Search - The Neverending Story on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Child Classic, Excellent For Children Movie Release: 1984 DVD Release: 09/04/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 32 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 22 Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure See Also: The Neverending Story

Wolfgang Petersen adapted Michael Ende's children's story for this charming fantasy film that spawned several sequels. Bastian (Barret Oliver) is dealing with his mother's recent death. His father (Gerald McRaney) is an imperious sort who continually lambastes Bastian for daydreaming and falling behind in school. On top of his father's badgering, he has to contend with a bunch of school bullies waiting for him in the schoolyard. One day he decides to play hooky and walks into a strange bookstore, where in the attic, he discovers a book called "The Neverending Story". As Bastian reads the book, he's enveloped in the unfolding tale. A sickly child-like empress (Tami Stronach) from a land called Fantasia is concerned about who will take over the land if she dies. She decides it is best for Fantasia if she remains alive, so she dispatches a young warrior named Atreju (Noah Hathaway) to find a cure for the empress's malady. It turns out the land is consumed with a plague called The Nothing, generated by blighted dreams and hopeless fantasies. As Atreju continues onward to search for a cure for The Nothing, he encounters an assortment of strange creatures. Bastian is so consumed with the tale that he finds himself catapulted into the land of Fantasia himself. Atreju realizes that the only way to save the land from its blight is with the help of this strange earth boy, Bastian. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Noah Hathaway - Atreyu
Barret Oliver - Bastian
Tami Stronach - Childlike empress
Moses Gunn - Cairon
Patricia Hayes - Urgl

Director Wolfgang Petersen's childhood fantasy tale The Neverending Story comes to life from Warner on DVD. Featuring a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, =The Neverending Story looks very good, with bright colors and dark black levels. Only a small amount of edge enhancement is present, with dirt and grain kept to a minimum. Overall Warner has done a nice job with this transfer, with side B also containing a full-frame version of the film. Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and sounds fair, if a tad bit bland. Directional effects are prevalent, though dialogue, music, and effects are all mixed evenly. A French Dolby 2.0 Surround track is also included on this disc, as well as English captions and English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The title of the movie may be The Neverending Story, but that certainly is not the case with this disc's supplements. Included on this disc are some short production notes, split up into four sections, some information on the cast and crew, plus a theatrical trailer for the film. Fans of this movie will be happy to see it on DVD, but will surely be happier if a better edition is released sometime in the future. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide