best, but the film is one of those rare instances where the book has been improved. The casting for STARDUST is some of the best I have seen.

This is one of the rare films that I paid full price for in the theatre and will purchase the DVD for later viewing. STARDUST is going to be a fantasy classic and a great addition to any fantasy fan's library.

WARNING: If you have very young children, please do not show this film without some advisory. We saw STARDUST in the theatre with a couple of young families close by and the littlest kids were crying at the rough parts and some families had to leave.

The first time I saw this movie, I didn't have high expectations. The trailer looked silly and I had practically disregarded the movie. Lately, actors of the size of Robert De Niro (who now can do anything they want) have been doing some campy and really bad movies (like Meet the Parents), so not even the big names were enough to interest me.

But then I started reading some reviews on imdb a couple of weeks after the movie got out. A lot of them agreed that the trailer didn't do justice to the film, and that although still not taking itself seriously, the movie somehow shined far beyond expectations. So I decided to give it try, and now I'm glad I watched this movie in the big screen.

For those who haven't seen it yet, the trailer indeed falls short. Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro are great, along with everyone else in the cast. The music score is amazing, the special effects are great, and the most important thing of all, the story is funny and it really taps into the best of the best of the fantasy genre.

This movie didn't have the success it deserved on the box office, so please, give it a try. It's not your typical fantasy film, it feels original, fresh, and it really entertains. Since the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, some people might consider it campy at first, but the best way to enjoy this great film is not to expect a deep drama (like the Lord of the Rings), but an entertaining fresh film.

Paramount has gone HD DVD exclusive, and for that we now get Stardust released on both DVD and HD DVD. If you have an HD DVD player, Stardust is a must in High-Def. Anyone who saw this movie in the theaters should agree.

Simply put, the movie is a visual feast without compromising the story and it really deserves a chance. Some may find it a little weird film, but Stardust is a sleeper hit that hopefully will get the success it deserves on DVD and HD DVD.

All discussion about the movie itself aside, I was disappointed by the quality of this disc. I have the DVD and have been slowly moving my collection of DVD's to Blu-ray versions. When I saw that Stardust had finally hit Blu-ray, I jumped at the chance to get better quality. Unfortunately, though, this Blu-ray doesn't look any better than the upscaled DVD. I fully believe there's some digital slight-of-hand going on here. I suppose you could lay down any type of video on a Blu-ray disc and call it, "Blu-ray," since you're referring to the media not the video. Anyway, this doesn't do 1080P justice. If you're upgrading your movie collection, don't bother with this one. If you've never seen the movie, you should really see it.

Fantasy is hard to find in the movies -- for every "Lord of the Rings," there's only a handful of bad sword'n'sorcery tales for kids ("Eragon," "The Seeker"). As for fairy tales, forget it.

But one little fairy tale HAS made its way into theatres -- an enchanting little story loosely based on a Neil Gaiman novel. And "Stardust's" charm is its lack of pretension, and its willingness to be silly, romantic, fantastical, sparkling and most importantly, tongue-in-cheek. And it has pirates too.

A wall separates our world from the world of magic -- and one night, Dunstan Thorn went over it, and had a brief tryst with a beautiful princess, who is imprisoned by a witch. Nine months later, baby Tristan is left on his doorstep.

Nineteen years later, a dying king magically flings a ruby into the sky, and says that the prince who finds it will be the new king. The two remaining princes -- and the ghosts of their dead brothers -- et off to find it. But that ruby dislodged a star, and it plummets to the ground across the Wall -- attracting the attention of three ancient witches, who use the hearts of stars to restore their spent youth.

Still with me?

Tristan (Charlie Cox) also sees the star, and the snotty girl he adores (Sienna Miller) says that she will marry him if he gets her the star before her birthday. Tristan does manage to find and entrap the beautiful star, Yvaine (Claire Danes), and they start off on a magical adventure of air pirates, unicorns, evil witches, and true love.

"Stardust" has pretty much all the requirements for a fantasy and/or fairy tale movie -- magic, love, an evil villain, and lots of odd characters to round out the cast, and flesh out the story. Not much is actually new. But like the original Gaiman tale, the movie winks affectionately at you as the story unfolds.

In fact, the movie only really stumbles when it stops to ruminate on true love and how precious it is, etc. Cute, but boring -- especially since the romantic leanings of the leads are pretty clear. Director Matthew Vaughn really shines when he's focusing on airships, goat-men, and the occasional magical sword-fight with an dead man.

Despite the scattered nature of the plot, Vaughn directs with a smooth, sure hand, and he sprinkles plenty of comic relief through it -- Captain Shakespeare dancing in drag, or the Greek chorus of murdered princes. And the dialogue avoids fantastical pomposity by being just as tongue-in-cheek ("Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!")

Cox makes an excellent wide-eyed, slightly blinkered country boy, who turns from a bumbling suitor to a strong young hero. Danes isn't quite as ethereal as one would expect Yvain to be, but she gives a solid performance, and Miller is perfect as the snotty, shallow Victoria.

But while the younger performers are solid, the veterans are absolutely brilliant. Pfeiffer is hilarious, chilling and pouty as the constantly frustrated witch, and De Niro steals the show as a cuddly, twinkly-eyed gay pirate who pretends to be brutal. And Peter O'Toole and David Kelly have brief but brilliant appearances.

One thing to mention: this movie is almost certainly going to be a must-see on HD DVD. It's very colourful and vibrant, from the clothes to the swooping pirate ship to the bluish ghosts, and it promises to be even more visually impressive when the image is sharpened up.

"Stardust" is exactly what the title suggests -- sparkling, funny, wry, and just deep enough to be entertaining. A solid, sweet little fantasy movie.

I don't even know where to begin. I thought the movie was fantastic. I love the book, and am usually sorely disappointed by film adaptions. I had a feeling this one might be different so I was very excited to go see it.

For the book lovers, it does have some changes. Most of the time changes make me crazy, but oddly enough it didn't bother me too much. They kept the majority of the story intact.

The score was awesome, the scenery was unbelievable. The movie was funny, endearing and thrilling. I thought all the acting was good, and though they changed Robert DeNiro's character and embellished it for the film, he was hysterical. Claire Danes is very believable as a fallen star, and though Charlie Cox is fairly new and not yet a recognizable actor, I think he brought an innocence and freshness to the lead role of Tristan. Michelle Pfeiffer is such a fun witch! Enchanting when she's 'young' and scary as she begins to age again.

I would recommend this movie(and book!) to just about anyone.

I recently saw this small gem of a movie and was completely enchanted. It is a story that will entertain your children and grandchildren while keeping you completely captivated. Based on a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman it tells the story of a young man who crosses into the realm of a magical land (as had his father before him) to retreive a fallen star and bring it back to the woman of his dreams. Upon finding the star (Clare Danes) he attempts to return home with his prize. And so the adventure begins.......... as they are pursued by an evil witch (played with relish and devilish glee by Michelle Pfeiffer), and are befriended by a flamboyent lightening bolt chasing pirate (Robert DeNiro) who could easily fill in for one of the "Fab Five" on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

In addition, this film is filled to the brim with wonderful cameo performances by Peter O'Toole (as the King), Rupert Everett (as one of the Kings evil sons), Sienna Miller (as the spoiled girlfriend), and Ricky Gervais (as Freddy the Fence). Although reminiscent in some ways of The Princess Bride, this movie possesses more humor and charm as well as visually stunning special effects and an impressive use of make-up and prosthetic devices.

Stardust emerges as a welcome and refreshing change from the the plethora of sequels and animated films that have been clogging the big screen recently. For a pleasant two hour romp through a fun filled fantasy world, put Stardust on your list of must see movies.

The movie itself: 5 stars
The blu-ray presentation: 3 stars

Stardust is a mature fairy tale with a lot to offer. The cast and their performances are outstanding. The story is interesting and well off the beaten track, and so it is consistently surprising. It is moving and exciting, with plenty of variety in terms of magical creatures, evil witches, a missing princess, competing princes, and two young men (years apart) who have gone past "The Wall" to visit a magical land.

Neil Gaiman's novelette upon which the movie is based was quite popular. It was so popular that there are a large number of fans who severely criticize this movie for the plot differences. I have two answers to make to that charge. First, its a rare movie that doesn't make plot changes from the source material. Even the highly acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" trilogy did that, and at times by a wide margin. Anyone expecting a movie to be a scene by scene rehash of the written source just isn't paying attention to the real world. Second, Neil Gaiman was personally involved in the production of this movie. Whatever changes were made, they had his blessing. Just to fact check this, I found and read Gaiman's blogs from the time this movie was in production and release. I could find no complaints at all concerning anything about the movie, including the direction of the story.

I find that the movie bears up under repeated viewings quite well. I've seen it myself six times over the last three years.

As for the blu-ray, I found it to be quite disappointing. The first few times I saw the film was in its HD presentation on PPV movie channels. I found that presentation to be gorgeous. The costuming, set decoration, and scenery in the film are rich in detail and color, and viewing the images of the film was as entertaining as the story. In contrast, the blu-ray, even though it has all the color, does not supply nearly as sharp a picture as the HD movie channel version. Some scenes look great. Others are needlessly grainy. I can only conclude that not much time or expense was undertaken in this blu-ray transfer. I know that this movie was first released in HD-DVD as a hi-def format. I'm left to wonder if it was transferred directly from that HD-DVD version to blu-ray, with some quality lacking in the HD-DVD version that caused it to not transfer well to the blu-ray format. Unfortunately, you'll find that most of the reviews here of the blu-ray version were made BEFORE the release, I suppose hoping to get a leg up on Helpful votes. Many of them say, "This film will look FANTASTIC on blu-ray". Well, it looks OK, but it doesn't look fantastic.

My criticism of the blu-ray version does not extend to the sound. The sound effects and score are impressive and satisfying. Voice levels are well matched. You do not have to strain to hear dialog over the music and sound effects, as is sometimes the case.

Overall, if you are a fan of the movie itself and already own a blu-ray player, I recommend this version. Just don't expect more than it actually offers in the way of visual presentation. Sadly, since the film did not surpass its production budget in general release, the studio probably did not expect wide base of support for the DVD/blu-ray release. So I don't expect the unimpressive visual transfer on the blu-ray will ever be corrected in a future release.

I cannot even remember the last time my wife, my 12-year-old son, 10-year old daughter and I all agreed that we liked a movie.

We all agreed that STARDUST is a wonderful movie. Humor, action, adventure, magic ... a wonderful cast of characters ... STARDUST has it all.

After watching the previews, I was a bit concerned that the witches might be a bit too scary for my daughter (she didn't like MONSTER HOUSE). No worries though ... not too scary at all.

Highly recommended.

The fun of Princess Bride and the adventure of Willow combine to make a movie that's fun for the whole family.