Willow - 4K UHD SteelBook

Courage, heroism and greatness come in all shapes and sizes and from some of the most unexpected places in Ron Howard's Willow. From the oft-visionary mind of George Lucas and the CG wizardry of Industrial Light & Magic, the family film delivers entertaining popcorn escapism while introducing a host of memorable characters. Brimming with spectacle, enchantment, and a great deal of imagination, the sword-and-sorcery fantasy tale plays out in the traditional form as an epic adventure to protect a child destined to defeat an evil witch queen. Keeping strictly to formula leaves little room for surprises. The story is also interrupted by some pacing issues early on, but the journey thankfully ends in a satisfying fashion with plenty of hearty laughs and customary happy reunions.

The story follows Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a lowly farmer with a lovely, caring family but with aspirations of someday becoming a great and powerful wizard. Unfortunately, our soon-to-be unwitting hero lacks the confidence and mettle to even take a stand against the seemingly tallest person of the village, Burglekutt (Mark Northover). Also, if we go by the looks of the current village wizard (Billy Barty), Willow would need the requisite long white beard, a decorated staff, pointy hat, and probably live a somewhat hermit-like existence. Where does a family fit into all this? What to do when the kids tell dad they're embarrassed he still dresses like a hippie and that he reads from animal bones he's scattered all over the floor? Luckily, he has a supportive wife (Julie Peters) who encourages his dreams but is none too happy that he must now venture off into the world.

Willow's quest to go beyond the borders of his village begins soon after his children discover a human baby in a nearby river. On his journey to find another human adult with whom to leave the baby Elora, Willow bumps into Val Kilmer, playing a fast-talking, smarmy, and grossly arrogant prisoner who boasts of being a great warrior named Madmartigan. The character is not much of a stretch for someone of Kilmer's caliber — he's at his best as a likable cocky, self-important schmuck — but it's a terrifically memorable performance, arguably on par with the actor's Jim Morrison and Doc Holliday roles. He manages a great balance of slapstick comedy, as romantic interest to Joanne Whalley's warrior Sorsha and as standard inspiring-hero type. More importantly, Kilmer has a delightful camaraderie with Davis that feels genuine and comical, playing off each other with excellent timing which sees neither of the actors as sidekick to the other.

Their friendship grows — or rather, is brought together — by both a concern for the baby's safety and their slow realization of a common enemy, played with animated caricature by Jean Marsh. As the villainous evil witch queen Bavmorda, Marsh chews up the scenery with an oddly charming exaggeration that almost borders on parody. It's just too over-the-top and amplified to be taken seriously by any measure, particularly when the character looks as if she raided the closets of Maleficent and the Queen from Disney's Snow White. Bavmorda's leading henchman General Kael (Pat Roach), with his terrifyingly cool skull helmet, is a bit more developed as a formidable and determined foe, but even he's mostly the obligatory and familiar bad guy who eventually meets his match once the arrogant Madmartigan learns humility and loyalty to a cause.

What makes Willow feel largely conventional and routine, which can be viewed both as the film's drawback and strength, is Lucas borrowing heavily and taking inspiration from some very familiar sources. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings is the most recognizable in a story about a Hobbit-like person leaving his quiet, pastoral home for a life-altering adventure. But we also have hints of Disney's influence, sprinkles of the Moses parable — a small craft of bulrushes and all — and inklings of John Peterson's The Littles as well as Mary Norton's The Borrowers. At times, the story even seems like a reworking of Lucas' own Star Wars mythology, down to the Brownies (Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton) as the bumbling comic relief C-3PO and R2-D2.

Nevertheless, director Ron Howard, who was enjoying early success as a filmmaker at the time with Splash and Cocoon, does what he can to never let the fantasy-adventure film spiral too far into pastiche. He accomplishes an enjoyable piece of entertainment with plenty of laughter and action for the whole family. (Movie Rating: 4/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Home Entertainment brings Ron Howard's Willow to Ultra HD Blu-ray as a two-disc SteelBook with a flyer for a Digital Copy, unlocking the 4K UHD version in Dolby Vision HDR with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio. The dual-layered UHD66 disc sits comfortably atop a Region Free, BD50 disc on the same panel, and both are housed inside an attractive SteelBook. At startup, the UHD goes straight to a static menu screen with the usual options along the bottom and music playing in the background.

The cult fantasy classic morphs on 4K Ultra HD into a handsome-looking and terrifically satisfying HEVC H.265 encode, offering a notable upgrade over its Blu-ray predecessors. This likely comes from the same 4K restoration and remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives performed in 2010. 

The original photography by Adrian Biddle probably won't appease the high standards and demands of some contemporary viewers, especially those with a distaste for natural film grain. But the native 4K transfer is nonetheless a marked improvement that remains faithful to the source, awash in a consistent, noticeable layer of grain throughout, giving it a gorgeous film-like appearance. Despite a predominantly soft appearance due to the style of photography at the time and special effects limitations, fine lines and objects are notably sharper and more detailed while textures in costumes and facial complexions are highly revealing and very well-defined. Some minor enhancements have been made to refine the visual effects without compromising their original aesthetic or completely removing the obvious remnants of early, outdated CGI. 

Although not dramatically vivid, the Dolby Vision HDR presentation renders a fuller, more saturated palette than its HD SDR counterparts, showing more spirited primaries, livelier pastels and vibrant earth tones. Skin tones also appear more natural and lifelike with warm, peachy-rose hues in the cast. An excellent contrast and brightness balance delivers brilliant, intense whites and crisp, resplendent specular highlights, which is particularly noticeable during the sled escape down a snowy mountain. Black levels are inkier and truer with excellent shadow delineation, providing the 2.40:1 image with appreciable depth and a beautiful cinematic appeal. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 88/100)

Producers port over the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack as the previous two Blu-ray releases, which is not an entirely bad thing. Admittedly, for an anniversary special edition, a fresh object-based mix or the original stereo track would have been golden for this 4K UHD. But at the end of the day, this high-rez track is spectacularly rousing and enveloping, likely coming from the original 6-track 70mm negatives. Of course, some digital tweaking and tinkering have taken place, which amazingly improves upon the overall quality of the design for the better. 

Most apparent is the endless amount of activity in the rears, delivering plenty of discrete and convincing atmospherics. From the constant noise of the surrounding wildlife to arrows landing behind the listener and fire swooshing across the room, the lossless mix is splendidly immersive and highly engaging. James Horner's musical score also spreads into the surrounds with very little effort, further enhancing and expanding the soundfield.

In the front, the dynamic range is remarkably broad and extensive with stunning separation between the mids and highs. We can clearly make out each note and instrument in the orchestration, and the continuous clarity in the sword fighting, while a two-headed monster shoots fire at terrified soldiers, is astounding for a movie of this age. There's never the slightest hint of distortion or noise in the upper ranges. The low-end is surprisingly responsive and accurate with a robust punchiness that adds depth to the music and appreciable weight to action sequences. Dialogue is precise and intelligible at all times. 

With a detailed and well-balanced soundstage that keeps viewers entertained, the cult fantasy favorite performs its magic with exhilarating success. (Audio Rating: 90/100)

For this UHD edition, Disney offers the same set of supplements as before, all housed in the accompanying Blu-ray copy, and owners are given one hidden gem on that BD disc. Under the "Extras" banner, scroll to the "Willow: An Unlikely Hero" featurette and push up on the cursor. The "W" in the top center of the screen will be highlighted. When pressing enter, viewers can enjoy one final video clip with star Warwick Davis making an interesting observation with the letter "W."

• Audio Commentary with star Warwick Davis
• The Making of an Adventure (1080i/60, 24 min) 
• From Morf to Morphing (1080i/60, 17 min) 
• Willow: An Unlikely Hero (HD, 11 min) 
• Matte Paintings (HD, 1 min) 
• The Making of Raziel's Transformation (HD, 8 min) 
• "W" (HD, 1 min) 
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 13 min) 
• Trailers (HD, 9 min) is a collection of TV spots and theatrical previews

Despite some negligible drawbacks, Ron Howard's Willow remains a delightful and entertaining fantasy adventure for the whole family with memorable performances from Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis. Thirty-six years later, the film succeeds by not spiraling into pastiche and manages to keep the story afloat with a satisfying yet predictable conclusion. The 4K Ultra HD arrives with an outstanding Dolby Vision HDR presentation and an awesome DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. The same assortment of bonuses is ported over from previous versions, but this UHD SteelBook edition is a notable, Highly Recommended upgrade.

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