Stars: Sam Neill, John Gielgud, Helena Bonham-Carter, Rutger Hauer, Miranda Richardson, Martin Short, Isabella Rossellini, James Earl Jones, Keith Baxter, Peter Bayliss, Nicholas Clay, Peter Eyre, Nickolas Grace, Mark Jax, John McEnery, John Turner, Billie Whitelaw, Robert Addie, Peter Woodthorpe, Billie Whitelaw, Lena Headey, John Turner, Janine Eser, Daniel Brocklebank, Sebastian Roche, Paul Curran, Jeremy Sheffield, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Timothy Bateson, Peter Benson, Rachel Colover, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jason Done, Justin Gurdler, Alice Hamilton, Agnieszka Koson, Dilys Lane, Emma Lewis, Thomas Lockyer, Joseph Mawle, Camilla Oultram, Jeremy Peters, Susan Rayner, Talula Sheppard, John Tordoff

Director: Steve Barron

Summary: In a time when magic was becoming a rare thing the wicked Queen of Darkness calls for the wizard Merlin to keep the old way alive. Falling in love with the beautiful Nimue, Merlin is saved from the dark side but is captured by Lord Vortigern...

This ambitious, all-star miniseries treatment of the Round Table legends is narrated from the perspective of the sorcerer Merlin (Sam Neill), who must choose between loyalty to the court and his love for beautiful Nimue (Isabella Rossellini). Solid acting and spectacular special effects combine to form an excellent television production.

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Famehelped to launch the 1980s on a tide of aspiration, creating a successful television series, kick-starting the leg-warmer industry and inspiring us all with the idea that with talent, a lot of hard work, plenty of suffering and luck, anybody might, one day, become a star. Nostalgia inevitably endows Famewith its own golden glow for anyone in the region of 40. And as we drown in the karaoke-by-numbers of today's cynical television talent shows, its touchingly innocent quality makes for a poignant and telling contrast.

In truth, director Alan Parker's film is a collage of the disciplines on offer at New York's High School of Performing Arts. The characters are sketchy totems for the emotional and domestic conflicts that drive their dreams--Leroy, Doris and friends needed the television spin-off to give them substance--but Parker is brilliant at conveying the intensity and heartache of their collective journey, from the paralysing nerves of the auditions to the strain of maintaining a rounded education alongside the development of performance skills and the ultimate thrill of graduation. By the end, thanks to the familiarity of the thudding disco soundtrack, you really do want them all to "live forever".

On the DVD:Famescores all over again on DVD with its widescreen format and a thumping soundtrack: the moment when the kids burst out onto the street and stop the traffic is a bit of 1980s cinema magic. Alan Parker leads the class reunion commentary, helped by many of the cast. The film is clearly still important to them all. Other extras include a visit to today's school (hardly changed in philosophy or the passion of its real-life students), a vintage featurette and face-to-face interviews which basically recycle the commentary. --Piers Ford

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Scene Index, Cast And Crew Biographies, Production Notes, The Legend Of Merlin, The Making Of Merlin
Year:	1998
Release Date:	July 15, 2002
Runtime:	174 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 9056
Keywords:	Family, Merlin
Genre:	Family