Product Details

• Actors: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes
• Directors: Ron Howard
• Writers: George Lucas, Bob Dolman
• Producers: George Lucas, Joe Johnston, Nigel Wooll
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish
• Subtitles: English
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: Unknown
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: August 18, 2003
• Run Time: 126 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (509 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXDD
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,202 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Willow (Special Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This epic Lucasfilm fantasy serves up enough magical adventure to satisfy fans of the genre, though it treads familiar territory. With abundant parallels to Star Wars, the story (by George Lucas) follows the exploits of the little farmer Willow (Warwick Davis), an aspiring sorcerer appointed to deliver an infant princess from the evil queen (Jean Marsh) to whom the child is a crucial threat. Val Kilmer plays the warrior who joins Willow's campaign with the evil queen's daughter (Joanne Whalley, who later married Kilmer). Impressive production values, stunning locations (in England, Wales, and New Zealand) and dazzling special effects energize the routine fantasy plot, which alternates between rousing action and cute sentiment while failing to engage the viewer's emotions. A parental warning is appropriate: director Ron Howard has a light touch aimed at younger viewers, but doesn't shy away from grisly swordplay and at least one monster (a wicked two-headed dragon) that could induce nightmares. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

From legendary filmmakers George Lucas and Ron Howard comes one of the most beloved fantasy tales of all time. This groundbreaking film features stunning special effects, dazzling action and a classic battle between good and evil.

When young Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) finds an abandoned baby, he is suddenly thrust unto an adventure filled with magic and danger. According to an ancient prophecy, the sacred child is destined to end the reign of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). Now, the only a single swordsman (Val Kilmer) at his side, Willow must overcome the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy anyone who stands in the Queen's way!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 109 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you think you'll like "Willow"? I'm sure you will! December 28, 2001

By Priscilla Stafford

Format:DVD

What do you get when you have George Lucas AND Ron Howard, both famous for their work in the movie-making industry, producing and directing this movie? You've got it, a fantastic, rollicking fantasy-adventure!

The evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) has for years been searching for the baby who, according to an ancient prophecy, will end her reign of terror. Taking all the pregnant women, she searches each and every baby when one day, the sacred girl is born. But before Bavmorda could kill her, a faithful midwife takes the child away from the castle. When she realizes she is being pursued, she lets the baby drift away on a river. The abandoned girl is found by a Nelwyn named Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis). But Willow quickly finds out that the baby is being tracked down Bavmorda's armies, including her daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and General Kael (Pat Roach). Willow sets out to the crossroads to give the baby back to the Daikini, or the big humans. He finds out though through the magical Cherlindrea (Maria Holvoe) about the baby, Elora Danan (played by both Ruth and Kate Greenfield) and the prophecy about her. Willow, with the companionship of swordsman and warrior Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) and Brownies Rool and Franjean (Kevin Pollak & Rick Overton), they go to seek help from sorceress Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes).

A totally charming movie, "Willow" will be one of my favorite movies to watch for a long time. Though people must be warned that though it is rated PG, it's more like PG-13 in some areas and I strongly suggest that adults watch before their children do.

Everything is wonderful about the movie, from the directing, the acting by the whole cast, an enchanting plot, pretty good special effects, and plenty of humor and action. There's humor that is witty, sarcastic, and laugh-out-loud funny. Val Kilmer as Madmartigan and the two Brownies gets plenty of great lines. Yet at the same time the movie is pretty serious with all of the battles against good and evil, and Val Kilmer is a great swash-buckling swordfighter and handles the sword pretty well.

And this DVD isn't called "Special Edition" for no reason. Though it may not have as many special features as many recent movie special editions, "Willow" will satisfy you. 1) Commentary by Warwick Davis, 2) Willow: Making of an Adventure Featurette, 3) Featurette: Morf to Morphing, 4) Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery, 5) Theatrical Teasers and Trailers, 6) 8 TV Spots, and a few more. One thing you must watch is the 'Making of an Adventure Featurette'. Looking at an older Ron Howard with his mustache certainly was a little shock to me after seeing him play Opie on the "Andy Griffith Show" and acting in "Happy Days". One part that was fun about it is when they were talking about the love scenes in the movie. Val Kilmer admits that whenever he had to kiss Joanne Whalley, afterwards he always forgot his lines and no matter how many times they had to do it, he never got it right. They were married after making the movie but unfortunately, they were divorced later on.

So if you are thinking about getting "Willow", I strongly recommend that you watch it! Enjoyable for the whole family, if your children are old enough to handle some parts of the film. And if you have a chance to check out the quotes and trivia page on Amazon, I suggest you do because you can find out all sorts of things.

70 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Willow January 1, 2000

By W. T. Johnston Jr.

Format:VHS Tape

A great story about a Nelwyn named Willow (Warwick Davis) who finds a baby in the river. It turns out that this baby, named Elora Dannan, is part of a profecy that was said to destroy the evil Queen Bavmorda when the child grew older. Willow sets out on an adventure with a warrior named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) to save the baby from being killed by the queen. Fairies, trolls, dragons and sorcerers magic bring this story to life by the talents of Industrial Light and Magic. My favorite scene is when all these fairies are flying around in the woods and the head fairy Shalindria gives Willow her wand and tells him to protect the baby and how important his quest is to the whole kingdom. The brownies are very funny too. One of them is played by Kevin Pollack. I highly recommend this movie for people that really like fantasy and adventure.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An Essential part of any Fantasy Collection August 20, 2002

By R. M. Fisher TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Many claim 'Willow' bears uncanny resemblances to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (Madmartigan is Han Solo with a sword instead of a gun, and the short, pastorial, innocent Nelwyns are highly reminisent of the Shire-dwelling Hobbits). Though this is true, both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are good books/movies - thus reason dictates that 'Willow' is too! People of all ages should enjoy this movie, centred on the universal theme that just one person can make a difference, and filled with adventure, romance, comedy, danger and intrigue.
The story is centred around a baby rather than a Ring, and the infant is not to be destroyed, but saved at all costs. The reason is that this child - Elora Danan - is prophesied to bring about the downfall of the tyrannical Queen Bavmorda (played to great effect by Jean Marsh). Through a series of fortunate events, Elora escapes the clutches of the Queen and comes to the Nelwyn village, a small community of tiny woodland folk, and the guardianship of the sorcerer wannabe - Willow Ufgood (played by Warwick Davis in perhaps the best role of his career - for once he's not hidden behind a mask or facial prosthetics!) Because the presence of the baby puts the community at risk, Willow is chosen to take the baby far away, into the care of the Dakini (or human) race. On the way, Willow has (inevitably) many amazing adventures with a series of diverse characters, learning not only of Elora's true destiny, but that even someone as small as he can have an impact on the world.
The story, on the whole, hangs together well, although there is some back-and-forth travelling between the characters, and some logic flaws (ie. there's no way even a magical baby could survive even half the things that Elora does, and Sorsha is accepted without question into the ranks of the 'good guys').
The movie makes up for these faults by presenting a wide range of interesting and well-portrayed characters that fit perfectly into the fanasty genre - no one should be disappointed by the variety, whether it be from the shape-changing enchantress Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes), to the skeleton-masked Kael (Pat Roach), the etheral faerie Cherlindrea (Maria Holvoe) to the comic relief - the brownies Rool (Kevin Pollack) and Franjean (Rick Overton). Likewise, the scenery and sets are beautiful (Lord of the Rings wasn't the first to discover New Zealand!) and most of the special effects hold up reasonably well against today's technology. Furthermore, the musical score is lovely - both poignant and heroic, and the costumes are colourful but realistic.
Although the love/hate romance between the stars of the movie (Val Kilmer as Madmortigan and Joanne Whalley as Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha) is a nice twist on the typical fairytale treatment, it could of been handled better, especially since the two actors fell in love on set (although they did later divorce...). Oh well, this is only a minor gripe, and by no means ruins the story.
The major dampener is nothing to do with the movie, but with the DVD, as it does not include the vast majority of deleted scenes that were filmed but never shown. If you're interested, they include: scenes that deepen the friendship between Willow and Meegosh, and gives a legitimate reason as to why Meegosh would leave his friend (he breaks his arm when falling down the brownie pit); a run-in with a sea-monster when Willow rows out to Raziel's island; important background information on Sorsha, explaining that her father was the ruler of Tir Asleen and once in love with Raziel until Bavmorda placed him under a love spell before turning him to stone along with the rest of his kingdom; a large battle sequence between Airk and Kael's troops; banter between Kael and a captured Madmortigan; Sorsha calling Willow into her tent to tend for Elora where they discuss Madmortigan; Airk questioning Sorsha's sudden change from evil to good; and Sorsha actually *using* the quiver of arrows she carries around on her back for the entire movie.
These deleted scenes could have made up a substantial part of the DVD and heightened it's collectibility considerably. Perhaps before buying this DVD we should wait a bit longer and see if they are released on another edition in the future.
If you like the Willow movie and are interested in 'what happens next' - try tracking down the trilogy of books that are set after the events in 'Willow' - Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn and Shadow Star.