Customer Reviews

Needful Things [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I have seen two versions of "Needful Things" the regular theatrical cut which runs at about 113 minutes and the extended edition that used to play on TNT (which is actually better) that has a running time of about 175 minutes, the full program with commercials was about 4 hours long.

Where this version fails is that the character development is rushed and they focus more on the "deeds" than what the book does. The novel itself is very excellent and the first part allows the characters to be developed. Part two of the novel is left to the "deeds" and part three focuses on the chaos that results and the aftermath.

However, in the movie, the "deeds" and the chaos and not on the characters nor the aftermath. I think that "Needful Things" could be put on film, as long as it's a three part miniseries and not just one movie.

However, this film does have some good things about it, the main good thing is Max von Syndow's performance (although when I read the book I imagined someone like Christopher Lee). Another good thing is how accurate to the book that the "deeds" were carried out.

Some may say that this is the worst Stephen King adaptation, but I can think of a couple that are worse: Dreamcatcher, Graveyard Shift, Thinner, and Tommyknockers. This one, is only fifth worse.

There's at least a 3hr version of this film, most likely longer, it aired on television and cable, at 4rhs with commercials and with the R rated material edited.

This version is okay, but it's cut down to the bare bones of the plot(s) for time and space. The longer version has never been seen on video, but we can hope!

The original Needful Things was an hour longer than it appears on this DVD. Also, there is no widescreen version that is produced. This is probably the best adaptation of a Stephen King book ever brought to film, but it has not yet been deemed profitable enough to put any effort into the produciton of the DVD. The movie itself is superb (for its genre), 3 and 1/2 stars easy. However, this is one of the most shoddily made DVDs that I have ever seen. It is simply not worth buying.

In the first month of 2000. I saw the Director`s Cut of the film adding one hour of additonal footage, it had one character, we saw her in the 120 mins version needful things, but only briefly as Brain Rusk Mother played by Lisa Blount as Cora Rusk. Inculding a different opening, a car chased scene with Ed Harris and Max Von Sydow. For sure they cut a few gory scenes but is worth it waiting for a Widescreen Director`s Cut on DVD, also i wish, they add Audio Commentary, that will be great for a Stephen King Fan. Who Knows, they show it on television. I seen it on TBS SuperStation. That Version earn 4½ Stars Or maybe Five Stars, if i seen it again.

This movie, based on the novel by Stephen King, has such a great premise. Its underlying tones focus on the greed and self-love we all have in ourselves, and how the devil can prey on our every weekness, with something as simple as a baseball card. It fails however, in chopping up the novel, and deleting many scenes that could have made this a very important movie. If you can, watch the 3 hour directors cut that aired on TBS, which has more charcters (including Cora Rusk) and in which the sellings of leland gaunt are spanned throughout the whole movie, instead of just in the first half. Great performances all around (JT walsh a bit over the top), while Amanda Plummer shines and chills as the victim Nettie Cobb, who participates in one of the best cat-fights I have ever seen!

I admit I haven't read the book Needful Things, but this movie just seems like its missing something. It starts out well, with a look at small town life.The scene where Ed Harris, as the sheriff, and Max von Sydow as Leland Gaunt, the antique shop owner/Satan, meet and share some pie is almost sublime. But then the movie gets silly, with Ole Scratch turning the townspeople violently against each other by providing all the things they've ever wanted most. The acting is good, though Sydow really chews the scenery by the end. Overall, fair time killer.

I had the pleasure to watch this movie and "The Exorcist" in the same week and could only marvel at the underrated performances of Max von Sydow in both. In this Stephen King adaptation, von Sydow effortlessly goes from charming gentlemen to vicious and sardonic Satan in the Kingesque town of Castle Rock. While in the book, King destroys the dreamy little town, it just gets blown about a bit in the movie version. As usual, they couldn't get all the good stuff in the film version (noticeably absent is the woman who has a thing for Elvis carried to a fatal climax), but writer W. D. Richter captures the essence of the book and with von Sydow's tongue in cheek performance helming the film, I enjoyed it. Ed Harris seemed a little out of place, an actor who felt he needed to bust out of the constraints of the character and become Jack Nicholson; Bonnie Bedelia was rendered pretty ineffective in trimming down Polly's role; Amanda Plummer and Valeri Brumfield as Nettie and Wanda were viciously effective, and JT Walsh did a nice over the top job in his role as the gambling fool.
Director Heston didn't get enough of the real terror of the book in this movie, but it's an okay adaptation and better than "Cujo" or "Christine."

This was absolutely a wonderful "twist" movie. It's not my most favorite movie, but by the time you finish watching it, you think...wow, that was great. The ending needed more development, though. What's so great about a house exploding? I would try to find an uncut version of the film because it's THAT much better than the cut version, which is what you'll find here on Amazon. The uncut version would get 4 stars...this one only gets 3.

This is actually not that bad of a film, but if you've read the story I can see how one could be biased against it. Von Sydow plays the part of the shopkeeper/soulkeeper with barely contained glee. But notice, that is how the devil is said to work, through the people around ya. Did not it occur to the townsfolk that it is unusual for anyone to have vintage liquor in a truckstop, wroughtgut town? They never saw him coming...

The movie wasn't bad, the acting was actually very good. Sydow does a pretty good emulation of Gaunt; you really like him at the beginning as in the book. It would have been impossible to recreate the book, there are WAY too many characters. In the movie, they don't include any of the school staff, some of the purchasers, or the con man from the past. If I had a complaint about the movie, it was ignoring the past lives of the Sheriff and Polly Chalmers. IMHO, those were two very crucial subplots to the story. Faithful to the book? Impossible without becoming a miniseries (The Shining testified to that). Acting and setting were well executed, however.