DVD Review: Howard’s ‘Willow’ broke ground in effects

Geoff Carter

Friday, March 29, 2002 | 9:08 a.m.

In these not-so-enlightened times, it's good to remember that Ron Howard, recent winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture ("A Beautiful Mind") and the most powerful Opie in the world, entered the realm of blockbuster filmmaking by directing "short actors." And from a George Lucas story that makes "The Phantom Menace" scan like "Heart of Darkness" in comparison.

"Willow" really happened. The "Special Edition" DVD (Fox DVD, $26.99) offers documented proof, in the form of a lovely transfer of the film, a bone-shattering Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound mix and three documentaries -- two from 1988, one recent -- explaining how "Willow's" groundbreaking special effects were created.

The movie marked the first big-screen appearance of "morphing," a shape-shifting technique. In the made-for-DVD documentary "From Morf to Morphing," even the filmmakers admit it ended up being overused after "Willow." It's often the case that the technical teams offer the most lucid commentary on films such as "Willow" -- at least they knew it was a job. Lucas' 1988 insistence that "Willow" was "a human story" hints at the delusion that became Jar Jar Binks.

If Lucas refused to believe himself a puppetmaster, at least Howard recognized he was Lucas' puppet. "Sometimes I don't feel like the director of this movie," Howard said in the 1988 documentary. "I feel like Vice President in charge of Cinematic Affairs for Lucasfilm."

The documentaries back up his claim, however benign it might have been. Every shot of Howard on the set has Lucas hovering behind him, practically moving his arms. Still, Howard knew what he was doing: The experience he picked up from Lucas enabled him to make such effects-heavy fandangos as "The Grinch" and "Apollo 13," and handle the subtle visuals of such pictures as "A Beautiful Mind" with a master's hand.

Unfortunately, he also learned that performances can be manipulated by science. The best parts of his best film, "Apollo 13," had no effects at all -- just three cold, tired actors going at each other in a confined space. My guess, judging from the rest of "Apollo 13's" documentary-like staging, was that those scenes were Howard's favorites: Locked away from the machines and Lucas' lingering specter, he could relax and let the actors do their jobs.

"Willow" has no such moments. It's similar to "Phantom Menace" in that regard: It copies everything from "Star Wars" except the foolhardy, lightly irreverent air that made the latter picture a classic. The actors in "Willow" are so intimidated by what must have seemed like a board of directors that they can scarcely breathe. Val Kilmer kicks the tires a few times, but even he is run over in the end.

Howard perhaps came to realize this, and gave the commentary track to Willow himself, actor Warwick Davis -- a wise choice. Davis is witty and well-spoken -- more so than Howard or Lucas -- and was privy to every significant decision Lucas told Howard to make -- from choosing not to fit the short actors with prosthetic ears to lessening Davis' British accent (the resulting dialect was called "Mid-Atlantic"). He also notes, with justifiable pride, that "Willow" was "the largest gathering of little people for a film in history."

Davis tells dozens of great stories about the film, and his commentary puts life into what remains a poor exercise in fantasy. One need only look at five minutes of "Lord of the Rings" to know what really happens in "people films." Howard seems to have gotten past "Willow's" hard lessons, but until "Episode II" comes out in May, there's just no way of knowing if Lucas is still out of his beautiful little mind.