Customer Reviews

Wild Palms [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Wild Palms Mini Series first aired a few years ago, it was made for TV and it is based on the comic strip by the same name that appeared in Details Magazine in the early 90's. Its main audience was Generation X'ers, but I've heard that the comic strip became very popular with aging hippies, potheads, and the "underground" in general because of its offbeat pace and cerebral content. I taped it off the TV when it first aired and have watched it many, many times. I will definitely buy it on DVD when it comes out. The film stars Jim Belushi as Harry Wyckoff; Dana Delaney as Grace, his wife; Angie Dickinson as Josie, Grace's mother; Robert Loggia as Senator Tony Kreutzer, Josie's brother; and a few others like Kim Catrall, Bebe Newirth , and Ernie Hudson.

Wild Palms is a story that takes place in the year 2065, and shows how technology has advanced to the point of being at the verge of making hollographic images physically interactive with human beings. Senator Kreutzer is about to launch a new sitcom on Channel 3 called Church Windows which will project the characters into people's living rooms. It will make people "feel" like part of the TV program. The dark side of the plan is that in order for people to interact with the hollograms, they have to take the drug MIMIZINE. Prolonged use of the drug has a side effect...it causes the user to see hallucinations of cathedrals and churches and it is ultimately fatal. But Senator Kreutzer wants the whole world to get hooked on hollographic TV for his own purposes, but you'll have to watch the film to find out what that is.

Wild Palms is the first major production concerning VIRTUAL REALITY, though there was a kind of predecessor in TRON and in other lesser known films. The concept of VR has been used in movies again and again since Wild Palms in varying degrees of benevolence and malevolence (e.i. THE LAWNMOWER MAN, VIRTUOSITY, THE MATRIX), but when Wild Palms first came out the idea of VR was pretty fresh and open to exploration. The premise of VR is that human beings can communicate, interact, copulate, and in essence live and die in VR which is an extension of the real world within a network of computers (like the internet).

The conflict in Wild Palms begins with Senator Kreutzer, he is the founder of a group called "The Fathers" who epitomize capitalism and right-wing, traditional politics (their corruption notwithstanding). Their antagonists are "The Friends" whose founder is a political prisoner named Eli Levitz. Eli used to be married to Josie...their daughter is Grace.

Chickie Levitz (played by Brad Douriff) has the secret to the GO CHIP, which is the thing that will allow Senator Kreutzer to achieve his final goal once everyone is hooked into the Church Windows Sitcom.

Throughout the film there's betrayal, seduction, incest, murder, and torture. None of it is overly graphic as it is not a "gore" film as such. The atmosphere of fear and impending doom is created more by what it implies than by what it shows. Like when Josie pokes the eyes out the artist. Not much is shown in the way of gore, but the scene is pretty disturbing.... Later in the film, as he prepares for revenge ,he says to Josie, "...once I was a painter, and mixing colors was my joy...", he then pokes her eyes out, and as she's screaming on the floor he shoots her a number of times.

The film is very textural and warbles in and out of psychological focus. It mixes Oriental mysticism, politics, philosophy, hi-tech drugs, and the American Dream in a mish-mash so weird, you just have to watch it to understand it. Many of the scenes are reminiscent of Peter Greenaway films (a.i. A Zed and Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, etc.)

1993's 'Wild Palms' isn't as edgy these days as it was twelve years ago - in fact, now that the virtual reality fad of the late '80s/early '90s has faded, the series is something of a period piece - but it's still an interesting take on the collision of government, technology, and religion. Great cast, too. Robert Loggia in particular delivers a jaw-droppingly over-the-top performance; no corner of the scenery is left unchewed, but he manages to make it work. I love Sakamoto's theme, but I have the feeling that he phoned the soundtrack in (maybe literally, as it's all synth and was apparently "realized" by someone else). Nice transfer, and an improvement over the crappy VHS version. And the price is certainly right.

In reply to an earlier reviewer's comment: Some of us think '12 Monkeys' is an improvement on 'La Jetee.' And 'Wild Palms' may not be top-drawer SF (arguably, '12 Monkeys' is precisely that), but it's fun to watch and I'm glad it's finally out on DVD.

I have been entranced by this mini-series for years and haven't ever been able to look at palm trees, rhinoceri, empty swimming pools or television the same way since. Wonderfully bizarre and a "must see" for anyone into Gibson-esque cyberpunk.

This is one of the most interesting series made. The version that made it on Sci-Fi channel a few years later with commentary should go onto the DVD. I really wish someone would get this out soon... the feel of the society portrayed here becomes more like reality. The Bush II era in a post-bin Laden/WTC world has takes on the atmosphere of politics as in Fathers vs. Friends in the world of this series more and more.

In the not too distant future, Senator Kreuzer plots to take over the country through strange cults, high-tech drugs, gestapo tactics, and a tv-set-top virtual reality device. I was afraid of Angie Dickinson before I saw her gouge a man's eyes out with her thumbs. Bizzare plotting, archetypal visions, and a tunnel network connecting the swimming pools of Los Angeles. Throw in amazing music by Ryuchi Sakamoto, the ever-frightening Robert Loggia, add brain implants and the Japanese techno-mafia, purple snot, and Dana Delany for a mind-bending 4-hour epic.

Here's a show exec-produced by Oliver Stone, one of the great conspiracy theorists of our times, and in the vein of Philip K. Dick as washed through the sensibilities of David Lynch. While ostensibly about mind control, political extremism, shadow cults and rich people wearing ties outside of their collars (apparently the new fashion in this "alternate reality" of the 90s), It's really a film noir exercise in merging American culture, especially Los Angeles culture, with Japanese tech sensibilities. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's a muddle.

Jim Belushi notably remarked that after reading the script several times that he had absolutely no idea what the film was about and he just showed up every day and read his lines. After watching myself, I can understand...it's a very confusing story, assisted by the fact that for at least half of every episode some or all of the characters are tripping on the mind-control techniques that are the heart of the show. Who knows whether an important plot point is real or invented by the villains? We certainly don't.

The good news is that if you like near-future paranoid conspiracies with likeable actors, Wild Palms is kinda fun to watch. Jim Belushi is pretty good as a lawyer thrust into a shadowy world he has no idea how to navigate, Robert Loggia chews up his scenes like nobody's business, and Angie Dickenson is the supreme corporate bitch-queen. Largely wasted are Dana Delaney, an '80s icon who never exceeded the heights she reached in "China Beach," and Ernie Hudson, who put his wry, world-weary act to better use in "The Crow." Brad Dourif was firmly in the grip of his brilliant-but-mentally-crippled phase after making his name in "One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest" and losing it again with "The Wall." Sure some of the dialog and plotlines are clunky, but at least they move the story forward. For those of us raised on sci-fi, the idea of projected holograms and drug-induced virtual reality a lá Star Trek TNG's Holodeck was pretty enticing, though, and the hidden agenda infighting was fun to chew on.

The bad news is that this DVD set is dreary. The transfer is muddy and dark, colors never pop, everything's too red and there's no shadow detail whatsoever, and besides it's 4:3 not widescreen. Honestly, I'd believe the studio dubbed this off a VHS tape if I didn't know better. There are no extras to speak of; the most you can say for the video is that there aren't any commercials to interrupt the show.

Interesting side note: Kathryn Bigelow, whose next film was the equally paranoid "Strange Days" (which was produced by Alien-lover Jim Cameron and had similar themes of drug-induced VR) directed the last episode of the series.

The quality is pretty bad. It looks just like my old VHS tapes, but it's a great show and you can't really complain because they are selling it so cheaply. It would be great to get a clean widescreen edition, but I'm grateful to have this one.

I remember seeing this mini series when I was 13 years old. Ever since then I haven't been able to get it's images out of my mind. It is an awesome movie and a great cast. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to dive into fantasy and get lost in it's wonders.

A recent reviewer here reminded me of something an old boss once told me: "The only people who know what 'pretentious' means is people who are 'pretentious'" ;-)

When this first aired I don't remember the trailers showing any of what the show was about, it looked like some regular tv drama so I ignored it.

Then by accident a few years later a person had it on in the background and I started watching it and ... I believe my words were: "Wow. This is that? ABC made this? This is freaky." I bought a laser disc player and the 12" LDs and played it back to back several times over the years, it is still great.

Right up there with some of the higher - but not the highest - level Philip K Dick stuff.

I can't wait for the dvd release.

>>Update after release: What a shame they made it from such a bad print. Black hair becomes a black blob, shadows go from white to black. Contrast adjustments don't help. Yes, the VHS tapes were this way too but my LDs aren't so it is the fault of the production company. However, as another person said, this is not enough to make me return the dvd.. the Content overrides the video quality, it's THAT good a story.

I was impressed with this mini-series when it was shown on Dutch television 10 years ago. Finally I got to buy a good version on DVD from somebody on eBay. I can hardly wait for the official DVD-version.