Customer Reviews

Twilight Zone - The Movie

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Our film begins with a prologue directed by John Landis ("An American Werewolf in London", "Kentucky Fried Movie" and "Animal House") pair of friends (Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brooks) who play TV trivia in the car as they drive and also a special scaring contest for each other then our stories begin. In the first story directed also directed by John Landis, a racist business man (Vic Morrow) who gets travled back in time to the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's where he becomes the three races he hates the most and becomes the one being hunted. The second story directed by Steven Spielburg is a gentle tale of a special magical old man (Scatman Crothers) that helps a group of senior citizens at a retirement home to make them young again, the third story is directed by Joe Dante ("Gremlins", "The Howling", "Pirahna") about a traveling school teacher (Kathleen Quinlan) that accidently hits but doesn't injure a young boy as he gives him a ride home where he invites him to stay for a while with his strange family and discovers that the boy has magical powers that can alter reality and make wishes come true. And the final story directed by George Miller ("Mad Max") is a terrying story of a nervous airflight passenger (John Lithgow) that sees a strange creature on the wing of the plane trying to destroy the airplane.

A splendid anthology of horror and fantasy stories from four directors and inspired by the classic TV series by Rod Sterling. The stories except the first one are based on classic episodes from the TV series while the first tale is a very original story, this movie got me hooked into watching the classic TV series and is a great anthology movie in it's own right. In fact, this was Vic Morrow's last movie cause he died during filming and the film is narrated by Burgess Merideth, this is a must have for fans of the series and anthology movies like "Creepshow", "Grindhouse", "Heavy Metal", "Cat's Eye", "Dead of Night" etc. This one of my personal favorites since i was a kid.

The DVD contains great picture and sound quality and the only extra is the theatrical trailer.

After 20 plus years, TWILIGHT ZONE:THE MOVIE has attained somewhat of a cult following and has maintained a level that it is not too outdated, but did not do the original tv series justice. The movie will be remembered mostly because actor Vic Morrow (tv's COMBAT) was killed during filming along with two children. The first segment KKK is an original entry, directed by John Landis and starring Vic Morrow. It is not too inventive and very predictable. Morrow has made a career of playing baddies from BLACKBOARD JUNGLE to THE BAD NEWS BEARS so he was perfectly cast as the bigot who gets caught in a time warp to experience the suffering of the two groups he hates the most (blacks and jews). There is a segment where he is supposedly in Vietnam which doesn't go anywhere (because the scenes that were to be part of this sequence is where he got killed) but the producers stuck it in anyway. The next segment KICK THE CAN is directed by Spielberg who was continuing his period of working with children carried over from his film E.T. (and would culminate to his work on HOOK). This is a typical Spielberg directed sequence with a standout performance of Scatman Crothers as the instigator who entices the residences of an old folks home to think young again. The third segment ITS A GOOD LIFE is probably the most bizarre taking the original story to a more light-hearted approach. A boy who has the power to make anything he wishes come true while holding his family and townspeople at bay (in terror) was much more scarier and serious in the original tv episode. Director Joe Dante's take on it is more of a cartoon with a surprisingly upbeat and happy ending compared to the original's very downbeat ending. Bill Mumy (tv's LOST IN SPACE fame)who played the boy in the original tv episode makes a cameo appearance in the beginning of the sequence, but the cast (Kevin McCarthy,William Schallert,Lonna Schwab,Nancy Cartwright{voice of tv's Bart Simpson}) who plays the boy's terrorized family is the best part of the sequence along with lead Kathleen Quinlan. Finally, the last (and probably the best) segment, NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET is pretty close to the original tv episode compared to the other two segments. John Lithgow's performance as the frightened passenger who sees a gremlin on the wing of a plane which disappears when he tries to get others to look out the window is equal to that of William Shatner's performance from the original tv episode. The prologue with Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks is amusing if not prdictable and the movie as stated still holds up despite its faults. Note: Look for a young John Larroquette in a brief appearance in the first segmnet (KKK).

This movie features four classic stories from the Twilight Zone recreated for the big screen. There are several cameos in each story and a big leading star in each tale. The first story is of a man tired of the racial diversity in the US, where he then finds himself leading the life of a Jewish man in Nazi Germany, a black man caught in the KKK tribe and another. The second is a good story of a retirement home that finds youth in its heart after becoming children again and finding that it is not worth staying young. The third is a twist on the original tale of a boy who's wishes come true as an unknowing women looking for adventure was lured in by the child. The final story is of the Gremlin on the wing of a plane as John Lithgow plays the sole man who sees the monster ripping up the plane. With this performance you can put John Lithgow in an empty room with a window and it would still be just as terrifying from the way he conveys what is out there.

about Kick the Can being too Saccharine sweet and the special effects being outdated. First off, why can't a movie be too sweet? A movie can be too violent, but I don't hear that being complained about too much. The minute a movie shows some type of emotion, Bammm! Everybody jumps on it. I could never figure that out. As for the technology, It's a Good Life was supposed to look cartoonish, so the creatures are cartoon like in appearance. The gremlin on the plane looked very cool and believable. For the people who say this technology isn't believable. Are CGI graphics in movies today believable? To me they aren't. They look like a video game or a cartoon to me when they are supposed to look like real creatures. It's terrible and ruins every movie for me, because while I watch the movie I'm thinking the effects look too fake, I'm not believing this. So I can't see why people are so down with the effects in the TZ movie. I think they were perfectly done and original. So for the people who are down with the effects in TZ, just kick back and relax and enjoy the flick. For those people it may look fake, but that was a time gone by. Unfortunatley for me todays CGI effects will always ruin a movie, because I can always spot it in a movie and know it's a video game not a movie.

I'm so excited when I heard they were going to be releasing this AWESOME movie on DVD!!! This movie deserves to be released onto DVD!! Every story has it's own special gem and is full of magic, following a GREAT score, put all this together and it is truley a masterpiece!!!!!! Can't wait!!!

OK, there are some flaws in this movie but overall it can only be considered a modern classic. From the aged nursing home to the racial biggot sequence suspense reigns giving pure entertainment. Why this has not been transferred to DVD is beyond comprehension. As a cinema movie it is one i have never forgotten, the type of movie that remains embedded for twilight zone lovers. You can imagine my disappointment when continually searching for it on DVD. My fingers remain crossed !

It really is a sad thing how critics and those who have viewed this find this film a lost cause or a pathetic outdated mess. Now the film is about 20 years old but it is still very good and fun to watch. People just constantly knock the film saying it's bits are weak and don't compare to the original series now that may be true but the film that it turned out to be it is worth laughing at and enjoying. You are not supposed to get scared by this film you are really supposed to laugh your butt off I find that kick the can story hilarious a little touching but come on "Fresh Young Minds" you just don't take words like that seriously. How about the story with Anthony O.K the special effects are a bit dated but who cares? that bit is so hysterical because the plot is trying to be serious but it just does not work instead you just end up laughing at how the people who Anthony has taken to his home are forced to sit around and watch Cartoons all day! The last story is probably the most thrilling of the four (That's probably why they saved it for last) because watching John Lithgow hysterical on that airplane with those people is just classic cinema in my opinion. You of course have your first story with Vic Morrow where the disaster happened O.K that bit is a little dark and distrurbing but the whole film is one big laugh after another what about when Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks are just driving down a road and singing dumb songs are bored out of there minds because there song "Let the Midnight Special" tape broke. If you want to see something really scary as Dan Aykroyd puts it in the film or just want to laugh your butt off at crazy cinema you'll like Twilght Zone The Movie.

This is a true classic movie, done in the true style on Rod Serling
original Zone, three story lines are from the original show with a few twists.

Looking forward to seeing this released on DVD .....and maybe some
extra sences added.

Please put your email in for this one. Its an old movie but a good one. "Kick the Can" is one of my favorite segments in this movie. There are actually 4 seperate stories/segments which are remakes of the old twilight zone shows. I think one of them is called "Terror in the sky" which was really good. They really did a wonderful job on this. You won't regret it, put in your vote!

In the tradition of one of the finest programs in television history, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" takes us to another dimension; a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. Four great directors bring us four twisted tales of fantasy gone mad, with an amusing wraparound to bring it all full circle. Three of these tales we've heard before, but not quite like this, and the first is an all new experience of the unexplainable.

The first story in this anthology is brought to us by legendary director John Landis. Called "Time Out", it's the tale of a bitter, hateful man whose angry racism is reflected back on him through a most unusual series of experiences. This entirely original story does not play out as cleverly as it could, but even the hacked up ending, the sad result of a tragic on-set accident that took the lives of the star and two child actors, isn't as bad as people say.

The second story, "Kick the Can", comes to us from probably the most respected fantasy director of our day, Steven Spielberg. Ironically, I find it to be the least interesting in the film. It's the story of a magical visitor who travels to retirement homes to remind the residents of the joy they have lost with age, and how getting that feeling back is largely a matter of attitude and your state of mind. Scatman Crothers stars and is always a pleasure to watch, but in general, this piece just isn't as fascinating as what is to come.

Here's where things get really interesting, as "Twilight Zone: The Movie" and Joe Dante bring us a remake of one of the best classic Twilight Zone episodes ever, "It's a Good Life". It's a story about a little boy with godlike powers, and of course, how such power in the self-indulgent hands of a child can be so very... ill used. This is one freaky segment, but very enjoyable and really quite different from the original. It's probably the main reason I wanted to own this film.

Finally, we have "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", from George Miller, which revisits another of the best Twilight Zone episodes ever, this time with the great John Lithgow in the role William Shatner once played of a man on an airplane who is disturbed to spy "something on the wing"!

"Twilight Zone: The Movie" is wonderfully hosted throughout by classic TZ veteran Burgess Meredith, in voiceover form, and Dan Aykroyd is a delightfully familiar face in the films opening and closing segments, though here he carries quite a dark little secret. Though the first half is ugly at times and uninspired at others, not to mention plagued by memories of the helicopter accident that troubled every aspect of the film, the second half is a great ride and well worth it. And I, personally, love the wraparound bits too. If you're a fan of this 1983 film or the original show, you should definitely pick up this often very affordable Blu-Ray. Though it only features the theatrical trailer as a bonus, which is a real shame for a film with such a legacy behind it and so much history of its own, the movie alone is such a worthwhile trip!