Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is definitely the BEST volume in the DVD collection, May 16, 2001
No matter how many DVDs they put out with episodes of "The Twilight Zone," they cannot put out one with better episodes that Volume 2. This is not just because it has the quintessential "Zone" episode as the first one on the DVD, but also two of the other three episodes are outright classics and the final one is still an above average episode from Rod Serling's celebrated television anthology series. That is why when I started picking up choice volumes in this collection to own forever Volume 2 was number one on my list.
Episode 8, "Time Enough at Last" (Written by Rod Serling from Lynn Venable's short story, First aired November 20, 1959), stars Burgess Meredith, in what was surely his most recognizable role, plays Henry Bemis, a mild-mannered, myopic bank teller who only wants to read, but can never get away from this shrewish wife and demanding boss. But then Henry has the fortune of being in the bank vault reading a book when the world is destroyed by a nuclear war. Directed by John Brahm, no "Twilight Zone" episode ever backed a more unforgettable ending. I am even more impressed by the fact that this classic was such an early first season episode. Meanwhile, Burgess would appear in three more "Zones," although lightning never struck twice for him.
Episode 22, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (Written by Rod Serling, First aired March 4, 1960) finds neighbors turning on each other as unexplained events fuel their fear that human-looking aliens have infiltrated Maple Street (filed on MGM's "Andy Hardy" street). Claude Atkins as Steve Brand and Jack Weston as Charlie head a strong cast that features Anne Barton as Mrs. Brand and Burt Metcalf as Don. Sheldon Allman and William Walsh are the aliens having fun with the human test subjects. This one is an excellent example of a first season morality play from Serling.
Episode 123, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (Written by Richard Matheson based on his short story, First aired October 11, 1963) stars William Shatner as poor Bob Wilson, who has left a sanatorium only to take a plane flight where a gremlin keeps trying to sabotage the engine. Of course nobody believes Bob when he tells them what he sees on the wing of the airplane, and he has to doubt his own sanity. But what if he is right? (a recurring question in the series). "Nightmare" was directed by Richard Donner, who went on to be a film director of some note. Shatner is best remembered for this particular "Zone," but I have to say that I think his "Nick of Time" is even better. The episode was the final chapter of "Twilight Zone: The Movie" in 1983, dircted by George Miller and with John Lithgow in the Shatner role, now renamed John Valentine.
Episode 54, "The Odyssey of Flight 33" (Written by Rod Serling, First aired February 24, 1961) is the only sub-classic episode on this disc. The story is about an airplane that picks up a freak tail wind that sends it back in time. John Anderson as Captain Farver leads the excellent cast that makes this rather far-fetched idea utterly believable. I remember reading once that Serling researched the talk in the cockpit and that it got points with real pilots for being so accurate. Final note: the sequence with the dinosaurs is from Jack Harris' 1961 film "Dinosaurs."
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twilight Zone Vol 2 MONSTERS ARE DUE, October 20, 2000
When purchasing a DVD on any of the "Twilight Zone" episodes, I think it is safe to say that in the majority of cases the buyer knows those stories by heart. The main concern is one of quality. How does the picture measure up? In this case I have never seen better transfers. The images are excellent. They are sharp, clear and maintain consistent contrast. The laserdisc versions had a problem with black & white contrast. That problem has now been corrected.Volume 2 contains THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET, NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET, THE ODYSSEY OF FLIGHT 33 and TIME ENOUGH AT LAST. William Shatner gives a brilliant performance in NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET from the 5th season This is one of my favorites and still holds up to repeated viewing because it is so well crafted. THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET is a good parable of human paranoia and mass hysteria. Rod Serling was a man of great literary and social intellect, somewhat ignored because of the genre he worked within and was famous for. "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. That is society's loss and Serling's heartbreak. However, "The Twilight Zone" still endures.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You are traveling through another dimension..., December 26, 2005
Four great episodes are included in this Twilight Zone Volume. Also included is some background information about the six seasons of The Twilight Zone, as well as a biography of Rod Serling. Like many who have reviewed The Twilight Zone, I became an instant fan of the show and think it still is one of the most intelligent and creative shows ever created.
My favorite episode of all time is "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," so I had to check this out just for that. In this episode, after residents on a block see something mysterious fly overhead all sorts of unusual events begin to happen and the people, suspicious of one another, begin to make accusations and lose their patience. This episode is so intelligent because it really draws on the whole idea of mass hysteria and mob thought, and what can happen when it takes over a community, even a peaceful one.
The other episodes are all classics as well...
Time Enough At Last-Burgess Meredith plays a bookworm working at a bank. He is dissatisfied with his life at home because he never has enough time to read, so he reads everywhere he goes. He finally gets his wish of having enough time to read, with an ironic twist.
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet-This one stars William Shatner, who gives an extraordinary performance as a man who has had a previous mental breakdown, and now must take a flight with his wife. Once the plane takes off, he begins to see that all is not well as he looks outside the window. Is there really someone, or something out there, or is this just his imagination?
The Odyssey of Flight 33-A plane takes off trying to get to its destination, but mysterious things begin to happen when the plane apparently breaks the sound barrier and goes back into time.
The only beef I have with the volume is that, as others pointed out, it is a little thin (only four episodes) in a day and age where we can get an entire season of other shows on DVD. You can get other larger volumes of Twilight Zone on Amazon, but they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of eighty dollars for approximately thirty episodes. If you are looking for a specific episode, I think you are better off getting these smaller volumes for about six or seven dollars.
And this volume is a great way to start!
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