The Crazies
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.59 You Save: $10.35 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.68 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Crazies
Movie Review: "Goin' Crazy, Crazy on You!"
Summary: 5 Stars
After coming out of nowhere with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in 1968 Pittsburgh director George Romero made two flops that no one has ever heard of, THERE"S ALWAYS VANILLA and SEASON OF THE WITCH. Then in 1973 his financially strapped indie distributors begged him to make another "horror" film and for a paltry 270, 000 dollars he went to Evans City, PA and made THE CRAZIES. Its about an accidental bio-warfare spill that drives people crazy(you seeing where Danny Boyle got some inspiration for 28 Days Later?) and the Army's disastrous attempt at containment. Watching it today one is struck by its relentlessly downbeat tone and the power of the imagery; i was amazed at the hard-headedness; no one is spared unjustifiably to satisfy the demands of an audience--this is the 70's, remember--its got scenes that, in todays climate, seriously resonate: bio-suited soldiers taking over a small town, dragging screaming children from their beds, shooting escapees in the back; this has to be the most outright anti-militarist film from the early 70's besides PUNISHMENT PARK. This is heavy stuff, especially seen in the light of our current domestic situation,where police and military intrusions upon everyday life are becoming more and more "normal". You've got to hand it to George Romero, he doesn't pull any punches; At one point he has some civilians saying to our protagonists, " Let's wait for the army to help us!" to which one of the heroes, a vietnam veteran, replies,
"The army ain't anyone's friend, we know--we were in it!" For a film that originally came out in 1973 that line is not only prescient but brave;THE CRAZIES is unsparing in its depiction of the lunacy of the armed forces--even the soldiers themselves recognize it--in this way the film is similar in spirit to CATCH 22 and its chilling to think about how the entire concept was considered pretty far-fetched upon its first release--even though it was inspired by true events in Utah in which a cannister of nerve gas fell from an army truck and killed a bunch of cattle (also the subject of George C Scotts directorial debut, RAGE 1972. ) and to then realize how familiar, dare i say COMFORTABLE we are with these kinds of concepts today after the cult attacks in the tokyo subways in the 90's and all our current preoccupations with bio-warfare,dirty bombs and Homeland Security.
This is an excellent edition of this long unavailable film; It looks the best it probably ever has since it was first barely released in theatres back in '73. The commentary by George Romero
is hilarious and very entertaining as well as very informative. There is a big-budget remake scheduled for 2006 and I, for one, can't wait. If its anything like the fantastic 2004 remake of Romero's Dawn of the Dead, it will be awesome!THE CRAZIES remains one of the most potent indictments against out of control militarism that has ever been made in America and its also a gripping adventure story, told with style and ingenuity.
Movie Review: Confused? So am I!
Summary: 5 Stars
This film by George Romero is a fantastically tense movie about when the water supply becomes contaminated and it affects the town that relies on the water supply.The opening scene is quite possibly one of the most horrific I have ever seen. A brother is trying spook his sister out and his sister doesn't like it. She goes to tell mommy while the boy finds out that dad has gone mad pouring kerosene all over the house. The little girl is still trying to wake mommy up when she pulls the sheet off to find that mommy has an axe in her neck! Soon enough dad has set the house on fire and is outside while the rest of his family are left to burn.
The scenes with governmental agencies are complicated. Nobody understands anything, everybody is at each others throats and the main line which illustrates this all is when one doctor incensed by the lack of control he is allowed on this is " I cannot believe how shoddy this has been organized "
The mayhem in this movie doesn't let up. What with priests setting themselves on fire and a granny stabbing an army soldier with a knitting needle ( genuinely frightening and perhaps one of the most surprising scenes of all )
The end will definitely leave you confused but I won't say too much more. I've given enough
Incidentally I'm surprised this flopped at the box office. It really is a good intelligent horror movie. But then I guess when people think of horror movies they tend to think of those big dumb Hollywood horror movies with absolutely no shock value whatsoever ( " it's all gore they want " ). Yes this film is graphic in places but is done so with more thought and precise control even when it's method is in chaos. And also I can't believe this is the same director who gave us the atrocious Creepshow 1 & 2! What was Georgie thinking?
Movie Review: The Crazies: George A. Romero's low budget sci-fi epic!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Crazies was a film that George A. Romero made around the "Cambist period". During this time he had three of his films released by Cambist: There's Always Vanilla, Jack's Wife and The Crazies. There's Always VAnilla didn't do so well but Cambist's owner Lee Hessel wanted Romero to make a horror film. So with a very small budget,
a group of stage actors and a LOT of volunteers, Romero went to the small Pennsylvania town of Evan's City and made a tale about a biological weapon that was accidentally released into the town's water supply.
The Crazies is a bueraucratic nightmare. The military and the government is helpless and the townspeople are very unco-opertative. There's no other choice but to put the town under quarrantine and martial law. Forget about Outbreak, this is a real urban plague horror show. Within the contaminated zone, are two volunteer firefighters, a nurse and a father and daughter. Can they break through the Army's perimeter or will they become victims of the virus?
Blue Underground out did themselves with this special edition D.V.D. The transfer is phenomonal and the commentary track with Romero and Blue Underground's owner Willam Lustig is superb. The other extras are a short
documentary about 70's B-Movie Queen Lynn Lowery, a bio-page about George A. Romero and a couple of trailers.
I you loved Night of the Living Dead then you'll dig The Crazies. Remember this is a Romero film so expect dialog,
story, poltical critque and nice pacing.
Highly recommended.
Movie Review: GREAT!
Summary: 5 Stars
The main reason I bought this was because of the 14 minute Lynn Lowry documentary. She is obscure even for a cult film star, so many people don't know about her. I first saw her in David Cronenberg's SHIVERS (Highly recomended).But anyways, about the movie. I watched it with the audio commentary of George Romero and Bill Lustick (he dosn't say who he is) and it was really fun listening to. This is a great movie if you grew up watching horror films on friday or saturday nights. It also has Richard France, who you might recognize as the zombie expert with the eye patch in Dawn of the Dead, as a scientist trying to find a cure for the epidemic.
This movie is great to watch alone on a stormy night, or to put on in the background of a Halloween party. Worth it, buy it.
Movie Review: A forgotten gem
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're like me, you're finding out about this little flick after seeing Romero's more heard of movies. I had a lot of expectations for this movie: I expected terror and gore, and this really only offers the second. i guess when you think about the possibility of this sort of thing happening is pretty horrid, but as far as movie scares, this comes up short. Luckily, the characters are well written and fleshed out, despite some amatuer acting. Oh, and if you like Richard Liberty, you might be mortified by the sick thing he does in this. Brilliant!!!