The NeverEnding Story
Short description
The NeverEnding Story follows Bastian, a boy who takes refuge in his school's attic while avoiding bullies and begins reading a mysterious book he has taken from an old bookshop. The book recounts the threatened realm of Fantasia, where a creeping force called the Nothing is erasing the land and its inhabitants. Its ruler, the Childlike Empress, sends the young warrior Atreyu on a quest for a remedy, accompanied at points by the luck dragon Falkor. As he reads, Bastian comes to sense that his own imagination is tied to what happens in the story.
Wolfgang Petersen directed and co-wrote the film with Herman Weigel, adapting Michael Ende's novel. It came between Das Boot and Enemy Mine in Petersen's filmography. The cast includes Noah Hathaway as Atreyu, Barret Oliver as Bastian and Tami Stronach as the Childlike Empress, with Alan Oppenheimer providing several creature voices. The production was a German-American venture from Warner Bros., Constantin Film, PSO and WDR, with a budget of 27 million USD and a worldwide box office of 20 million USD.
Audiences have rated it 7.3/10 on IMDb from 169,000 votes and 7.2/10 on TMDB from 4,507 votes, while critics gave it 7/10 from 49 reviews, so the critical and audience scores sit close together.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film ends approximately halfway through the book by Michael Ende on which it is based.
- The author of the book, Michael Ende, was deeply disappointed by the distortion of his novel in the film. He demanded that production be halted or the film's title changed, but the studio refused. The subsequent lawsuit was decided against him. The only thing the author managed to achieve was that his name would not be mentioned in the opening credits.
- The title song for the film was performed by British singer Christopher Hamill, better known by the stage name Limahl. The song was included only in the American version of the film and is absent from the German version.
- The role of the Child Empress was played by Tami Stronach, an 11-year-old dancer born in Iran.
- During filming, actor Noah Hathaway suffered two serious injuries. During horseback riding training, he was thrown from the horse and then stepped on. Later, while filming the scene where his character drowns in the Swamp of Sorrow, his leg became stuck in a lift, and the actor was pulled underwater. He was unconscious by the time he was brought to the surface.
- The makeup team attempted to paint Noah Hathaway green to make him look like his character in the book. This idea was immediately abandoned, as the result looked far too unrealistic.
- With a budget of $27 million, "The NeverEnding Story" was the most expensive film made in Germany at the time.
- Steven Spielberg is a big fan of the film, and the original "Aurin" amulet from the film is kept in his office, enclosed in a glass case.
- The creation of the luckdragon Falkor began with a miniature rubber model, eventually resulting in a thirteen-meter, engine-powered creature. The dragon's enormous body was covered with over 6000 shimmering plastic scales and upholstered with pinkish air fur. Falkor's head was about a meter in width and height, with a long pink rubber tongue and remotely controlled eyes.
- The metalcore band Atreyu is named after the hero Atreyu.
- Over 200 boys auditioned for the role of Bastian in the fall of 1982. Barret Oliver made a very strong impression on director Wolfgang Petersen, but his candidacy was rejected at the time, as he was considered too young for the part. By March 1983, with filming about to begin, the role remained vacant, and the actor was given a second chance. Those responsible for casting were simply amazed at how much the boy had grown and matured during this time, and they arranged a short meeting for him with director Wolfgang Petersen in the waiting area of Los Angeles International Airport, after which his candidacy was immediately approved.
- The main part of the filming took place in Munich, Germany, with only the scenes involving Barret Oliver being shot in Vancouver, Canada.
- The original film was shot in English. The version for German release differed in that it was slightly longer in runtime than the American version. The musical tracks differ in both versions, and there are almost no scenes where they sound in sync. Giorgio Moroder composed the music for the American version, while Klaus Doldinger composed for the German version, and their compositions are completely mixed in both versions. The editing of the German and American versions also differs in some scenes.
- Noah and Barret had practically no contact except during the filming of a couple of scenes and during the voice acting, with most of the filming done separately.
- The film's popularity led to the release of two television series. The first, an animated series, premiered in 1996 and consisted of 26 episodes. The second, a live-action series, was released in 2001 and consisted of 4 episodes (in the British version – 13 episodes). Additionally, two sequels to the film were released. The first, “The NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter” (1990), was partially based on the second half of Michael Ende's novel, while the second, “The NeverEnding Story 3” (1994), featured a completely new storyline.
- At the time of filming “The NeverEnding Story,” Michael Ende’s book had not yet been translated into English, which meant that none of the American actors, including Barrett Oliver and Noah Hathaway, had the opportunity to read it.
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