Synopsis
Michael Gambon narrates four tales from Greek mythology: Daedalus and Icarus, Orpheusand Eurydice, Perseus and the Gorgon, and Theseus and the Minotaur. Gambon is the Storytellerof the title. Clad in toga and moving about his workshop, he tells the stories to a talking dog. Thestories themselves cut back and forth between the tales and Gambon, and are a mixture of humanactors and Jim Henson Creature Shop creations. The result is rather ambitious, and the tone israther oddly…split between a very sombre mood and kid-pleasing comments from the dog.
Audio
The volume on the 2.0 mix is very high, and Gambon’s voice is loudest of all, bordering onthe harsh. Otherwise, this is a fairly typical TV stereo track. It gets the job done, and isunobjectionable, but doesn’t exactly blow you out the back of the room either.
Video
The fullscreen picture can be a bit murky in the darker scenes, especially in Gambon’sworkshop. There is no grain, but there is some dirt on the print. The blacks are very fine, and theimage is sharp enough, especially for a TV transfer. The colours in the story scenes are verywarm.
Special Features
Nothing here except trailers for Mirrormask (most intriguing), The DarkCrystal and Labyrinth. The menu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
An interesting experiment, and one that certainly respects the intelligence of its youngaudience.
Special Features List
- Trailers
