Watership Down 10/7/08
 

Sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but Warner is releasing a 30th anniversary edition of Watership Down.

DVDActive Link

Finally. Sold off my snapper version long ago.

come on Warners - please release this in HiDef as well.

Of course. I just bought the region 2 special edition.

I'm this one will have all the same features and one other new feature, forcing a triple dip.

Same here. My Region 2 copy is on the way from Amazon.co.uk.

Thanks to Trevor and peateargrpyon for making this possible in R1!

I'm happy to take one for the team every now and then.

I also just bought some imports of a few old classics like The African Queen, so we'll be getting that one R1 any day now.

oh that's great news. i rented this a long time ago from blockbuster for my five year old daughter and she loved it. just never got around to actually buying it, but now seeing there's a 30th anniversary one coming I'm glad I didn't. Will make a good Christmas present!

One of my favorite books from childhood, but I never caught onto the film - at least not until after the first release went OOP.

Is the film a considerably well done adaption?

Thanks in advance.

Don't worry -- the R2 looks like it has more features than this one, notably the commentary.

really? well that's definately an incentive to purchase the import.

Ditto.

nice to see warner brothers keeping it classy with that cover art!

Too bad the rabbits weren't in charge of region coding... we'd only have 5 regions to deal with, including the new R-Many.

I think so. Of course it has nowhere the depth of characterization or worldbuilding that can be found in the novel. It's a 90-minute cartoon. But it's still very moving and well-done. Voice acting is solid and the artwork is both beautiful and harrowing. A couple pop song montages date & dilute the impact a bit, but otherwise very worthy.

I haven't sold off mine, but maybe it is time. This is one of my favorite childhood films and I'm glad it is finally coming back into print.

I just read the book for the first time a few months ago and fell in love with it. I noticed the dvd was oop so i got it from netflix. And while it doesnt really live up to the book it was quite a good movie that i would definitly pick up when it comes out.

Compared to the easily forgettable animation Disney and others were releasing at the time this movie was a revelation. I was only seven years old when I saw it, but the film stayed with me forever. I watched it again over the years whenever I could on cable and then on DVD and it still holds up. I agree the book was even better when I finally read it, but the film was my first experience with the material and it fueled an early love of movies for me.

It is strange with all the great animation from Disney it is this film and Iron Giant from Warner that are my two favorites.

Yeah, I would imagine that. If anything, I was hoping that it would at least go as far as to capture the relevance of the relationships that drive the main story. It's been so long since I've visited the story but I can only imagine it remains captivating in some form as it once did in novel form. I'm sure a blind purchase is a no-brainer. Appreciate the response ...... :)

Don't think I mentioned this yet in this thread, but this is my favorite book of all time. Yep, a 41 year old man calling a book about rabbits the best ever.

I saw the movie first, as a 10 or so year old kid. It spurred me to read the book, which I agree to be a modern classic. The movie is extremely well done, and holds up well.

My attempts at a brief review don't match these clips from Amazon. "Watership Down is a remarkable tale of exile and survival, of heroism and leadership...the epic novel of a group of adventurers who desert their doomed city, and venture forth against all odds on a quest for a new home, a sturdier future." "Social allegory pops up regularly, from the restlessness of the warren's disenfranchised younger bucks to the fatalism and repression in (snip for spoilers)."

If you've avoided this film or book because you thought it was a silly kid's story about rabbits, I challenge you to grab it from your local library. An extremely engaging book, no other (non-divine) book has affected me as much.

Just make sure you don't sell it for a profit as that would be wrong.

Watership Down has been my favorite novel as well since I first read it around the age of 10 - as you may be able to tell from my screenname. I think the film is very respectable and, while it may have to cut a good deal from the book, manages to encompass a lot of depth from the story as a whole. And there are few animated films that are as frightening for a young child as this one is - the character of General Woundwort is the stuff of nightmares.

I'm grateful to see this film being given its due on DVD and I'll probably trade up my snapper copy for the new one.

Michael

With the new one announced I doubt the resell value is that high anymore. I may keep both. I did that with MST3K the Movie.

i like that cover a lot...

i still have my flipper copy...

but i think i'll do the double up on this one...