I remember The Neverending Story back in 1984 I was about eight years old and me and my best friend will watch this over and over again The NeverEnding Story, The Goonies, and the Flight of the Navigator.
Matt Mac WHAAAAT?? They're doing a remake?? I don't know how I feel about that, Flight of the Navigator is one of those magic movies to me that zap me back to my childhood, one of my favorites
We are the 80's my 80's friend. 84 & 85 were the best years of film. With so many more things I could say about the decade, like NES, etc. etc. I'll just say it like this... BEST CHILDHOOD EVER! I wish I could live in a time loop of the 80's.
This film was one of the most meaningful and impactful films of my childhood, alongside the original Star Wars trilogy, the Rankin-Bass animated film of The Hobbit, the Indiana Jones films, The Goonies, Stand by Me, and The Karate Kid films. And yeah, Artax's death really messed up little eight year old Drew! An interesting fact about The Neverending Story that I was surprised you omitted. The book consists of 26 chapters, and the first word of each chapter starts with a different letter of the alphabet, starting with A in chapter one and progressing in order up to Z in chapter 26.
The Auryn, the amulet given by the empress, keeps him from sinking and protects him. Also, in the book Artax speaks and when Atreyu was going to put the auryn on artx to save him, the horse told him no.
Artax being more conversational in the book always made that scene worse later on. I love this film, but being pretty close to book it makes me feel even more upset that part 2 only very lightly follows the second half of the book. We don’t get to see any of the amazing scenes of Bastion recreating Fantasia/Fantastica from scratch. We miss the aserisks,Grograman, Ygramul the many, Perelin the night forest, and so many more. In the book each chapter starts with a letter from the alphabet in alphabetical order, A-Z. One more fun fact about the book, the text is red(for bastion/the real world) and green for Fantastica/Atreyu.
Okay. A couple of things you needed clarification on: 1. The author hated the movie because it cut out the second half of the book, where the meta of the concept of a "neverending story" comes into play. 2. Artex drowns because he is not protected by Auron and he becomes more hopeless as they continue through the swamps. This is much clearer in the book... where Artex can talk.
There's that, but also it is specified (in the movie, don't know about the book) that anyone who entered the Swamps of Sadness died from being overwhelmed by the sadness *of the swamp*. Basically, I think it just takes time for the enchantment to get to you, and you can fend it off for a while and hopefully get out in time. People question why Atreyu doesn't succumb to the sadness, and I think in part it has to do with the Aurin, but also in part due to the source of his sadness. I also get the feeling that if the swamp represents depression, there's an element included of closing off your feelings. I don't know how well a horse can exactly express its sadness, but Atreyu didn't hide his. He took the time to grieve the death of his horse. But what happened right afterward? He still had to force himself to get up and move and act, even despite his emotional need to continue grieving. At that point, he became vulnerable and began to succumb to the hopelessness of his mission because of the sadness of the swamp pressing in on him right after the loss of his friend that he was unable to fully grieve for when he needed to. That's my opinion on it, anyway.
Ende clearly hated the movie. Naively he had assumed the film team would stay close to his book and his metaphysical concept of live but... FOR FANS WITH GERMAN, here is an Interview with him to this point done with Joachim Fuchsberger in the German Talk Show HEUT ABEND: "Michael Ende 1990. Bei Fuchsberger ganzes Interview"; put on the Net by CurritmoRx . This interview was done in very easy understandable German. For Culture Interested a highlight. Yes the filming for the first two films was done with the Prdduction Company BAVARIA near Munich in GRÜNWALD to be exact ( Fun Fact: it is the same area wherethe movie THE GREAT ESCAPE was also done )
Outta Bubblegum So True. This is what the democrats do with their identity politics pitting group vs group race vs race. All while keeping poor people in bad neighborhoods and bad schools.
People don't know that The Neverending Story was based on a book?! How sad is that?! It's one of the most beautiful, intelligent, imaginative novels I've read in my life and the movie doesn't even come close to doing it justice. READ IT. And while you're at it, check out Michael Ende's other work as well (Momo, The Night of Wishes...). The man was a freaking genius.
Read Momo, and Ende sure has or had a way of making real things fantastical and terrifying, and fantastical things realistic ... and terrifying. Momo with using stress and monotonous practices to deplete free time, and the psychological dread that starts building in the second part of Neverending Story ... (far more than mere memories is lost ...)
@@RubberyCat The edition that I read had (I think) red text for the Real World and green text for the Fantasy World. It seems like every chapter started with a large illustrated capitol letter with Chapter 1 having an 'A', Chapter 2 starting with a 'B' etc. It has been a really long time since I read that book.
@@jamesmontney865 Hm, the edition/translation i read, i think had either different fonts, different italics, or simply different .... paragraph width? (Like 47 letters instead of 59?) But i can't really remember which, as it was ... well, long ago. (I hate revealing my age.)
Falkor was not like a traditional dragon in the book. He had white pearl scales, red eyes, and a lion-like head. The more snake like body in the movie is accurate. He breathes blue fire in the book too! This book is amazing BTW
If you're a Falcor fan and haven't seen the third movie then stay far away from it. They completely ruined Falcor and turned him into a brain dead comic relief character
There's a lot of neat stuff here. The one about what the "kids" are up to now made me laugh a bit because it still sounds true to character. Bastian, having a deep love for fantasy and literature, became an author and photographer. C.L.E. after her long illness went on to find joy as a dancer which often embodies freedom and grace. Atreyu as a young warrior is now a martial arts instructor and trains new young warriors.
Good video. I love the Neverending story, it's my favourite movie ever. I'd just like to say that Michael Ende felt that the movie adaptation didn't get the feel if his book and this is why he hated it, not because of the topless sphynxs. For example, he hated the Childlike empresses tower, which is in fact a Magnolia flower blooming but that he referred to as a "tv disk", he hated that Falkor was more a dog than a dragon and that at the end the dragon helped Bastian fly over his bullies, when in the books fantasians are unable to leave their land. There is an interview of Ende online where he explains everything that he hated, which is the reason why he suedd the production and delayed the second part of coming out, and why none of the two include his name.
The nothing represents the feeling that is left when people give up on their hopes and dreams. The wolf who works for the nothing tells Atreyu this before he knows who he is talking to. The End.
there are a few reasons Atreyu didn't sink, being "overtaken by sadness" can easily refer to the loss of all hope, not just any sadness. And he: - still had a world and a empress to save - had the magic Gem around his neck - was from a warrior-hunter class, so death isn't remotely as far removed from him as a normal child Also, the hope-giving words were given to him by Artax (in the book) - asking him to leave, not watch his demise, and thanking his master for their journey together. great video, nice job
That was hands down the most surreal part of the movie and a great analogy for the helplessness Bastian felt because he couldn't stop his mother's death.
@7:20 Mr. Minty had questioned if Atreyu should have sunk in the swamps of sadness as well, He almost DID.. Falcore rescued him, With Luck. Thank you for posting. 🎤😉🤘
@@barefootanimist I know a few words from the band Rammstein. (I love them!) I also learned a couple words from doing a bit of work on my VW Beetle. I was never fluent though.
"Enemy Mine", I loved that movie. Before I knew who Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. were, that unlikely buddy combo, turn father/son story, to a bridge between worlds, was a sci-fi story I could really enjoy as a kid.
Though Tami Stronach was born in Iran, I am not sure it is correct to call her Iranian. Her father was a Scottish archeologsit and her mother was an Israeli archeologsit, that met while working in Iran. Because of the Iranian revolution they had to leave Iran. They moved to Israel and later to the US.
Going on our 3rd generation with this movie! Me, my kids, and now my grand babies!! My 18 month old grand daughter LOVES the music!! One of my favorite movies ever!
I asked my brilliant young daughter if she would like to see the Never Ending Story. In her innocence she said "No It'll be to long." After a laugh I talked her into it and we are glad we did. The characterless were about her own age and I think Atreyu was a first crush. She now teaches special high school students and is a new mother of my beloved grandson who undoubtedly will enjoy the book and movie. Many accolades to Michael Ende who surely inspired and expanded the minds of millions.
Yep, knew that, I recognized him right away when I first saw it in the 80s. I LOVED Battlestar Galactica, and I loved his robotdog, I always wanted one as a kid😉
Absolutely 100%. I feel like, we all got along. I was 15 in 85. The perfect age, the perfect time,. THE TREASUREV TROVE OF MOVIES (Thank God! ;~) The only COLOR ISSUES were how bright a padded shoulder, angle flap-front sweatshirt to wear!
The only mistake in this video is that she's actually Israeli, not Iranian! Her parents are both Jewish archeologists who worked in Iran before the Islamic revolution started. As soon as the civil war in Iran started, the family fled to Israel and lived there for few years before they had to move to California for work again. ;-)
In a People magazine interview, Ende said he hated that Fantastica was brought back without any creativity from Bastian. They missed the whole point of the story. I still think it's great, but I understand why the author would hate that change.
I came in very late to this movie, Nov 2021, as a matter of fact, but I was shocked and disappointed at the end where Bastion became the main focal point and Atreyu was basically kicked to the curb. Noah Hathaway, the actor who portrayed Atreyu, was in all the grueling action scenes and performed excellently and when Artax is sinking into the swamp the grief and shock of Atreyu was again acted excellently. Noah Hathaway was royally shafted and to me it's one of the greatest injustices in movie making history. And as far as the special effects director Brian Johnson's comment regarding Noah Hathaway, we now know that Johnson's opinion is less than worthless.
Gemini Dragon I have a dog and she looks just like Falcor especially how she lays down and loves her ears scratched so much. Winnie.the.tiniest.maltese on Insta great car name, what kind of car, better be a pretty sweet car to earn that name. 😉
Oh man, that sequel. Where it's this light hearted comedic romp right up until they beat the robot half to death and leave it to die. WTF Right up there with Artax in the swamp and that cartoon shoe getting dipped in Who Framed Roger Rabbit in my childhood fictional traumas.
John Buttimer yes, but minty has good choices and never picks next what i want him or more importantly what i think he will select and always does well, so i commend him.
Personally I like the first movie and the third movie best. I found the second movie somewhat disappointing. However there was something truly special about the first chapter of The Never-ending story. It had so many deep moments and interesting characters. It’s certainly a standout movie of my childhood and will always have a special place in my heart! Thank you for making this video! Artax was indeed a very good friend, I hope that he found peace in the afterlife!
I think Ende’s biggest issue with the movie is that it completely reverses the main message of the book, which admittedly is kind of lost without the second half of the book. The Neverending Story is about how while fantasy is good and dreaming is ok, escapism is not. The back of the Auryn says “Do what you wish.” As it and the Childlike Empress need humans to make wishes so Fantasia can exist. The problem being that every time someone makes a wish on the Auryn they lose a memory, until they become nothing more than brainless husks doing the same menial task for eternity. Bastion even becomes maniacal and plots to overthrow the Childlike Empress because he’s so lost in his fantasy. He turns from a fat kid into a strong young boy and basically goes on a power trip until he nearly loses everything. His purpose, his personality, his memories, the friends he made in Atreyu and Falkor and his way home. It’s anti-escapism. The ending also wrong. Fantasians cannot enter the real world. They turn into lies (whatever that means), so Bastion couldn’t chase his bullies while flying on Falkor. Also, Nobody in Fantasia can screw with the holder of Auryn. So can you blame Ende for being mad his magnum opus had its very core message and lore bungled?
The scene where the Empress pleads with Bastian to say her name and he struggles because his father told him to keep his feet on the ground - and then he breaks down and says "I will do what I dream!!" - that part hit me like a ton of bricks, I felt like he was saying something very important even back when I was a kid and I first saw the movie. I've carried that part with me all my life.
LOL! just for the record, it is just an observation, no harm intended! I really do like Minty and all his work and effort he does in all his presentations here :-)
Falkor does not save Atreyu from a giant spider after he had fallen in its web in the book. It's actually the other way arround. Atreyu encounters Ygramul, the spider creature (which is actually a swarm of tiny insects), after being lost in a devasteted mountain landscape and kinda asks for directions. Ygramul does sorta help, because Atreyu wears AURYN, the childlike empress' seal, but claims Atreyu is too far away from anywhere really. BUT Ygramul can help: It's poison basically gives a creature bitten the ability to teleport, but also kills within the hour, so this way Arteyu could try and finish his quest REALLY quickly. Obviously Ygramul asks Atreyu not to share this secret for all their prey would just teleport away. BUT Ygramuls current prey, which is falkor, did hear the secret. End of story: Atreyu decides to let Ygramul bite him, teleports away and Falkor follows him. As for the death of Artax: It's not so much that the swamps of sadness amplify the sadness in ones heart until they get dragged down and literally drown in it, it puts it into people's hearts. It's a great metaphor for depression really. Atreyu is unaffected because - again - he wears AURYN, which protects him. Also the Life-Action Show is TERRIBLE!
I was 9 years old when this came out. I must've seen it 5 times in the theater. Now I watch with my own son. It's a timeless classic that always brings me back to my childhood.
Hello Minty how are you? I have the original German version on DVD and there are several differences. The major one being that the musical score is devoid of Georgio Moroder’s music and there is no Limahl song at all. It’s all just Klaus Doldinger’s music. The movie starts with white titles on black as opposed to the multi coloured clouds symbolising that Bastian is dreaming of the nothing before he wakes up. A few extra scenes include him walking throughout his house before he has breakfast with his dad and that deleted scene with the janitor you showed. I actually visited the set of never ending story at the Bavarian film studios in Munich and saw the miniatures used on that film, Falkor and the rock biter and also saw the sets from Enemy Mine and the full size uboat from das boat which also doubled as the sub from raiders of the lost ark. Fun times 😀
If you watch very closely as Atreyu is stumbling through the swamp after the tragic death of Artax (a scene I STILL cannot watch to this day, and I am 35) you DO see him start to sink into the Swamps of Sadness and just as he is about to be consumed, Falkor comes to save the day and takes him to the gnomes..
He failed to mention that besides almost losing an eye and suffocating Noah Hathaway broke his back while making the movie and was in traction for a few weeks.
I've read the book several times. It is truly a masterful and imaginative piece of literature. It's much more in depth than the movie, but also continues well past the movie story-line, so definitely check it out.
2:44 "Also, in the book, Bastian is an overweight boy." - Yup, that's why they chose me to play the role of Bastian, when they were casting for a theatrical adaptation of "Die Unendliche Geschichte" at my local church! :P
Hey, good call. For a moment you blew my mind there cos I thought you meant Frank Langella and I never knew he did the voice of Falcor. Interesting quote from Skeletor Alan Oppenheimer on the casting of Frank Langella as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe (1987) "Although Frank and I are great friends, he's all about silence tempered with strength... and that's *not* Skeletor. Frank's better suited to playing the likes of Eric, the Phantom of the Opera." Langella in "The Box" is that to a T.
Neverending Story to this day remains one of my top 5 favorite fantasy movies, and iknow I'll probably get shit for this statement but I didn't think that part 2 was that bad. I found the effects were more colorful and bizarrely amazing and I thought the lower budget and more obscure approach to the film made it that more otherworldly and imaginative. While obviously not as good as the original, I still think it deserves more attention than it got. The third one can rot in hell though. It's also worth mentioning that there was a computer game based on the book and movie that was similar to Myst, but having slightly more emphasis on adventure gameplay rather than the straight up puzzles that Myst incorporated more of.
Someone probably has pointed out some of those: - Michael Ende basically hated everything based on his books. - Phantasia is Phantasien in the German book and the movie. So the „slip“ was the English book translation. - The book was originally printed in red and green: one colour for the parts set in Phantasia and the other for the parts set in „our“ world. - Tami has recently returned to movies with the movie „Man and Witch“ (which features a lot of dancing) - The original German release of the movie did not feature the Limahl Song.
I just gotta say this, I goddamn LOVE those Sphinxes!! 😂 They're gorgeous, sexy and incredibly eerie and foreboding. I'm going to make a jeweled necklace of them at some pint.
Because of his name, and the style of music used in his song, I wound up thinking for 30+ years that Limahl was an Indian--as in Hindu Indian, not Native American Indian. There’s something else you didn’t know!
For me, I think it was Noah's sexy nipples. So glad they didn't also paint him a toxic green, in addition to nearly taking out his eye and breaking his spine.
@David Maestas It is seen as art and not there for a sexual reason. Even school books have pieces of historic art depicting male and female anatomy. It likely would not be allowed today though, people are super sensitive about everything now.
I've only cried 3 times in my life. 1. When my mom committed suicide. 2. When my 2nd wife was killed in a car accident. 3. When Artax drowned in the Swamp of Sadness. Also, when I was young, I crushed soooo hard on the child-like Empress.💜
Neverending story is definitly up there with the labyrinth in my opinion.. Second one was crap. I didn't know the third existed. Thats an interesting bit about the c.l.e.' s teeth tho.
Reading the book gave me a little more appreciation for the 2nd movie. It tried but I agree had it followed immediately maybe it could have been better with the original cast.
That is an informative video, Mr. Bishop! I feel so great learning from you about E.T. being in the movie.😊 The place is called "Fantastica" in the English translation for Michael Ende's novel, but in the original German, the novel calls the place "Phantasien." When Ralph Manheim (who also did a famous English translation of _Mein Kampf_ for Houghton Mifflin; that's the translation the Anti-Defamation League uses in its own edition) did the English translation of the novel, he chose to change "Phantasien" into "Fantastica," but it would have worked just as well if he went with "Fantasia," which actually would have been closer in pronunciation to the name that Michael Ende chose.😯
Yes I agree with you. Not to mention that 'Fantasia' sounds like a latin for fantasy, which is a good name for a make believe world, and 'Fantastica' sounds like a cleaning product.
"Phantasien" could be pronounced in German in two different ways, Fun-TAH-Zee-Yen (land, state or sth.) and Fun-tah-ZEEN (same as Fantasy). First Version invented by Michael Ende. For this there are special pronounce-markers (like in French) in the (german) Book. But now it's common spelling.
FUN FACT:. The same voice actor for Falcor also voiced The Rockbiter. He was in his mid-50's at the time. He is in his early 90's today and still alive.
R.I.P. Margot Kidder 🙏🏻❤️ - Loved The Neverending Story when I was younger. I thought it was a really clever and different type movie for the time. Thanks for doing this!! You definitely need to do Short Circuit, The Phantom Tollbooth, Stand By Me, etc. , as others have mentioned. The Phantom Tollbooth was actually a great book they turned into a movie. Check it out!! 🤖🤓
Remember it's a German film, and nominally several of the characters you find in Germanic mythology; you have gnomes (Gniss, Landvaettir, Huldrafolk etc. (spirits of the land/forest), The Rock Biter (obviously a Norse mountain giant) then you have The Nothing (Ragnarok), The Orin serpent necklace (The Midgard serpent, a symbol of destruction and renewal), and Gmork (Fenris Wolf, an agent of destruction). Lastly, the hero has to discover a new name for The Childlike Empress to renew her life, and gain power over her, and the world as its being destroyed (Rumplestiltskin folktale, Germanic magical name power tradition (Also seen as a theme in The Earthsea novels by Ursula Le Guin))
One remark: Michael Ende also hated the fact that Bastian and Fuchur get to leave Fantasia and appear in the real world, which doesn't happen in the book (the first movie is based on the first half of the novel). He tried to stop the franchise but was not able to do so. If you want a well made movie that Ende actually liked, then check out "Momo" from 1986, based on another great novel by Ende. Ende himself has a cameo in it and it has great actors like Mario Adorf and Sylvester Groth (whom you might know from Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds").
@@EnglishVirgo Indeed it is, and because of you being so savvy, I'll put that all aside. Just curious, have you ever read the book? If not, would it interest you to know that Atreyu was originally green?
That soundtrack was magic! I remember as kid, mum and dad taking my sister and I to see it - I was Bastian's age - and whenever I hear that music, I am transported back to that night!
the feels back when I was 8 or 9 ,free day in class teacher popped this movie in...and end up showing my younger sister ,my kids...still watch it over and over
i adored this movie. the photography was breath taking, the music was phenomenal, and the premise was engaging. i have watched it so many times. it does amaze me, however that almost no one caught the deep and hidden messages throughout that are a comment on our times still. g'mork even explains it near the end and people still did not get it. this movie never received its due.
It's funny how Atreyu survived the Swamps of sadness. Like it was confusing, but it was really cool. The neverendig story was the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Should be noted that the artist who sang the theme for the movie is Limahl, who was the front man for 80's pop group Kajagoogoo, a one hit wonder with the song "Too Shy".
Apart from the facts themselves, I loved your take on everything! And while I knew it was a book, I did learn a ton of other stuff I never knew about! Nicely done!
