Watership Down (1978)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Martin Rosen

Writers:

Richard Adams (novel)
Martin Rosen (written by)

Release Date:

1 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and when they catch you, they will kill you... but first they must catch you.

Plot:

A group of rabbits flee their doomed warren and face many dangers to find and protect their new home.

Plot Keywords:

Rabbit | Home | Runt | Journey | Place Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Hurt	...	Hazel (voice)
Richard Briers	...	Fiver (voice)
Michael Graham Cox	...	Bigwig (voice) (as Michael Graham-Cox)
John Bennett	...	Captain Holly (voice)
Ralph Richardson	...	Chief Rabbit (voice)
Simon Cadell	...	Blackberry (voice)
Terence Rigby	...	Silver (voice)
Roy Kinnear	...	Pipkin (voice)
Richard O'Callaghan	...	Dandelion (voice)
Denholm Elliott	...	Cowslip (voice)
Lynn Farleigh	...	Cat (voice) (as Lyn Farleigh)
Mary Maddox	...	Clover (voice)
Zero Mostel	...	Kehaar (voice)
Harry Andrews	...	General Woundwort (voice)
Hannah Gordon	...	Hyzenthlay (voice)

Also Known As:

Richard Adams's Watership Down (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

101 min | Brazil:92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Finland:K-8 (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-10 | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Netherlands:AL

Company:

Nepenthe Productions

Trivia:

Most of the locations in this movie either exist or were based on real spots in Hampshire, England and surrounding areas.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cowslip tells the poem about the stream and the camera tilts up toward the ceiling, his head disappears before it has a chance to completely go off screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Long ago, the great Frith made the world. He made all the stars and the world lived among the stars. Frith made all the animals and birds and, at first, made them all the same. Now, among the animals was El-Ahrairah, the Prince of Rabbits. He had many friends and they all ate grass together...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "I'm Alan Partridge: Watership Alan (#1.3)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Bright Eyes

A wonderful film for all ages

I saw this film initially when I was about six or seven years old and have seen it several times since. Of all the films I saw during my early childhood, none captivated me as much as Watership Down. I am now twenty eight years old and, despite the violence and sadness of the film, I have somehow turned out to be a fairly normal bloke rather than a murderer or manic depressive. Funny that.

It is a complete fallacy to suggest that we must shield our children from anything that hints of the injustices that may exist in the real world. In fact, seeing a film such as this may help them in dealing with issues in their own lives or perhaps teach them lessons in understanding and appreciation of the world around them. Watership Down had that effect on me.