Customer Reviews

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I would rate it as a five if the whole TV mini-series made it on the tape. It was a very well done, made for TV movie. Bette Davis is excellent, but then isn't she always great. Rosanne Arquette was young, but gave a very good performance; So did the actors who played Nick Constantine and Worthy Pettinger. Worth producing on DVD with commentary by the author of the book, director and the living actors and actresses. Ask them what it was like to work with Bette Davis.

The evil role Davis played in "Harvest Home" was as good as her performance on "What Every Happened to Baby Jane?"

Everytime I travel to Maine I can picture the harvest home festival. Makes you a little afraid of those New Englanders and the secrets they may hold. If you liked Harvest Home you may also want to buy Dead and Buried with Jack Albertson and James Firorentino. Another New England chiller, alot like something Stephen King would write. (Reminds me of Monhegan Island, Maine "Spooky")

Don't buy Harvest Home on tape demand a full DVD Version.

NEED THE WHOLE THING ON DVD NOT JUST PARTS.

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of outrage at the hatchet job that was done to this VHS release of this classic horror TV mini-series.

I really hope somebody out there in DVD-makerland pays attention and hears that there are many people out here waiting for this to come out (uncut, with the picture cleaned up and remastered) on DVD.

And while you're at it, how about the TV mini-series of Stephen King's "The Shining", another exceptional TV effort that definitely merits DVD release.

The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home Is An EXCELLENT Adaptation On Tom Tryon's Novel HARVEST HOME. BUT!!! Unfortunately The Powers Thatt Be At MCA Home Video Opted To CHOP THE LIVING BEEJEEZUS Out Of The ORIGINAL Nearly Four Hour NBC Mini-Series Presentation To Contain It On ONE Videocassette. To Be Honest The Chop Job Is NOT A Bad One. They Did A Relatively Good Job Of Cutting Out Nearly ALL Of The Michael O'Keefe Part So He Is Not Really Missed Though His Performance Is Very Good. But Check The Lstings Of A Certain Cable Network Dedicated To Horror & Sci-Fi. They Occasionally Dust Off The Original Four Hour Epic For Broadcast Usually Back To Back In One Four Hour Lump. If You Must...Rent The Video Version. But Look For The Original Version And By All Means Watch It As Well. You'll Find It Even MORE Entertaining.

The made for television movie tells the story of a family who moves from the big city to a peaceful New England Village. Charmed by the town's people they feel that all is normal, when in fact nothing is what it seems. Widdow Fortune (Bette Davis) is at the heart of the evil which later engulfs this family in a deadly game, caught up in occult practices, taking place on "Harvest Home".

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of the viewer while drawing them into the day to day life of this quaint village-- then proves to them that all they have lived is a lie. Davis's luminous performance is outstanding and makes a contemporary take on an imortal actress, virtually translating into real audience appeal-- The Dark Secret of Harvest Home is a surprisingly thrilling film.

This wonderful 1978 TV mini-series is an all-around classic on many levels. It is not only a time-capsule of 1970's TV film-making, but it is an excellent adaption of Thomas Tyron's book. If you remember watching this movie on TV around the fall as a child, you will be terribly disappointed by the hatchet job done to this movie on the video store version. Not only have great scenes been cut out, but so much has been chopped the story is intelligible. Here's what the video is like:

Wow! Look at those people in old fashioned clothes farming!
Wow! Let's buy an old house here!
Hey! I don't think I like it here very much. Let's move!
No! This is where I am staying!
Wait! Stop! No! Please no!

The end.
Roll credits.

Hideous. If you honestly want this movie, I suggest going to horror conventions and/or keeping an eye out at online auctions. The full 185 minute version can be found there ranging in price.... Pricey yes, but it is a true find for the die-hard horror collector.

MCA: Why must we suffer this kind of thing? Print the entire orgiginal 4 hour series!

I remember watching this on tv when it first came out, and later reading the book. Excellent adaptation of a very creepy and disturbing story, kinda along the lines of The Wicker Man. Have been patiently (not) waiting for the whole mini-series to be released on DVD, and not a chopped up version that is almost impossible to find on vhs that is overpriced! PLEASE, I IMPLORE SOMEONE TO FINALLY RELEASE MOVIES THAT ARE REALLY ENTERTAINING AND MAKE YOU FEEL SOMETHING, AND NOT JUST THE SAME MOVIES RELEASED IN SPECIAL VERSIONS, EXTRA LONG VERSIONS, SUPERBIT VERSIONS, DIRECTORS VERSIONS, ETC. ETC. ETC.!!!!!!!

A Great, suspenseful and very interesting miniseries, completely ruined by the editing and the moron "Ce" who thought it was good would also like to see the one hour version of Gone With The Wind!

There is no way to cut Harvest Home and make it play smoothly and with effectiveness. The entire subplot of the new Harvest Lord was edited out of this cut. That took the heart and much of the suspense and evil out of the movie. As the other reviewers with some brains, I await the full , uncut version. The uncut version would be a very high quality collector's edition. It is the only one worth buying.

This cut version is too poorly edited to send out for free.

DISAPPOINTED IN THE SOUTH
I cannot begin to explain how disappointed I was with the VHS of this movie that I purchased for too much money then to realize that I did not have the entire miniseries. Please put this movie on DVD so many people would like to see the whole thing as it was shown on TV originally. All in all I loved the movie but if someone is seeing it for the first time an they've already been told about it. It really can't be appreciated with the hachet job thats been done on it. Entire miniseries On DVD PLEASE!!!!!!!!

I purchased the VHS version and was extremely disappointed by the extensive cuts performed on the tape. Where is the Worthy story, he is an integral part of the story....what was left was
not worth watching. I only watched the tape once, when I received it. Bring the entire story on DVD