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The Neverending Story Blu-ray Disc Review

THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984, Blu-ray released March 2, 2010 – MSRP $28.99)

The Neverending Story Blu-ray DiscIt had been a good twenty years or so since I’d seen The Neverending Story. Most of the film had faded from my memory by the time I popped the new Blu-ray edition of the film into my PS3 but boy, did it all come rushing back to me with every dated special effect and chime of a cheesy 80s synth.

I remember liking Wolfgang Petersen‘s The Neverending Story well enough when I was young. But it was never one of my favourite films. And I think I might have gotten it right, at that young age. For as much imagination and wonder Petersen throws at the screen, the film just never inspires much in me beyond melancholy for my youth. It follows a young boy named Bastian, lost in the clouds, always dreaming, doing whatever he can to escape the pain of losing his mother. He steals a magical book called The Neverending Story and quickly realizes that the world of Fantasia within its pages is intrinsically linked to his imagination! It’s a good setup and a tight narrative with special effects that look pretty decent, considering the era in which they were created. I hate to say it but I think the film loses me a little in the production design. It is fanciful but just misses the right tone for me. When I was young, I recall hating the way the Luck Dragon looked. And my feelings haven’t changed to this day. The signature image of the film is the dragon in flight, with the hero on its back. Sadly, it still looks like a big, fluffy white dog, slithering like a weasel through the sky. Yuck!

As much as I might not care for the design of the film, it ends up looking like a million bucks on Blu-ray! Warner Home Video has another winner on its hands in The Neverending Story. I mean, it’s not perfect but considering the films age and the fact that it hasn’t been put through the “restoration” ringer yet, the few specks and smudges present certainly don’t offend. Colours are rich, detail is far beyond what you’ve seen on the previous DVD editions of the film and blacks are wonderfully deep. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is also a notable improvement over previous editions, debuting a healthy upgrade remix to 5.1 channels.

There are, sadly, no special features on the disc. Not even a trailer. Nothing. At all. What a shame. Especially since director Wolfgang Petersen has spoken out about not being contacted to participate in the production of The Neverending Story Blu-ray despite his clear interest in it. Hopefully, he’s pleased with the work Warner has done with the presentation of the film (which is rather nice, and film accurate as I remember it) and encourages them to revisit it with his assistance in the near future.

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