The Colour of Magic

Image credit: sanity.com.au

The troubles and perils of adaptations are an exciting and dubious part of human society. Sometimes it works incredibly well, e.g. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, or it goes horrible wrong: e.g. The Golden Compass. I like to think that the world’s best adaptations are examples of shared interpretations, senses of humour, and textual understandings that can transcend generations. In a good adaptation, you can often see, feel even, the love for the original story that everyone working on the project has.

With all the reboots, and remakes, and piggyback films, and spinoffs that populate cinematic history, it’s always pleasant to come across an adaptation of a fresh, beloved work. I have just finished watching one such adaptation: The Colour of Magic.

On the back of a giant turtle swimming in space, stands four elephants that hold the Discworld on their backs. The Discworld is an amazing and dangerous place filled with all sorts of wonders and perils. Twoflower, the Disc’s first tourist, wishes to see all of these wondrous things and so he hires an exiled wizard, Rincewind, to be his guide. What begins as a hapless wizard’s con to get as much money as he can from the clueless tourist, turns into a mighty adventure across the Disc (and sometimes off of it) in which the unlikely duo ride dragons, get thrown off the edge off the edge of the world, interrupt a Druidic sacrifice, admire the clock sitting in Death’s hallway, and somehow save the world.

I can understand why there aren’t many adaptations of Terry Pratchett’s works. Film and distribution rights for one thing, but also (having only started reading the books in the Discworld series) there is a such a unique sense of humour to his works that definitely would not be picked up or understood by everyone. This might account for the only adaptations of any his works being British.

Based on the events of both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic is a fun and exciting two-part feature that beautifully depicts a medieval fantasy world with a lot of modern ideas and attitudes. Unlike the glamorised, rustic aesthetic of Rohan or the Shire, darkness, dust, muck, and dinginess make up the places in which the heroes find themselves in varying predicaments and the absence of a ‘Hollywood’ sheen only serves to better depict the world of the Disc.

Image credit: The Movie Database

Sean Astin, sticking out like a sore thumb in knee-high socks with sandals and a loud floral shirt, is truly delightful as Twoflower, delivering a performance that is naïve, excitable, and overall just very sweet. David Jason as Rincewind does a delightful job of being the hapless, constantly menaced victim, that somehow grows to care for his charge. And Tim Curry is perfect as Trymon, a murderous and ambitious wizard who is out to gain all the power he can.

A two-part miniseries made for TV, The Colour of Magic is a delightful adaptation of a truly unique world and cast of characters, filled with action, adventure, and plenty of comedy.

Director: Vadim Jean, 2008

Cast: Sean Astin, David Jason, Tim Curry, Brian Cox, Jermey Irons, Geoffrey Hutchings, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Michael Mears, Will Keen, James, Cosmo, David Bradley & Christopher Lee