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The Dark Is Rising [2007]
from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
starring Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Jonathan Jackson, Gregory Smith, Amelia Warner
directed by David L. Cunningham

Features:

• PAL

Editorial Review:

Developing one's self confidence is difficult for most 14-year-olds, and doubly so for Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig) who's recently moved to England and has just begun his first year of study as an American overseas. Feeling shy and inadequate in school as well as amongst his five brothers and one sister, Will becomes increasingly confounded when he starts to see strange visions including a sinister horseman (Christopher Eccleston) who demands Will give him some sort of sign which he knows absolutely nothing about. Befriended by four elders of the local community (Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Jim Piddock, and James Cosmo) who turn out to be "Old Ones" from ages past, Will learns that his destiny is as a seeker who must travel through time to collect six ancient signs that will somehow enable light to triumph over darkness and save the world as he knows it. As Will discovers that he possesses hidden powers and struggles to learn to control them in order to accomplish his quest, he is racked with insecurity and self-doubt. In the end, Will's inner strength will be tested to the extreme as will his relationship with both family and friends.

While based on Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, this movie is significantly different from the book: Will's age and family circumstances have been changed, the role of the Old Ones in Will's education about his powers is much diminished, the six signs are less religiously symbolic, and the treatment of the final battle between light and dark is markedly different. Nonetheless, The Dark Is Rising is a suspense-filled, action-packed 94-minutes brimming with great special effects comparable to The Bridge to Terabithia and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy that's immensely appealing to viewers ages 10 and older. --Tami Horiuchi, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 2.0 / 5.0

• A missed opportunity
  When I heard that one of Susan Cooper's books, The Dark is Rising, was being made into a film I was really quite excited. I looked it up on the web..... And was disappointed straight away. The book would have made a beautiful film without any fiddling. When I watched the film I found it tedious and frankly irritating. Maybe if I hadn't read the book before I may have been able to give it a fairer go, but as it was I just felt a bit sad that such a great opportunity had been missed. It might keep kids... more info

• Please stick with the books
  I love Christopher Eccleston's work. I love the Dark is Rising sequence of books (ok Over Sea, Under Stone isn't as good as the rest, but even so...). I thought I would at least enjoy the film. But no, it is truly awful. I resent having to give it one star, even, the film is a complete waste of time. Please stick with the books and read them out loud to/with your children if they don't want to read them themselves.
  I can't understand why they re-wrote one key element of the book just to give a random... more info

• A shoddy, unconvincing mess of a film
  Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Why do film writers do this terrible thing to excellent books? I love all the Susan Cooper stories and was really excited to see it was the latest 'fantasy' story to be given the film treatment - but what a disappointment when I finally saw the film.
  Changes to the story are to be expected because film is a very different medium, but there is no earthly reason to make Will and his family American, no reason for there to be a 'lost twin' brother held hostage by The Rider, no... more info

• Um...but sorry, NO, NO
  As a mum with 4 children who LOVE reading, I like them to try the books, before we see the film attempt at making the 'pictures in your head real, for a given (other people's dreams) value of real'.
  Sorry, but this film just does not work to encourage them to read any thing else within the series. It does not encourage anyone to read the rest of the series, why be disillusioned again!
  Where are the, slightly Kipling flavoured, rhymes about the future? Where is the menace of 'being different'? Who... more info

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