Thirty years have gone by....

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2005)

I received this DVD for Christmas 2004. Nearly thirty years have gone by since I saw it in a theater. This film is even more beautiful than I remembered it being. You can pause the DVD at almost any point in the story and have a picture that could be framed and hung on your wall. Just don't watch it if you are in a hurry. There is nothing (NOTHING) about this story which would captivate the Sesame Street generation, who are used to quick cuts, action, and rapid mood changes to keep them alert. This film takes three hours, longer if you take advantage of the much needed intermission. It is slow paced, slow acted, slow and deliberate in its frequent slow Zoom-outs, detaching us from the action (such as it is) rather than drawing us in. Still, this is one of the most beautifully filmed stories ever made. I give it a ten, overlooking its obvious drawbacks for a modern viewer.