La quatrième dimension

Feature film expansion of legendary TV series is uneven overall, but it does have its moments, and it does thankfully follow the rule of saving the best for last. Four prominent directors are brought together to create, in glorious colour, some classic episodes of the series, with an impressive roster of stars and character players. At least along the way it manages to create some enjoyable jolts. Burgess Meredith, star of 'Time Enough at Last', one of the best known and most beloved of all episodes, is the narrator for this trip into some bizarre places.

Unfortunately the movie will always have an enormous stigma attached to it due to the untimely and horrific death of actor Vic Morrow and two child extras during the shooting of Segment 1. That may very well leave a bad taste in the mouth of many people watching. It's up to the individual viewer as to how much this affects their enjoyment of the film.

The prologue and the first segment are actually originals written by director John Landis. Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks are fun as a passenger and driver who come up some with some amusing ways to entertain each other until Aykroyd decides it's time for Brooks to get a good scare. This gets us off to a good start because Landis does understand that with the TV show the payoff was a most important element.

Segment 1 sees Morrow playing an unrepentant bigot who gets a major dose of his own intolerance when he's mistaken for a Jew by Nazis, a black by KKK members, and a Vietnamese man by American troops in 'Nam. This is a very dark episode that doesn't end too satisfactorily, but Morrow is excellent, the look of Paris during WWII is nicely realized, the pacing is effective, and there's a great in joke referring back to Landis's "Animal House".

Segment 2, Steven Spielberg's remake of "Kick the Can", sees wonderfully genial Scatman Crothers injecting some magic into the lives of senior citizens in an old folks' home. Like Segment 1, it's unfortunately not subtle about its message, and is so syrupy sweet that it really doesn't fit in with the other segments here. The actors are very likable, fortunately; Crothers manages to make it worth sitting through.

Segment 3 tells the tale of "It's a Boy's Life", in which a creepy kid (Jeremy Licht) makes the acquaintance of travelling schoolteacher Kathleen Quinlan. This kid can bend reality to suit his whims, lives in a house with bizarre designs, likes his hamburgers with peanut butter topping, and lives for cartoons. And his "family" lives in mortal terror of him. The work of Joe Dante, this serves as a counterpoint to Spielberg's tale the way that it depicts childish fantasies run amok. Great cartoon style monster work by Rob Bottin helps in the enjoyment of this segment; this is where the film starts getting really good. Bill Mumy, the kid in the original episode, plays a diner patron.

Segment 4, directed by George Miller of the "Mad Max" series, is far and away the best, an over the top remake of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", in which terrified airplane passenger John Lithgow believes he sees a creature busy destroying the planes' engines as it flies through a storm. Lots of good atmosphere and intensity here, with a top notch unhinged performance by Lithgow and a great creature, designed by Craig Reardon & Michael McCracken and performed by actor Larry Cedar.

With a lot of familiar faces in the small roles (ex. Charles Hallahan, Doug McGrath, Bill Quinn, Selma Diamond, the almighty Dick Miller (once again playing 'Walter Paisley'), Kevin McCarthy, William Schallert, Cherie Currie, Nancy Cartwright, John Dennis Johnston, Eduard Franz, and Donna Dixon), and wonderful music by Jerry Goldsmith, this certainly remains an entertaining film to watch for its duration, if not a great one. Hopefully it will inspire people to check out the TV series and see why it's so admired.

Seven out of 10.

Prologue: a driver has a big surprise with his passenger (8) Segment 1 ("Time Out"): a bigot man hates Jews, Black and Asian people. One day he will live in the World War II, hunted down by KKK and attacked in Vietnam War and feel the effects of his hatred. Good episode with a surprising conclusion (7).

Segment 2 ("Kick the Can"): In a nursing home, the elder inhabitants learn that their minds can keep them young. Reasonable episode only with a great homage to "The Twilight Zone" (Episode 3.21) "Kick the Can". (6).

Segment 3 ("It´s a Good Life"): a traveler hits a boy in a bicycle with her car and takes the boy home. Soon she learns that the powerful boy brought her home indeed. Good episode with a silly and disappointing conclusion (7).

Segment 4 ("Nightmare at 20,000 feet"): a writer is scary to fly and soon he sees a monstrous creature destroying the airplane engines during a stormy night. Certainly the best episode (8).

Divided in prologue and four segments, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" is a tragic and cult movie. Tragic since Vic Morrow, the unforgettable Sgt. Saunders of "Combat!" series, died in a weird accident when the helicopter crashed on him and two children while making a scene. Directed by four great directors - Joe Dante (segment "It's a Good Life"); John Landis (prologue/segment "Time Out"); George Miller (segment "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"); and Steven Spielberg (segment "Kick the Can") - and with great names in the cast - Vic Morrow, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Kathleen Quinlan, John Lithgow among many others, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" is highly recommended for fans of sci-fi and horror. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "No Limite da Realidade" ("In the Limit of Reality")

Note: On 31 July 2023, I saw this film again.

An affectionate homage to the old TV series. Three old episodes were updated and a new one was written. It's also narrated by Burgess Meredith who starred in quite a few of the original TV series episodes.

It starts off with a quick little prologue with Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd. It's quick, funny and provides a nice little jolt.

The first segment was newly written for the movie. It involves a bitter and racist man (Vic Morrow) getting a taste of his own medicine. This episode is clouded by the three deaths it caused--Morrow was decapitated by a helicopter blade and two Vitenamese children were crushed. John Landis (who directed this) was found not guilty in the deaths. As it stands this isn't very good. It's simplistic and heavy-handed--like a bad Zone episode.

The second one is directed by Steven Spielberg. It involves an old man (Scatman Crothers) gently bringing to life the old people at a retirement home. I'll be the first to admit that this is way too syrupy--but I have a fondness for it. The acting is good, it has a great music score and, I admit, it leaves me a little misty-eyed.

The third is directed by Joe Dante. It's a remake about a little boy who can make all of his wishes come true. It's well-directed with some truly incredible special effects and a good performance by Kathleen Quinlan. But it's seriously damaged by a silly happy ending (the original didn't have that). Billy Mumy (the star of the original) has a bit part and Dante regular Dick Miller shows up as Walter Paisley.

The fourth is the best. It's directed by George Miller and is a remake of the William Shatner episode where he spots a gremlin tearing apart the plane he's flying on. The gremlin in the original looked pretty ridiculous--like a teddy bear. Here John Lithgow plays the passenger and the gremlin is more than a little scary-looking. This segment moves and has a few great jolts. Also Carol Serling (Rod Serling's wife I believe) has a bit part.

All in all an enjoyable film. I liked it when I saw it in a theatre in 1983 and it still holds up today. I give it an 8.

"Twilight Zone: The Movie" is a mostly entertaining anthology film based on Rod Serling's classic TV series of the 1960s. Four bizarre tales are told through the minds of four different filmmakers: John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller (Landis and Spielberg also produced). "Twilight Zone: The Movie" starts with a brief prologue starring Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks. Then comes segment #1, directed by Landis. This is the part of the movie that made headlines around the world when a freak accident killed actor Vic Morrow and two children while shooting a helicopter scene (which is not seen in the film). This story is about an angry man (played by Morrow) who is not happy with America because of all the different races that are living in the country. Then something strange happens. When the man steps outside of a bar, he finds himself on a street in Nazi Germany; a few minutes later he's confronted by the Klu Klux Klan; then he discovers he's in the middle of the Vietnam War; and so on. As for how this segment goes, it's only so-so. However segment #2, directed by Spielberg, is the weakest story of the bunch. Scatman Crothers stars as an elderly man who comes to live at a retirement home. After making friends with some of the elderly people living there, he talks them into playing a spirited game of kick the can. This is no ordinary game. Let's just say that its a game with a fountain of youth twist to it. I found this segment real boring. Up to this point, "Twilight Zone: The Movie" is disappointing. But then the film picks up with the strong last two segments. Segment #3, directed by Dante, stars Kathleen Quinlan as a woman who meets a little boy after accidentally knocking him off of his bike with her car. She decides to give the boy a ride home. But this is no ordinary home. It's a house where every TV set has a cartoon on, and the boy's family act like a bunch of crazy people (like their cartoons themselves). Quinlan begins to realize that this kid is not normal. This segment works because it's creepy (the look of the house on the inside is fascinating) and funny (every member of the kid's family is a complete nut). Ah, but the best segment comes last. Segment #4, directed by Miller, is a truly scary tale starring John Lithgow (from TV's "3rd Rock From the Sun") as a terrified passenger of an airplane flying through a severe thunderstorm. Things get worse when Lithgow see's something on the wing of the plane. What is it? A man? Or is it a monster? This segment literally had me on the edge of my seat. It's an excellent finale to "Twilight Zone: The Movie". So my advice is skip the first two segments, but watch the last two.

Here's my separate ratings for each segment (out of four stars):

Segment #1: **1/2; Segment #2: *1/2; Segment #3: ***1/2; Segment #4: ****

This adds up for an estimated combined rating of *** stars.

After the opening prologue with DAN AKYROYD and ALBERT BROOKS, as bored drivers on a lonely country highway who like to play pranks, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE offers four stories, supposedly in the vein of stories that Rod Serling wrote for the famous TV series. Not until the final segment, NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET does it offer the kind of fright stuff worthy of being in this anthology.

And it's a minor gem of its kind with JOHN LITHGOW giving an amazingly deft performance as a man totally afraid of flying who should have taken tranquilizers before he peered out the window. What he saw on the wing of the plane would have frightened anyone out of their wits--and, of course, no one believes him.

It's this final episode that makes the film itself worth watching. None of the other segments have enough punch to keep the viewer awake, let alone entertained. VIC MORROW's unfortunate accident came about during filming of a Vietnam sequence which does not appear in this version of the film--but he does give a convincing portrait of a bigot who gets his comeuppance. Very ironic.

Summing up: All of these stories were told with more style and suspense on the old TV shows. Strictly second-rate.