The Colour of Magic

Introduction

Terry Pratchett has recently been in the news because he announced that he has early-onset Alzheimer's, yet is still working and spent months involved in the production of The Colour of Magic, an adaptation of his first two Discworld novels.

A send-up of all the Sword & Sorcery books he read as a boy, the Discworld stories revolve around Rincewind, the worst wizard in Ankh-Morpork. The Colour of Magic starts with Rincewind being expelled from the Unseen University for failing to reach even the first level of wizardry in 40 years of study. Meanwhile, Twoflower becomes the Discworld's first tourist, by travelling to Ankh-Morpork, with Rincewind coerced into becoming his tour guide.

Twoflower is eager to see everything dangerous and exciting and Rincewind has to keep him alive to save his own skin, whilst Trymon is murdering his way up the ranks at the Unseen University to become Arch Chancellor.

Following the success of the BAFTA-winning Hogfather, this was broadcast over two nights on Sky One and The Colour of Magic is now released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

Video

Recorded on high-definition and presented on Blu-ray, this is an excellent picture, as it should be, but some of the green-screen work is, frankly, appalling and about as convincing as rear-projection from the 1970s. Saying that, some of the CGI is very good, particularly the dragons and Luggage.

The costumes, though I can't remember how Pratchett describes them in the books, are fine, with great attention to detail, all of which Blu-ray shows, though the Orang-utan Librarian is disappointing.

*The pictures contained in this review are from the DVD and do not reflect the image quality of the Blu-ray Disc.*

Audio

The only soundtrack is the same DTS as on the DVD, which is superb, with crisp dialogue and excellent use of the surrounds, though it's a pity there wasn't an HD audio option.

Extra Features

There is an introduction by Terry Pratchett in which he talks about the books, the film and other matters.

There is a picture-in-picture video commentary in the bottom corner, but this merely consists of interview footage found elsewhere on the disc and most of the time the box simply says 'Back soon'.

The 3-part making of, which can be viewed in single instalments, or as one with the Play All function, clocks in at 45 minutes and is a comprehensive look at the entire production process.

The Discworld Tour Guide has eight sections which run for about 45 minutes and contain some interesting facts about the Discworld.

There are interviews with Terry Pratchett, David Jason and Sean Astin, which are quite revealing and funny - especially Astin's revelation that he didn't know of Jason's work and bought DVDs of everything he'd ever done!

The seven Deleted Scenes were rightfully omitted, though "I Wouldn't Miss It For The World" is the best of them and would have fit into the episode. The most interesting aspect is that some of them show the extent of the CGI work, with big green curtains around the place.

The Blooper Reel is what you would expect and not long enough to get annoying.

The Image Gallery contains three parts and is always one of the least exciting features available on any disc.

Conclusion

Terry Pratchett is the first to admit that The Colour of Magic is more a collection of funny occurrences than a story with a coherent plot, so he agreed it was a good idea to combine it with the next Discworld book, The Light Fantastic. This does mean that scenes get lost and some people will inevitably be disappointed, but as it has the Pratchett seal of approval, that's good enough for me.

Although it works, I'm a little unsure about the casting - everyone will have their own idea of what Rincewind and Twoflower look like and, whilst it's been a long time since I read the books, I imagined the wizard to be taller than David Jason, however Sean Astin is fine as Twoflower and Christopher Lee is a great choice as the voice of Death! Tim Curry is suitably slimy as the scheming Trymon, Jeremy Irons is wonderful as the Patrician, albeit a small role, and Brian Cox narrates superbly.

Bringing Terry Pratchett's work to the screen was always going to be tricky, as it's so personal and well-loved by millions of people who imagine Ankh-Morpork and its residents differently, but Vadim Jean just about pulls it off. Working with Pratchett, he has adapted the source material well to create an enjoyable two-part made-for-TV film, accessible for fans and non-fans alike. If you saw it on Sky and liked it, then this is one to pick up, but if, like me, you don't have access to Sky One, this is well worth a watch.