Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: August 30, 1990
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301744179
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,705 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Having been stymied in the midst of trying to make Matewan, John Sayles wrote what he thought could be a cheap, quick little movie and it turned out to be this near classic, which blends fish-out-of-water comedy with trenchant and serious science fiction. Joe Morton plays an extraterrestrial whose spaceship crashes in New York Harbor. When he swims ashore, he finds that most of Harlem is filled with earthlings who look just like him. He can't speak, but he quickly learns to communicate; he also finds ways to understand these strange, quarrelsome creatures, who seem to talk forever without really saying much. Sayles is at his economic best, drawing a touchingly complex performance from the silent Morton and good acting from a strong supporting cast of mostly unknowns. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Star Movie on a 1 Star DVD, September 24, 2002

By 

Mr Doug Gordon (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brother from Another Planet (DVD)

I saw this classic movie back in the mid '80s, and I must say that it is memorable. What really makes this movie is the performance of Joe Morton and the supporting cast. Joe doesn't say a word of dialogue throughout the movie, but his facial expressions and body language prove that he has an undisputed talent for acting. He plays an intergalactic slave running away from bounty hunters. Crash landing in New York City, he gets to experience what the world has to offer. The comedy in this movie is subtle, but very witty which adds to the charm of this movie. I was hesitant to buy this movie on DVD because of the reviews & the price. On the back of the keep case, there is a disclaimer stating that there are picture imperfections due to the master used. I've never seen this on a DVD before! The good things about the DVD is that it's very clear & in focus. The colour looks normal (people are not flaming pink or morbid grey looking) & the disc plays continuous & doesn't freeze after each scene. The bad things are: The master used is not even acceptable for broadcast standards. There are a lot of artifacts throughout the movie (periodic horizontal noise lines & pixelling around the 45minute mark) It looks like a worn out BETA SP master was used. This is where the price comes in, for a DVD it's really low priced, but it shows that you get what you pay for. It's unfortunate, because this movie deserves the respect of being digitally remastered & reissued on a properly produced DVD.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks MGM!, September 24, 2003

By 

Mr Doug Gordon (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Brother From Another Planet (DVD)

Having bought the UAV release of this movie and being disappointed in the playback, I was thrilled to see a major label like MGM has picked up this gem of a movie and released it rrecently on DVD. The picture is crystal clear, and the sound is great. This is how this movie should have been released on DVD in the first place. There are no noise lines or pixeling in the MGM version. There is just vibrant colour and clarity. Parts of the movie show graininess, but that is not the fault of the DVD, it's just the film used, plus this movie is from 1984, so there wasn't digital filming at that time. I am very happy to finally get this movie that has been properly transferred onto DVD. This disc features a running audio commentary from John Sayles, plus an interview with him too. If you were not happy with the UAV version of this movie, I strongly recommend picking up the MGM release, because the movie looks how it should look on DVD and that's great!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NEW DVD's out soon, March 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Brother from Another Planet [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The copies that have seen floating around of THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET were bootlegs. Not worth it. Look for fully restored and remastered DVD's coming in the fall of 2003.