Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Ernie Malik
| Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Ernie Malik | |
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| Category: Entertainment | |
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Reviewer: Chris Bradshaw
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| Summary: The official movie companion is strong on information about location and contains excellent photography but occasionally descends to the corny and is a little too frothy to be truly satisfying. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 224 | Date: May 2008 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0007270590 | |
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Who would have thought that Prague in the Czech Republic could so convincingly masquerade as 1940s London, complete with authentic Routemaster buses and the lions of Trafalgar Square? This sleight of hand and many more are revealed in the Official Movie Companion to the forthcoming CS Lewis adaptation, Prince Caspian.
Author Ernie Malik gives those new to the Narnia series the chance of a catch up with a brief synopsis of what happened in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe before taking the reader on a whistle-stop behind the scenes tour of anything and everything that went into producing this big-budget spectacular. There are profiles of the actors, director and many of the behind the scenes players who take the film from the page to the big screen. There's plenty of off-screen gossip as well as technical information on the film making process itself.
As you would expect from an official publication, the book is lavish in its praise of all things Narnian. Most of the components of the film are given some kind of inflated importance. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe may have been the 22nd highest-grossing film in Hollywood history and director Andrew Adamson may be a modest, funny and determined filmmaker... inarguably one of Hollywood's most successful directors but these, and many fluffy comments like them littered throughout the text add nothing. In fact, they often irked this reader.
The cast profiles are a bit corny and add little to the appreciation of the film. The American metaphors only add to the mutual love-in feel of the book. Describing Prince Caspian actor Ben Barnes's career to date as like hitting a grand slam home run out of the park after only three times at the plate. That's not to say that this isn't unexpected. You wouldn't pick up an Official Movie Companion if you wanted an in-depth critique after all. It just becomes slightly overwhelming after a while.
Where the book really hits its stride is in the behind the scenes features. It gives a fine insight into the colossal amount of work from that goes into the making of a megabudget spectacular. From the original storyboards and initial screenplay through to scouting locations (a world tour taking in New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and the UK), set design and costumes, special effects and stunts, not to mention the all-important soundtrack. We see Narnia develop from a glint in a directorial eye to a fully realised magical kingdom. Like the Lord of the Rings films, the Narnia Chronicles are largely filmed in New Zealand. The spectacular scenery provides a perfect backdrop for what is a very well produced and beautifully illustrated book.
If you loved the first Narnia film and can't wait until the end of June for the next instalment then this book will quench your thirst nicely. It's an ideal accompaniment for fans wanting to know a little bit more. For the rest of us, it offers a glimpse (and a very pretty glimpse it has to be said) behind the scenes of a bustling movie set but is a little too frothy to be truly satisfying.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.
If you're looking for all the Narnia stories in one volume we can recommend The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis. For another movie companion, we can offer Interstellar: The Official Movie Novelization by Greg Keyes.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Ernie Malik at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Prince Caspian: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Ernie Malik at Amazon.com.
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