The Box of Delights

I have not been quite so excited watching a series in a long time, thanks to the bbc wanting re-releasing of all their best children's drama this delight is now on DVD.

Its very hard to think of things that haven't been said about this brilliant drama but i'll try.

As we are coming closer to Christmas i would urge anybody who loves to get into the festive mood to buy this as everything that you'd associate with xmas is here and yes it is slightly intimidating if you weren't born into a middle class background as all the children go to boarding school and speak in possibly dated plummy tones but the story is what counts and it's a cracker.

It's adventurous, fun and a little scary (with wolves howls in the air). The acting in the principal actors is spot on and the thing thats so great about it all is you never feel like you're being talked down to as a child, this explains why it's so popular with nostalgic adults Ed Trotter

I first watched this film when I was 5 or 6 (1984/1985), on TV Ontario (TVO), here in Canada.

Over the years I have only remembered vague details about it, including that one of the words in the title was "Box". However I did remember certain characters and the basic plot, surrounding a "magic" box and knew that I really enjoyed it.

A few weeks ago I decided to do a title search here on the IMDB using "Box" as a keyword, sure enough about 20 minutes later I had found this wonderful film from my youth.

After seeing that it was not available on tape here in North America, I placed an order for a British copy and was able to watch the film for the first time last evening, it is just as wonderful as I had remembered.

Thanks IMDB for helping me to re-visit the amazing box of delights!

The Box of Delights to my brother and I is as traditional at Christmas as The Wizard of Oz or indeed The Queens speach!! Every year since 1984 we have "delighted" in watching The Box armed with sweets in our formative years and beer in our latter. Even now as grown men missing The Box for 1 year would be regarded as sacrilige. To us The Box epitimises Christmas with its magic and mayhem,villains and heroes and ultimately allround Christmassy feel. The casting is outstanding, try to read the book after watching the show and you can't imagine anyone else in the roles. Devin Stansfield is excellent as Kay,unfortunately it appears it was the pinnacle of his career as he doesn't appear to have acted since. The late great Patrick Traughton and Robert Stephens excell in their roles and it is in The Box I'll remember them not Dr Who or Shakespeare. The musical score is fantastic the composer has captured the spirit of a pre-war Christmas amazingly well, the version of The first Noel is magical. We love The Box because it enables us to hang onto our childhood.As there are 2 of us it enables us to protect each other from the mockery of our respective spouses who believe we're like a couple of kids.Both have tried and failed to take our one and only recording to tape over it with Coronation Street. Now wouldn't that be the Purple Pim........

How could you not like a story where the villain - and an evil and odious villain he is - is a Methodist Bishop? Where little boys turn into mice and run through the walls to spy on the bad guys?

This is a thoroughly charming Christmas fantasy, wonderfully made by the BBC in the mid-80's, based on a children's book by John Masefield. Set in England in the 1930's, it tells the adventures of Kay Hawker as he returns home from school for Christmas. On the train he meets a mysterious but kindly old man who gives him the Box of Delights, a magical box which gives the holder the powers of flight, physical transformation, and the ability to travel through time. Of course, the forces of evil, led by the aforementioned Bishop, are out to steal the Box, and its up to Kay and his friends to stop them.

This is an absolutely first rate BBC production. Patrick Troughton of Dr. Who fame is the mysterious old man and Robert Stephens is the Bishop. The story, the visual effects, and the music are all enthralling.

Actually, its somewhat of a fluke that I have seen this program since it has - to my knowledge - never been shown in the United States. In the mid-80's I was living in Cleveland, Ohio, and we could pick up Canadian TV from across the Lake. One day I happened to turn on the television and this was on; I was instantly captivated. Ever since then I have tried to find tapes of this show but, unfortunately, they are not available in the U.S.

If you're feeling jaded about the whole concept of Christmas then this would be a great tonic. The innocence and wonder of the fantastic storyline and themes are a perfect counterbalance to today's commercial festival.

There's some wonderful acting (especially from the older cast members) and some classic set pieces (Herne The Hunter was the coolest when i watched this first time round as a youngster).

Take the 80s special effects with a pinch of salt (they're still not completely awful despite the budget/technology of the time) and prepare for a journey that will make you feel like a kid again, in the best possible way.