The Twilight Zone - Season 1 (1985 - 1986)
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Movie Reviews of The Twilight Zone - Season 1 (1985 - 1986)
Movie Review: The Twilight Zone (1985) is not the best but still a very entertaining and superior anthology series
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a big fan of anthology series ("The Twilight Zone", "Tales From The Crypt", "Amazing Stories", "The Outer Limits", "Tales From The Darkside"), so the 1985 Twilight Zone was something I was interested in seeing. Since I was born in 1986, of course I couldn't watch the series when it aired on CBS. I also never caught it on re-runs like I have every original Twilight Zone episode from 1959 through the early 60's. When I saw it available on dvd, I thought I would buy it to check it out; and I really enojoyed it. One thing I liked right away is that these are hour-long episodes with two or three stories in them. Whether or not I liked every story, I did appreciate the structure of the series. I also liked the theme by the Grateful Dead. As a viewer looking back on something I missed when it aired, of course I viewed it as very nostaligic. Recognizing many actors and actresses who are stars today, whereas if I were watching it back in 1985, I wouldn't know them from Adam because they were either just beginning their careers or not well-known at the time.
To save on space, I will only comment on the first story, which happens to be one of the best of the 1985 series in my opinion....
"Shatterday" Starring Bruce Willis / Directed by Wes Craven
One of the best episodes of this series. A then unknown Bruce Willis stars as Peter Jay Novins, a man who accidentally dials his own phone number and it's picked up by, to his surprise, Peter Jay Novins. It's an original twist on a classic Twilight Zone episode titled "Mirror Image" with Vera Miles as a woman waiting in a train station who encounters her own mirror image trying to take her life over. In "Shatterday", however, there is much more reason behind it and character depth that it makes it less scary as "Mirror Image" because in "Mirror Image", it was not explained why her other self wanted to take over her life so it was more mysterious and, therefore, scary. "Shatterday" is more psychologically haunting as it is a character study of a man who fully realizes why this is happening it him. It makes you stop and think about the things you do and how it can effect others as well as yourself. It is a lesson in life and how we live it with sometimes the harshest consequences. Modern master of horror Wes Craven does a masterful job of directing, and Bruce Willis' performance(s) in this episode is some of his best work.
Other four star stories from the series that I put right next to "Shatterday" are "Word Play" with Robert Klein & Annie Potts, "Examination Day", "A Message From Charity", "The Burning Man" (very terrifying) with Roberts Blossom, "Dealer's Choice" with Morgan Freeman, Garrett Morris, M. Emmett Walsh, Barney Martin & Dan Heydaya (all great character actors), "One Life Furnished In Early Poverty" with Peter Riegert, "Her Pilgrim Soul", "A Small Talent For War" with John Glover, "Need To Know" with William Petersen & Frances McDormand, "Shadow Play" with Peter Coyote, "Quarentine", "Dead Woman's Shoes" with Helen Mirren & Jeffrey Tambor, "Dead Run" with Steve Railsback, "The Library" with Lori Petty.
Some of the other stories are good, but the stories that I don't like very much whether they were boring in a non-forgiving way or they were just plain stupid are "The Elevator", "Devil's Alphabet", "Tooth Or Consequences", "Grace Note", "Ye Gods", "The Little People Of Killany Woods", "The Last Defender Of Camelot". Even the stories I didn't like were interesting to watch... but only once.
In the end, "The Twilight Zone (1985)" is not the best but still a very entertaining and superior anthology series that is a must-own on dvd.
Movie Review: Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a Sci-Fi fan from way back. The technology in these stories is, no doubt, old. But the stores are done so very well. You can really see the difference between the Mid 80's version and the 21st century version. The work done by the director is great. The actors are timeless. There are some excellent messages in some of these stories. One in particular is "The Star". I am not overly religious, but this is a good Christmas story for those who wish to focus on the day Christ was born. Another good story, for the Santa lovers, is; "Night of the Meek." Very heart warming. Each of these is from Disk 4, episode 13. Last but not least. A good, short story, for the quick minded. On disk 3, episode 12, "I of Newton." Rod Serling would be proud.Movie Review: Let down by poor presentation
Summary: 3 Stars
I love this series, but I really feel, like some others, that the presentation is shoddy. There have already been lots of grumbles about poor DVD transfers. I can live with the slightly murky, fuzzy picture quality. What is harder to tolerate is the awful sound - easily the worst I've heard on DVD, and much worse than the audio quality on the black and white episodes from the 60s. I've tried turning up the volume to double my normal listening level, and still find some of the dialogue incomprehensible.
Another problem is that the sleeve notes (in the UK at least) have black titles on a dark blue background - almost impossible to read! For a DVD set that costs at least ?50 in the UK (about $80 US) I feel more effort was needed.
Movie Review: Highly underrated
Summary: 5 Stars
This show's niche in between the classic TZ and the tiresome new, new twilightzone shelters it from much limelight these days. However, the 80s incarnation deserves much more attention than it has been getting. There are many aspects that made it groundbreaking technically, but I like to remember the stories. So many of the concepts from TZ 80's would later be lifted by future writers simply because of the lack of attention history has bestowed.
During the time of the original broadcasts, the first 5 or 6 episodes were criticised for being too "intense" for television. Actually, they were simply great shows. I liked the first season best, with my favorites being: Nightcrawlers, Some Peace and Quiet, Wordplay, and Chameleon. In addition to being a suspense filled episode, Nightcrawlers featured a rare acting performance from Exene Cervenka from the early LA punk band X (she played the waitress.)
Movie Review: Great Series...Been waiting for a while to watch it.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've liked this version of the Zone the best since I was a kid. Very good writing that makes sense.
There were 24 episodes containing 59 stories in season 1. Even though I've only finished two discs out of 6, I know that it'll be well worth the money that I spent.