Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Directors:

Joe Dante
John Landis

Writers:

Rod Serling (television series The Twilight Zone)
John Landis (prologue)

Release Date:

24 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You're travelling through another dimension. A dimension, not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!

Plot:

Four horror/sci-fi segments directed by four famous directors which are their own versions of classic stories from Rod Serling's landmark television series.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Nazi | Retirement Home | Kick The Can | Anthology

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Dan Aykroyd	...	Passenger / Ambulance Driver (Prologue / Segment #4)
Albert Brooks	...	Car Driver (Prologue)
Vic Morrow	...	Bill Connor (Segment #1)
Doug McGrath	...	Larry (Segment #1)
Charles Hallahan	...	Ray (Segment #1)
Rainer Peets	...	German Officer (Segment #1) (as Remus Peets)
Kai Wulff	...	German Officer (Segment #1)
Sue Dugan	...	Waitress No. 1 (Segment #1)
Debby Porter	...	Waitress No. 2 (Segment #1)
Steven Williams	...	Bar Patron (Segment #1)
Annette Claudier	...	French Monther (Segment #1)
Joseph Hieu	...	Vietnamese (Segment #1)
Al Leong	...	Vietnamese (Segment #1)
Stephen Bishop	...	Charming G.I. (Segment #1)
Thomas Byrd	...	G.I. (Segment #1)

Runtime:

101 min | UK:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Vietnamese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:14 | France:Unrated | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:10V | UK:12 (re-rating) (2009) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG (certificate #27045) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Canyon Country, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Another story considered by Steven Spielberg for the film was one concerning a bully who has the tables turned on him during Halloween night but problems with the story ensued and was then scrapped.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In "Segment 4", the red light on the camera is reflected in a shot through the airplane window.

Quotes:

Mr. Bloom: I found out, a long, long time ago, that I wanted to be my own true age.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror II (#3.7)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

You wanna see something scary?

Feature film science-fiction / horror / fantasy anthology movie based on the classic TV series. There are four tales; three are based on actual episodes that aired. The original material are the prologue and segment 1, written by John Landis.

I'll give you a review for each segment:

Prologue: Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks play two guys in a car who try to entertain themselves while driving at night. Funny at first, gets kind of annoying (especially when they start humming the TV themes) but has a good payoff.

1) Vic Morrow plays Bill Connor, an unrepentant racist and bigot who gets a dose of his own intolerance when he is mistaken for a Jew, an African-American, and a Vietnamese man. This segment is pretty entertaining, with a good performance by Morrow. Unfortunately, the thing about this segment that most people will remember was the tragic accident that killed Morrow and two young extras.

2) Scatman Crothers plays Mr. Bloom, a mysterious man who arrives at an old folks home and gives the seniors a chance to relive their childhood. Pretty benign and uplifting; it doesn't seem to fit in with the other segments but I still liked it.

3) Kathleen Quinlan plays Helen Foley, a traveling schoolteacher who makes the acquaintance of strange young Anthony (Jeremy Licht) who can bend reality to suit his whims and whose "family" lives in mortal terror of him. As befitting the work of Joe Dante, this is pretty twisted. Amusingly designed, with good visual effects. Look for Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) as "Ethel" and Bill Mumy (who played the boy in the original TV episode) as a diner patron.

4) John Lithgow plays John Valentine, a horrified airplane passenger on a stormy flight who discovers a monster is at work destroying the airplane's engines. Well, you know what they say, "save the best for last"...this is very well done, very eerie. Makes a good impact.

All in all, I really liked this movie. If you're a fan of any of these actors or film-makers, check it out.

I wasn't able to grow up watching "The Twilight Zone" but I think I've caught an occasional rerun on TV. It WAS a good show.

7/10