Customer Reviews

Rescue From Gilligan's Island

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I saw all the bad reviews here, and because of Amazon's confusing policy of posting reviews for ALL the various DVD editions of a particular movie together on the same page, I thought that they must all be referring to the older version that sells for 5 bucks.

When I read Amazon's description for the new 2004 edition released by Westlake Entertainment Group, it said "Format: Original recording remastered, Color, Digital Sound". So I thought this must be a new version nobody had dared to try out yet due to all the negative reviews, and went ahead and forked out the extra 10 bucks to try it.

Well, I'm here to warn you that about the only thing accurate about Amazon's description is that the movie is in colour (faded, yellowed, scratched colour, yes). Although the DVD package claims it has Dolby, the sound is terribly muffled and clearly NOT Dolby quality at all. And NOWHERE on the package does it say anything about being remastered. I don't know where Amazon got this crazy idea, because this company obviously has never even heard of the word "remastered". The picture quality is terrible and the film itself is in very lousy shape.

As for the movie, although it's a key piece in the Gilligan story, unfortunately the writing really drags. You'll find yourself wanting to hit the fast-forward a lot. And with the exception of Mary Ann and maybe Mrs. Howell, it seems that in the intervening years the others have gotten out of practice and forgotten how to act, as they deliver their lines in a very lame and flat way. I found myself missing the brilliant non-stop comedic punch of the original series, as a lot of the comedy here instead seems very awkward and forced, and just falls on its face. Also there is a new Ginger, and while she does do a pretty good job of looking the part, she hasn't mastered Tina Louise's breathy, sexy way of delivering the lines.

So overall I feel like I wasted a lot of good money on a garbage-quality DVD of a very lame movie I probably won't want to watch again. Over the past year I've been stung so many times by el cheap-o outfits putting out shoddy DVDs like this that I am getting so fed up I'm seriously thinking of stopping buying DVDs altogether! I think the industry has got to start setting some standards for quality and policing itself or something. The situation right now is ridiculous! Till then, all we can do is withhold our hard-earned $$$.

So anyway, you have been warned, so don't let them rip YOU off this time too!

The Gilligan's Island episode is the same made for TV movie we have all seen umpteen times, complete with screen blackouts for commericial breaks. The only beef I had with the movie is that the original Ginger, Tina Louise, is missing. As for the rest of the movie it's typical Sherwood Schwartz Gilligan's Island fare: you either like it or hate it. I happen to like it.

The DVD itself is another story. It's junk. The colors are horrid. They are washed out and there is a green tint to everything. There are a few bad spots where the picture flips and rolls. I wasn't expecting much for a made for TV movie soundtrack, but this one is epecially bad. You have to turn it up high to hear and then there is a lot of garbling and background noise.

As for the "extra features", they are pretty poor. The "interactive trivia game" consists of a grand total of 10 questions which have nothing to do with Gilligan's Island and which few people on earth would ever know the answers to. Not much fun. Do it once and you never need to do it again.

So in summary: good flick, rotten dvd.

The rescue from Gilligans Island was one of the best episodes of Gilligans Island (even though it was a reunion show). It had the same antics of each of the castways. Especially Gilligan. When they find out there is a huge storm going to hit the island they build a raft with one of the huts on it. Mrs. Howell -as the storm was approaching- told everyone that they left their dog outside. Gilligan not thinking runs out into the storm to get the dog. As he runs out the door Mrs. Howell remembers she left the dog at home. The castaways believe Gilligan is lost forever until he is found floating behind them. Soon the coast guard finds them they are took back to civilization and go there seperate ways except Gilligan and the Skipper. GIlligan and the skipper want to buy a boat but they cant without the signatures of the other five castaways. They find each castaway and ask them to come to this big party they have for the launching of their boat they take another 3 HOUR TOUR!! Which they get lost at sea again and get stuck on their own island.

when i saw this movie on tv back in 78 i loved it! they finally got off the island(then back on it even though it sunk-but that's the humer on Gilligan's Island) but, what they did to this movie was terrible. most of the older movies reproduced on DVD they actually improved on. But, this was terrible. not only did they not improve the picture, but, then they cut out a bunch of parts so the movie would skip and jump. for example when Mrs. Howell suddenly remembers Fifi (their dog) Gilligan is quick (as usual) to say i'll get her and then goes running out the door. but, here right after Mrs Howell say's she left Fifi behind you suddenly see the skipper fighting to go outside! they cut Gilligans running out the door followed by the skipper! and the movies goes on skipping from one scene to another so 1/4 of the movie doesn't make sense but so much is missing. the worst cut-up is originally the castaways got together on the Minow II for a christmas reunion where Mr. Howell gives everyone a box of money. But, once again (they) cut the scene out and suddenly it's the next morning with the castaways on the boat ready for another tour, the bad guys(russian spys) are there trying to get the disc Gilligan is wearing and Gilligan mentions the Box of money. unless someone saw the original version they wouldn't even have a clue what Gilligan ment by the box of money.
so i say what a hatchet job they did on this movie and the stupid thing was was there was no reason (...), but, i tell ya if i had know what they did i would never have bought it.

6 of 7 original castaways are back in action to finally get rescued, in this 1978 movie (originally shown on TV in two big ratings episodes). The only non-original castaway in this movie is Ginger. It's apparent the producers of this movie weren't impressed with Tina Louise choosing not to be involved in Gilligan reunions when they give her replacement horrible, unfunny one-liners.

All in all, this movie isn't as good as one of the original episodes, although it is fun to see how the castaways finally get off the island, and what happens to them as they return to their old lives.

The DVD itself is disappointing in that no effort was made to clean up the picture or sound. Some scenes are so poorly spliced together that you miss a few words of dialogue.

The "extras" on this DVD would have been better off not being included. There's an old Little Rascals episode, and a overly simple 10 question trivia game. Lastly, they include a DVD Glossary of terms. There's no Gilligan related extras...something that would have been a nice bonus for Gilligan fans looking for more info on this movie, and some of the other reunion movies that were made.

All in all though, buying this DVD is likely the only way to see this movie, as most video stores wouldn't carry old made for TV movies. In the future, it would be nice if someone would spend a little time and money to actually restore these types of movies instead of just quickly trying to release them asap to the public.

This movie is nice for Gilligan fans, but don't expect to convert anyone into being a Gilligan fan by showing them this DVD.

Horrendous quality and appears to have been taken from an over-the-air broadcast or off of a VHS tape.

One scene has a jump in it that appears to be caused by the recording not being restarted properly (on the VHS) or poor editing.

There are no extras or special features relating to Gilligan's Island.

Rescue From Gilligan's Island has always been a fun show for me, but this DVD lacks a lot.

P>The only saving grace is the price!

The movie itself is really cute and has "re-watchability". My problem with the DVD is the mastering is TERRIBLE. Imagine taking a film made in 1978, transferring it to VHS about 10 years later (without cleaning the film), then taking that same VHS tape 10 years after that and transferring it to DVD; it really looks that bad. In fact, there are messed-up spots on the videotape that weren't cleaned up so you see a replay of creases in the master tape!

BTW, the re-cast of Ginger pulled the movie down a star; what a bad actress.

Im gonna give this DVD 2 stars not 1,only because i happen to love it.
Some scenes were cut out,why ill never know.
The reviews about this being Poor quality were spot on.But i could put up with that if they had the entire movie,because it is cheap.But why would they put it on DVD with cut out scenes?That realy is annoying.Then to realy add insult to injury they put on some other stuff not worth watching.
But upon saying all that i hadnt seen the movie for so many years i couldn't wait to see it.And i must say i did enjoy it.5 stars for the movie,which in my opinion was the best of the 3 movies.But it loses 1 star for the poor quality and 2 for the cut out scenes even if 98 per cent of the movie is here.

The movie itself I loved, but the DVD version brings the rating all the way to 2. If I hated the movie, we'd be at 1.

First of all, the price is as low as it is for a reason. The chapters are like they were evenly split in six, with no regard to the beginning of a scene. Secondly, there are glaringly serious editing problems with this version, from repeating a few frames for a second, to speeding up a shot unexpectedly, to completely eliminating scenes altogether.

This DVD comes with extras though. A copy of the Little Rascal's short "Spooky Hooky". The one where the gang plan to play hooky from school to go to the circus, then find out their teacher was planning to take the whole class there anyways, but before they realized it, one member left the hooky note on the desk and closed the door to the school, locking it, and since the night watchman wouldn't let them back in, they had to break into the school that night to get the note. However, it storms, and they all get sick, and none of their mothers would let them go to school anyways.

The only thing I leave you with is this; until they make a better copy of this movie on DVD, if you already have the VHS copy, KEEP IT! If not, either wait, or buy the VHS version.

As many other reviewers have stated, I love Gilligan's Island and the reunion movies but the DVD created for this movie is one of the worst I have ever seen. It is badly edited to begin with and was clearly created from a videotape from a televison broadcast. There are scenes that are played out of order (!), entered late, chopped short, and just plain missing.
The sound quality is poor (what you might expect from avhs transfer).
The video quality is substandard. The DVD is often grainy, and at least two occasions there was an actual rolling of the screen.
The makers of this DVD seem to have missed the whole point of creating a DVD. Where is the digital quality? Or at the very least a decent presentation of the subject matter. This DVD is very unprofessional and looks like something someone might have slapped together on their home computer.
So, what are the good points? As stated at the beginning of my review, the movie itself is still wonderful. The price cannot be beat (4.99 for a brand new DVD?). The inclusion of a "Little Rascals" short was an unexpected bonus. I would like to see more bonus features like that (old short films or classic cartoons), particularly when there is a lack of deleted scenes or featurettes that directly relate to the movie itself.
Now that the Gilligan's Island season sets have started to be released, maybe we can look forward to a studio produced version of this film (and maybe the other reunion movies, Castaways on Gilligan's Island and Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island)
I enjoyed seeing this movie again and don't regret having bought the disc despite its shortcomings. I've just come to expect more from a DVD than what this effort was able to deliver.