Twilight Zone: The Movie
1983 Directed by George Miller, Steven Spielberg …
Synopsis
Four directors collaborated to remake four episodes of the popular television series 'The Twilight Zone' for this movie. The episodes are updated slightly and in color (the television show was in black-and-white), but very true to the originals, where eerie and disturbing situations gradually spin out of control. "A Quality of Mercy", "Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life", and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".
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The Twilight Zone is kind of an interesting choice for a big blockbuster adaptation, as it isn't one of its (iconic) production elements or characters that resonate with audiences as much as that "holy shit" moment when you figure out that they were never on Earth to begin with or that it's the rest of the world who's disfigured and she's actually beautiful!
But these filmmakers do an okay job of it anyway for the most part, with only Spielberg's segment providing a real drag. I haven't seen the episode it's based on, but I can say that it seems like an attempt by Spielberg to try and distil his very worst qualities as a filmmaker with none of the…
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That last segment is a true work of art, the reason to watch, and one of the scariest imaginations to put into the mind of a child, as it did to me. John Lithgow brings pent-up demands for thunder, for the first hour and fifteen didn't hold up well at all. The John Landis one is the most unforgivable and should have never saw final cut. It's repetitive and crass too, especially with the tragic accident in mind. The Spielberg segment might as well be outright parody and the Joe Dante story was typically goofy and a little tired. The prologue is fun but reliant on dated references. Overall, an interesting stroll down Nostalgia Lane, but it does not do justice to the show even for a second.
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Horror anthology film based on the TV show, 4 segments that tell different stories, by different directors; prologue and 1st section by John Landis about a racist bigoted man who finds himself "quantum leaping" in time as a Jew in Nazi occupied Germany/Poland/somewhere in Europe, a black guy about to be lynched by the KKK and a Vietnamese man being shot at by the Americans; 2nd section directed by Spielberg about an old peoples home where a man with a magic tin can that can turn them into young children again appears; 3rd section directed by Joe Dante about a young boy who has the ability to make everything he wishes come true; final section of the film is directed…
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First time watch and more than a bit bored in certain segments. The highlights though being the latter two, It's a Good Life & Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.
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If it wasn't for Spielberg's mawkishness in the "Kick The Can" segment, this film would probably gain an extra star.
So many highlights, it's hard to pick one thing with the cream of the crop directors to choose from along with a stellar cast, but the one thing that will always remain burned into my memory of this will be Dan Aykroyd's immortal line "Do you wanna see something really scary?". -
Disappointing. From the talent involved this should have been great, but surprisingly only the two lesser known directors (Dante & Miller) make half decent shorts, with the other by Landis being unmemorable, and Spielberg's downright boring.
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The Twilight Zone is kind of an interesting choice for a big blockbuster adaptation, as it isn't one of its (iconic) production elements or characters that resonate with audiences as much as that "holy shit" moment when you figure out that they were never on Earth to begin with or that it's the rest of the world who's disfigured and she's actually beautiful!
But these filmmakers do an okay job of it anyway for the most part, with only Spielberg's segment providing a real drag. I haven't seen the episode it's based on, but I can say that it seems like an attempt by Spielberg to try and distil his very worst qualities as a filmmaker with none of the…
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There is a warm feeling of nostalgia that might inevitably wash over you, especially if you grew up in the 80s.
30 years later, the film continues to be as uneven as it always was. Not to mention a that strange feeling of randomness, as there is nothing in particular to tie these four stories together, other than the fact they are all very much Twilight Zone stories. But it lacks the thematic cohesiveness of, say, Creepshow or Tales From the Darkside.
It might have worked better if the Dan Aykroyd/Albert Brooks hitchhiker intro were actually a "wrap around" that framed the whole film. Because, as it is, the film just jumps from one episode to the next so that…
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Interesting take on the twilight zone, I loved seeing the old bits from the show being redone. Recommended if you liked the show.
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That last segment is a true work of art, the reason to watch, and one of the scariest imaginations to put into the mind of a child, as it did to me. John Lithgow brings pent-up demands for thunder, for the first hour and fifteen didn't hold up well at all. The John Landis one is the most unforgivable and should have never saw final cut. It's repetitive and crass too, especially with the tragic accident in mind. The Spielberg segment might as well be outright parody and the Joe Dante story was typically goofy and a little tired. The prologue is fun but reliant on dated references. Overall, an interesting stroll down Nostalgia Lane, but it does not do justice to the show even for a second.
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"Do you want to see something really scary?
The original tv show was before my time and didn't get the US routine of many reruns in my country so I barely saw anything of it. This film, which I came to see on my 'quest' to see everything Mr. Spielberg directed, does get me interested to do some catching up in that area.
The film, in four segments, swings and hits more than it misses in my opinion. There are a few dated things, some overreaching with their intent (Landis mostly in the first segment) and, but I mostly enjoyed this.
Now all I have to do is get that last segment out of my mind the next time I fly.
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it gets better as it goes on but its still pretty fucking awful
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They should've just kept the opening bit with Aykroyd and the George Miller/john Lithgow bit and called it a day. Half an hour of a great film right there.
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Mostly for Miller's segment, which nauseated me as a kid.
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Steven Spielberg Retrospective
I have recently watched some of the classic Twilight Zone episodes on Netflix and really liked them. This movie was just okay. I reviewed this film back in October so I will be brief. The first story with Vic Morrow works until the end which feels weird and choppy but since that it is due to the tragic accident that happened during filming, which resulted in the death of Vic Morrow and 2 kids, it makes sense. The second story, by Steven Spielberg, is the weakest story of the film. It is weird, which is what I think of with the Twilight Zone, but it's not scary or dark, which is what I like to see when…