The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair is perhaps the most consistent of the commendable trilogy of BBC Narnia adaptations of the late 80's, back in those dim distant days when the BBC was committed to quality children's drama. Revisiting the production Ten years after first viewing I found myself warmed anew by the charm of Narnia, which the trilogy more than adequately conveys, and am quite frankly saddened by some of the cynicism of some reviewers towards the economical budgeting. The acting is excellent throughout, Tom Baker much deserving of praise for is simply superb performance as the perennial pessimist 'Puddleglum'; a truly crafted and nuanced portrayal of one C.S Lewis' most endearing characters. Equally the respective child actors put in commendable performances, I much liked the slightly more forceful interpretation of the character of Jill, and Ronald Pickup's Aslan remains resplendent. Perhaps Kellerman's Green Lady is a little OTT for any mature viewer, but the younger viewer will revel in her pantominesque acting.

The atmosphere of the TSC is altogether more dark than some of the earlier outings, Richard Henders manic performance as the crazed Rillian as his the child actors almost visibly reeling in horror, and the scene where Kellerman's Green Lady bewitches the children, "There never was a Narnia", is seditiously sinister. What a shame the tension of the scene was somewhat dispelled when Kellerman transforms into a very unthreatening rubber snake which, despite my defence of the budgeting, really was palpably absurd.

The Chronicles of Narnia really are crying for a modern adaption, to captivate a whole new generation of children bored into catalepsy by inane 'S-Club 7' type melodrama. Indeed, I'm heard whisperings of a Movie production of 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', inspired perhaps by the movie success of Tolkien. A Hollywood Narnia would indeed by very interesting, perhaps at last Aslan will bound across the screen to remedy my memories of the all to static Aslan of the BBC productions, and the Green Lady will actually turn into a serpent! I only hope the casting and acting is as good as is in these BBC classics!

Mty son (7 years old) lovs this one and all of the series. I like this one in particular, largely because of Tom Baker's brilliance.

I just have a question for anyone who has watched it.

Did anyove notice that Puddleglum says the magic word (ie f*ck)?

In the scene where he gets drunk and he is picked up by the fat lady giant, Puddleglum makes some incomprehensible protests. Among this, pretty clearly, he says the magic word. My 7 year old first noticed this and told me. I told him he must be wrong. But I watched/lisstened to the offending bit and I had to tell my son that he was right. It was one of the funniest things i've ever seen / heard.

Anyway, Tom Baker is brilliant as always and he can do no wrong in my eyes.

One of the most intriguing and unsettling things about the NARNIA books is the way lifelong bachelor C.S. Lewis tends to portray evil witches not as hideous crones but as stunning and sophisticated young women. Not surprisingly, the most memorable character in this film is the Emerald Witch, portrayed with subtle sensuality and aristocratic charm by regal and dark-eyed Barbara Kellerman.

Kellerman's Emerald Witch is a forceful, intelligent, and thoroughly attractive villainess. As the daughter of the White Witch brutally slain by the insufferably pompous do-gooder talking lion Aslan in the first book, the Emerald Witch is not so much a villain as passionate woman bent on revenge. Note her entrance on Ettinsmoor, riding by the side of the dazed and clearly besotted Prince Rilian. While the child actors mumble and screech about their quest, Kellerman underplays her evil intentions, popping off snappy one liners like "What do you hear, what do you say?" Only when alone with Aslan's image staring out at her from a crystal ball does she reveal her true agenda, pulling a Cagney face and sneering, "you . . . dirty cat . . . you killed my mother!" The allusion to Cagney is reinforced later, when she is cornered by Prince Rilian. Instead of dodging his sword point, she grabs the blade and drives it into her own bosom, shrieking "Top of the world, Ma!" exactly like Cagney in WHITE HEAT.

I have commented more than once about my love for the books. And in general, I like these BBC adaptations. They aren't perfect, but they are very enjoyable, and I concur with those who say the best is The Silver Chair, in my view it is absolutely. The book is wonderful with a great story, and this adaptation did it justice. Any changes that were made actually worked, particularly Rillian's iron mask. One or two parts may have dated slightly though, and there is a rather weak scene with the committee of owls and eyeballs in the dark. On the whole, the production values are an improvement, with the sets and costumes good enough and the effects much better than previously. The music is still as beautiful as ever, the writing has also improved and the story is wonderful, the whole Rillian story especially is brilliantly done. And the acting is fine. Camilla Power is very good, as is David Thwaites. Barbara Kellerman is a stunning and imposing Green Lady, and Aslan is majestically voiced by Ronald Pickup. The standout though is easily Tom Baker, who is simply brilliant as Puddlegum, and I too think he gives the best performance of the entire series. All in all, very enjoyable even with its limitations. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The last post was less than honest in it's claim that CS Lewis did not blatantly make his books Christian books. He is right in claiming that "The book {Silver Chair} does NOT include Aslan's ending line from the film where he says that he also exists in the human world, but that the kids MUST learn his 'other name.'" What this person neglected to say, either through ignorance or dishonesty, is that the line does appear in the books, although it is at the end of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", not "Silver Chair." While Lewis was fond of saying "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects -- with their Christianity latent", he didn't often follow his own advice.

On the movie, it is a fairly faithful film, but was done in the late 80's released in 90, so it did not, alas, have the benefit of computer graphics. Still, it's well worth watching.