Twilight Zone: The Movie [HD DVD] [HD DVD] (2007)

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 !

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years, TWILIGHT ZONE:THE MOVIE has attained somewhat of a cult following and has maintained a level that it is not too outdated, but did not do the original tv series justice.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).

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.