Buy new:
$39.00$39.00
$4.60
delivery:
Tuesday, Jan 16
Ships from: Efficient-U Sold by: Efficient-U
Save with Used - Very Good
$10.95$10.95
FREE delivery: Jan 23 - Feb 7 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Florida Dealz 4 u
Other Sellers on Amazon
+ $3.99 shipping
98% positive over last 12 months
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- Sorry, this item is not available in
- Image not available
- To view this video download Flash Player
Jim Henson's The Storyteller ~ The Complete Collection
- Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
- Learn more about free returns.
- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
May 23, 2006 "Please retry" | — | 2 | $64.49 | $18.37 |
|
DVD
May 23, 2006 "Please retry" | — | — |
—
| — | $79.99 |
Purchase options and add-ons
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Format | NTSC, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, Digital Sound |
| Contributor | Jim Henson, Brian Henson, Frederick Warder, David Greenaway, Alistair Fullarton, John Hurt, Robert Tygner, Robin Summers, Mak Wilson, Michael Kilgarriff, Diana Payan, Peter Marinker See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 3 hours and 35 minutes |
Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you
Product Description
Product Description
Henson fills the screen with wonderful creatures that have a wisp of J.R.R. Tolkein fantasy. Directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient), he takes us through the fantasy of recognizable European folk/fairy tales with narration by the Storyteller played wonderfully by John Hurt. The entire series on DVD for the first time! From the master Jim Henson who brought us The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Stars John Hurt, as the narrator. Adapted by Oscar-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella (The English Patient).
Amazon.com
One of Jim Henson's finest hours was the Storyteller series that first aired on HBO in 1987. As with his other non-Muppet creations (Labyrinth), Henson fills the screen with wonderful creatures that have a wisp of a J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy. This collection of nine stories (it does not contain the Greek myths arc) were adapted by Anthony Minghella, who became an Oscar-winning filmmaker a decade later with The English Patient. Minghella weaves the narration of the storyteller (played with aplomb by John Hurt) with dialogue from the stories to beguiling effect; the storyteller doesn't simply introduce the tales.
A few of the stories have been available before on video, but this collection starts with the debut, the Emmy-winning "Hans My Hedgehog," the title role being a young disformed man who helps a lost king in the woods. Other highlights include "The Luck Child" about a king bent on destroying a commoner boy, known as the luck child ("the seventh son born of a seventh son on a week with two Fridays"). After a wizard declares the boy will grow up to be king. The fate of the king is one of those hooks that should have the kids smiling for days. Henson himself directs "Death and the Soldier," a brilliant example of how these episodes were so wonderfully complex. A penniless solider (Bob Peck) is given a magical sack and he uses it to full effect, capturing gremlins and greater evils on his way to be king. "Sapsorrow" is a curious variation on the Cinderella legend. "A Story Short" is the storyteller's own adventure. He makes a deal with a king to tell a story every day of the year. Yet on the last day, the storyteller's mind is a blank and his fate may lead him to a boiling vat of oil. Henson's work is true family entertainment and at only 22 minutes per episode, it's the perfect companion for some fine entertainment around the TV. --Doug Thomas
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.52 Ounces
- Media Format : NTSC, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, Digital Sound
- Run time : 3 hours and 35 minutes
- Release date : August 26, 2003
- Actors : John Hurt, Brian Henson, Frederick Warder, David Greenaway, Robert Tygner
- Subtitles: : English
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
- Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- ASIN : B0000A2ZU6
- Writers : Jim Henson
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #34,349 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #2,878 in Kids & Family DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Important information
To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
My favorite episode was the one with Fearnot and his quest to learn how to shudder. The puppets they made for the show from the Storyteller’s dog to the swamp monster are fantastic. The creature creators did a hell of a job making everything realistic in the show and the writers did a wonderful job of really making you feel like John Hurt is telling you a story around his hearth. I’ll also give props to the whoever did the voice and motions of his puppet dog. Love that dog, especially when he gets too scared and the Storyteller has to comfort him and make sure he knows it’s just a story.
I haven’t watched the other two series in the DVD set yet, but I look forward to binge watching them on a lazy weekend. Looking forward to seeing how famed actor Michael Gambon (aka Dumbledor #2) fills the shoes of John Hurt in that acting roll.
Overall, I really think this show stands the test of time. It was beautifully made at the time and you can’t beat the sets and craftsmanship of the work the film crews put into it. I give it an A++ rating.
What I really like about them - besides the stories themselves, the wonderful set, costume, and puppet designs, the acting and so on - is that they resurrect the importance of *telling*. There is a love of language in Minghella's scripts ("a princess of sweetness and cherry pie", "he heard a song that sounded like hello and goodbye"), and in John Hurt's charming performance, that reminds us of the importance of the human voice... even as we are seduced by the stunning visuals.
This is great stuff, some of the best old-school fantasy every produced for TV, and - despite the puppets and magic - in no way geared to kids. It's "general audience" in the original sense: everybody gathered together around the Storyteller's bewitching voice, different ages envisioning different things as the stories play out.
A word on the second batch, the Greek Myths: These are at a much lower wattage than the European stories, and I'm not sure why, as the stories themselves are great. But Michael Gambon's Storyteller lacks the charm of Hurt's, the scripts (not by Minghella) are more perfunctory, and perhaps the stories are too familiar to have much surprise. They are beautifully produced, and have some good performances (Derek Jacobi as Daedalus, Robert Stephens as Hades), but they aren't as essential as the earlier group. (But given the low price for the whole set, they're well worth owning, even if they lack the "repeatability factor" of the earlier batch.)
Yes, the video quality is pretty wobbly, and the extras are non-existant... but The Storyteller triumphs anyway!
My favorites from the European folktales
Are A Story Short- Gives insight into The Storyteller himself and is a clever story with many twists and turns
The Soldier and Death- An engaging story with a protagonist who is both charming in the beginning and sorrowful at the end. It starts out cute but then gets very dark and has one of the saddest endings ever.
Sapsorrow- A variation of the Cinderella story which gives interesting insights to the Cinderella-like character, Sapsorrow and the Prince and making them more human than their sometimes flat counterparts (Also fans of British comedy will take delight that the wicked sisters are played by the comedy team of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders)
From the Greek Myths:
Daedulus and Icarus- Always one of my favorite Greek myths stories, gives a bit of insanity and more dimensions to Daedalus and his relationship with his son.
Orpheus and Eurydice- Another favorite Greek myth of mine, a very moving story with some very dark and graphic scenes.
Great series all around, that I wished had lasted longer. :D
Top reviews from other countries
But that's not the sellers fault so I give it a 5!
Tired of dealing with today's insanity? Take a break and watch "The Storyteller!!!
You will be glad that you did.
The mix of Germanic, Celtic and Russian tale bring you right back. Notonly to childhood if you watched this series then, but into theimagination and the hint of a forgotten heritage. Stories were made fordark days, rainy days and the communal nighttime, whilst sunny days werefor work and activity. Having such an imaginative restbite is still soimportant to us, and being able to watch such a well-made series such asthis goes a long way to reminding me at least, that such dark, damp daysof a holiday when I might otherwise be incapacitated, has its place.
These are dark stories, but touched with such light and warmth, and alsotruth, that you cannot help but be entranced. A real landmark oftelevision, and something that works beautifully well over a DvDformat.
Highly Recommended.
![Jim Henson'S Turkey Hollow [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/91+iYhgGLTL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
![Jim Henson’s Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (Hallmark Entertainment) [DVD] – Starring Matthew Modine, Vanessa Redgrav](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/51LB114zmeL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)



![VeggieTales: 25th Anniversary 10-Movie Collection [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/719+CnuQIrL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)

