Customer Reviews

The Ray Bradbury Theater in Collectable Tin

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the exact same product at the DVD set listed as the "Ray Bradbury Theater Complete Series" but for less money and comes with a collectible tin. This was $18 vs. $31 for the other version. When you open the tin up, the package inside looks exactly the same as the picture for the other version, and even lists the copyright date as 2004.

I haven't watched all the episodes yet, but if you like Ray Bradbury, you can't beat this set for this price. The complete series on 5 DVDs with all 65 episodes for under $20-you can't go wrong.

Ray Bradbury Theater is uniquely Bradbury, and that in itself qualifies this series as top rate science fiction. Dark disturbing stories are made emotionally distressing for the viewer through dramatic camera angles, superb lighting, and top quality acting. Bradbury Theater is not Twilight Zone, not Hitchcock, and not Outer Limits, but just as these shows have their unique and characteristic signatures, so does Bradbury Theater. Where Twilight Zone is clever, Hitchcock unexpected and Outer Limits strange, Bradbury is twisted with a hint of the demonic. If you are a Poe fan, you'll just love the queasy disemboweling feeling you get watching these plays, but not late at night, or just before bedtime.

While this entire set may not be The Twilight Zone or Night Gallery it's still great fun to see these productions. The stories are presented through the vision of the author which adds to their value. They are quick wonderful presentations that capture an interesting time in television. If you enjoy reading Ray Bradbury you will enjoy these discs. With all these episodes you will finds hours of enjoyment as I have so far.

The first half dozen episodes of THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER were made in Canada for the HBO network. After that, the program moved to USA (another cable outfit) for an additional four seasons. Most impressive are the number of actors who participated in this sci fi/fantasy series, from the most famous (Shatner, Goldblum, O'Toole and Nielson) to stars of yesteryear (Linden, Stapleton, Pollard and Culp).

Scripts were reworked by the author himself, chosen from his archive of over 400 short stories. Twenty years earlier, Bradbury had written for ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, so he was already familiar with the challenges of the half-hour format. All 65 episodes of THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER are here for your discovery or re-enjoyment. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!

ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - Season Three is hosted by the Master of Suspense himself. If you like Bradbury, you're gonna LOVE Hitchcock!

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The following program list includes episode numbers, titles, season, original airdates and their most prominent actors.

DISC 1:
(_#3) The Crowd (S.1, 7/2/85) - David Hughes/Nick Mancuso/R.H. Thomson
(_#1) Marionettes, Inc. (S.1, 5/21/85) - James Coco/Leslie Nielson
(_#6) Banshee (S.1, 2/22/86) - Peter O'Toole/Michael Copeman/Jennifer Dale
(_#2) The Playground (S.1, 6/4/85) - William Shatner/Steven Andrade
(_#5) The Screaming Woman (S.1, 2/22/86) - Drew Barrymore/Mary Ann Coles
(_#4) The Town Where No One Got Off - (S.1, 2/22/86) - Jeff Goldblum
(#15) The Coffin (S.2, 5/7/88) - Dan O'Herlihy/Denholm Elliot/Clive Swift
(#10) Gotcha! (S.2, 2/20/88) - Saul Rubinek/Michael Healy/James Kidnie
(_#9) The Emissary (S.2, 2/13/88) - Helen Shaver/Eric Hebert
(#11) The Man Upstairs (S.2, 3/5/88) - Féodor Atkine/Kate Hardie
(#12) The Small Assassin (S.2, 4/9/88) - Cyril Cusack/Leigh Lawson
(#14) On the Orient, North (S.2, 4/29/88) - Tim Holm/Ian Bannen
(_#7) The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl (S.2, 1/23/88) - Robert Vaughn

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DISC 2:
(#16) Tyrannosaurus Rex (S.2, 5/14/88) - Cris Campion/Daniel Ceccaldi
(#17) There Was an Old Woman (S.2, 5/21/88) - Roy Kinnear/Mary Morris
(_#8) Skeleton (S.2, 2/6/88) - Eugene Levy/Diane D'Aquila/Peter Blais
(#13) Punishment Without Crime (S.2, 4/16/88) - Donald Pleasence
(#18) And So Died Riabouchinska (S.2, 5/28/88) - Alan Bates
(#19) The Dwarf (S. 3, 7/7/89) - David Cameron/Megan Follows
(#20) A Miracle of Rare Device (S.3, 7/14/98) - Pat Harrington Jr.
(#21) The Lake (S.3, 7/21/89) - Jim Moriarty/Sylvia Rands/Tina Regtien
(#26) The Haunting of the New (S.3, 9/15/89) - Suzannah York/Richard Comar
(#27) To the Chicago Abyss (S.3, 9/22/89) - Harold Gould/Arne MacPherson
(#29) The Veldt (S.3, 11/10/89) - Linda Kelsey/Malcolm Stewart/Damien Atkins
(#30) Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar! (S.3, 11/17/89) - Marc Reid
(#23) The Pedestrian (S.3, 8/4/89) - David Ogden Stiers/Grant Tilly

DISC 3:
(#22) The Wind (S.3, 7/28/89) - Michael Sarrazin/Ann Pacey/Ray Henwood
(#24) A Sound of Thunder (S.3, 8/11/89) - John Bach/Kiel Martin/Michael McLeod
(#.25) The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone (S.3, 8/18/89) - John Saxon/Alan Scarfe
(#28) Hail and Farewell (S.3, 9/30/89) - Frank C. Turner/Christine MacInnis
(#33) Touched With Fire (S.4, 8/3/90) - Eileen Brennan/Barry Morse/Joseph Shaw
(#42) Here There Be Tygers (S.4, 11/30/90) - Timothy Bottoms/Peter J. Elliott
(#36) Touch of Petulance (S.4, 10/12/90) - Eddie Albert/Jesse Collins
(#34) The Black Ferris (S.4, 8/10/90) - Zachary Bennett/Nathaniel Moreau
(#41) The Long Years (S.4, 11/16/90) - Robert Culp/George Touliatos/Jason Wolff
(#39) Exorcism (S.4, 11/2/90) - Sally Kellerman/Jordan Singer/Bartley Bard
(#31) Mars Is Heaven (S.4, 7/20/90) - Hal Linden/Paul Gross/Helen Moulder
(#32) The Murderer (S.4, 7/27/90) - Bruce Weitz/Cedric Smith/Donna Akersten
(#35) Usher II (S.4, 8/17/90) - Patrick Macnee/Desmond Kelly/Ian Mune/Alice Fraser

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DISC 4:
(#38) The Toynbee Convector (S.4, 10/26/90) - James Whitmore/Michael Hurst
(#40) The Day It Rained Forever (S.4, 11/9/90) - Vincent Gardenia/Sheila Moore
(#37) And the Moon Be Still As Bright (S.4, 10/19/90) - David Carradine
(#43) The Earthmen (S.5, 1/3/92) - David Birney/Patricia Phillips/Ian Robison
(#44) Zero Hour (S.5, 1/10/92) - Sally Kirkland/Kurtis Brown/Katharine Isabelle
(#46) Colonel Stonesteel and the Desperate Empties (S.5, 1/24/92) - Harold Gould
(#47) The Concrete Mixer (S.5, 1/31/92) - Harold Jerome/Ben Cross/John Gilbert
(#45) The Jar (S.5, 1/17/92) - Paul Le Mat/Jennifer Dale/John Dee
(#48) The Utterly Perfect Murder (S.5, 2/7/92) - Richard Kiley/Robert Clothier
(#50) The Martian (S.5, 2/21/92) - John Vernon/Sheila Moore/Paul Clemens
(#49) Let's Play Poison (S.5, 2/14/92) - Richard Benjamin/Shane Meier
(#57) The Dead Man (S.6, 9/26/92) - Louise Fletcher/Peter McCauley/Frank Whitten
(#52) The Happiness Machine (S.6, 7/17/92) - Elliott Gould/Mimi Kuzyk/Paul McIver

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DISC 5:
(#51) The Lonely One (S.6, 7/10/92) - Joanna Cassidy/Chic Littlewood
(#56) The Long Rain (S.6, 9/19/92) - Marc Singer/Michael Hurst/Brian Sergent
(#54) The Anthem Sprinters (S.6, 8/21/92) - Len Cariou/Karl Bradley/Maurice Keene
(#63) Fee Fie Foe Fum (S.6, 10/28/92) - Jean Stapleton/Lucy Lawless/Robert Morelli
(#60) Downwind From Gettsburg (S.6, 10/17/92) - Howard Hesseman/Robert Joy
(#55) By the Numbers (S.6, 9/11/92) - Ray Sharkey/Geordie Johnson
(#65) The Tombstone (S.6, 10/30/92) - Shelly Duvall/Desmond Kelly/Ron White
(#53) Tomorrow's Child (S.6, 8/14/92) - Carol Kane/Michael Sarrazin/John Kerr
(#59) Silent Towns (S.6, 10/10/92) - John Glover/Monica Parker
(#61) Some Live Like Lazarus (S.6, 10/24/92) - Catherine Wolf/Leon Woods
(#58) Sun and Shadow (S.6, 10/3/92) - Stuart Margolin/Gregory Sierra/John Bach
(#64) Great Wide World Over There (S.6, 10/29/92) - Tyne Daly/Helen Moulder
(#62) The Handler (S.6, 10/27/92) - Michael J. Pollard/Lee Grant/Henry Beckman

The collection as a whole is viable, though, as another reviewer indicated, there are some less-than-stellar episodes. All that said, these are adequate for my purposes (teaching a SciFi class). If you are looking for a "bargain", go with the version without the "collectable tin"(unless you're just into collecting them!): the 5 DVDs already come in a hard-case flip file, smaller than the box, so ultimately the box is unnecessary - especially because THERE IS NO LISTING OF THE EPISODES ANYWHERE ON THIS PRODUCT, other than when you actually view the DVD, of course! THAT was quite disappointing. Thank goodness for another reviewer who had more time on his/her hands than I, or I would have been reduced to viewing all the DVD openers and typing out the entire list!! (Thanks! to that reviewer.) Aside from that, the video quality is adequate for most of the epidoses (considering I have a TV that is old-school). Ultimately, you can't go wrong with this collection - just have to take the good with the not-so-good.

This collection of Ray Bradbury is a Bradbury fan's delight. The clips are from some of his best stories ever and they are delightful to watch. This is something evry Bradbury fan should own.

For this price and content? Absolute must buy!!! If you're a fan of this show, or have fond, if somewhat vague memories of this show, you won't be disappointed. Yes, the quality of sound, etc is all '80's, but that is part of the charm!

I never saw the original series on tv, but these stories range from very good to boring. I have read the stories these shows are based on and they could have done a better job on a lot of the episodes. The production values are low and the shows really look dated.

If you are a big fan of Ray Bradbury don't miss out on this awsome collection. I bought it a while back and I love it. My favorite story in the whole collection is called "The Lonely One." The next would have to be "The Screaming Woman." I love the whole collection all though these are my favorites in the collection. Buy it if you love Ray Bradbury because you will not be disappointed.
VLH

I remember thes from years ago. they were great at the time, and have not lost their substance in our changed world.