Sep 29, 2012
Both Soulless Minions join in on the 1984 fantasy adventure film The NeverEnding Story.
The movie was adapted by the book of the same name written by Michael Ende and directed by Wolfgang Peterson. Through some research we found that Michael Ende wound up so unsatisfied with the adaptation that he had his name removed from the credits. Surprising but true. Nevertheless, we believe it to be a pretty good adaptation that has held up quite well over the years.
Most of our commentary focuses on story analysis, book to film comparsions, Michael Ende's feelings regarding the film and overall impressions of the fantasy genre.
Sync Point - The black frame immediately after the Warner Bros. logo has faded to black.
For two guys who have never read the book, you guys are pretty certain in your (inaccurate) understanding of the book in book vs. movie comparisons and the reasoning behind Ende's disapproval. He wasn't upset that that the movie wasn't a literal translation of his book, he was upset that it didn't convey the eastern philosophy that he incorporated. He was also upset that certain depictions were far off (absurdly large breasts on the sphinxes, the Ivory Tower looking like a TV antenna). But mainly that all the philosophy and darker and deeper themes were stripped from the movie.