Blair Loveday
I’ll bet many of us Gen X’s remember the iconic kids movie The NeverEnding Story.
Well if you are one of them then you may be as delighted to know that not only is there a 4K remaster of the movie, and a Anniversary edition too.
If you haven’t seen this gem yet, The NeverEnding Story is something glorious.
It tells the story of a young man Bastion who has lost his mum. He is struggling in school and his Dad isn’t sure how to help him out. On his way to school he gets chased by some bullies and eventually ducks into a bookstore. The grumpy owner tells him to leave until Bastion mentions the books he has actually read. The bookstore owner warns Bastion about the book he is reading implying you will wind up connected to the world. So naturally, Bastion pinches the book.
Bastion takes this home and starts reading about a world where the Queen is dying.
A young hero called Atreyu goes off on an adventure to the edge of the world to get what is needed to save the Queen. As the story progresses Bastion goes through the emotions that Atreyu does, before discovering that the world can be impacted by him. He has to deal with the consequences of his impact on the world as the story carries on.
It’s a bananas story when you think about it, but it’s just so damn good. Atreyu’s journey takes him to meet the iconic doglike dragon Falcor, a bunch of other magical creatures, and discovers the true hero he is. And as such, Bastion goes through a similar journey.
Now of course, the movie is 40 years old, and it does show a little.
The movie is a little slower than you would expect these days, but nowhere near as bad as some movies from the 80’s. The other thing is that my children noticed it was a little, to quote them “blurry”. When I was watching it on 4K though I will say that it looked bloody brilliant for its age. So much better than I could have expected and much better than it looks on standard Bluray. And the other thing of course is with minimal computer effects and heaps of falwless puppetry, the aesthetic holds up so damn well 40 years later.
Speaking of Bluray, this collection gives you so many options.
Across the 5 discs you have the original US cut on 4k or Bluray, the German extended cut in 4K, and the 2024 documentary Life after the Neverending Story. Slotted along side these are some other special features meaning this collection is bustling with awesomeness to enjoy.
But that’s just the discs. This collection is housed inside a large replica of the book from the movie, with metal details on the front, and a well printed box that kept tricking my eyes into thinking it was actual pages. Inside it comes with a folded version of the original movie poster, glossy reprints of lobby cards and an A4 reproduction of the Press Kit from 1984. This includes printed versions of biographies, info about the movie, and other stuff they sent out to press. It’s insanely cool and fun to open up and poke through every time.
The NeverEnding Story doesn’t just hold up, it’s still a fantastic movie that has stood the test of time. With this collection, from the content on the discs, the beautiful 4K remastering, and the added extras in the beautiful box, it’s a cracking way to add these incredible movies to your collection!
