Did you people see the same film I saw?

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

When I saw this back in the cinema many years ago, I wondered how the John Landis directed segment would play out in light of the tragic on-set deaths of Vic Morrow, Myca Dinh Le, and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, who died as a result of a helicopter going out of control amidst the explosives. It's gruesome, and YouTube has the gruesome footage of the incident. I read Outrageous Conduct, which is a compelling book about this incident. It's a compelling book of all the players in the movie.It's conventional to say George Miller's segment is the best, and it's impressive. However, I think Steven Spielberg's segment (the one in the old person's home), Joe Dante's segment (the one with Nancy "Bart Simpson" Cartwright), and even John Landis's one (about a bigot played by Mr Morrow) have its merits. Dante's one really was spooky, especially when Cartwright's character is running for her life in TV (literally) and is swallowed up by a monstrous cartoon character, yikes! This segment also featured Kathleen Quinlan, who a few years later played Jim Morrison's love interest in The Doors.

Having never seen an episode of the original television series and diving into this feature without any idea of who directed what segment, Twilight Zone: The Movie turned out to be a delightful surprise for me. Maintaining a firm grip on the viewers' senses and keeping them guessing throughout its 101 minutes runtime, it is one of those rare anthology films that works for the most part, if not all.Twilight Zone: The Movie covers four segments. The first one concerns a loud-mouthed bigot who finds himself transported back in time. The second story is set in a retirement home where a new guest makes the old residents rediscover their youth. The third tale is about a young woman who becomes entrapped in a boy's alternate reality while the last segment follows an airline passenger who may or may not be imagining things.The movie opens with an interesting prologue that sets the tone & expectations for the rest of the picture and is helmed by Joe Landis who also directs the first segment, "Time Out". Both stories are brilliantly narrated but the prologue stays on for an extended period and could've used a few trims. The first segment, however, is a fantastic blend of comedy & mystery and features the only original story of the four.The next part, "Kick the Can", is directed by Steven Spielberg and brims with a familiar childlike simplicity & deep sense of warmth. It is a heartwarming episode that beautifully illustrates the joys of childhood, emanates a strong feeling of nostalgia, and demonstrates that feeling young has nothing to do with age but your heart & attitude. It may feel out of place with the rest & is quite sentimental but there's an innocent quality to it and it's affectionately crafted.The third segment, "It's a Good Life", is directed by Joe Dante, and even though it commences on a promising note plus covers its underlying themes in a subtle manner, the exaggerated acting as well as the ridiculous effects take away the intended bleakness from it and what's left behind is a campy episode which, at least for me, was the least impressive of the four. However, its depiction of the loneliness that comes with being an omnipotent still leaves a positive impression.The final segment, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", brings the film full circle in a clever manner and is expertly directed by George Miller. Tense, claustrophobic & flying at lightning speed, it benefits a lot from John Lithgow's terrific performance, Miller's kinetic direction and some good old horror delights. Easily my favourite of the four, this one finishes itself on a high note and doesn't really leave much to complain about. The final moment before the credits also serves as a fitting conclusion to the whole journey we were led on, and the end result has more highs than lows.On an overall scale, Twilight Zone: The Movie is overloaded with numerous references to its source material but manages to be just as compelling for newcomers as it may be for the series' seasoned fans. All four directors have done a pretty neat job with the scripts they chose to transform on the film canvas and their distinctive filmmaking style gives each segment a distinct flavour of its own. Although not as influential as the landmark TV series, Twilight Zone: The Movie still serves as an excellent tribute to Rod Serling's show and a welcome addition to its genre(s). Strange, mystifying & enveloped with an eerie vibe from start to finish, this bizarre yet thrilling cinematic ride comes recommended.

This is a series of vignettes recreating three of the classic Twilight Zone episode and one original work. The prologue has Albert Brooks driving Dan Aykroyd in the middle of the night. I'm not happy with Dan Aykroyd. He's too comedic and sets the wrong tone. The character needs somebody darker to play him.First is "Time Out", the only original segment, directed by John Landis. Bill Connor is a racist drinking at a bar with his work friends. He leaves and finds himself as a Jew in Nazi occupied France, then as a black man in the KKK American south and as a Vietnamese man against American soldiers. This is my least favorite and also the cause of the tragic accident on set. The switching between time periods is too random and feels like somebody's idea of the worst kind of greatest hits. If the movie stayed with the Nazis, this segment could have worked much better.The second segment is "Kick the Can" directed by Steven Spielberg. Mr. Bloom has just moved into Sunnyvale Retirement Home. He invites the residents to play kick the can in the middle of the night and the old folks turn back into the child self. This is a perfectly fine segment but it struck me recently that this is a magical Negro story.The third segment is "It's a Good Life" directed by Joe Dante. Helen Foley befriends little Anthony who is getting bullied. She drives him home to find his family in terror of his impossible powers. This is by far my favorite of this movie. Kathleen Quinlan is brilliant. She has a motherly way about her despite the outlandish situation.The fourth segment is "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" directed by George Miller. It allows John Lithgow to go nuts but I don't know if anybody could top William Shatner.So there is one great segment, two middling ones and one poor one. Add on the prologue, this is a functional but not spectacular effort. The tragedy makes this a dubious enterprise. The fact that the only original segment ranks the lowest makes me wonder if they should have picked another classic episode.

Four stories by four directors, Spielberg, Landis, Dante and Miller, a great collection of directors and a neat selection of spooky tales. This is actually a great movie adaptation of the series which doesn't forget its place and go overboard, the stories are remakes from the original series but including one original story.The first tale is about a racist bigot who is somehow transported back and forth through time from Nazi Germany to Vietnam experiencing racism against himself. An obviously strong message of justice or revenge against prejudice in a very simple way. Landis does a reasonable job with the simple tale but its a little uninspired and personally I would of liked a more horror based tale from the master of comedic terror.Tale two from Spielberg is again rather uninspired but you can tell miles off its by Spielberg with its warm glow and gentle heart. A tale of old folk who dream of becoming young again and with the help of a mysterious old man in their retirement home they do just that overnight. Easily the tear jerker of the four, very sweet, very cozy with strong similarities to the Ron Howard movie 'Cocoon', did Howard possibly pinch the idea?Tale three is clearly made by Dante, like tale two you can see the directors style straight away visually and design wise. Trademark Dante finger prints all over this with his fave actor Dick Miller used yet again. A fun and very eerie tale of a boy who can make anything he wishes come true and holds a group of people captive in his bizarre home. Pretending to be his family the small group of people are merely scared of the boy and can never leave fearing the young boy may wish something terrible upon them. Its a spooky tale if you think about it and works very well, parodied by The Simpson's in a 'Treehouse of Terror' episode surely means it deserves respect. The final tale by Miller is a remake of the classic Twilight Zone episode which featured a young William Shatner 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet', again parodied by 'The Simpson's' earning it even more respect and fame. A terrified airline passenger is driven insane by a combination of the fear of flying and the fact he can see a monster on the wing of the plane ripping apart the engine. Probably the best of the tales with a great concept and cool creature to boot. John Lithgow plays the passenger going insane from fear nerves and anxiety with a performance equal to the original whilst the gremlin looks perfectly kooky and unnerving (Gremlin-ish).Mixed bag of tales really, the two from Dante and Miller being the best, Spielberg's is reasonable but boring and Landis I think picked the wrong type of story to best suit his abilities. Love the bookend sequences with Dan Aykroyd and the overall visual style of the movie from all directors. My only wish is that the film were a tad more mysterious and sinister with its tales, but overall its a solid anthology.7/10