| | | | Willow
(1988) |
n the Castle of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), a prisoner gives birth to a child who, according to ancient prophecy will put an end to the reign of the Queen.
A midwife saves the child from the wrath of Bavmorda, but is forced to throw her cradle in a river when she is attacked by the Queen's Hounds. The river brings the child Moses-like to a village populated by the Nelwyn, a race of dwarves, near where Willow (Warwick Davis) is working in the fields. His children find the baby, and despite his best efforts his wife and children 'adopt' her.
At the yearly Village Festival, where Willow tries and fails to be apprenticed to the local Wizard, the Hounds attack, and are barely driven off. A town meeting is called, and it is decided that illow, accompanied by some warriors for protection, should take the baby back to her own people.
So begins a perilous journey.
At the main crossroads, where Willow hopes to pass the baby on to a human, Willow meets Madmartigan (Kilmer), a great swordsman, who for some reason that he cares not to explain, has been imprisoned in a cage and left to die. Madmartigan convinces Willow to release him, and together they journey through a war-torn land, evading the Queen's soldiers, evil wizards and corrupted locals, all intent on stopping the pair of adventurers on their quest.
On the way, they meet Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha (Whalley) who ,thanks to some love potion brewed by some Brownies (pixies, not girl-scouts!), becomes the obligatory love interest, and Fin Razeal (Hayes) whose magical powers are needed to defeat Bavmorda.
Following battles with the Queen's army, trolls, some kind of two-headed giant snake-thing, and the forces of darkness, the showdown occurs in Bavmorda's castle...
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I like this movie for several reasons. Firstly, there are some great performances, not least from Warwick Davis, who easily manages to convince the viewer that he's in the movie for more that his size. He's a good actor, and carries off his part with panache.
Kilmer is good as well, by not once taking himself seriously.
The plot is a little predictable, but the ending is fun, and the final success is neatly achieved.
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George Lucas originally intended Willow to be the first of three movies. But, after Willow's disappointing performance at the box-office, the idea was scrapped. Instead, Lucas took the ideas he had for the sequels and made them into books.  -Thanks to Koeago
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After meeting in the movie, Val kilmer and Joanne Whalley married, but later divorced.
In Jamie Foxx's movie "Ray", Warwick plays the hip little host in the night club. -Thanks to Eric
Warwick Davis, who played Willow, also played Wicket the ewok in "Return of the Jedi" and is good friends with George Lucas. He later appeared as the Leprechaun in the "Leprechaun" series of films and more recently as Professer Flitwick in the Harry Potters films. -Thanks to Matthew Meyer &Amp; Karen Tillett
Warwick was also an extra in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace during the pod race scene... he was in the stands. Also, in labyrinth, he was one of six non-puppet goblins during the "dance". -Thanks to Neecie
Willow was one of director Ron Howard's few box-office disappointments. His later films would include such smash hits as "Apollo 13".
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Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Willow or 80's Sci-Fi / Fantasy classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Empire Strikes Back ..... Night of the Comet ..... Aliens ..... Back To The Future ..... Last Starfighter ..... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ..... Circuitry Man ..... Brazil ..... Blade Runner ..... Thing ..... Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ..... Return to Oz ..... Starman ..... Somewhere In Time ..... Strange Invaders ..... Short Circuit .....[More]
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The group of pigs outside the castle continuously tried to mate. Buckets of cold water were used to seperate them!
Warwick Davis, who played Willow, met his wife (Samantha) on that movie. She was an extra, but they didn't meet again or get married until a few years later. -Thanks to Alexis
Although Warwick Davis plays a young father in the movie, he was only seventeen years old at the time. This was also the first movie Warwick was not hiding behind a mask. -Thanks to Brad Jacobsen
Made by George Lucas's film company, Lucasfilm, Willow was his 'fantasy' movie and could have been how Star Wars may have looked had he decided to go more 'fantasy' rather than 'sci-fi' with that as well.
The Devil Dogs were actually Rottweilers in rubber masks and suits.
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|  |  |  | | Willow
Locations |
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Much of the location shooting was filmed in New Zealand, particularly in the Glenorchy area near Queenstown. There are a range of photos in the local pub commemorating this and many of the horsemen are local farmers dragged in to make up the numbers!
More was filmed in Tongariro National Park, now home to Mt. Doom of hobbit fame. [Thanks to Brian -A proud Kiwi]
Large parts of the film were shot around Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, especially the mountain scenes and part of the scene in the deserted castle. [Thanks to Philip Corner]
The castle of Queen Bavmorda was a full size facade built in Llanberis, N. Wales. It was dismantled after the movie. [Thanks to Max Pemberton]
The location of the waterfall were "Willow" and Val Kilmer refresh themselves was set in Ireland, it is the Powerscourt Waterfall. [Thanks to Errico]
Can you help? Do you know any of the filming locations used for Willow? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
| Our
Comments: Special Edition |
| | | | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
| Our
Comments: Special Edition |
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The soundtrack, scored by James Horner is only available on import. Use our search device to locate it. Track Listing:
1. Elora Danan (9:45)
2. Escape from the Tavern (5:04)
3. Willow's Journey Begins (5:26)
4. Canyon of Mazes (7:52)
5. Tir Asleen (10:47)
6. Willow's Theme (3:54) --concert suite
7. Bavmorda's Spell is Cast (18:11)
8. Willow the Sorcerer (11:55)
See links for more details...
The main theme written by James Horner is actually a theme that he borrowed from the Romantic Era composer Robert Schumann. It comes from the 1st movement of Schumann's Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish" -Thanks to Jwwhorn
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Soundtrack Available:
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