Customer Reviews

Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval

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This is an excellent biographical documentary about the life and works of Rod Serling. It is brilliantly constructed and edited. This well crafted presentation is a first rate production all around. Rod Serling was a man of great literary and social intellect, somewhat ignored because of the genre he worked within and was famous for. His endearing legacy, "The Twilight Zone" frequently bordered on the edges of science fiction if not immersed in it. Society's values being what they are, science fiction has never been thoroughly embraced by conventional thought as a legitimate literary or cinematic art form until very recently. That is society's loss and Serling's heartbreak. I originally saw this documentary on Public Television and was pleased to find it issued on DVD in this high quality format. Highly recommended!

I just watched this excellent dvd from the CBS "Masterworks" series, and couldn't be more impressed with it. It is a real "labor of love", done in the style of an old Twilight Zone episode with the voice of Rod narrating a flashback through his career, using actual film clips (some from some of his very early & hard-to-find works...) as the basis of the narrative. Marc Scott Zicree (the author of the authoritative guide to TZ) was a consultant to this project written by John F. Goff & Thomas Wagner. These two writers manage to hit most of the major points in succinct fashion, and Serling's life makes for a compelling story -- even for the "non-fan." The many famous writers and actors Rod worked with are all interviewed throughout, as well as an old archival kinetoscope of his interview with Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" fame. Also glimpsed are the commercials Serling unfortunately lowered himself to doing toward the end of his career, a choice he himself would later verbally regret. An excellent companion to the book by Gordon Sander I used as the title of this review.

* As a personal postscript, it should be known that I work as a video editor in the broadcast television industry. Unfortunately, watching this documentary makes it all too evident how far television has fallen, and truly has become the "vast wasteland" spoke of at its birth.

This is a truly wonderful documentary. It examines Rod Serling's life and influences, as well as giving us an intimate look at his visionary show "The Twilight Zone".

The next best thing to discovering a "Twilight Zone" episode you've never seen before!

"Submitted For Your Approval" paints an intriguing portrait of this television pioneer. I always regretted not taping this when it was on PBS' American Master Series. The film combines clips from the finest moments of Serling's career and very interesting interviews with Serling and people who worked alongside him (like John Frankenhiemer and Jack Klugman). As a "Twilight Zone" fan, I was delighted by the insights into Serling's life and how he worked. The problems he faced with censorship and the business of television in the 1950s and 60s are eye-opening. Highly recommended!

"Submitted for Your Approval" is a superbly planned and executed documentary about legendary television dramatist Rod Serling (1924-1975), creator of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and of such TV plays as PATTERNS and REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT. From the eerie, TWILIGHT ZONE-like opening sequence to the throat-catching closing one, the viewer is treated to a parade of some of the finest actors of the 1950's and 1960's who performed Serling's work, including Ed Begley, Sr., Kim Hunter, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson, Richard Kiley, Earl Holliman, Ed and Keenan Wynn, Art Carney, and Jack Klugman. The excerpts -- some of them lengthy -- from such episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE as "Where Is Everybody," "A Passage for Trumpet," "The Eye of the Beholder," "Nothing in the Dark," "Walking Distance" (considered by many to represent Serling at his peak), "The Changing of the Guard," "A Stop at Willoughby," and "One for the Angels" make one want to see those episodes in their entirety. The documentary deftly ties the last five into Serling's own life, so one sees that "Walking Distance" reflected his desire to "go home again" and "A Stop at Willoughby" his weariness of the Hollywood scene; I also like how excerpts from his semi-autobiographical THE VELVET ALLEY are interspersed throughout the first part of the documentary to mirror Serling's development as a writer. Made in 1995, "Submitted for Your Approval" has all the immediacy of a reality show and none of the pretentiousness. Watching it gives one a good understanding not only of Serling but also of the era that produced him and the atmosphere in which he wrote. Mitch Greenberg co-narrates with a dead-on imitation of Serling's clipped speech.

I AGREE WITH ONE PAST REVIEWER REGARDING THE OPENING SCENE THAT RECOUNTED ROD'S DEATH IN A HOSPITAL IN 1975. MY HOPE IS THAT THE PRODUCER OF THE DVD WILL GO BACK INTO THE EDITING ROOM AND CUT THAT SCENE OUT AND REMAKE THE OPENING ALL OVER AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH MORE TASTE AND TACT.

IMAGINE ROD SERLING'S FAMILY WATCHING A VIDEO DOCUMENTARY ABOUT ROD, ONLY TO SEE AN OPENING SCENE IN A HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOM WITH ACTORS PLAYING DOCTORS WITH BLOODY SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND BLOOD STAINED PANS AT THEIR SIDE AND WEARING BLOOD SOAKED RUBBER GLOVES, WHILE ANOTHER ACTOR PORTRAYS A LIFELESS ROD SERLING ON THE OPERATING ROOM TABLE, WHILE A NARRATOR DOES A VOICE-OVER DESCRIBING THE FACT THAT ROD DIED ON THAT FATEFUL DAY, MOSTLY DUE TO SMOKING 'A MILLION CIGARETTES'.

THE REST OF THE DVD IS NARRATED MORE OR LESS BY A ROD SERLING SOUND-ALIKE, WHICH IS OKAY BECAUSE THE PRODUCERS OF THIS SHOW TRIED TO RECOUNT ROD'S CAREER FROM HIS OWN PERSPECTIVE. THERE ARE SOME VERY GOOD POINTS ABOUT THE DVD AS THEY RECOUNT THE BIRTH OF TV PRODUCTION AND THE EARLY DAYS OF TV IN NEW YORK CITY. I LIKED THE INTERVIEW SEGMENTS WITH PEOPLE WHO WORKED WITH ROD; ACTORS,DIRECTORS,WRITERS, AS WELL AS FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF ROD.

SOMEWHERE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WHETHER IT BE IN ROD'S HOMETOWN OF BINGHAMTON, N.Y. OR PERHAPS EVEN IN FRONT OF THE BLACK ROCK, THE CBS BUILDING IN NEW YORK CITY, A STATUE OF ROD SERLING SHOULD BE DEDICATED IN HIS HONOR AND TO HIS WONDERFUL, CREATIVE MEMORY. ROD'S STORIES NOT ONLY ENTERTAINED AND INFORMED US, BUT THEY ALSO ENLIGHTENED US AND EDUCATED US.

ROD SERLING'S LEGACY WILL NEVER DIE. HIS STORIES WERE SO DEEP, SO SOUL SEARCHING. THEY HAD SUCH DEPTH. THEY HELD UP A MIRROR TO OUR SOULS AND ASKED US TO EXAMINE OUR PERSPECTIVES AND BELIEFS AND RECONSIDER OUR OPINIONS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF MANKIND. ROD WROTE IRONIC STORIES WITH HUMILITY, WITH TWISTS OF FATE, WITH HUMOR AND WITH GREAT INTELLECT AND INTELLIGENCE AND WITH WARMTH AND SINCERITY AND A UNIQUE SENSE OF JUSTICE. HIS WAS THE VOICE OF REASON.

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT ROD MUST HAVE LIKED THE FILMS OF THE GREAT DIRECTOR, FRANK CAPRA, BECAUSE THE STORIES IN THOSE GREAT FILMS MADE US RETHINK OUR VALUES AND REASSESS AND REEVALUTE OUR MORALS, OUR LONG HELD BELIEFS AND ASKED US TO QUESTION THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WOULD TRAMPLE UPON THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. THANK GOD FOR WRITERS LIKE ROD SERLING, EARL HAMNER, GEORGE JOHNSON, CHARLES BEAUMONT AND RICHARD MATHESON. THEIR STORIES FROM THE GLORY DAYS OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE ALWAYS HAD A GREAT SENSIBILITY TO THEM. THEY KINDLED OUR IMAGINATIONS TO NO END.

ROD, THE WORLD MISSES YOU.

To Those Fascinated by the Works of Rod Serling,
The American Masters DVD, Submitted For Your Approval, was a documentary I first saw back in the late 1990's on cable television. Whereas some documentaries just oversaw his works alone, Submitted For Your Approval gets you inside the creative process, inside the mind, of this brilliant Creator. His commentaries on the human condition rose him to prominence during the live television days and landed him in a position to go west and work in episodic television. But the medium was changing and Mr. Serling was not one to be left behind. Cleverly he adapted his messages to metaphoric science fiction and fantasy storytelling and thus Twilight Zone was the result. This documentary is told by those actors, producers, friends, and family who survived him and they relate their stories on how Mr. Serling changed with an evolving industry and later sought out those who would succeed him. Every writer, artist, musician, knows their time is finite. And so did Rod Serling. His teaching at the college level was more than just his effort to impart wisdom but also to find those who would take up his cause when he was gone. But even in death, Mr. Serling inspires Creators today and this documentary is essential to understanding that. I would recommend Submitted For Your Approval to any writer, any artist, any musician, anyone interested in creating something meaningful in their time. You are not alone. People like Rod Serling continue through their works and you are meant to do the same. Sieze that!

For any Serling fan, this DVD is a must! Wonderful encapsulation of the brilliant writer's life and career. Snippets of various productions of his work and brief interviews with some of the stars that were blessed to have been able to take part. Also interviews with some of his relatives. One of the best parts is the opening sequence which is done just like one of the classic openings to a 'Twilight Zone' episode. In this case it refers to Rod himself and contains the same eloquent word style that became legendary. If you pay attention closely, at one point you'll discover who did the 'voice over' for the opening and that's the icing on the cake! Amen.

Aired again on WNET 2006-11-01. If you can find it, or a home-made DVD of it, you won't be disappointed. Unlike many retrospectives, you'll get a healthy dose of his own words. Just as with my first viewing of this documentary, I came away moved and saddened.