Peter Pan [Blu-ray]

Very engaging movie very fun to watch

The mixed reviews for P.J. Hogan's 2003 hit "Peter Pan" leave you wondering if adults should be permitted to give a bad rating to a children's film. The vast majority of the reviews were positive ones, as the reviewers either liked the film themselves, or were convinced that it would be very entertaining viewing for children. The negative reviews came from adult critics who found little "personal" enjoyment and never really bothered about the children factor.I only bring this up because J. M. Barrie's play, while addressing early adolescent angst, was actually intended for adult audiences who presumably would be prompted to retrospectively analyze the angst of their own dim past. Thanks to the toning down of Barrie's basic theme in the Disney and Mary Martin versions, "Peter Pan" became almost exclusively a children's story. Then along came Hogan's version, which fused the thematic emphasis of the original with the children's entertainment emphasis of the others.Meaning that the film hits a home run with three very distinct target audiences. Once thing for sure is that this spectacular adaptation has almost universal appeal to preteen children, they will watch it countless times and you can't go wrong buying or renting it for that age group. And perceptive adolescents struggling with their own growing up process should relate to it. And finally, those adults (particularly males) who have consciously resisted the growing up process their entire lives should connect to this film like few others.But if you don't belong to these three groups you will wonder what all the fuss is about. The answer is that this film uniquely focuses on the maturation process, which most girls embrace about sixth grade and most boys resist until 9th grade (and would resist even longer if girls were not luring them with the most obvious benefit of growing up). Some boys stubbornly hold out like Peter Pan, usually because they do not have a Wendy to pull them forward, and when they finally surrender and move forward into adulthood, they are aware that they are abandoning something precious and will look back with regret on the moment for the rest of their lives.Now with that issue addressed this is "Peter Pan" and virtually everyone knows the story. It is a live action version superior to the stage version if only because it is unburdened by the play's odd cross-dressing tradition and the preschool Disney fusion of bad songs and lame slapstick humor. The production design should blow away all viewers, child and adult, with a dreamy Maxfield Parrish Victorian look and Barrie's treasure-map Neverland. The pacing is fast and Hogan shows a respectful grasp of how an imaginative child would visualize things while reading Barrie's story."Peter Pan" is really Wendy's story and there is no fault to find in Rachel Hurd-Wood's performance, which would be good enough to carry the film but fortunately is not required to do so. Wendy is second only to Wonderland's Alice as the bravest literary heroine of all time and Hogan nicely incorporates the many admirable qualities of her character into the story.Jeremy Sumpter's Peter is far more obnoxious than appealing, but isn't that what you would expect from a boy who refuses to grow old.Ludivine Sagnier's Tinkerbell provides comic relief to go with her homicidal tendencies; only adults want cute, children want pretend-nasty and this Tink is worthy of Barrie's original characterization. The "save Tink" audience chant is nicely incorporated into a full-cast montage.Hook is played with a controlled zest by Jason Isaacs, not quite the self-parody of a Gary Oldham performance but his restraint is exactly what is needed.Adults and children know that "Peter Pan" isn't so much suspension of disbelief as it is an exercise in self-knowing whimsy. You know that the mix of fairies, pirates, Indians and ticking crocodiles are devices designed to obscure the difficult facts of growing older. If you can't go with it then you surrendered something a long time ago that Peter is still stubbornly holding onto.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

PJ Hogan's "Peter Pan" is my favorite rendition of JM Barrie's beloved classic about the charming and wild boy who never grows up. More than any other version preceding it, Hogan puts the struggles of adolescence and the ruminations on childhood front and center in this tory, whereas previous versions merely brushed against these issues in a superficial way. Hogan even allows the attraction between Peter and Wendy to feel a bit more..., well..."heated" as opposed to more platonic. That is not to say this version is crude or inappropriate, but Hogan allows these elements to flow more freely and with dramatic logic. Hogan's version is faithful, but he has made changes here, and I dare say, much needed ones which update this story is the best possible sense, most notably, the ending...instead of Peter returning to Wendy years later and finding out she's an adult and he then starts anew with adventures with her daughter. It instead ends on a much more logical note which is when the lost boys are "adopted" by Wendy's family and Peter still makes the decision, and a devastating one, to remain a boy and he flies away. Instead of this moment feelinglike a triumph, it feels like an escape born out of fear. Which is exactly what it is."Peter Pan", more than most others, is one of the titles I have been anticipating with baited breath on Blu-ray. The film is so visually dazzling and the special effects, sets, costumes, and art direction are so beautiful, it screams hi-def "eye candy." I was not disappointed. From the first shot, a surrealized VFX shot illustrating the snowy rooftops of London, I kept saying "Wow", under my breath. Universal's VC-1 encode is beautiful, framing the picture at 2.40 in 1080p. There is a light veneer of film grain which gives the film a warm, filmic texture. There is some mild use of DNR, however, this can be traced back to the source and you will notice it only in certain VFX shots, so this is director intention. I did not notice any glaring edge enhancement, and ringing, aliasing, noise, debris, etc. never rear their heads. This transfer exceeded my expectations on Blu-ray and fans should be equally pleased.More of a surprise, is the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, which is fabulous...creating an immersive experience that the SD DVDs serviceable, but underwhelming, lossy DD 5.1 simply did not provide. Sound effects are awesome, with lots of rear channel activity complete with great directionality and pans (I had to!), and the whooshes and thumps of the LFE which comprise the action scenes are exciting and reveal much more imaging than I expected. There was a lot of sound information I heard for the first time such as some of the lost boys' wisecracks as they talk over each other, those lines are now present in the ambient surrounds and cross-channel pans. James Newton-Howard's brilliant, magical score comes heart-poundingly to life in all its lossless glory. Dialogue is crisp and well-prioritized with evey syllable being crystal clear. Look at the scene where the entire cast performs the famous "I Do Believe in fairies" scene which needs to balance score, dialogue, sound effects from thunder and lightning, etc....there are a number of complex elements, and it was a muddy mess in SD Dolby, but it now is a tour de force with every element being imaged brilliantly in this lossless encode. It i he only way all this information can be handled. It isnow the exhilarating scene I knew it was.This is a must-have for fans of the film, and certainly hi-def junkies. It is a reference grade disc in my opinion, and it is a no-brainer for an upgrade if you already own it on SD DVD. Highly recommended.

My friend received the DVD as a gift, played it, loved the cast and special effects and even watched the extras.

Molto Bella.

Peter Pan 2003 ist für mich die beste Peter Pan Verfilmung, da sie Barries Werk am nächsten kommt. Einerseits ist die Handlung komplett aus dem Buch übernommen, andererseits beinhaltet der Film neue und erweiterte Szenen, die sich perfekt in die Handlung einfügen. Die Charaktere werden dabei immer sehr gut getroffen. Ebenso fällt die Liebe zum Detail auf, sei es die Erwähnung von Hooks Vergissmeinnicht blauen Augen, dem Haken an der rechten statt linken Hand oder die teilweise Übernahme des Dialogs direkt aus dem Roman.Interessant an dieser Version ist, dass der Film v.a. den Fokus auf Wendy und auf ihre Beziehung zu Peter und Captain Hook legt.Ebenfalls top ausgewählt sind die Schauspieler:Jeremy Sumpters Peter Pan wird zwar positiver und weniger egoistisch als im Buch dargestellt, spielt seine Rolle aber ausgezeichnet. Ihm kauft man den Charakter sofort ab. Rachel Hurd- Wood überzeugt im gleichem Maß als Wendy. Jason Isaacs ( Doppelrolle: Mr. Darling/ Hook) spielt Captain Hook perfekt und ihm gelingt es das richtige Maß zwischen Melancholie und Humor zu finden, ohne dabei Hooks positive Charakterzüge wie seine Tapferkeit, Gerissenheit und Duellierfähigkeiten zu vernachlässigen. Für mich die beste Darstellung von Hook. Wirklich schade, dass nicht der Nachfolger „Peter Pan in Scarlet“ mit dem gleichen Cast verfilmt wurde!Was ebenso zu erwähnen ist, dass der Film anders als die Kinofassung ( laut Schnittberichte) bis auf eine Szene endlich ungekürzt ist. Es fehlt leider wie immer eine kurze Szene, in der Hook im Kampf Peter mit dem Kopf ins Gesicht schlägt. Hier geht es aber nur um wenige Sekunden. Warum ausgerechnet diese kurze Szene nicht im Film zu finden ist, kann ich nicht nachvollziehen.Visuell überzeugt der Film ebenso und stammt noch aus einer Zeit, in der noch nicht alles mit CGI gemacht wurde. Wirklich cool und auch unheimlich animiert ist das Krokodil. Der Zuschauer kann vollkommen nachvollziehen, warum Captain Hook Angst vor diesem hat. Die Kulissen wie die Jolly Roger oder eine verlassene Festung sind gleichfalls stimmig.Die Blue- Ray beinhaltet auch einige sehenswerte Extras, wie Making Of, Interviews und besonders unterhaltsam Peter Pan aus der Sicht von Captain Hook ( oder vielmehr aus der Sicht von Jason Isaacs).Der Ton ( Dolby True HD 5.1. EX Englisch/ Deutsch) ist in der Tat etwas leise und wechselhaft laut/ leise, aber doch wesentlich besser als auf anderen Blue Rays.Insgesamt ein sehr sehenswerter Film für Kinder und Erwachsene.

Haven't had a chance to check the DVD by watching it but there doesn't appear to be any visible physical marks or scratches on the disk and or case.

Il film è un piccolo gioiello uscito nel 2003, per il centenario della creazione del personaggio, che rimescola le carte in tavola mixando il libro originale di J.M. Barrie, il film della Disney e Hook di Spielberg, aggiungendo anche qualche nuova trovata, per dare nuova linfa alla leggenda del bambino che non vuole crescere.Il tutto con uno straordinario cast che include un bravissimo Jeremy Sumpter nella parte di Peter Pan (unico attore statunitense tra i protagonisti), la bravissima Rachel Hurd-Wood nella parte di Wendy (entrambi i giovani attori protagonisti sono quasi spariti dalle scene dopo questo film ed è un peccato), il versatile Jason Isaacs, che interpreta sia il padre di Wendy, John e Michael che il perfido Uncino (e che nella sua carriera annovera anche l'interpretazione di Lucius Malfoy nella saga di Harry Potter), un simpatico ed azzeccato Richard Briers nella parte di Spugna, Olivia Williams in quella di Mrs. Darling e Lynn Redgrave nella parte di un'inedita "zia Millicent", mai apparsa nei libri o nei film precedenti. Ottime anche le musiche e, per l'epoca, alcuni degli effetti speciali.Unica pecca del Blu-ray che ho acquistato dalla Germania: la Extended Version è evidentemente estesa soltanto in Germania (dove il film deve essere uscito al cinema con qualche taglio). Chiunque abbia il Blu-ray edizione italiana sappia che si tratta dello stesso medesimo film e degli stessi contenuti extra! Pertanto lo consiglio solo ai collezionisti.