C. S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia (DVD)
When Hallmark Channel debuted C. S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia in December of last year, I found that writer/director Norman Stone had splendidly offered us an honest reflection of the man behind not only the Chronicles, but myriad works of wisdom, insight, and creativity. Yet after watching the DVD version of the docudrama, I must confess I am once again overwhelmed.The DVD release is strikingly different (and better, in my opinion) from the television premiere in one major way: there are no “talking heads,� as Stone put it in an interview with Greg Wright, Senior Editor for HollywoodJesus.com. Without the (nonetheless informative) interruptions by scholars and family members, the hour-long program is able to more fully compose a fluid, profoundly moving picture of C. S. Lewis the man. The time gained by dropping the cursory, disjointed, and somewhat disorienting breaks (which felt like moving from the theatre to the talk show and back again in three sudden segueways) is well spent in further developing and exploring the life and writings of the great apologist and author.
Granted, I was significantly moved by the original showing of the docudrama, talking heads and all; but having seen a more cohesive version with even more of Anton Rodgers, I must say that the DVD brings to full fruition Stone’s vision for a living portrait of C. S. Lewis.Read Jenn's original review of Beyond Narnia.
2 Comments:
What in the world are "talking heads?" There is not one mention of the term "talking heads" in the interview. I know, because I used Firefox to do a word find, so that I could define it.
Dear Luminous,
The published portion of the interview was not an all-inclusive transcription of the entire conversation. The "talking heads" Stone referred to (in the unpublished portion of the interview) were the scholars and Douglas Gresham--simply the straight documentary interludes peppering the dramatic sections.
Sorry for the confusion.
Jenn
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