It’s 1952, and Oxford theologian/author C.S. “Jack” Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) has received correspondence from an American poet named Joy Gresham (Debra Winger), who’s visiting London and would like to meet him. His older brother/housemate Warnie (Edward Hardwicke) is a bit worried that the woman may be a bit odd, and tags along for the the tea, just in case. While Joy is a bit rough and a no-nonsense atheist who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, Jack appreciates the way she challenges him intellectually, unlike his snooty learned coworkers, who are primarily just yes men, who insult one another behind their backs. He enjoys their meeting, and welcomes Joy to return with her son Douglas (Joseph Mazzello), who’s a big fan of his Chronicles of Narnia books. Joy is a married woman, but things with her husband are evidentially on rocky ground and nearing an end. And so, the meetings between Joy and Jack start to become more frequent. While at first Jack is more intellectually attracted to Joy, it’s not until the prospect of losing her comes up that he realizes just how much he loves her. Jack also quickly grows fond of Joy’s wide-eyed son as well—Jack may write children’s books, but he’s never had a child of his own.

Shadowlands follows the true story of the somewhat unorthodox courtship and relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham, and how each changed the life of the other for the better. It is adapted from William Nicholson’s stage play, which itself was an adaptation of a 1985 BBC TV movie of the same name. The film has a great main cast, with strong performances by Hopkins, Winger and Mazello (who must have caught the eye of director Richard Attenborough while working with him on Jurassic Park). The film is also beautifully scored and shot, mixing wide shots of the lush countryside, the university, chorus and formal gatherings with more intimate shots of Jack and Joy. I found the unusual way these two met and fell in love to be very interesting. There is also this nice parallel between Lewis’s lectures on love and loss, and how these change once he embarks on his relationship with Joy.

While I did enjoy the film overall, finding it interesting and heartwarming, I don’t think it’s one that I will revisit much. I found the movie to be a bit slow at times, and needlessly long at well over 2 hours. Before even getting to the relationship with Joy, the film spends a lot of time at the school, where Lewis is interacting with his judging co-workers and eager students. There is this secondary storyline about one of his students, Peter Whistler (James Frain), who doesn’t really want to be at the school or in his lectures. This whole storyline could have easily been cut out without really affecting the rest of the movie.

Universal had previously released Shadowlands on an expensive barebones MOD Blu-ray a few years ago, but Mill Creek’s new Retro VHS releases comes at a more affordable price. The video presentation is pleasant for the most part, with a generally clean and detailed picture. Though there were a few moments where white flecks appear on the screen, or the picture flickers between light and dark. Even though the stereo audio track isn’t as immersive as a more modern option, it still provides clear dialogue throughout, and a more-than-satisfying presentation during crowded scenes and choral performances at the university, as well as a solid presentation of the film’s score.

The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase, with a Retro VHS slipcover that makes the release look like a classic VHS rental tape. The details on these slipcovers are really fun, and the design even extends to the spine as well, allowing these discs to displayed like a collection of VHS tapes on your shelf. There is no digital copy included. Mill Creek’s disc includes a brand new interview with composer George Fenton, but unfortunately, the behind-the-scenes featurette and cast/crew interviews that were included on HBO’s 1999 DVD release have not been carried over to this Blu-ray.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:11:39)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:11
• Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• The Garden Valley: Scoring Shadowlands (18:26)
  New to this release, composer George Fenton talks about his long collaboration working with director Richard Attenborough, getting involved with Shadowlands early on in the process, writing the song for the choir at Magdalen College, finding the right tone and theme for the score, utilizing traditional English music, defining motifs for the characters, and more. Fenton doesn’t appear on-camera, just his voice over clips from the film.

Final Thoughts:

Shadowlands is a well acted, shot and scored film about the interesting but tragic late-in-life love of C.S. Lewis. The film features an excellent cast and looks beautiful, but was a little too slow/long for my personal taste. That said, I don’t think it’s a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. Mill Creek’s new Blu-ray release features somewhat solid picture and sound, at a more affordable price than the barebones Blu-ray released a couple years ago by Universal. While it also doesn’t carry over the bonus material from the previous DVD release, it does contain an interesting new interview with the film’s composer. The film is definitely worth a look for those unfamiliar with this part of C.S. Lewis’ life.

Explore all of these titles on Amazon.com

SHADOWLANDS RETRO VHS BD

Now retrieving the rating.

22% Off $15.99 $2.99 (as of December 29, 2024 15:36 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)