FILM: Twilight Zone: The Movie

[JoeinAR 1,949]

In 1982 the movie Twlight Zone the movie began production.

It was to feature four segments. The film would feature four uber directors at the time. John Landis, and Steven Spielberg were the biggest names, with Joe Dante and George Miller rounding out the film.

Of course many may or may not know that disaster struck the film. The segment directed by John Landis titled the Bigot at first later changed to Time Out featured character with little to no redeeming value. A bigot of high order. During filming the actor portraying the bigot was killed during filming when the helicopter crashed. It was during the scene that the character was to receive redemption, unfortunately Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed on the set. This set a pall on the entire film.

Spielberg wanted to cancel but finally production proceeded.

The film is bookmarked by a beginning and ending featuring Dan Aykroyd and his Do you wanna see something really scary moments.

The four segments are Time Out directed by John Landis, Kick the Can, directed by Steven Spielberg, It's a Good Life, directed by Joe Dante with some serious panache, and Nightmare at 20000 Feet directed by George Miller whose segment is the best.

The film is scored by Jerry Goldsmith who would end up scoring 7 other Joe Dante films. His score is a real winner. It's weakest in the Landis episode but hits all the right notes in the other 3. It virtually saves Spielberg's episode which while not bad would send someone into diabetic shock.

Time Out the first segment was never going to be great, even if the accident never occured. The main problem is Morrow's character is a complete bigot with no redeeming qualities. In fact the sequence involving the children was meant to redeem the character but even having read that portion Morrow's Bill Connor was never going to gain the sympathy of the viewing audience. Still it comes as a bit of a surprise that the sequence does work to a degree. The ending is dark and righteous for the character.

Kick the Can is the episode by SS. It's clear watching that Steven's heart was not into the project and the episode is syrupy sweet. It's not bad, but it's missing that umph to send it over the top. As I mentioned earlier Goldsmith's score elevates whats there. The episode features Selma Diamond who is a tru gem of a character actress. She'll always have a soft spot in my heart. I can hear her now from Night Court.

I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.

Dante's It's a Good Life is almost as good as the original. It's a colorful, warped, imaginative live action WB cartoon. While the original's Anthony Freeman, played by Bill Mumy, is evil and disturbing, Jeremy Licht's Anthony is misguided and in need of someone to provide love and direction. He ultimately finds it in Helen Foley's character well played by Kathleen Quinlin. The segment features a set of well know character actors, including Nancy Cartwright of Simpson's fame.

Last but not least is Miller's Nightmare at 20000 Feet. The story involves a clausterphobic man played by John Lithgow who see's a gremlin out on the wing of the jetliner he is traveling on. Mayhem insues and eventually Lithgow's character Valentine saves the day. The gremlin is well seen in the end. It looks like a deformed Flying Monkey from Wizard of Oz. In a frightening and somewhat maniacal sequence the creature grabs Valentine's face and waves it's index finger in a "No" fashion, and then flys off. Later Lithgow along with Shatner who played Valentine in the original spoof if on 3rd Rock from the Sun. This episode features brilliant frantic scoring from Maestro Goldsmith. It is one of those Heaven, Stars and the Universe all in alignment!

In the end the movie is as different as it's segments. Still it has several highlight moments. The finished film is so different from what was conceived. Steven Spielberg considered several other adaption, including at one point that he would do It's a Good Life, thankfully he let Dante have that one. His choice was dictated by what he didn't want to do. He considered Monster on Elm Street, but after the Morrow accident the idea of shooting that dark episode was tossed.

I'm glad I added it to my collection. As blurays go it's middle of the pack. There isn't even a chapter sequence on the menu. It was fun to revist. It's a shame that it's terrible accident hasn't allowed the studio to treat the film with the admiration it's due.

[Jay 37,374]

The four segments are Time Out directed by John Landis, Kick the Can, directed by Steven Spielberg, It's a Good Life, directed by Joe Landis with some serious panache, and Nightmare at 20000 Feet directed by George Miller whose segment is the best.

You mean Joe Dante

I feel about the same as you. Nightmare is easily the best segment. Kick The Can is second best mostly due to its great score. It's a Good Life is ok, kinda too weird for its own good. Time Out is just boring and pointless. The opening/closing segments are entertaining but I feel like they should have been a little more....I dunno, just a little more.

[Quintus 5,399]

As ropey as it is, it's an entertaining and fascinating package for the reasons Joey stated. I actually rate Morrow's episode second best, after Lithgow's. Poor Vic being remembered for such a repugnant role is just so wrong; yet I for one really got into his nightmarish adventure of an anti-Semite on the run from his comeuppance. The twist at the end of his story is brilliant. Incidentally, the video of the tragic accident which claimed his life is online. I stumbled upon and watched it ages ago - stay away.

The Aykroyd intro was terrifically effective, but being a child at the time this came out, the one single image which scarred my mind forever was the sight of that boy's sister watching the tv... with no mouth. *shudder*

It's even more disturbing than Spielberg's horrific contribution.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

for me the episodes rate in reverse order, Nightmare, Good Life, Kick the Can, and Time Out.

I'm still puzzled why Spielberg chose Kick the Can. His episode isn't terrible IMHO, but it never rises above either, but neither than the original episode. Frankly I'd rather watch SS's episode than the original. But to my point there are literally scores of better episodes. When I first read on the internet back then (ie Starlog) that they were going to make a movie, I hoped that the filmmakers would choose to remake The Odessey of Flight 33 using the Concorde. Such possibilities.

Quint, it's funny what you say that scared you as a child in It's A Good Life. Back in the 60's I saw the Roger Corman film(well directed by the way) Haunted Palace with Vincent Price, there is a scene in the film of some seriously deformed people and the facial deformities where they had either no eye, eyes, or a mouth disturbed me then as it does now.

[indy4 155]

"Nightmare" is easily the best segment. It's also the only one that's better than the original episode it was based on. "Kick the Can" is as syrupy as they come, but I love it for that. The other two are not bad, but not great.

[Not Mr. Big 4,640]

Kick the Can is the worst for me, by far. It's also Spielberg's worst for me.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

29 years ago today Jerry recorded his score for Nightmare at 20000 Feet.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

It was a revelation in the FSM liner notes that Joe Dante pretty much oversaw the entire scoring process with Jerry Goldsmith, and the other directors were nowhere in sight. I knew there was something distinctly "Dante" about the rest of the score.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,554]

I can't think of "Twilight Zone:The Movie" without my thoughts centering on Vic Morrow, and those children, and I'm afraid that this, ultimately, is what the film will be remembered for, which is a shame, because there is a lot of good in it, not the least of which is Jerry Goldsmith's score.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

You unlock this post with the key of imagination.

All the episodes are watchable, but the first is too dark and just brutal.

The order of the episodes is interesting. Segment one is just sort of a kick in the nuts. Placed up first for pure shock value, to get your attention. Just when you might find it too much, Spielberg's settles things down and takes us into this zanier, more lighthearted mood that will remain for the film. Dante's gets the thing rolling again. The best is saved for last.

[Johnnyecks 33]

You unlock this post with the key of imagination.

All the episodes are watchable, but the first is too dark and just brutal.

This film has a special place in my collection. I adore this movie. But what you said there ET, hits the nail on the head. Let me explain... last night we had our little cousins over (9 and 10) and they are just about in that age of really "getting" films. That magical age where life-long favorites are made. I try to get them to watch some of mine that were solidified during that age. A few weeks ago I showed them E.T, and they loved it. It was amazing to watch them laugh at the right moments, cry at the right moments. Since then, they have watched Poltergeist, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Secret of NIMH, and even Creepshow (one of my all time favorites). Last night they were here and they were not sure what they were in the mood for. Scanning the collection, they pulled Twilight Zone out and said "this sounds good" and I got all excited to short them, but hesitated. And ultimately decided to not show them this yet and we decided on Terminator 2: Judgement Day instead.

And the reason why, is because even though they have seen some scary movies and even some movies with scary moments in them, that first episode is just so.... raw, unemotional. You cannot feel empathy for this character. 5 minutes in, during his rant in the bar that includes a very raw , cold, mentioning of a particular 'n' word, makes me feel that, at their age, this isn't right for them. Not yet. Maybe another year. Showing them scary movies is one thing, but to introduce them to the cold, brutal, hating world that that first episode introduces.. just seems to be too much for now.

And, yes, the best was saved for last. And it was a terrifying episode.

[Andy 4,141]

Creepshow AND Twilight Zone the Movie? Johnnyecks, you have extraordinary good taste.

I fell in love with Twilight Zone the Movie, mostly because of Jerry's score. In fact, it was my first Goldsmith score. Bought it on cassette. I remember it used to be broadcast on Showtime, but we didn't get that channel. However, if you turned to it on our TV, you could hear the audio with the horrible scrambled image on screen. So I used to listen to the movie quite a bit.

The first one (Time Out) is pretty nasty. But believe it or not, it seems worse 30 years later than when it was first shown. I do feel that our culture has improved a little since then, and is even less tolerant of such bigotry. So in the context of today, it feels even harsher somehow. But it is still effective.

Kick the Can - What can I say? It's saccharine, but ... I can't help but smile at it, again mostly thanks to Goldsmith. I did watch it recently, and my reaction as a parent of a little girl was far different than before I had a daugther. I actually welled up a bit when I considered that she too will one day grow old and pine for her days of running around the neighborhood.

It's a Good Life - Man, whatever happened to Joe Dante? Very effective, and so appropriate to the Twilight Zone-y feel of the whole production. As a young boy, this one couldn't help but feed your everyday revenge fantasies. Wish away all the people or things that trouble you? Sure, why not?

Nightmare at 20,000 feet - Just as effective today. Love the quick cut of Lighgow's eyes popping out of his head. He was positively brilliant in this piece.

Love this movie. Love Creepshow too. I miss anthology pictures.

[Wojo 2,453]

I hope this is available to stream on Netflix, because I've never seen it.

[publicist 4,643]

I saw the video with the accident and it was a terrible tragedy (to quote a D. Denby, Landis's episode wasn't worth watching and certainly not dying for).

That no one would take responsibility after it just confirms that Hollywood is full of heels and weasels (not that it's any different from big corporations and politics).

The scene with Aykroyd is scary, indeed. The episode in the plane is the best one, by far.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I read the book Outrageous Conduct, but much of it was really one of those scathing tell-alls dishing out the dirt and gossip on Spielberg, Marshall, Landis, and Folsey Jr. with their excessive lifestyles feeding their detachment from reality, causing a blasé attitude to the established rules and fundamentals of common workplace safety and ethics due to their inflated egos and artistic hubris.

In the end, it was an accident and I'm reluctant to blame Landis because his technical crew would have assured him that the bloody contraption was safe as a pony ride. I always laugh at the kneejerk reactionaries at IMDb who probably weren't even born in 1982 crying out that "Landis murdered Morrow!" - some genius director who murders his actor in front of several rolling motion picture cameras with a wildly spinning helicopter and mismatched pyrotechnics, exposing incompetence and illegal employment of minors rather than malicious intent, who'd suspect? Not even Hitchcock could have hatched that scheme!

The child labour thing is interesting as it made me wonder how many other kids had been hired illegally in Hollywood but never got caught.

[Wojo 2,453]

I hope this is available to stream on Netflix, because I've never seen it.

It isn't. The show is but not the movie.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I can't think of "Twilight Zone:The Movie" without my thoughts centering on Vic Morrow, and those children, and I'm afraid that this, ultimately, is what the film will be remembered for, which is a shame, because there is a lot of good in it, not the least of which is Jerry Goldsmith's score.

really I'm sorry you feel this way. perhaps you need to go through the greiving process. Seriously have you never lost a loved one. You have to move on at some point.

As Hedji points out the first story is perhaps more brutal today because we hope we're at a better place. Not sure if that is true.

Give the film a chance, let the demon's of the past lie, but allow the demon's in this film to live.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I just watch that segment and think "people died for this?"

BTW, anyone who watched that footage of them dying are morally debased.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

no one died for that, they simply were killed.

Accident's happen.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That's what i said about Katrina, and the Japanese earthquake last year.

DID ANY OF YOU LISTEN!

[Wojo 2,453]

Katrina and the Japanese radioactive earthquake of doom weren't accidents.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

They were!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

there is the wonderful episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where Shatner and Lithgow both mention they have a shared experience about a gremlin on the wing.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That's a Laugh out loud moment!

[publicist 4,643]

BTW, anyone who watched that footage of them dying are morally debased.

It's part of a courtroom broadcast, you cannot really avoid it if you don't know it's coming. But then you've seen it and can't believe anyone greenlighted that scene without serious headaches. It was bound for disaster.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

no it wasn't. There are few major accidents during film production. We've seen far more harrowing sequences that never killed anyone.

[publicist 4,643]

no it wasn't. There are few major accidents during film production. We've seen far more harrowing sequences that never killed anyone.

Yeah, maybe in the 20's when they put Lillian Gish on a log down Niagara falls. It's on record and not disputable in any way, shape or form that production members dreaded the shooting of the scene (Morrow included) and found Landis on steroids pushed them to dangerous limits.

That's where the heel part comes in, afterwards of course nobody was at fault for anything.

[Quintus 5,399]

The sequence was shot outdoors I presume?

[publicist 4,643]

The sequence was shot outdoors I presume?

You presume right, as you so often do, captain.

[filmmusic 1,843]

Wow, i've never seen the movie and I didn't know about this!!

Really tragic!!

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Now that's something really scary.

[russds 8]

The score for last segment (nightmare at 20000 feet) is one of my favorite from Goldsmith. I really, really love that music. The sharp use of strings reminds me a lot of Herman, but I like it even more.

[Jay 37,374]

The score for last segment (nightmare at 20000 feet) is one of my favorite from Goldsmith. I really, really love that music. The sharp use of strings reminds me a lot of Herman, but I like it even more.

:up:

[JoeinAR 1,949]

It's an insane piece of music. Which makes it wonderful. I don't care for the altered version nearly as much.

[russds 8]

Great opportunity to listen to this again. Damn this music is good, gives me goosebumps every time, especially when it picks up at 3:00. Anybody notice the reference to Gremlins theme at 5:30, not sure if that's been discussed here before.

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaQVmAWgl68

[Jay 37,374]

It's discussed in the booklet if you own the CD. Twilight Zone came first, and Dante liked the score enough to ask Jerry to score Gremlins when he made it later