Willow Review - Off The Shelf Reviews

This week Gary and Iain review and discuss, Willow (1988) by Director,
Ron Howard. Starring, Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley.
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[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

Warwick Davis told a story about how he first met Val Kilmer on the DVD commentary. Davis was sitting on the plane, wearing knock off Ray Bans, enjoying first class service for the first time. Kilmer walked onto the plane like a rockstar, up to Davis, saw the knock off sunglasses, snatched them off Davis's face and snapped them in half. Before Davis could process what had just happened, Kilmer pulled out a new pair of genuine Ray Bans and gave them to Davis.

[@WooZIE997]

On of the first movies I can remember seeing in my life. Always close to my heart.

[@Darek_B52]

To be fair trenches were dug towards castles in real-life sieges. Both under cover of night and enemy projectiles.

[@avalangrin4904]

I wished they made more sword and sorcery movies like Dragonslayer, Excalibur, Krull, and The Lord of the Rings. I LOVE these types of films. I saw this film in the theater and enjoyed it. My only problem were the close ups of the baby’s face reacting to things happening in the movie. It kind of would take me out of the movie. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Monkismo]

Me too. I just started playing Elden Ring as well, and it's amazing.

[@PaoloLery]

@@Monkismo cool cheers I’ll have a look

[@jvondd]

You mentioned that it seemed a bit odd that the baby does nothing to fulfill the prophecy, but I think it's sort of like the prophecy in Oedipus Rex wherein by trying to stop the prophecy from happening, those actions actually hasten it.

[@carlosarmandovegavazquez7038]

The gasp Badmortha pulls, when Willow makes the baby dissapear, is simply perfect.

[@TheBeird]

Warwick Davis is a treasure. He can make almost anything better with his presence alone. I'm happy this film has it's fans, and happy for Davis it's getting the Disney Plus sequel series. Sadly, I wasn't all that enamored with it. Mind you, I only saw it once when I was 19, and I vividly remember being in a foul mood before I did watch it. So maybe I was problem.

[@filmforthought4793]

This was a really good review. I was excited right when I saw the length of it. I always love when you guys discuss your personal relationships with the films you're talking about. This is a movie I've never even heard of and I'm definitely watching it now because of this review. And Iain was really hyping this film up for me with how passionate he was describing some scenes, I dont see that too often from him. Also, Gary, us short kings gotta rise up 👑

[@TheRASDEL83]

For me Willow and both Conan movies are my favorite fantasy movies prior to LOTR. I had a VHS of Conan the Destroyer, so that is a guilty pleasure of mine, and Willow is simple yet magical and the score really helps too 😎👍

[@neanderthal-]

Just the opening music makes me glad and smile. Everything. The happy ending, where Willow gets home to his family. It's a perfect primer for everything good in life.

[@AarenJable]

Man I haven't seen this in years. Thanks guys, Off the Shelf forever

[@marcarsenal1]

Love this film. Cant wait till November for the series on disney +

[@chadatchison145]

Me too the sequel books are great and I'm hoping they will at least somewhat follow those story lines but won't be that disappointed if they don't.

[@TheUballe]

Yeah, can't wait until they do to Willlw, what they've done to Star Wars 🙄

[@themadplotter]

Love how you used the clip where Warwick nearly runs into a chicken, always cracked me up the way he throws his arms in the air but doesn’t break stride.

[@GTV333]

My pet peeve has always been when Madmardigan stabs the two headed beast through the top of the head, and the sword pokes out the bottom! That must have been a 15 foot long sword because that monsters head was MASSIVE!

[@AubreyTheKing]

Everyone knows and loves Warwick Davis as the Leprechaun! And so do I! But I also love him in Willow! The man is a great actor! And he did a great job in the film! EVERYONE did a outstanding job here!! Good movie indeed!

[@stillhammered3060]

I just watched it again two weeks ago just because it had popped into my head. Still seems as great now to me as it did when I was a kid.

[@TheWaynos73]

Whats crazy is the new Disney show looked nothing like the Willow film - the world of Willow in the movie looked gorgeous, real, weathered and lived in and the new show looked sterile, overly digital, horrible colour correction, nothing felt real or tactile at all. Sometimes those old school techniques are much better.

[@ravenstromdans]

Really happy to see this get more love, especially with the subsequent series on the horizon in November. "Gentlemen, meet Lugg" and "What the hell happened to you" are some of the funniest lines in context in any film to me. That and Willow finally praising MadMartigan with " You *are* great.." only for Madmartigan to jauntily flip his sword and land flat on his ass in the snow. I'm really looking forward o the new series and seeing where they go with the story and the world. Still hoping to see you guys cover The City of Lost Children, Dragonslayer or Krull!

[@elisebrodeur-jacobs5215]

This was one of my mom's favorite movies. I miss you momma, I love you. "Oh no! There's a peck with a acorn pointed at me!"

[@england88me]

Favorite reviewers, doing my favorite childhood movie. Perfect!!

[@mongomongo7664]

The pig transformation really scared me when I was younger

[@JD.78]

Willow takes me back to my 9 year old self watching this on VHS and chatting with my friends about it in School the next day. Yeah, it's a great Swords & Sorcery adventure that demands rewatching as an adult. Great review guys, cheers.

[@mrnaughtycat]

Warwick is so likeable he’s one of me fave actors even in the leprechaun movies

[@EddieBloecher]

Erik is played by one of the 2 actors to play the infamous Chuck Cunningham from Season 1 of Happy Days. He was also the leader of the horse thieves in Lonesome Dove.

[@PunkRJH90]

Love this film, my Dad knew the actor who played Burglekutt. He was a local celebrity in the area. Also the Time Bandits make an appearance as the band in the fair.

[@thechosenones4375]

Maybe one of the reasons why so many great kid's movies failed in the 80s is because, back then, we played outside 😂 I love all these movies but spent more time out than in watching advertisements.

[@martinez5566]

Love this film. Truly a timeless fantasy tale. I won't be touching Disney's Willow series. If their track record with Star Wars is anything to go by, it'll be a terribly written, insulting mess, that will ruin the legacy of the original film.

[@Jay-mu4xl]

Time for some adventures with Willow and OTSR! Awesome! 👊👊

[@Joeyjojoshabbadoo]

Willow is a masterpiece. Val Kilmer's finest hour. Genius performance. And the whole movie is awesome. Textbook brilliant with seemingly no loss of verisimilitude anywhere all throughout, which is incredible for a fantasy story. And there's no Macguffin. The mission that they're on totally transcends 'Macguffin' status.

[@tjenahoj]

Willow - good stuff. I remember it even got its own pnp rpg. Holy moly, I just realized Joanne Whalley is Emma Craven (spoiler - mostly a ghost) from "Edge of Darkness" one of my all time favourite mini-series. I never made the connection before. :D

[@22Tesla]

HEhehe I loved this movie. I wasn't big into fantasy films and kinda still aren't but this is my absolute favorite. This film is exciting, beautifully filmed and stunningly done with effects for al the transformation scenes of monsters and animals. All that..... AND IT"S HILARIOUS! I love the Brownies, their dialog is the funniest. This comedy balances the dark and depressive tone of this movie and makes it watchable. I was so fortunate to find the film adapted comic of this movie and its still in my collection. No way I'm letting it go. And while I'm not big on fantasy still... I might consider checking out the series someday.

[@PaoloLery]

Always wondered why Willow didn’t do that troll with the other acorn. Fish boy.

[@filmforthought4793]

Damn, you guys are posting this right before bed lol. Ill let you guys know what I think in the morning, keep up the good work!

[@errantbard937]

Better than Star Wars as far as I'm concerned. Lucas greatest work.

[@lonedragon3261]

I reckon Gary could be a stunt double or extra in the sequel/remake...if they find him some tall enough platform shoes. ;P

[@IsraelBenitez-ev7mj]

I personally think the special effects look great...it doesn't have to be "perfect" it pulls it off, I think those little people are there and that's all that matters

[@1972andyb]

Love labyrinth, David Bowie was amazing. Please review 👍

[@harrypothead42024]

I was born in 1978. I saw this movie the day it came out on video. it sold me on Val kilmer. 100%

[@Plootz82]

One of my favourite films right here

[@whoawtf7419]

Always loved this movie and all those cult classic high fantasy films. Although Legend can be rather...slow, but it has some of the best atmosphere, production design, and practical effects in the entire genre. Loved Willow for the same reasons honestly. Plus Warwick Davis is so god damn lovable and charming. If anyone deserved a chance like that from George Lucas it was him

[@mattmidgley4275]

I haven’t seen this since I was a kid, cheers guys 👊

[@carlredbird3054]

Really enjoy when they mention this movie in Life's too short, Davis's comedy show In the documentary "the Hollywood shorties" Tony Cox talks about this movie. Tony cox played the main warrior in the village, originally a large role in film and would have been part of the main cast. But Tony was extremely good at basketball, once throwing perfect underhand basket from half court, and lead his team to the finales as the star player. So he turned down a much larger role in Willow to play basketball

[@john_blues]

Personally I love hearing the Wilhelm scream in a movie. It's like finding an in-joke in a movie. Aaaaah! 🤸‍♂

[@jwalt8019]

Legend is one of my FAVORITE films of all time!!! Completely underrated film.

[@edmonlessley4932]

Another great review guys. Bravo.

[@ManDuderGuy]

Willow is my Jam. The sprites are a bit annoying but Sorcha's a real cutie so it balances out.

[@skaro85]

Loved this film as a kid. Always used to creep me out when they turned people into pigs lol

[@EmiaRaine]

Same here. It's the only real memory I have of watching the film for the first time!

[@alfredbernateau2991]

Love you guys been a fan for a veery long time and I am super excited for the TV series

[@montymatte]

Just love Willow!

[@christianpecoraro6182]

Like No. 555! Lol This movie is wholesome. It has that family feeling like The Princess Bride. Probably because of Ron Howard, more than George Lucas.

[@dantebanducci235]

The trolls in this movie creeped the hell out of me as a kid. 😆

[@dluxx7283]

The part where Fin Razel is throwing Bavmorda around the ritual room during there fight had me laughing. Even more so, when I remember watching this on DVD ages ago with the English subtitles on and when it came to this scene, when Fin Razel is screaming, all the subtitles say is "Indistinct" lol. As always, another great review. Keep up the great work.

[@Dd8505]

Absolutely love you guys keep em coming 🤘🙂

[@BlizzardFanatic]

Am I wrong in thinking Willows best warrior at the village is the pimp/gladiator ring owner from Land of the Dead? 🧐

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

I just showed this movie to my kids last month.

[@slayerstenis]

After my parents had seen LotR they asked if I had another movie like that, I put Willow on. (Only choice I had at the time)

[@KontrolStyle]

one of my favorite movies.. holy cow huzzah whoever picked this one. 8) This and Excalibur I seen more than 25 times each, looove them!

[@jasondouglas152]

I remember the relentless advertising for this film . I was 5 , and I was done with it before it was released at theaters

[@elisabethayala8471]

Can you guess what I found at my local Goodwill for $2.99? Willow DVD! I haven’t seen this movie, looking forward to watching it.

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I always save your videos as workout videos so will only catch this later. Have recently got over Covid so have been missing out lately. Certainly one of the most enjoyable fantasy movies of its era. While some of it still looks good and some effects have aged it was definitely ambitious for its day. A lot of great and quite innocent humour, a well-written script with characters you cared for. Hard to believe that Warwick was only 18-19 when this was being made.

[@mrnaughtycat]

I know what’s it like to be labelled so I don’t use the term about people of his size

[@whatCTlikes]

one of my fave films of all time ... wake and bake ✌🏽

[@kyrdakl7116]

what about the acron he threw at balmora in the end, her fist all turns stone for a second, thought that was the third...

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Excellent review!

[@jordonhams5444]

What I would give to have a beer with u guys and talk movies :)

[@christiananderson4909]

Bavmorda is easily the best thing about this movie.

[@Truthseeker1515]

Sadly, did not capture my imagination back in 1988, I remember the movie posters, Crocodile Dundee II was released the same month, although a different genre, there was no competition if you were a 15 year old teen....

[@chadatchison145]

This movie is in my top 5, there's so many quotable lines. The sequel books were great so I'm looking forward to the series.

[@voxdraconia4035]

PECK! PECK PECK PECK PECK! PEEEEECK!

[@pommfilms9642]

warwick davis lives up the road from me....nice guy

[@ThreadBomb]

I only came to this movie when I was an adult. I like it a lot -- but the comic relief "brownies" spoil it for me. By the way, composer James Horner ripped off the big heroic theme from Schumann's "Rhenish" symphony (1850): kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4Spp3WOi9qmZpo

[@mathiieedoobas]

Iain, that t-shirt is pretty on the nose, fella :p Great review

[@dannyblade6824]

Kevin Pollak is one of the brownies. Lmao

[@randomreviews4278]

Just in time for the TV show on Disney + in a couple months

[@oliverpengilley]

Thanks!

[@perforce1]

It’s a daikini baby!

[@montymatte]

Don't call me a Peck!

[@Monkismo]

Dragonslayer is great, definitely better than a Corman film. Check it out. Have you reviewed Beastmaster yet? Another 80s cable classic.

[@Stormwern]

Have you seen the BBC TV show Robin of Sherwood?

[@alanmanson1089]

Thanks

[@saku0207]

Easy one of my top 5 movies ever

[@oldman5247]

Everything about this movie is great on paper. However the movie just needed more time to fully expand on the world that exists here. However I do like the movie enough.

[@Kaiyanwang82]

27:45 - those aren't trolls as envisioned by Scandinavians, and imagined by people there and also, I guess, by the people closer to you, in the Danelaw back then. But then again, most of the trolls in media, especially the most popular games, books, tabletops etc, are far from being even remotely similar to the "real" deal. Speaking of games, MM in his iconic armor is so memorable that a very famous RPG made a MM expy for their iconic Fighter...

[@politicalfisticuffs9531]

Did you guys see the new Willow trailer?

[@lfroncek]

It's not that she's been in animal form for so long that she's now an old woman. It's because animals have a shorter lifespan and even a year or two as a chinchilla or whatever she was on the Island could be like decades for a human.

[@rockdesu]

Like number 100! Loved the arcade movie and arcade game.

[@StoneyBrownTV]

Guys please do Escape From New York.

[@1970deejay]

Small soldiers review 😎🤖

[@montymatte]

Cool stuff. Absolutely love Willow. Maybe you like to have a look at my Willow project too.

[@elfboy29]

Hawk the Slayer lads.

[@promnightdumpsterbaby9553]

Yes!

[@harrypothead42024]

I love this movie.

[@ikreer9777]

I first saw this in college and loved it. I had completely forgotten about the brownies...the Lenny & Squiggy of Willow. Willow was never meant to be LoTR. It is a child's fantasy of an adventure. The effects haven't aged well but they never do. The story is engaging and the actors did a wonderful job with the material. Great review guys.

[@MrLorenzovanmatterho]

It's so tragic when you see the young and virile Val Kilmer here and compare him to the cancer ravaged man we see in Val/Top Gun 2.

[@obscuramask7435]

Ewoks Battle for Endor, look into it. It has the fantasy of Willow but set on Endor. It's very well made for what it is. Wilford Brimley is in it, the principle from the breakfast club is in it. And it's the first appearance of Nightsisters (clone wars) and Blurrgs (the Mandalorian)

[@slapwagon]

shelf life!

[@jessemeriwether208]

WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[@UnCreativeDeconstructionism]

*Turn Up*

[@ryanedwards7487]

Willow is completely underrated. I love this movie. It's just wonderful! Yeah I get that it's basically Lucas reworking Lord of the Rings. I...don't...care! It's wonderful!

[@G_Elektrik]

While is not a bad film, its conception was its downfall, George Lucas wanted to adapt again the hero's journey and the same style of archetypical characters, but into European fantasy, even if production was good for its time, it lacked that something special to really hook audiences. The movie was not a flop at the box office, the real problem was that it quickly faded away, there was nothing that people already experienced beyond the fantasy world the movie presented. However is cool that people have it in a special place, and is interesting to see what the new series is going to be once is released this year with a modern approach as a sequel.

[@Zorros2ndCousinTwiceRemoved]

It's Airk, Fin Raziel and Franjean, not Eric, Fin Razelle or Razeel, and Francine. Francine's actually a winner, though. 😁 Really not looking forward to the series. It's Kennedy's Lucasfilm, so they'll just destroy another beloved classic.