Moving Pictures

By: Terry Pratchett

Narrated by: Nigel Planer

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

Cameras roll - which means the imps inside have to paint really fast - on the fantastic Discworld when the alchemists discover the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill? As the alien clichés of Tinsel Town pour into the world, it's up to the Disc's first film stars to find out....

Thrill, as Victor Tugelbend ("Can't sing. Can't dance. Can handle a sword a little") and Theda Withel ("I come from a little town you've probably never even heard of") battle the forces of evil and cinema advertising....

Scream, as Gaspode the Wonder Dog nearly saves the day....

Eat popcorn as you watch the filming of Blown Away, the oddest Civil War picture ever made, "A Passionate Saga set Against the Background of a World Gone Mad! With a Thousand Elephants!" (And afterwards, why not dine at Harga's House of Ribs, for the best in international cuisine - only two minutes from this audiobook).

Browse all of our novels of Discworld.

©1997 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)1997 Isis Publishing Ltd.

Critic Reviews

"Philosophical humor of the highest order." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Unadulterated fun. Pratchett parodies everything in sight." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Pratchett + Planer = Perfection!

I grew up with a copy of this audiobook on cassette and it is a story that I have returned to time and again. Pratchett's Discworld novels are excellently written narratives for anyone who enjoys satirical fantasy, and the stories are always blended with a fascinating commentary on a few non-fictional themes. In this book Pratchett presents an interesting take on the issues of fame, hollywood, cinema advertising, and the disconnection from reality that people can experience when watching movies.

The storyline is enthralling, greatly assisted by Nigel Planer's narration. Planer has a wonderfully amiable style when it comes to voicing characters; each denizen of this book is amazingly well articulated. So much so in fact that many listeners may find themselves empathising with them like old friends before the end. Perhaps as a result of this, Planer also brings out the humour in the book very effectively. Even if you don't quite laugh out loud, you'll likely find yourself grinning at Pratchett's well crafted satire.

I highly recommend any of Pratchett's audiobooks, especially those voiced by Planer. Moving Pictures is a shining example of the perfect escapism you can find when the work of a brilliant author is brought to life by a master narrator. I'm sure I'll be coming back to listen to this one again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

great

very good book but not as good as some of his others. i would recommend reaper man or gaurds gaurds as his best

Wonderful

Terry Pratchett does it again, another fantastical adventure in the Discworld. Nigel planer is an excellent narrator, he brings the characters to life.

Simply superb

Nigel Planer has a unique way of bringing Terry Pratchett's characters to life and understands to transfer the author's wittiness to this medium.

All diversions, not much story

Terry Pratchett appears to have got a little obsessed with his panoply of characters when he wrote Moving Pictures. The book brims to overflowing with lots of little stories, but the core story feels short changed and shallow. It was so shallow that I can't even remember seeing it.

A superb book. Easily one of Pratchetts best.

What did you like best about this story?

All the ways Pratchett dreams up of poking fun at the movie/entertainment industry.

Have you listened to any of Nigel Planer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Planer is very solid as usual. He does not quite reach the same level as Stephen Briggs but is still a top notch reader.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's too long for that. Perhaps if I was trapped on a strange desolate island where I had no need of doing anything to sustain myself...

Any additional comments?

For newcomers to Pratchetts Discworld series this is a very good jumping on point.
Many new characters are introduced to the series in this book and there is no real need to know anything about the existing ones that turn up from earlier stories.

A good Listen

As with all the Terry Pratchett audio books they work really well if read well, this story is well read and the characters are brought to life by Nigel Planers reading. It's really nice to have the unabridged versions to listen to and they are great for a long drive.



As there are two Narrators for the majority of the books I have downloaded (Nigel Planer and Stephen Briggs) I have found that I have given up trying to listen i order of the book, but grouped my listening by the narrator so I can better enjoy the characterisation they bring to the different characters.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Classic Pratchett

A sweet, enjoyable and above all funny book, one of the older Pratchett's finest. There is no substitute for the unabridged version, every minute is well worth hearing.
Again Pratchett produces a great story as well as a masterly satire, with a story you can love as well as jokes that make you think. I wouldn't though rank this as highly as some of his other work, but it is still a great listen.

Quality is all I have come to expect from Mr Pratchett.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

very funny story, well read, slightly sketchy accents, but otherwise brilliant! looking forward to the next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Witty and very clever take off of Hollywood

Originally this was one of my least favourite Discworld books, but on listening to it again I noticed loads of stuff I missed first time round and really enjoyed it. the narration is fantastic and adds greatly to the enjoyment of the book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nigel Planer is a genius

What a wonderful combination of story and narration! I love Planer's 'welsh' trolls, and Gaspode the wonder dog. The magician's trip to the cinema is hilarious.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good, but I probably won't replay it.

Expertly narrated as allways by Nigel, and a decent story by Mr Pratchet. not my favorite Discworld novel, but prefer it over the wyrd sisters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesome

Another great terry pratchett book! I love Nigel plainer and how he brings the story the life! Best reader ever!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not one of his best

I love Terry Pratchett's writing, but I didn't enjoy this as much as I usually do, and the humour was less apparent.
I still think that this book is worth a listen

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Such a great book

I love delving into Holy Wood for Terry Pratchett’s Discworld version of the clicks (movies). I enjoy Nigel Planers voices as he pretends to be Victor, Ginger and the gang. Who couldn’t love being pulled into the discworld?
The only problem I had was with the download itself. The first seven chapters were actually the last so the best first chapter of the book was the seventh audio chapter... hopefully it was just a glitch with my download but you may want to check before you get into the book. It should begin:
WATCH...
This is space. It’s sometimes called the final frontier.
(Except that of course you can’t have a final frontier, because there’d be nothing for it to be a frontier to, but as frontiers go, it’s pretty penultimate...)

No suprise as Prachett has me laughing out loud

another joyful adventure as Pratchett holds a mirror up to the world. Worh a listen