Everything changed early in the morning of July 23, 1982, when a horrifying accident on the set of the John Landis segment caused the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two child performers. The tragedy and subsequent trial cast a pall over the film it has never been able to fully escape; the film's reviews were mixed at best, and boxoffice performance was disappointing. In spite of the uneven quality of the stories, the film has many interesting elements and has earned a following over the years. For those fans, Warner Home Video's new release of Twilight Zone-the Movie on DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is welcome news.
The film opens with a funny prologue written and directed by Landis and starring Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd as two guys who pass the time during a lonely drive by humming TV theme songs and reminiscing about The Twilight Zone. ("You wanna see something really scary?") After a re-creation of the show's 4th & 5th season credit sequence ("You open this door with the key of imagination ...") narrated by four-time Zone guest star Burgess Meredith, the film proper begins with the ill-fated John Landis segment. Vic Morrow stars as Bill Connor, an angry, bitter man who complains to his drinking buddies one night that all his problems are caused by minorities. Leaving the bar, Connor is astonished to suddenly find himself in Nazi Germany, pursued by suspicious Gestapo agents. He is just as abruptly transported to the American South, where Ku Klux Klansmen try to lynch him, and then to Viet Nam during the war, where trigger-happy American G.I.s shoot at anything that moves.
Rod Serling frequently dealt with prejudice on The Twilight Zone. His writing on the topic was at times heavy-handed and didactic, but it was always infused with sincere passion. By contrast, Landis' writing here is simply clumsy and amateurish, with nothing intelligent or insightful to say about bigotry. He introduces an unsympathetic, one dimensional character, shoves him into a series of dull action scenes that merely disorient him and then gives him a cruel fate. It was common for characters on The Twilight Zone to get ironic punishments for their sins, but Connor is simply a loud-mouthed jerk who says vile things, and his penalty is grossly disproportionate. At the time of the accident Landis was reportedly working on a revised ending that would have allowed the Connor character to redeem himself by rescuing two Vietnamese children, but what sort of message would this have conveyed? Bigots can be reformed by being chased around and shot at? Except for a few clever transitions, Landis brings little visual style to the story. Vic Morrow looks tired and is unable to flesh out his part; knowing that this job led to his death makes his performance and the entire segment depressing.
Steven Spielberg's segment follows. Originally, Spielberg concocted a story about a video game-loving bully who gets a nasty comeuppance, and had series veteran Richard Matheson write a script. (According to Matheson, it ended with an image "like something out of Hieronymous Bosch.") Officially the story was abandoned because of budget concerns, but one can't help but wonder if Spielberg had second thoughts about following the family-friendly E.T with a dark, scary story. The director chose instead to remake the George Clayton Johnson-scripted episode "Kick the Can." Johnson suggested a new ending, Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay and E.T. screenwriter Melissa Mathison did a rewrite under the pseudonym "Josh Rogan." In the new version, the elderly residents of Sunnyvale Rest Home, under the leadership of new arrival Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers), discover that the childhood game Kick the Can holds the secret to recapturing their youth-but a second childhood may not be what they truly need.
As with the Landis story, poor writing sinks the segment, as simplistic dramatics are used to offer up a simplistic philosophy. In the original, the protagonist, Mr. Whitley, was a longtime resident of Sunnyvale, integrated into the social fabric of the place, who had to work to discover the magic of Kick the Can. In the remake, the not-very-subtly-named Mr. Bloom is a deus ex machina and mouthpiece for the Author's Message (he even talks directly to the audience at one point), an outsider who comes along, works his magic, dispenses his wisdom and leaves. Whitley was opposed in the TV version by his best friend, Mr. Conroy, who was grim and fatalistic but motivated by genuine concern for his pal's well-being; in the remake Conroy (Bill Quinn) is just an old sourpuss whom no one likes or takes seriously. All the other elderly characters in the Spielberg version are cute and loveable-so much so that they hardly seem to need Mr. Bloom's message; they come across as reasonably content and well-adjusted already. The remake's script pays lip service to the sense of loss that can come with aging but glosses over it in a line or two, and never mentions Alzheimer's Disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, glaucoma or the other ailments common to the elderly. The film's dismissal of the real emotional and physical pains of the aging with a glib "smile and think happy thoughts" message ultimately comes across as painfully superficial and insulting to senior citizens.
The segment isn't a total loss, thanks mostly to some good work by the cast. Scatman Crothers is as charming as can be as Mr. Bloom, although his work would have benefited from a little less charm and a little more emotional gravity. Murray Matheson, who gave a memorable performance as a philosophical clown in the classic original series episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit", makes a welcome return visit to the Twilight Zone as the courtly Mr. Agee; Martin Gerner, Selma Diamond, Helen Shaw and Peter Brocco all offer fine support as his fellow Sunnyvale residents. Among the child actors playing the young incarnations of the senior citizens, Tanya Fenmore is a standout with her amusing impression of Selma Diamond's whiney voice and attitude. Spielberg, who started his career directing a Rod Serling script for the Night Gallery pilot movie, fumbles by giving the story a sugary-sweet tone, but does manage to bring some visual flare and polish to the piece.
After two disappointing stories in a row, Twilight Zone-the Movie finally starts to redeem itself with the third segment, Joe Dante's inspired remake of "It's a Good Life." The original version was a faithful adaptation by Serling of a Jerome Bixby short story about a young boy who terrorizes his home town with his seemingly god-like powers. Dante and screenwriter Richard Matheson decided to give the concept a fresh interpretation. In their updated version, schoolteacher Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) meets a young boy, Anthony (Jeremy Licht), while traveling to a new job. Taking the boy home, she meets his peculiar family, all of whom appear unnaturally cheerful and desperate to please little Anthony. Gradually, Helen realizes that the family is concealing the terrifying truth about the innocent-looking boy ...
One of Dante and Matheson's most ingenious choices for the remake is to show not only the terror Anthony's "family" lives in because of his awesome power, but also the sheer misery they experience as adults forced to live in a world built around a child's tastes and whims. Junk food is served at every meal, cartoons play endlessly on television, and favorite games and rituals are repeated over and over. Anthony is the ultimate spoiled brat whom everyone indulges for fear of his temper tantrums. Dante mines the situation for a lot of humor, but doesn't sacrifice the scares; there's a great funny/suspenseful sequence in which Anthony's "Uncle Walt" is asked to reach into a magic hat, and the expression of sickly dread on his face tells the viewer that he has no idea what he's going to find in there. The cast does an excellent job bringing out the humor in their characters' barely-suppressed anxiety and frayed nerves. Familiar TV character actor William Schallert is perfectly cast as "Father", as if Anthony saw him in a rerun of The Patty Duke Show and wished him out of the television and into his living room. Patricia Barry complements him well as "Mother", and Invasion of the Body Snatchers star Kevin McCarthy steals the show with his delightful turn as Uncle Walt. Nancy Cartwright, famous now as the voice of Bart Simpson, does fine work as Anthony's "sister" Ethel before meeting a fate that, considering her later career, is decidedly ironic.
The episode is packed with more imaginative touches than most feature-length films. A lifelong animation buff, Dante makes Anthony a fan as well, and the nonstop cartoons playing in the background often provide counterpoint to the live action in the foreground. The art direction for Anthony's house makes it appear influenced by the cartoons he watches, with the downstairs furniture and décor all looking simple, unfinished and generic, while the black-and-white upstairs looks like an M.C. Escher etching interpreted by the Max Fleischer animation team. Rob Bottin, who created the werewolves for Dante's The Howling, crafts some bizarre, Ed Roth-inspired monsters conjured up by Anthony. Not all of them feel like they really belong in the film, but they are definitely unique. As is his usual practice, Dante peppers the segment with cameos and inside references: look for appearances by Dante regular Dick Miller, original Twilight Zone producer Buck Houghton and original "It's a Good Life" star Billy Mumy, and listen for mentions of towns featured in the series.
Unfortunately, Dante and Matheson were unable to devise a satisfying ending. (NOTE: Some spoilers from here to end of paragraph.) Neither wished to go for the obvious, clichéd "dark" ending, but the nature of the story and Anthony's character are such that any other resolution feels artificially grafted on. We may believe in Anthony's desire to change, but since he is ruled by his impulses and is immune to discipline, we're skeptical about his ability to exercise self-restraint for an extended period. Ultimately, the segment feels like an entertaining joke that fizzles at the punch line.
George Miller ends the film on a high note with his terrific remake of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." It's not merely the best segment in the movie; it may be the best segment in any fantasy/horror anthology ever. The television version, a favorite of many fans, was scripted by Richard Matheson from his own short story and directed by a young Richard Donner; William Shatner starred as an airline passenger unable to convince the crew that a strange creature is tampering with their engines. Miller's version (also scripted by Matheson) is faithful to the original, but adds a generous dose of humor and the high-adrenaline visual style that the director brought to his Mad Max films. Miller's camera swoops, bobs and tilts to create a simulation of a plane caught in heavy turbulence vivid enough to give any viewers who are nervous fliers white knuckles. John Lithgow is brilliant as the terrified lead character, Mr. Valentine; his performance starts with an anxiety attack and builds to total hysteria. Miller's editing and framing works with Lithgow's acting to convey Valentine's nervous energy and sense of claustrophobia-he's not only confined in a narrow aircraft, he's also surrounded on all sides by unsympathetic fellow passengers convinced that he's a nut. The creature, created by makeup artists Craig Reardon and Michael McCracken and played by Larry Cedar, is a big improvement over the crude original, a gleefully malevolent beast that seems to delight in its life-threatening mischief. Composer Jerry Goldsmith, another veteran of the original series, provides excellent scores for all four segments, but his work here is especially memorable, with music that both mirrors and mocks Valentine's terror. For many fans, Twilight Zone-the Movie is worth buying on the strength of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" alone.
Warner Home Video's DVD of Twilight Zone-the Movie sports an excellent 16 x 9 enhanced widescreen transfer. (Note: This reviewer only had the opportunity to watch the standard-def release.) The transfer allows one to fully appreciate the bright, cartoon-like primary colors in the Dante segment, and catch details in the brief glimpses of the monster in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." The English 5.1 and stereo tracks are also superb, and will be particularly enjoyed by fans of Goldsmith's score. The only extra is a bleary teaser trailer. The cover art is stunningly bland and well below Warner's usual standards.
Recommended for confirmed fans for the film; others may wish to rent first.
For more information about Twilight Zone-The Movie, visit Warner Video. To order Twilight Zone-The Movie, go to TCM Shopping.
by Gary Teetzel
