ON JUNE 24TH, FOUR ACCLAIMED DIRECTORS, GEORGE MILLER, JOHN LANDIS, JOE DANTE AND STEVEN SPIELBERG, TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER DIMENSION.
The classic TV series that ran from 1959-1964 gets a big-screen adaptation where four episodes are reinterpreted by an excellent bunch of filmmakers; there’s also a very amusing prologue featuring Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks. Steven Spielberg’s touching fantasy about a retirement home really bears his mark. All in all, an enjoyable mix of horror and comedy, even though none of the sequences truly stand out. The first one, with Vic Morrow as a bigot who gets a taste of his own medicine, is a bit too obvious. The best one comes last, with John Lithgow as a jumpy airline passenger who spots a demonic figure out on the wing.
1983-U.S. 102 min. Color. Produced by John Landis, Steven Spielberg. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller, John Landis. Music: Jerry Goldsmith. Cast: Vic Morrow (Bill Connor), Scatman Crothers (Mr. Bloom), Bill Quinn (Leo Conroy), Selma Diamond, Kathleen Quinlan, Jeremy Licht… Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Kevin McCarthy, John Lithgow, John Larroquette. Narrated by Burgess Meredith.
Trivia: Morrow and two child actors were killed in a helicopter accident during the making of the ”Time Out” sequence. Its director, Landis, and several other people involved in the accident faced criminal and civil charges but were acquitted. William Shatner, who played Lithgow’s role in the original ”Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode, was allegedly considered for the movie.
