The Last Battle in film

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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Ariel.of.Narnia » Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:58 pm

OOH! I can actually picture that in my mind!

I just wonder about the closing door though. Doors are hugely symbolic in art. (Warning: Ariel in movie-analyst/critic mode below. ;) )

I like the callback to the door-closing in LWW (and VDT and PC), but on the other hand... is it really the ending of a story? Is there a need for a literal closure? I mean, it's definitely the end of the story for those of us still on this side of the stable door, but on the other hand, Lewis did describe all that we know of Narnia as the title page and only now does the first chapter of their adventures begin.

And on a more spiritual/intellectual level, closing the gate could give an impression that Aslan's Country (/Heaven) is closed off. Of course, not everyone in the audience is going to think of it that way (Narnia's not an allegory, after all!), but because doors so heavily drip with meaning, questions - even subconscious ones - could well be raised. Closing the gate will bring up certain questions while leaving it open will bring up others.

Even if we drop the spiritual part (namely, the Heaven question), the gate can still have meaning for the audience. Just look at the three movies we have so far.
  • LWW. Having Digory, rather than Lucy, close the wardrobe door is telling: she wants more, he knows that this particular story/adventure is over. And then having the door crack open again and letting light and Aslan's roar through says that there's more to come... later.
  • PC. The train doors close on the Pevensies, giving a sense of finality. It is, however, lessened in its impact by a couple things. The first is "The Call" by Regina Spektor, holding a hope and promise of return. Another is the train leaving: on the one hand, Peter and Susan are moving on, but on the other, there's more in store for Edmund and Lucy beyond the black of the tunnel. The third is Aslan's roar. "I'll come back when you call me", anyone?
  • VDT. Unlike LWW, Lucy herself closes this door. It's the end of her story, the story she began by opening a door. Sure, she takes one last look at Narnia (as the ship disappears behind a wave), but like Edmund (and Peter and Susan before them), she's moving on. Now, I'd always wished that they'd inserted Aslan's roar, just as they had with the first two. I probably still do. But on the other hand, from Lucy's perspective, she shouldn't hear his roar. There's no return till she returns to stay. (So great, now I'm on the fence about the lack of an ending roar. Great job, Ariel.)
Back to LB. And even back to something I said earlier. Does the story end? Even for us on this side of the stable door? (Now note, the stable door is closed. It has to be. It separates the dead from the eternal.) An open gate (and, in my opinion, one last beautiful, resounding roar from Aslan) would say a lot to any fan, regardless of his beliefs. It's an invitation to come in. An call to something more. And if Lucy's wonderment is any indication, we know that what lies beyond is greater than anything we could ever possibly imagine. Those of us who know what lies beyond will think of it. Those who don't could be led to wonder. Those who don't wonder at least understand that something awesome is there. An open gate (again, personal opinion, with Aslan's roar to punch it home) would tell everyone, no matter what category they fall into, that they can attain that "something awesome". Even if they mislabel what that "something awesome" is, that idea, that feeling, that call is still there.

(*falls back to catch her breath* Oy, that turned out way longer than I thought.)
All that to say, "I love your idea, Esprit, but I think the gates should remain wide open." :D And if we want a finalizing touch, cue the credits with "This is Home" by Switchfoot. (Why in blazes is that song for PC anyway? They should have saved it, no matter how many years it took, for LB.)
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Quill Jill » Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:35 pm

I always thought The Last Battle as a film would just be beyond AMAZING. I like the idea of it starting off with the Friends of Narnia.
Esprit-That's a really good idea; I can see that happening. But I see Ariel's point about the gate closing and all.
Ariel-I always thought the same EXACT thing about This is Home by Switchfoot! If they played that in the credits for LB, I would be bawling my eyes out. It's so perfect. The lyrics really echo what Jewel says towards the end of LB: "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here..." I think the song goes way better with LB than with PC.
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Esprit » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:06 pm

Ariel.of.Narnia wrote:I like the callback to the door-closing in LWW (and VDT and PC), but on the other hand... is it really the ending of a story? Is there a need for a literal closure? I mean, it's definitely the end of the story for those of us still on this side of the stable door, but on the other hand, Lewis did describe all that we know of Narnia as the title page and only now does the first chapter of their adventures begin.
That's a really good point.

Okay, how about this:
As everyone files through the garden gate, you can hear Lucy (or Digory, but I think it should be Lucy) narrate something to the extent of "It was only the beginning...each day would be better than the last." Then, when Lucy turns back to the audience with that excited smile, she starts to close the door before everything is drowned out in white light (instead of fading to black).

And maybe in that moment with a white screen, there can be one last line, such as, "And we have come home."
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Quill Jill » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:31 pm

Oooh, Spree, I like that. And yes, I think Lucy should be the one to narrate. I hope they do something similar to that in the film, because that last paragraph of LB is just too good to not somehow insert it in.
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Ariel.of.Narnia » Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:45 pm

:D Better! Especially with that last bit of narration. (And yes, I'd go with Lucy for that.) Fade to white definitely. But you don't really need the text. Just let the images speak for themselves. :D
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by elanorelle » Wed Jun 11, 2014 6:54 pm

Wow, these are amazing ideas and I can imagine them exactly. I like your idea Spree of Lucy narrating the last paragraph after going into the Garden. This makes me excited for LB even when it's not even in progress yet!
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by HermitoftheNorthernMarch » Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:31 pm

Yes, The Last Battle would be very tricky to make, but I would really like to see it well done. It obviously isn't possible to portray Aslan's Country the way the book does, with the blue of the mountains being better than any blue we've ever seen, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't do a pretty good job with the story.
For one the the LB doesn't have the episodic nature that kept being bantered about during PC and Voyage. It does have the division between Narnia and Aslan's Country, though, and a moviemaker might be tempted to shorten the Aslan's Country part because of this, and because the Aslan's Country part would be so tricky to do.

One thing I hope they don't do is have the Aslan's Country parts be all washed out with white light, that would seem to be the opposite of what Lewis was saying about colors being better and foods being tastier. Also, the washed out lighting seems sort of overused.

The way I imagine the ending is with a zoom-out shot and not fading away to anything. This would show Aslan's Country as being very big, as it is bigger than Narnia (even the new Narnia is bigger than the old Narnia). Also, if they could keep from having a fade out shot it would keep from feeling like an ending. They could also pull off a neat musical score and leave off the ending phrase to show that Aslan's Country continues, as it is supposed to be about the Narnia books being only the title page. Although, they might have to have it fade away to something, they probably could not put the credits smack dab against the parting shot. They should also have the last lines by C.S. Lewis of LB in quotes at the end of the credits.

I certainly agree that they should keep Susan as not "yet" in Aslan's Country. I think C.S. Lewis really had her abandon Narnia because she will remind us of ourselves. She's still in "our world" at the end of the books, and we are too. Both Shift and Susan do not want to have anything to do with Aslan in The Last Battle and it would be inconsistent to say that Susan gets into Aslan's Country just because we like her better than Shift.

Ariel, I'm glad you brought up the Doors in the movie.
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by cor » Wed Aug 27, 2014 1:20 pm

Ooh! Espirit, I like that! Such a great idea! :D I got shivers when I read it! (That's good! :mrgreen: )
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Esprit » Fri Apr 17, 2015 9:01 pm

So, months later I've come back to this thread with another idea. What if there is a tiny scene (maybe after a portion of the credits) in which we get an idea as to Susan's fate? Maybe she's stumbling through the train wreckage, or looking through her relatives' things, or at the funeral -- obviously in mourning, in any case. And she finds something with obvious Narnian connotations -- a drawing of a faun under a lamppost, or a pocket watch with an engraved lion, perhaps -- and her fingers rub it fondly just long enough for you to think, "Oo! Maybe she's remembered!" before the scene cuts off and the credits begin again.
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Re: The Last Battle in film

Post by Ariel.of.Narnia » Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:30 am

That sounds cool, but I feel like that might undermine the ending in Original Narnia. And/or feel like a sequel build-up of some kind.
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