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 enlarge | Actors: Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Claire Danes
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $4.49
You Save: $15.50 (78%)
New (40) from $8.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  290 reviews
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 127
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: PARD347564D
UPC: 097363475644
EAN: 0097363475644
Theatrical Release Date: August 10, 2007
Release Date: December 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: few light scratches/tested
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| Customer Reviews:
 A new classic for the ages August 24, 2007
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
The story begins in the 19th-century village of Wall. But Wall isn't your average country village -- it guards a low, stony wall between mundane England and the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. No one crosses the wall -- except for young Drustan Thorn, whose curiosity led him to an otherworldly market and a single night of passion with a captive gypsy -- or princess -- and nine months later he was given a son, Tristan, who was left for him by the wall.
Flash forward 18 years, and Tristan (Charlie Cox) hopes to win the heart of his beautiful but shallow love, Victoria (Sienna Miller), by recovering a star that fell somewhere beyond the wall. So Tristan sets forth on his own journey in Stormhold. Meanwhile in that magical land, the dying king (Peter O'Toole) has set his four surviving sons on a quest for the crown. And the witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) is seeking the heart of the star for an entirely different purpose, one that probably will not turn out well for anyone else involved in the story.
Despite initial trepidations over seeing a favorite Neil Gaiman story converted to film, "Stardust" is all I could hope for. The settings and scenery are lush and beautiful. The effects are seamless and spectacular. The score by Ilan Eshkeri is dramatic. Narration by Ian McKellen is compelling. And the casting is exceptional, from Robert De Niro as the delightful sky pirate Captain Shakespeare to Pfeiffer as the sumptuously evil witch. Claire Danes is absolutely radiant as Yvaine, who in one way or another holds the resolution of every quest. Poised, beautiful and sporting a great English country accent, Danes glows even without the benefit of special effects. And Tristan Thorn is a classic everyman hero, a simple young man who grows and flourishes on his journey; Cox captures the role perfectly. A relative newcomer to the screen, he's without question an actor to watch.
Gaiman is a brilliant writer, a man with an imagination like no other. Fortunately, director Matthew Vaughn bucked the Hollywood trend by respecting the source material, creating a splendid film, one that will surely become a classic for generations to come.
by Tom Knapp, Rambles.N E T editor
Fantastic! August 11, 2007
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
I don't even know where to begin. I thought the movie was fantastic. I love the book, and am usually sorely disappointed by film adaptions. I had a feeling this one might be different so I was very excited to go see it.
For the book lovers, it does have some changes. Most of the time changes make me crazy, but oddly enough it didn't bother me too much. They kept the majority of the story intact.
The score was awesome, the scenery was unbelievable. The movie was funny, endearing and thrilling. I thought all the acting was good, and though they changed Robert DeNiro's character and embellished it for the film, he was hysterical. Claire Danes is very believable as a fallen star, and though Charlie Cox is fairly new and not yet a recognizable actor, I think he brought an innocence and freshness to the lead role of Tristan. Michelle Pfeiffer is such a fun witch! Enchanting when she's 'young' and scary as she begins to age again.
I would recommend this movie(and book!) to just about anyone.
 Good Movie but Frustrating Recording December 20, 2007
15 out of 26 found this review helpful
The short of it: Be prepared for frustration with image quality and audio issues if you do not have a new high end player and a surround sound system.
I loved the movie; we saw it twice in the theater. I eagerly anticipated the release of the DVD and planned to give several copies as gifts. On 18 December I bought two copies. On 19 December I played the DVD. The enchantment evaporated. The recording's problems appeared on both purchased copies.
First I had problems with the image. As scenes cut from one to the next the image became heavily pixilated. At times the screen went blank. At times control reverted to the DVD player as if the disc were absent. Thinking that I may have purchased a randomly bad disc I opened the second DVD (originally intended as a gift). It had EXACTLY the same problems.
Being I had watched two discs of "Lord of the Rings" two days earlier the player itself did not seem to be the problem. Still, I connected another player and tried again. Exactly the same issues appeared. Finally, a third DVD player successfully played the discs.
Conclusion 1: The video is very tetchy. Only my newest player worked satisfactorily. Being other recently acquired movie discs continue to work successfully in all three players I must conclude that the recording needs help (perhaps some copy protection scheme run amok?).
So finally the movie was running. I quickly discovered that the audio is unsatisfactory. The decibel level was all over the map. On minute I was turning the volume up to hear a nearly inaudible conversation, and the next I was turning it down as the noises of music and effects blasted the room. Conversations were frequently unintelligible because of what should have been background sound (and no amount of volume up/volume down can compensate for that problem). I searched the menu for sound options, but I could not locate an appropriate solution.
Conclusion 2: "Surround sound" is nice in a theater but at least for this recording it really does not work well coming from a single speaker on a TV set.
Recommendation: If you don't have above an average video and audio system and are unwilling to invest in one just to watch this movie then don't bother buying this recording.
Perhaps "They" will fix these shortcomings in the future. I hope so. Until then I'm looking for a gift that won't embarrass me when I give it to friends.
Tristan goes into the magical land of Stormhold in search of a fallen star August 15, 2007
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
Once upon a time there was a young man named Dunstan Thorn who lived in the English town of Wall. The name came from the wall that separates the town from what to Dustan's young eyes appears to be a field, but what is revealed to be the magical land of Stormhold when the young man ventures through the guarded hole in the wall. There he meets a princess, held in slavery to a witch. Dustan returns home and nine months later a baby boy is delivered to his doorstep. Named Tristan (Charlie Cox), eighteen years later it is his turn to go through the hole in the wall to bring back a fallen star to win the heart of Victoria (Sienna Miller), the girl he loves. What Tristan does not know when he begins his quest is that the fallen star in a young woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) and that the quest is complicated by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), one of a trio of witches who want to cut out the heart of the fallen star as a source of power, and the remaining princes of the late king of Stormhold (Peter O'Toole), who seek the necklace Yvaine wears to secure their claim to the throne.
"Stardust" is adapted from the illustrated novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, which is prefaced with John Donne's "A Song," the opening line of which is "Goe, and catche a falling starre." Gaiman amd Vess are best known for their work on the Sandman comic book. But this 2007 movie is of a different suit, and the book's subtitle, "Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie," really does aptly describe the nature of the tale. I have heard several comparisons of "Stardust" to "The Princess Bride," and while I understand the impulse the analog only hurts this film. Written by William Goldman, "The Princess Bride" is one of the most quoted movies of all time, up there on the highest plateau with "Casablanca," "The Godfather," and "The Wizard of Oz)." "Stardust" might have some strong parallels in terms of plot, but it is pretty much devoid of memorable one-liners. The villains might be a tad more interesting than the heroes,
In the end I round up on "Stardust" for several reasons. First, there are the performances by Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro, both of whom evince some of the smoothest scene stealing you have seen in some time. Once you see this movie you will understand why people are raving but talking cryptically about De Niro in this film (and why people are thinking Oscar nomination for supporting actor). There is also much talk about how Pfeiffer is willing to look like a hag, but since she is playing a hag and it was clear years ago that Pfeiffer was a serious actress, it seems rather insulting to compliment her on doing the job right. Second, the story clearly sets up an inevitable duel between Tristan and his nemesis back in Wall, but after the obvious set up we get something quite unconventional when the big swordplay moment in the film arrives. Finally, I was happy that I anticipated what would achieve the requistie happy ending in the final big battle, which was not totally predictable but certainly well set up by what happens before hand.
Actually there were lots of small things that I liked in this film, from Ian McKellan's narration and David Kelly's guard of the hole in the wall to the fact that not all of the slaughtered princes go down without a fight and that there were several moments that made me laugh out loud in a theater with only a couple dozen people in attendance. Add all of these things up and "Stardust" is not a great film, but it is certainly very good. This year will provide us with what might be the biggest onslaught of fantasy films to date in movie history, from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" to "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass," and when all is said and done "Stardust" might be one of the best of the bunch. Hopefully word of mouth will sustain this film and it can build on the relatively paltry $9.17 million it made its first week.
 CATCH A FALLING STAR... October 17, 2007
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
I recently saw this small gem of a movie and was completely enchanted. It is a story that will entertain your children and grandchildren while keeping you completely captivated. Based on a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman it tells the story of a young man who crosses into the realm of a magical land (as had his father before him) to retreive a fallen star and bring it back to the woman of his dreams. Upon finding the star (Clare Danes) he attempts to return home with his prize. And so the adventure begins.......... as they are pursued by an evil witch (played with relish and devilish glee by Michelle Pfeiffer), and are befriended by a flamboyent lightening bolt chasing pirate (Robert DeNiro) who could easily fill in for one of the "Fab Five" on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
In addition, this film is filled to the brim with wonderful cameo performances by Peter O'Toole (as the King), Rupert Everett (as one of the Kings evil sons), Sienna Miller (as the spoiled girlfriend), and Ricky Gervais (as Freddy the Fence). Although reminiscent in some ways of The Princess Bride, this movie possesses more humor and charm as well as visually stunning special effects and an impressive use of make-up and prosthetic devices.
Stardust emerges as a welcome and refreshing change from the the plethora of sequels and animated films that have been clogging the big screen recently. For a pleasant two hour romp through a fun filled fantasy world, put Stardust on your list of must see movies.
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