Watching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freakin’ Willow! Just as one battle has ended, we start preparing for the next battle. It’s a metaphor for life, 1:35:15 to 1:36:33 on the Blu-ray.

General Kael rides through a brownish-grey rocky terrain at full gallop, carrying the baby. In the next shot, we can see he’s riding toward Castle NockMaar, a really cool view of the castle at sunset. He rides across a small drawbridge shouting “I have the child!” and the drawbridge starts to close after him. We’re then in the interior castle courtyard, looking not too dissimilar from Tir Asleen, but with more people about. A handler rushes out to take the reins of Kael’s horse. Kael’s horse appears to have two horns on its head, but this looks to me like part of its battle armor, and not that it’s an otherworldly fantasy magic horse.  

Cut again to outside, for another impressive shot of the castle exterior, as two more horses with riders approach. It’s Madmartigan, Willow, and Sorsha. Madmartigan shouts an angry “Ha!” at the castle. Are we meant to think that they’ve been in hot pursuit at full gallop, chasing Kael all the way there from Tir Asleen? Then there’s a great Kurosawa-ish shot of all the Galladoorn troops riding up behind them. Airk, wearing a cool gold helmet, orders, “We need towers and a battering ram! Break out the tents! Make camp!”

We see the Galladoorn troops get to work unpacking supplies from under a tarp on a cart. There’s a goat walking around in this shot, whom I think is meant to be Fin Raziel, though she doesn’t say anything. There are two close-ups of Sorsha during all this, first with her looking angrily at the castle, and then with looking around the troops with a slight smile, as if looking forward to the battle to come. There’s comedy shtick with the Brownies, still in that one horse saddle pouch. Rool raises a fish in triumph, only to clonk Franjean in the head. Airk says to Madmartigan, “We’ll assault at first light.” Willow looks up at the castle, followed by a pan up the structure, which I believe is meant to be his point of view.

 Cut to baby Elora Danan, looking concerned, followed by a closeup of Queen Bavmorda smiling at the baby all motherly-like. This is the first time we’ve seen her be anything other than enraged. She looks up and says, “Where’s Sorsha?” General Kael is there, without his helmet. He answers, “She has turned against us, your highness. There’s a quick reaction shot of Bavmorda, and then reaction shots of two of Bavmorda’s wise men, also in the room. Bavmorda goes right back into angry mode, saying, “Turned against me?” She walks off, revealing for the first time that this takes place in the throne room from earlier. She shouts, “Prepare for the ritual!” Where is she going, though? The tie-in books state the door to the side of the room leads to her private chambers, but in this scene she’s heading outside, back to the main part of the castle. This makes sense, though, based on where we see her in the next scene.

Next week: Swine flu.

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