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| The Box Of Delights | 
 enlarge | Actors: Devin Stanfield, Robert Stephens, Geoffrey Larder, Jonathan Stephens, Joanna Dukes
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: Video
List Price: £10.99
Buy Used: £4.98
You Save: £6.01 (55%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 109
Format: Hifi Sound, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 163 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
EAN: 5024165527733
ASIN: B00004CICP
Release Date: April 3, 1995
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: SUPER FAST SHIPPING, DISPATCHED SAME DAY FROM UK WAREHOUSE. GREAT VIDEO IN GOOD OR BETTER CONDITION, VIDEO IN PAL FORMAT. MORE GREAT BARGAINS IN OUR eSHOP. amazon.co.uk/shops/awesome_books_001
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Time and tide, and buttered eggs wait for no man.... November 4, 2008
This fantastic film is one of the very few DVDs that I would recommend sight-unseen to anyone. If you are a little tired of `It's a Wonderful Life' and `Holiday Inn' then I can't think of anything else which will get you into the Christmas spirit more easily.
The Box of delights is one of the best children's productions the BBC have ever done, and for a variety of reasons has managed to achieve longevity. A key factor is the approach to visual effects. A generous helping of animation mixed with real action has helped keep it seeming different and fresh, even though it's now over 20 years old. There just aren't many films or programmes which have made use of this technique so well. At the other end of the scale, a lot of it feels like a theatre production. There are people in animal suits for example - no attempt to try to make them look anything other than what they are, and it works really well.
The other great thing is that John Masefield's story has been left intact. True, there is more happening in the book than occurs on screen, but omissions are purely practical (the budget was big, but not unlimited) and the story doesn't suffer, and all characters are intact.
Set in the 1930s at the start of the school Christmas holidays for young Kay Harker, returning from boarding school, it captures a rare innocence and spirit of adventure. The time-set and social placing of the characters makes it doubly interesting. Foreign viewers probably think England still is like this: the wealthy parents gone away skiing, the charming governess and humble driver, the avuncular village constable and the snow covered rolling hills. It's the sense of an idealised pre-WWII world which gives the whole thing it's viability. If it had been set in the 1980s (when it was made) I don't think it would have worn so well, but placing it during the era that the book was written is a masterstroke.
The other really smart move they made was to cast superb actors in the adult roles. Patrick Troughton is brilliant as the aged, magical showman. He exudes mystery and wonder - anyone who thinks he was good in Doctor Who really should check this out. And also Robert Stephens as the diabolical Abner Brown, chomping his way magnificently through every scene he is in. The story is dotted with great character actors: the magic-trick obsessed PC, the enigmatic Hotel Landlady ,and I still maintain that the Herne the Hunter appearing here deserves his own series...
You could almost get lost in some side-street story of these peripheral characters alone. In a way, there is a sense of a very early Harry-Potter type world and adventures going on. And the language! You could ponder for weeks on phrases like `the purple pym' or `my ruby, my graven image' the words just drip from the tongue...
Devin Stanfield as young Kay Harker is just the right balance of upper-class `Gosh and Golly' and daring-do adventure. It is strange then, as the chunky-length interviews with him and director Renny Rye show, he didn't want to pursue acting and this was the last role he took on.
It's a tribute to such whimsical story telling that the very end, which should by all reasonable standards make you groan out loud, actually enhances the whole thing! It almost drags you back the beginning, like some sort of Escher painting.
It has always been a mystery to me why the BBC only really showed this series twice. I remember clearly the first run of 6 half-hour shows, finishing on Christmas Eve. Then they showed it again slightly trimmed down a couple of years later - infact I think I'm right in saying that the US version was heavily edited down to around 90mins! Well, here's your chance to enjoy the full experience.
The DVD is lovingly done: a solid interview with grown-up Kay (AKA Devin Stanfield) and director Renny Rye. A commentary track would have been wonderful, but perhaps too much to hope for. There are some other features/mini documentaries, but the 3-ish hour `film' (for that is really what it amounts to) is the main event. Picture quality is very good, and the lovely music rings out clearly.
Like other reviewers, the watching of this has become and annual event for me. I'm all grown up, but don't intend to stop watching it at Christmas anytime soon.
For some reason it seems as though the copies of this DVD are running out! It was only released a few years ago but as of winter 2008 Amazon don't seem to have any in stock and the only option is to buy second-hand. So act quickly, and get your own copy to bring out once a year and watch: it's becoming a generational thing. I'm planning on saving my DVD for my future grandchildren!!
magical memories October 21, 2008
The Box of delights is a firm favourite of mine at Christmas, when the log fire is lit and the lights are twinkling on the true. I vividly remember it's first showing on BBC when I was 12 and when it was repeated - I would race home to watch it. Although, compared to modern standards, the animations are dated - the haunting music and surreal storyline still holds you captive. A definite must at Christmas!
Lives up to its title December 6, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
We watched this, spellbound, with our son when it was first screened in 1985. It is still our family's Christmas favourite.
A wonderful performance by Patrick Troughton, with an excellent supporting cast.
The special effects are not up to modern standards, but - as effects should - they enhance the presentation, rather than drowning you in technology as so many modern productions do.
If you are willing to watch an old-fashioned story with no CGI, do yourselves a favour and buy this for Christmas.
But take care - the wolves are running ...
PS if you want to hear more of the theme tune, you can find it on the Naxos recording of Victor Hely-Hutchinson's "Carol Symphony".
THE BOX OF DELIGHTS November 27, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I FIRST SAW THIS SERIES IN 1984 WHEN I WATCHED IT WITH MY 9YR OLD SON. IT WAS BRILLIANT. WE COULDN'T WAIT FOR EACH EPISODE TO BE SCREENED. WHEN I SAW THAT IT WAS OUT ON DVD, I JUST HAD TO BUY IT. I WASN'T DISSAPOINTED, IT IS STILL AS GOOD AS I REMEMBERED IT. I NOW HAVE A YOUNG DAUGHTER AND SHE LOVES IT AS WELL. THIS SERIES HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. OUTSTANDING. SOMETHING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO WATCH AND ENJOY, ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS TIME. A REAL FAMILY FILM.
Classic Children's TV ! November 21, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
It can be a dissapointment to watch a programme you remember with great pleasure as our tastes change as we grow older.
But this series mixes Masefield's story with some great acting and the direction is superb. Arguably, this is one the best TV adaptions of a classic novel. Okay,the story has been adapted to the constraints of pre-CGI special effects and the acting of the extras "acting" as the cathedral choir is dire. (To be fair even De Niro and Pacino could struggle to suspend our disbelief when the ropey CSO finale has the choir standing on fresh air!) But given the constraints of a tv budget this is superb. Admittedly it can look dated compared to Jacson's LOTR trilogy or the latest adaption of the "Lion , the witch and the Wardrobe" but it oozes wonder, imagination and joy. Whether a 6 year old will enjoy it as much as this nostalgic 36 year old is a moot point but my 2 toddler sons love it as well! Best watched in the run up to Christmas Eve episode by episode. Trust me, your TV can be a "Box of Delights" by playing this dvd.
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