Director:
Starring: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Scott Cohen, John Larroquette, Dianne Wiest
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: March 19, 2013
ASIN: B00B04NIZO
Retail: $9.98
Number of Discs: 3
Running Time: 444 minutes
Rating: TV-PG
Buy Link: Mill Creek Direct, Amazon
Review:
Before One Upon A Time magically dazzled the television screens, there was an underrated miniseries called The 10th Kingdom that aired in five-parts on NBC in February 2000. With a stunning cast with Diane West, Ed O'Neill, Camryn Manheim, John Larroquette, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ann-Margret, Rutger Hauer, and Scott Cohen, one would think this lavish event would be a ratings goldmine, but sadly it received low-ratings despite the fact that it garnered good reviews from critics and viewers.
The miniseries was previously released onto a single VHS, a two tapes VHS set (several scenes were removed), a three disc DVD set, and later a single double-sided DVD, all which are out-of-print. Mill Creek Entertainment recently released a three disc DVD set of The 10th Kingdom, in which I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
The 10th Kingdom's plot twisted the classic fairy tales. In the opening, the Evil Queen escapes prison and turns Prince Wendell (the Queen's stepson and the grandson of the late Snow White) into a dog, who quickly escapes through a magic mirror and ends up in modern day New York. The Queen sends Wolf and three trolls after him. The Prince quickly crosses path with a young waitress, Virginia Lewis, along with her janitor father, Anthony Lewis. The Wolf's plans of capturing the prince comes to a halt when he lays eyes on the lovely Virginia, who he instantly falls madly in love with her. He joins Virginia, Anthony, and the Prince when they are forced to into the magic mirror and travel to the Nine Kingdoms. Many dangers and mysteries await them as they try to defeat the wicked queen, restore the Prince back into his body, and find a way home.
I watched The 10th Kingdom when it originally aired and I loved it. I bought the single VHS version, but the video quality was horrible. I was thrilled to get a chance to review the DVD version. Over the last few nights I have watched the entire miniseries and it is just as good as I remember it. My favorite is the part 3 with Lucy Punch as Sally Peep, but I also like everything else about it. As a bonus there is a Making-of Featurette. The video quality is great, except for the twenty-odd-seconds of waviness in the part one scene with Virginia and the Prince in the restaurant’s kitchen, but it didn't persuade me from not giving this DVD release a 5 out of 5.
Watched this when it was on TV as a mini-series and was thrilled when I found it on DVD some years ago.
ReplyDeleteI loved this back when it first came out, too. Good memories! :)
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