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Special Features
- Making Of featurette
- Director's commentary
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| V: The Original Mini Series Season 1 |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. Those 50 motherships that hover over Earth's major cities anticipate Independence Day by more than a decade. The special effects and makeup are still awesome. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast, most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series, have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions. Marc Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan. Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-rebel. Richard Herd is the aliens' supreme commander. Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing but ruthlessly ambitious alien science officer. Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens.
The DVD is presented for the first time in widescreen format. Supplemental features include an amiable and enlightening director's commentary and a brief "making of" segment. --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
Customer Reviews
On to the DVD release of 'V'...I must say this right now: if you're like me and you've seen V a hundred times already, you're in for a shock when you get a look at this version. The colors are brilliant and everything is so sharply in focus...it makes my old VHS version seem like watching t.v. with plastic-wrap over the screen. It looks that good! The audio track has been completely remastered and the majority of the effects have been enhanced. Every laser blast, every explosion, the whoosh of a passing fighter...it's all there, loud and clear, and in Dolby Stereo. A 25 minute 'behind the scenes' documentary is included, and while it won't tell you anything new or shocking about V, it is intriguing and adds to the value of the disc. Last, but definitely not least, is the commentary track by writer/director Kenneth Johnson. This WILL tell you 'new and shocking' things and is definitely a major treat for those of us who are long-time fans.
I was about 9 years old in the Spring of '83 when the original V mini-series debuted on t.v. Needless to say, V left a major impact on me, as much as the original 'Star Wars' movie did, if not more. If you are a fan of V, you MUST purchase a copy of this - it's like seeing the show again for the first time. On the other hand, if you've never seen V before, if you can deal with its early-80's origins, it will no doubt move you like the rest of us.
As for myself, I have one thing to say: bring on 'The Final Battle' DVD, I'm ready!
P.S. Oh, and one more thing...why did Jane Badler's name never become a household word? Aside from her being devastatingly gorgeous, not to mention her chilling portrayal of the evil alien leader 'Diana', one would have expected to see more of this talented actress later on in her career. There is no justice in this world!
I wanted to clear up some of the confusion I'm seeing in these postings. First of all there is no missing footage, the mini-series is not cut in half. This DVD is exactly what it is billed as, "V - The Original Mini-Series." The original "V" was two parts which ran over two nights in 1983. It didn't have an ending, it wasn't really suppose to in order to tell its allegorical tale. The second mini-series, "V : The Final Battle" was three parts and aired over a year later. Both mini-series' were syndicated to UHF stations in the late eighties. Those stations usually ran all five parts over a week, though heavily edited. That might be what's confusing some. Considering this DVD has sold about four times better than Warner Bros. was expecting, I'd say it's a sure bet "The Final Battle" will be released on DVD before too long.
As to the Gag Reel, sadly it's not on the disc. It was supposed to be but unfortunately, Warner Bros. was unable to clear it for release. Too many of the actors wanted to be paid an additional fee for its inclusion on the disc. ... just never updated the information. Hope that helps!
Kenneth Johnson's superb 1983 mini-series might have dated visually, but this is easily overshadowed by the power of his writing and direction. 'V' is perhaps as fine an example of an alien invasion/conspiracy theory you will ever see, never equalled by The X-Files or the risible Independence Day (please compare the opening arrival sequences of these two films - homage my ass, ID4 is simply an inferior rip-off).
Populated by dozens of characters - the film has in excess of 90 speaking parts - this story centres, initially, around a young medical student called Julie Parrish (Faye Grant). It is through her that other characters come together to ally against the invading 'Visitors'. These characters cross all colour, class and religious lines to unite against the fascist, genocidal alien regime. The analogies to McCarthyism (with the witch-hunts for the Conspiracy of Scientists) and Nazism (genocide) are drawn sharply and early on.
Despite the immense scale of the project, 'V' has its strongest moments when the visual effects are absent, when the aliens are not on screen. Of course, the excitement rests in the suspense and secrecy that pervade the Resistance's fight with the aliens, sequences embellished with visual and make-up FX, but the true heart of this film resides firmly within its characters. It is through their losses and their triumphs that Johnson shows us that, at some point in our lives, we won't get by without the help of others, without sticking together, everyone included. The key scene in the film, which Johnson also wrote, is when the Bernstein's fight over allowing the Maxwell's to take refuge in their home. The re-telling of an old concentration camp story and, later, the reading of a letter reminds us that what is taking place here has gone before, and perhaps if we remember that then we might prevent it from happening again.
Let down occasionally by some poor FX (but also displaying some very impressive FX sequences), 'V' retains its original impact, perhaps more so now when compared with the juvenilised Hollywood movies which fail to achieve the standards of allegorical storytelling seen here.
A truly wonderful film, let down by the space opera 'V - The Final Battle' the following year (which Johnson removed himself from early on), and the ludicrous TV series that ran from 1985-6. Forget them. You don't need 'The Final Battle', because if you pay attention, you'll know where this one is going.
NOTE: This review is written before full details of the DVD release were available. I sincerely hope that Warners include some extras on this disc; I know that original footage of Dominique Dunne still exists for the scenes she shot as Robin Maxwell before she was murdered (4 Nov 1982).
I own every release but together they are shy of a Complete collection look.
