DVD Release Date:  December 18, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: August 10, 2007
Rating: PG-13 (for some fantasy violence and risque humor)
Genre: Fantasy
Run Time: 130 min.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Actors: Charlie Cox, Ian McKellan (narrator), Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole, Mark Strong, Robert De Niro

In Stardust, three witches cast spells, transform humans into animals, practice divination and unleash their fury upon anyone who stands in their way. It’s a fantasy film, but as a story that explores witchcraft and black magic, it’s bound to alienate many Christian viewers. Should we expose ourselves to depictions of these individuals, whose behaviors explicitly are condemned in the Bible? Are the characters glorified or vilified? Do they serve a story with redemptive themes? Is that story well told and well acted?

These questions and arguments have grown old, but the battle lines remain drawn. Does conscience dictate what sort of stories Christians can watch, or are certain stories declared off-limits from the start, leaving conscience out of the equation altogether?

The debate over such material is sure to rear its head again with the release of Stardust, an imaginative tale with no small amount of humor to underscore its story of love and devotion. It’s also frightening at times—not appropriate for younger children—and so packed with plot and characters that it might temporarily lose even the most attentive viewers. But in the end, the film pays off as a romantic fantasy in which good triumphs over evil.

A quest for love runs up against a quest for immortality when Tristan (Charlie Cox), a village boy who desperately wants to win the hand of Victoria (Sienna Miller), vows to venture beyond their village and retrieve a fallen star from the magical Stormhold.

The fallen star takes the shape of Yvaine (Claire Danes), who hobbles around Stormhold while Tristan tries to track her down. However, he’s not the only person interested in the star. Stormhold’s king (Peter O’Toole) tells his three surviving sons that the one of them who captures Yvaine will inherit the king’s throne.

The brothers’ machinations are watched by the ghosts of four deceased siblings, who killed each other off in earlier attempts to position themselves as the heir to their father’s kingdom. This amusing Greek chorus grimaces and offers droll commentary as they watch the trio of surviving princes jockey for advantage—with mortal consequences—in their pursuit of Yvaine.

Also after Yvaine are a trio of witches, led by Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), who plan to eat Yvaine’s heart—a gruesome ritual that will, they claim, restore their youth and beauty, and grant them eternal life. Using their powers, the witches transform the hag Lamia into a knockout, but one whose beauty fades each time she uses her magic powers.