Watership down is a heroic fantasy novel about a small group of rabbits, written by british author richard adams. Watership down is a 1978 british animated adventuredrama film, written, produced and directed by martin rosen and based on the 1972 novel by richard adams. Dec 28, 2016 this, coming from an author widely known for writing the most violent talking rabbit book in history, is an understatement. This, coming from an author widely known for writing the most violent talking rabbit book in history, is an understatement. Dec 10, 2018 watership down airs at 7pm on december 22 and 23. Watership down original cover us of course if you lived in america at the time, this is the version you would have had.
But notice that this peaceful natural scene isnt completely naturaltherere little reminders that humans are around, like the fence and the ditch. Watership down 2018 remake vs the original 1978 duration. There has been some talk about how the new adaptation will tone down the violence. Watership down, his 1972 adventure novel, is not only what happens when a writer refuses to talk down to children. The chief rabbit is not bigwig, the biggest and strongest, but hazel, who is able to inspire the best in his followers. It is an excellent story that older children and adults can enjoy. Watership down original cover uk imagine this book hot off the presses as you check out the cover for the uk first edition. Netflix captures the doom and dread of watership down. On one level it is quite a long book, written in fairly adult language which deals with serious issues like life and death, making it seem unsuitable for children. Watership down is actually a chalk hill in hampshire, england. The violence of watership down, a childrens film about a group of rabbits trying to find new home, was arguably too strong, austin told the bbc.
I praised the performances of james mcavoy, john watership down in overall is a great retelling of this classic. Based on the 1972 childrens book, written by richard adams, watership down tells the story of a group of rabbits searching for a new warren after theirs is destroyed by housebuilders. Watership down producers warn parents twopart bbc adaptation. How do we teach our children about violence in a way thats. Originally released on october 19 1978, the film was an immediate success and it became the sixth most popular film if 1979 at the british box office. Apr 28, 2016 bbc remake watership down with less violence to avoid scarring children. For a generation of adults, watership down is probably synonymous with childhood trauma, thanks to richard adams beloved but occasionally brutal 1972 novel, and the downright barbaric 1978 film. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment. The plot just starts, immediately, within the first minute, without giving us a chance to meet or get to know our characters at all, which of. Star lineup announced for watership down adaptation.
But notice that this peaceful natural scene isnt completely naturaltherere little reminders that. Neither way of living is natural for rabbits and so they are miserable. Down has a horror story about how disturbingly brutal and violent it was. Oddly, while the new bbc series doesnt shy away from the storys inherent violence and terror. Feb 03, 2009 was it just me that was shown this movie as a child. If you like watership down you are looking for gloomy, emotional and cult film movies about with adventure, violence, friendship, rabbit, journey, survival and gore themes of animation, adventure and drama genre shot in uk. Watership down is a 1978 british adventure drama animated film writen, produced and directed by martin rosen and based on the book by richard adams. A worldwide bestseller for more than forty years, watership down is the compelling tale of a band of wild rabbits struggling to hold onto their place in the worlda classic yarn of discovery and struggle the new york times. The watership down warren is also unnatural in many ways. Sick decision to air horrific watership down on easter sunday angers channel 5 viewers everyone agrees its definitely not a kids film but. Although it was rejected by several publishers before collings accepted it,4 it won the annual carnegie medal, annual guardian prize, and other book awards.
Producers have suggested the new version, a bbcnetflix coproduction, will be less violent. John hurt, richard briers and ralph richardson watership down 1978 official trailer john hurt movie a group of rabbits flee their doomed warren and face many dangers to find and. Oct 30, 2014 but the fact so little sticks about watership down other a vague reminiscence of an unstoppable flood of rabbitgeddon into my inner self the field of blood that was my blood makes me sure. Dec 23, 2018 what watership down lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in the clarity of its story, which sticks fairly closely to adams vision albeit with more nuance and depth added to the female characters. It was rejected by several publishers before collings accepted the manuscript. Watership down will be shown on bbc one on 22 and 23 december. You may have been required to read this book when you were in middle or high school. Colin danns the animals of farthing wood was published a few years later and it feels like half the books i read growing up were about a group of some species of animal trying to get from point a to point b without getting run over by toyotas. Favorites for nearly 100 years, these classic novels follow the adventures of the spirited redhead anne shirley, who comes to stay at green gables and wins the hearts of everyone she meets. I remember when watership down was first published in 1972. The conversations and character development of the rabbits are the bricks that build the story. Though watership down was far and away adams most successful book which he acknowledged, telling an interviewer in 2007, you cant expect another miracle like watership down. Watership down the book by richard adams productservice.
The books success was so stunning that it immediately gave birth to a subgenre of animal fantasy stories. When rabbit fiver voiced by richard briers has a premonition of his warren being destroyed by man, he persuades his brother hazel john hurt and a few other friends to flee in search of safety. Although they live in their natural wild environment, with burrows, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language, proverbs, poetry, and mythology. Watership down movie poster imagine this hanging out the wall of your local theater. Although there are some flaws in the series like some changes between the novel itself, this remake tells so greatly without even being too horrific like the 1978 film. Based on the lives of anthropomorphized rabbits, adams created a world where these furry woodland creatures had their own religion, mythology and desires.
The plot just starts, immediately, within the first minute, without giving us a chance to. Richard adams didnt set out to write a book but instead began to makeup the story to entertain his children on a long road trip. While we wont shy away from the darkness in the book, visually it wont be as brutal and scarring. It took us nearly a year to finish it, reading a chapter a week or so. If watership down has anything to teach us, beyond the. Apr 28, 2016 star lineup announced for watership down adaptation. But watership down, richard adamss novel, is, although notionally for. They have many adventures along the way, until they encounter a vicious race of rabbits who are determined to. Watership down was richard adams first novel and it is by far his most successful to date. All of a sudden the book watership down was absolutely everywhere and people were reading it on buses, trains, park benches all over the place. In 1972, english author richard adams published a childrens novel called watership down. Watership down is a survival and adventure novel by english author richard adams. Watership down director explains why netflix version is.
Hazel and his gang survey the view from watership down. Jan 19, 2019 the author richard adams took his title from an actual nearby hill in the south of england, but he could hardly have chosen a more evocative one than watership down for his epic 1972 tale of. Set in southern england, around hampshire, the story features a small group of rabbits. Macmillan usa, then a media giant, published the first u. Watership down director explains why netflix version is less. This book is about a rabbit that is psychic and sees that they need to leave their home and search for a new one. The story is about a group of wild rabbits who flee from their colony and warren when one rabbit senses that danger is on the way. Watership down is an odd book and i can see why publishers were so hesitant to touch it. It was financed by a consortium of british financial institutions and was distributed by cinema international corporation in the united kingdom. Your purchase helps us remain independent and adfree. Watership down opens with an exciting landscape, full of flowers and plants. The author richard adams took his title from an actual nearby hill in the south of england, but he could hardly have chosen a more evocative. Aimed at adults perhaps more than children, this is a respectful, beautifully animated adaptation of richard adams beloved book. But watership down does not dismiss the unnatural out of hand.
You might be tempted to yawn or swoon, if youre the outdoorsy type. Sick decision to air horrific watership down on easter. The new miniseries is the second time watership down has been adapted to television. Watership down and the power of notquiteappropriate. It was finached by a constortium of british financial institutions. It was a coproduction of alltime entertainment of the united kingdom and decode entertainment of canada, and produced by martin rosen, the director of the 1978 feature film adaptation. There has been some talk about how the new adaptation will tone down the violence and. And while the animation is at first a downsideseemingly retro, too saturated with brown and black. In watership down, home isnt just where you keep your stuff and park your carhome is about where you belong. Star lineup announced for watership down adaptation bbc. Viewers blast show for its awful cgi as they joke that bbc ones.
Bbc remake watership down with less violence to avoid scarring children. Ever since watership down has been regarded as one of the creepiest childrens films ever made. Warren life for rabbits involves family and friends, as they build community through working together. A new bbcnetflix miniseries based on the novel brings out the. Watership down is a survival and adventure novel by english author richard adams, published by rex collings ltd of london in 1972. Richard adamss watership down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Allowing for the sweetness in adams original work to come out in this modern take is part of what makes the bbcnetflix version of watership down work best. The bbc fourpart adaptation of the richard adams novel about a group of rabbits in sandleford warren who seek a new home when fiver nicholas hoult has a visi. Bbcs watership down remake rebuked by academic for not.
And, even though the violence has been toned down for the new twopart drama being shown on bbc1 tonight and tomorrow, it is only recommended for. Adamss daughters explain how the book, first published when their father was a. It was a novel by an unknown english author, richard adams. Watership down is sort of like a rabbity version of lord of the rings. Aug 10, 2016 watership down, which i would feel comfortable describing as one of the finest and most interesting books of the 20 th century, is most accessible to older children and adults, despite having. Watership down suffers from a simple but major flaw.
Netflixs watership down loses the complexity of novel. Bbc remake watership down with less violence to avoid. Americas reputation as a competent global leader is in peril. But you do, he went on, not waiting for contradiction. In this book, this is literally true for hazels rabbits, who work together to dig watership down warren. Is watership down really just a story about rabbits. True meaning of watership down revealed ahead of tv revival. Netflixs watership down avoids the risks that made the book and film so rewarding. Movies like watership down if you like watership down you are looking for gloomy, emotional and cult film movies about with adventure, violence, friendship, rabbit, journey, survival and gore themes of animation, adventure and drama genre shot in uk. Mar 31, 2016 the violence of watership down, a childrens film about a group of rabbits trying to find new home, was arguably too strong, austin told the bbc. Dec 10, 2018 watership down will be shown on bbc one on 22 and 23 december. Watership down will air as two featurelength 1 hour 40 minute episodes on bbc1 on saturday 22 december at 7pm and sunday 23 december at 7. These rabbits sought a new home, and they had to fight to get there every step of the way. Released on 19 october 1978, the film was an immediate success and it.
Tales from watership down puffin books book 2 richard adams. A new animated version of watership down, adapted from the 1972 novel by richard adams, aired this weekend on the bbc in the u. The novel was adapted into an animated feature film in 1978, and later, a television series, which ran from. Animated feature of richard adams bestselling novel. The pestilence, in this case, is not zombies but us. The real watership down woodland is set to be concreted. Watership down 1978 official trailer john hurt movie. The invaluable lessons of watership down, a dark classic. Its what happens when a writer refuses on all counts to shelter kids from the brutal, melancholy realities of our nonfictional. The story is a good one, but there is violence, death, destruction, suspense, and a few other things that might not be suitable for a younger audience. Watership down is set in rural england and tells the story of a group.
Watership down is a britishcanadian animated fantasy childrens television series, adapted from the novel of the same name by richard adams. Watership down feet tattoo elahrairah and the black rabbit of inle watership down tattoos, the black rabbit of death and the frithling prince. Set in the hampshire downs in southern england, an idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of suspense, hot pursuit, and derringdo chicago tribune follows a band of rabbits in flight from the incursion of man and the destruction. Watership down, which i would feel comfortable describing as one of the finest and most interesting books of the 20 th century, is most accessible to older children and adults, despite having. The plot is epic and filled with trials and tribulations, and it features a large party of rabbits of different skills and attributes. As the guardian reports, the idea for the book came to adams when his two daughters asked him to entertain them during a long car journey.
Dec 23, 2018 a new animated version of watership down, adapted from the 1972 novel by richard adams, aired this weekend on the bbc in the u. It was written by richard adams, and english author, and published in 1972. In the 1972 novel written by richard adams the threat of death looms large for the animals, with snares, poisoning and violence amongst. Bookbased animated tale has intense peril, violence. The traveling rabbits encounter many adventures along the way before finally settling at watership down.