The Chronicles of Narnia

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre children Starring Richard Dempsey, Jonathan R. Scott, Sophie Cook, Sophie Wilcox, David Thwaites, Samuel West, Jean Marc Perret Directed by Alex Kirby, Marilyn Fox Publisher Home Vision Entertainment External Links HVE

The recent surge of interest in all things "Narnia" is welcome news for those who'd like a few collectables and the chance to talk about the themes of the book series on a wider scale. And those trailers from the upcoming film look absolutely amazing though there's no doubt that fans, even knowing that WETA Digital's steady hand is at the visual controls, are nervously waiting to see exactly what winds up onscreen. But those who need more assurance should be looking into the past not the future. The BBC did a solid adaptation of four "Narnia" books in the late eighties that's being reissued by the good folks at Home Vision with new packaging and a Limited Edition Poster insert.

The BBC has always majored in charming viewers on the cheap. It's an aesthetic that some people get and some don't. But watching these discs it's easy to appreciate how the BBC's unique blend of theatricality, TV studio effects and faithful adaptation has created cult followings around countless series. Dr Who, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Goodies, Blake Seven and Red Dwarf have legions of devoted followers and all used the BBC aesthetic to unique visual ends and atmospheric ends.

But it seems to me that no BBC series then or since has used the aesthetic to better advantage as Narnia. The closest example would be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride adapted from Kenneth Grahame's famous "Wind in the Willows." But here we get the sense of Lewis himself back in the garden with his brother Warnie playing with paper dolls and a stage.

If the script seems a bit talky it's worth noting you will have wanted to read the books ahead of time, but the cast is pitch perfect delivering a sense of wide eyed innocence and serious gravity that remind us exactly where we are when we are in Narnia- a land of life and death, sin and redemption, reality and fantasy. Instead of slavish attention to plot points, we get a refreshing reminder of the qualities that have made "Narnia" a timeless treasure to millions. My five year old and I are on the second book in the series and eagerly awaiting the big budget film adaptation. But rest assured this will find it's way into our families DVD player long before then.

Besides the four features (The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair) you also get Interactive games, a Bookworm excerpt on C.S. Lewis from BBC, a recipe for Turkish Delight and a number of Stills Gallery's.