NeverEnding Story, The (1984, USA/GER) C-98m. SCOPE ***½ D: Wolfgang Petersen. Starring Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Tilo Prückner, Moses Gunn, voice of Alan Oppenheimer. Remarkable fantasy adventure, the decade's best alongside Ridley Scott's LEGEND (1982) and Neil Jordan's THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (1984). Adaptation of Michael Ende's book is lovingly detailed story of a sad boy (Oliver), who starts reading a book that will involve him more than he can imagine: In the land of Fantasia, the Big Nothing is threatening to devour everything, unless a young warrior (Hathaway) can find a cure for the ailing child-empress. Dazzling special effects, compelling plot with a clever message at its core, this is pure movie magic. Fine score by Giorgio Moroder and Klaus Doldinger includes title hit by Limahl. Followed by two sequels and an animated TV series. German title: DIE UNENDLICHE GESCHICHTE.