The Colour of Magic (TV film)

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic
Created by	Terry Pratchett
Written by	Vadim Jean
Directed by	Vadim Jean
Starring	David Jason Sean Astin Tim Curry Christopher Lee (voice) Jeremy Irons
Theme music composer	Paul Francis David Hughes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producer(s)	Rod Brown, Ian Sharples
Running time	189 min.
Distributor	RHI Entertainment
Release
Original network	Sky1
Original release	23 March 2008
Chronology
Preceded by	Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
Followed by	Terry Pratchett's Going Postal

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic is a two-part television adaptation of the bestselling novels The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. The fantasy film was produced for Sky1 by The Mob, a small British studio, starring David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry and Christopher Lee as the voice of Death. Vadim Jean both adapted the screenplay from Pratchett's original novels, and served as director.

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic was broadcast on Sky One, and in high definition on Sky 1 HD, on Easter Sunday (23 March) and 24 March 2008. The first part drew audiences of 1.5 million, with the second part attracting up to 1.1 million viewers. The film was well received by fans, but drew mixed reviews from critics, who generally praised the acting talent of the all-star cast, but criticised the film's script and direction.

The production is the second adaptation of Pratchett's novels as a live-action film, following the successful release of Hogfather on Sky 1 over Christmas 2006. A third adaptation, Going Postal, followed in 2010 with more planned for the future.

The plot of the adaptation largely follows the first two Discworld novels, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. The story follows the exploits of Rincewind, a wizard who is expelled from Unseen University after spending 40 years failing to learn even the most basic magic. In fact, Rincewind's head holds one of the eight spells from the Octavo, the most powerful spellbook in the Discworld, and he has been unable to learn others because "they were afraid to be in the same head" as the Octavo spell. Rincewind is forced by the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork to act as a local guide for Twoflower, a property insurance salesman and the Discworld's first tourist, who is visiting Ankh-Morpork, and Twoflower's luggage, which is made from Sapient Pearwood and can run on its own legs.

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