The Storyteller (TV/1987)
DVD from Columbia Triastar Home Video
This outstanding but short-lived series has finally been made
available on DVD. The brainchild of Jim Henson, The Storyteller
was an audacious blend of live actors and animatronic characters
fashioned by Henson's Creature Shop. After the cool reception
of his feature films The Dark Crystal (which was probably
too esoteric) and Labyrinth (which was perhaps too commercial),
Henson strikes a right balance with The Storyteller. Designed
as a weekly half-hour anthology, each episode was an adaptation
of a European folk-tale, narrated by the elvish-looking Storyteller
(played by John Hurt) who spins his mythical tales amidst interruptions
from his incredulous dog.
Produced in England, The Storyteller boasted some of the
finest talent that country had to offer. Each episode was scripted
by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and brought
to life by a team of superb directors, among them Steve Barron
(Merlin), Charles Sturridge (The Jewel in the Crown)
as well as Jim Henson himself. Casting included Sean Bean, Jennifer
Saunders, Jonathan Pryce, and Miranda Richardson, and each episode
was scored with luscious delicacy by Rachel Portman (Emma).
Only nine episodes of The Storyteller were produced but
each one is a gem, gorgeously photographed and designed, and
all are included on this single-disc release. "Hans My Hedgehog"
tells the story of a youth who is born half-human and half-beast
and the princess who can free him from this curse. "The
Heartless Giant" involves a young boy who befriends an angry
giant while "The Three Ravens" finds a young princess
fighting to save her father from his new queen, a wicked witch
bent on destroying the royal family.
In "The True Bride," a mysterious white lion comes
to the aid of a young woman as she tries to rescue her love from
the clutches of a hideous trollop who has bewitched him. "The
Soldier and Death" tells of a man who gains possession of
a magic sack, in which he imprisons the Grim Reaper himself.
"Fearnot" is the tale of an irresponsible teenager
who has never felt fear while the Storyteller himself is the
protagonist of "A Story Short," in which he recalls
an occasion where a bout of writer's block almost cost him his
head. "The Luck Child" is the tale of a boy prophesized
to one day wear the crown, and the king who was determined to
keep this from happening while "Sapsorrow" is a variation
on the Cinderella story.
There is no shortage of amazing creatures in this series, which
showcases the extraordinary puppet creations of Henson's Creature
Shop (special mention must also go to Jim Henson's son Brian,
who performs as the storyteller's dog). It is, however, a sad
remainder of how the art of animatronics has lost ground in recent
years to the more novel (but in my opinion, less convincing)
practice of CGI creature effects.
For all the strengths of the series itself, actual presentation
on this DVD is somewhat lacking. The image quality is mediocre,
partly due to data compression (there are 216 minutes of material
crammed onto one disc), and also to the limitations of video
at the time the series was produced. This does not make much
difference on a conventional TV, but on a computer screen or
HDTV, it appears fuzzy, and horizontal lines are omnipresent.
On-disc supplements are nil (except for two promo trailers for
the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth DVDs), but the packaging
does include some text and behind-the-scenes stills from the
series. A booklet insert provides background on the production
of "The Soldier and Death" and "A Story Short"
but oddly does not discuss any of the other episodes.
Despite these disappointments, The Storyteller is an incontestable
treasure and is likely to be enjoyed by both children and adults
alike.
Paul Andrew MacLean
© 2004
Shelton CT 06484 USA
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LadyJanet@RenaissanceMagazine.com