The Color of Magic (TV 2008)
"The Colour of Magic" (original title)

As Rincewind involuntarily becomes a guide to the naive tourist Twoflower, they find themselves forced to flee the city of Ankh-Morpork to escape a terrible fire, and begin on a journey ... See full summary »

Director:

Vadim Jean

Writers:

Vadim Jean, Terry Pratchett (novels)

Stars:

David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Jason	...	Rincewind
Sean Astin	...	Twoflower
Tim Curry	...	Trymon
Jeremy Irons	...	Patrician
Brian Cox	...	Narrator (voice)
James Cosmo	...	Galder Weatherwax
Christopher Lee	...	Death (voice)
Janet Suzman	...	Ninereeds
David Bradley	...	Cohen the Barbarian
Nigel Planer	...	Arch Astronomer
Stephen Marcus	...	Broadman
Laura Haddock	...	Bethan
Liz May Brice	...	Herrena
Karen David	...	Liessa
Geoffrey Hutchings	...	Picture Imp

Storyline

As Rincewind involuntarily becomes a guide to the naive tourist Twoflower, they find themselves forced to flee the city of Ankh-Morpork to escape a terrible fire, and begin on a journey across the Disc. Unknown to them, their journey & fate is being decided by the Gods playing a board game the whole time.

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Plot Keywords:

guide | tourist | selfishness | coward | treasure | 

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Taglines:

It's a pigment of your imagination

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Sky One

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Color of Magic

Filming Locations:

Anglesey, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

RHI Entertainment, Mob Film Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

191 min

Color:

Color (High Definition) Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ship that brings Twoflower to Anhk-Morpork and takes him home is flying the flag of the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

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Goofs

When Rincewind and Twoflower are tied back-to-back, Rincewind says that "if complete and utter chaos was lightning, then you [Twoflower] would be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armor shouting 'All gods are idiots'."; you can tell by the way his mouth moves, however, that he actually says 'All gods are bastards', which is consistent with how it is worded in the novel.

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Quotes

Death: Your lifetime is up, Rincewind. I can't hang around all day.
Rincewind: I can. What have you done with the tourist?
Death: Nothing. He was lured by the attraction of the Wyrmberg.
Rincewind: So at least the Patrician won't be sending out his men to kill me just yet then?
Death: There is a distinct possibility that he may not need to.
Rincewind: What are you grinning at?
Death: Oh, I'm sorry. I can't help it. Now, would you be so kind as to let go? It won't hurt.
Rincewind: Being torn to pieces by wolves won't hurt?
Death: It would be over very quickly. And of ...

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Crazy Credits

Mucked about by Terry Pratchett

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Connections

Spoofs Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

User Reviews

Perhaps not the best books to adapt

Vadim Jean's second adaptation of Terry Pratchett's longrunning Discworld series of comedic fantasy novels cannot compare to the first, though it is not really his fault. The series adapts Pratchtt's first two novels, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, which together form a loose single narrative. Set on a typical fantasy realm, replete with trolls, dwarfs and demons, they are, effectively, a parody of the hero's quest, in that the hero, an untalented "wizzard" named Rincewind, has no intention either of being heroic or of going on a quest but ends up fighting monsters, riding dragons and trying to save the world anyway. He is assisted by his "sidekick" Twoflower, who seems only dimply aware that he isn't on a packaged holiday. And that, without mentioning specifics, is the entire plot. Along the way, several fantasy (or perhaps D&D) conventions, such as talking swords, scantily-clad, Heavy Metal-style warrior women, and raging loin-clothed barbarians, are duly referenced and lambasted.

After the relative success of Hogfather in 2006, Vadim Jean decided to take the series in a surprising direction: backwards. Correctly in my view, he chose perhaps the archetypal novel in Pratchett's canon to adapt first. Hogfather was Pratchett at his absolute height, mixing adventure with philosophical commentary and existential humour, the most mature expression of such Discworldly themes of imagination vs. reality, the power of myth vs rationality, and the dichotomy of "the falling angel and the rising ape". "The Colour of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic" were written 25 years ago, when Pratchett was still finding his feet as a writer. As such, they lack some of the sophistication one comes to expect from the series. The books' humour, which would eventually become character and situation-driven, here operates on the level of broad parody, lampooning the absurdities of many fantasy and fairy tale conventions. The characterisation, which would become far more complex in later novels, is as broad as a wall, with Twofower the naive Asian tourist and Rincewind the cowardly non-hero. In a move that was either very wise or bewilderingly silly, Jean decided to cast Sean Astin as Twoflower, even though in the books he is East Asian in appearance. Perhaps this was done to lessen the racial stereotype, but if so, that doesn't reflect well on the source material. His decision to cast the elderly David Jason as Rincewind, who in the books is a youngish man with a scraggly attempt at a beard, is less explicable, other than Jean was simply grateful that Jason wanted to do another series with him.

But if the plot is slight, the actors certainly give it their all. Astin plays Twoflower with just the right kind of naivete, while Jason, though miscast, creates a Rincewind that is suitably cynical and craven. For Pratchett fans, a number of pleasing retcons have been incorporated: The Librarian becomes an orangutan much earlier; Death is now his fully-evolved, pleasantly bemused self, and the Patrician is unquestionably Vetinari, here played by Jeremy Irons- a nod to Pratchett saying that a good actor for Vetinari would be "that guy from Die Hard", ie Alan Rickman.

In summary, I think Pratchett fans will find pleasure in it, but others should probably stay away.