Customer Reviews

Steven Spielberg Presents Taken

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A superior mini-series in almost every way. Mostly well-acted and written. Well paced for a TV show. Acceptable special effects. Good craftsmanship.

Based on the Amazon listing, it would seem the DVD set is out of print. I was able to rent it from my local store, otherwise might never have seen it. Don't have cable. This miniseries once again proves how invaluable DVDs have become. A decade ago, those who didn't see it originally would never have had the chance to experience it.

Basically, it's an alien invasion / conspiracy show, spanning four generations, from WWII to "present day" (about 1999/2000). The show follows three different families. One begins with a lonely housewife in Lubbock who has a crazy fling with a wounded young man who turns out to be an alien. Their offspring is the beginning of the aliens' plan. Another family starts with a WWII pilot/hero who is "taken" during a bombing run and is the only crew member who is able to survive the "work" that the aliens have done to him...thus, he has something in his genes that they want. Finally, the Crawford family are the villains of the piece, starting with Owen Crawford, a military man who is interested in hiding the truth of the Roswell crash as well as discovering the secrets to alien technology and to their plans for the earth. His goals are actually admirable...his methods are another story!!

Most of the actors are unknowns or perhaps familiar faces whom we've never put names to. But most are quite solid. In my opinion, the earlier episodes are the best, because they're set in another time. We're so used (thanks to X-FILES) to modern day abduction stories...it's kinda fun to see the mythology of them develop in the 40's, '50s and '60s. Standout performances include the actor playing Owen Crawford and Dakota Fanning, who appears much later in the show. She's got the same eerie calm that Haley Joel Osment had at a young age. Actually, there are several young actors throughout the series, and they are all excellent. Towards the end, our two major villains are played by Matt Frewer (Max Headroom!) and Heather Donohue (Blair Witch Project). They are a bit over the top, and have to play a line between insane and just plain nutso. Mostly they succeed, but they are a bit annoying.

The story is solid throughout all fifteen hours (10 episodes at 90 minutes each..it's a little movie each time). We become very attached to the characters and involved in their fates. Some stories play out in a sweet manner, others are bittersweet. It's got romances that are actually believable. It's got some action and some sprinkles of humor. It's mostly a character drama though, exploring how "ordinary" people react in extraordinary situations. I liked it very much.

Just be ready to put in a lot of time. My family and I found we couldn't just watch it occasionally, so we basically saw the whole thing in about a week. But it was still sad to say goodbye. And speaking of families...this is a good show for kids age 11 and up or so. The violence is mostly tepid. There are a couple of mild "bedroom" scenes, but otherwise it's just good drama. I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the entertainment value in this series. CHECK IT OUT!

First off, I'd like to say that I in no way intend to pan this phenomenal film, but I'll leave the praise to the other reviewers, as I think they've done so adeptly. I enjoyed this movie immensely, and have managed to sit through it four times. The rather large pricetag is worth it, in my opinion. Performances are excellent, script is by and large excellent, perhaps a bit forced at times to push the story forward, but overall excellent.

That said, the sound mixing in the movie is perhaps the worst I have ever heard. Honestly, the lead engineer must specialize in annoying people with "hot" voice-over recordings, because he jammed the microphone volume on Dakota Fanning's narrative so high that it's painful to listen to. Have you ever noticed that many pharmaceutical company commercials have women who whisper into a microphone and you can hear the wet, sticky noises that their tongues make while moving around inside their mouths? That's called microphone volume (as opposed to master volume), and hearing subvocal noises is generally a no-no, but some people feel that it contains a maternal and personal quality that conveys comfort and trust. Mostly, I think it's like listening to someone chew gum into a microphone.

So if you've ever been annoyed by voice-overs or you have difficulty listening to NPR, be warned that Dakota Fanning's narrative in this film is beyond atrocious, through no fault of her own. Her performance is excellent, her dialogue is excellent, but her engineer single-handedly cheapened this otherwise amazing film with his astonishing incompetence. But that's just my opinion.

This is a very, very, very long film ... an epic (6 dvd disks that will kill almost 15 hours out of your life), so it came as a surprise that it kept my interest enough to watch it until the end. Oh, I think they could (and should) have tightened this up by nipping two or three hours (or more) out of this series, and not everything works in this film (example: they did a pour job aging the actors and some of the sub-plots were weak, run-of-the-mill, and unconvincing), but it is a far cry from most of the cheesy sci-fi corrupting the airways on the sci-fi channel. The truth is, I rarely watch anything on the sci-fi channel because I find almost all of it laughable at best. Sci-fi is ripe for sub-B scripts, dumb dialog, and poor acting, and the Sci-fi channel is notorious for airing unadulterated crap. Is it any wonder that most people don't like sci-fi?

TAKEN, however, is surprisingly sophisticated in its approach and direction. And there are scenes that are truly disturbing (this isn't light fare). Perhaps it helped that Steven Spielberg produced this series. It looks like they really did some solid research in the UFO/abduction field when coming up with this script. And while none of the actors were house-hold names when this film aired, most did a fine job throughout this series. The plot is simple enough (are the aliens evil, or good, or something else?), but it is the execution of this simple script that makes this series worth watching. It spans more than 50 years of the UFO phenomena and centers upon alien abduction and government involvement and cover-ups. Whether you believe in aliens and alien abductions (or government cover-ups for that matter) or think it's all hogwash, this film will keep you interested (although some episodes aren't quite up to par with most of this film).

I don't really know when this series was produced. I've seen dates that range from 1998 to 2002. But I do know that Dakota Fanning was quite young (4, 5, 6, or 7 years old, depending upon when this was actually filmed). And I guess that's what surprised me the most. This little girl must have a genius IQ (she narrated the entire series) and is now (at age 11) considered to be one of the most gifted actors/actresses working in Hollywood. And yes, she is the highlight of this film (even though she appears toward the end of the series), as she is the highlight of every film that she has made. I also don't know what it is that fascinates people (as well as me) so much concerning Dakota. A fine actress? Yes. Believable in every part she has played? Yes again. I do know that she feels like a breath of fresh air every time I have watched her (whether in movies or in interviews).

So, if you are looking to kill an entire weekend (and perhaps a good portion of the week), pick up this fine film (if you are lucky enough to find it). Between 1 and 10, I give TAKEN a solid 8.

Excellent start but a bit disappointing towards the end. While I expected to see more aliens, this is definitely a must see, well produced series.

When I first saw this series broadcast on Sci-Fi channel, I loved it, but never saw myself actually owning it. The second time it was broadcast, at least a year later, I found myself anticipating it so much that I taped it. Then, to my dismay, I found that my VCR was having a few problems on the evening I had planned to begin watching it again, so I rushed to my local electronics store and bought the whole DVD set. The more I thought about this series, the more I knew I just had to buy it. By the way, this is still available at the big chain stores, so don't believe the "out-of-print" status on this page.

Dakota Fanning has always been a primo narrator. I'm sure that the powers-that-be behind "In the Realms of the Unreal" Henry Darger documentary remembered Dakota's engaging contribution to Taken and enlisted her for the narration of their film, too. But I digress.
You will appreciate seeing the episodes at your own pace, appreciate not having to deal with pesky commercial interuptions, and know that you can watch this again. Definitely worth buying.

I am not a big science fiction buff or a Star Trek fanatic but I saw this air originally on the Sci-fi channel. The only reason I watched the 1st episode because nothing else was on. I was hooked from the first five minutes. This mini series is awesome. There is not a lot of big name actors in this movie but that adds to the mood. It does have an outstanding performance by Dakota Fanning. She doesn't show up until about halfway through the series, but she does narrarate the entire movie and does a damn good job of it. I think that the list of unrecognizable actors do a superb job. All I can say is that this series is addictive. Watching it on Sci-fi was great, but after each episode I was more than ready to see the next. Owning the DVD is makes it even better. I can clear a weekend, and spend it watching the entire series. Yes it's that long. I have found that is the only way to watch TV today. Wait until the DVD comes out and watch an entire series at once, whether it is the X-Files, Rescue Me, Northern Exposure, and whatever you like. The only problem had with the DVD is that it didn't stay on the market very long. Now you have to search high and low to find it. My advice is buy it whenever you find it. It is more than worth it.

"Steven Spielberg Presents Taken" is a 10-part maxi-series that spins a story of alien abduction and genetic experimentation out of the infamous story of the crash of a U.F.O. at Roswell, New Mexico. Actually "Taken" begins at the end of World War II, when aliens first abduct B-17 bomber pilot Russell Keys (Steve Burton) and his crew during a bomb run over Germany. For the rest of the century the life of Keys and his descendants will cross paths with two other families. Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent) takes an alien visitor (Eric Close) into her home, and ends up bearing his child. Eventually the grandchildren of these Russell and Sally will come together and produce the end product of the alien's breeding program. On the other side of the equation are the Crawfords, the first generation of which is Major Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch), who is in charge of the Air Force's program to answer the mystery of the aliens.

Major Crawford is your stereotypical warped military commander who is completely obsessed by his project. The nicest thing you can say about him is that he is not a sadistic bully, just a murdering bully. No wonder General Hammond on "Stargate SG-1" is such a breath of fresh air. In Crawford's case it is nurture and not nature that warps his two sons and granddaughter and has them following in the family business. Basically the plot is a chess game between Crawford, the Air Force, and his scientists versus the aliens, in which the humans are almost always a step behind and a day late, whether they are trying to understand what the aliens are doing or trying to step the visitors from making the next move.

For most of "Taken" the audience knows little more than any of the characters. Even being privy to both sides provides little help. Actually the most important thing to pick up on during the first half of the series is the voice of the young girl doing the voice over narration in these episodes. That is because the payoff for this story is young Allison Clarke and it is not until young Dakota Fanning (what ever happened to her?) appears on screen that "Taken" really gets off the ground. Before that part the most interesting character is Owen Crawford, who is not a pleasant person.

Of course, this is the exact opposite of so many science fiction stories, where the set ups are great but the payoffs extremely unsatisfying. That is not the problem here, and if you have to struggle through the first half of "Taken" to get to this little girl, then make yourself do it. The result gets what would have been a mediocre science fiction series up to the level of being a good one. There really is not a big payoff in terms of the end of the story, either in terms of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "2001: A Space Odyssey," it all comes down to the little girl.

With her alien genetic background and what we have already seen some of her ancestors do when they were kids, you know that little Allie is going to be able to do some astounding things. But the most impressive thing she does is talk to others. People like to talk to her, she observes at one point, and for most of her time in "Taken" Allie looks like a cute little girl but also projects a calmness and sense of wisdom that are quite captivating. My favorite scenes are when she suddenly turns to an adult and says a sentence of such penetrating insight that it blows you away.

Maybe I am making too much of this. Given how low the bar is set in "Taken" it might be relatively easy for an 8-year-old to dazzle us. But given the resume Dakota Fanning has put together in this half of her life from "I Am Sam" and "Uptown Girls" to "Man on Fire" and "War of the Worlds." No wonder I really started paying attention in "Taken" once she showed up.

Just so you all know, Steven Spielberg did not direct any episodes of Taken. Amazon and some of the reviewers have this wrong. He served as executive producer on the series.

I have been looking for this item "new" for several months. Delighted to finally find it. Arrived within days and looks great. Can't wait to see hubby's eyes when he opens it Christmas. Thanks Thanks Thanks.

Steven Spielberg Presents Taken (product with longer run time)

So, unbeknownst to me at the time of me buying this product, I didn't realize there were two versions of this series. The one I bought is missing about 15-20 minutes. As I was watching the series I noticed that as they did recaps of the episodes that certain scenes were omitted. So this irritates me. I recommend paying attention to what you buy and check the run time prior to buying.