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It helps to have one of history's greatest scoops as your factual inspiration, but journalism thrillers just don't get any better than All the President's Men. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are perfectly matched as (respectively) Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, whose investigation into the Watergate scandal set the stage for President Richard Nixon's eventual resignation. Their bestselling exposé was brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman, and director Alan Pakula crafted the film into one of the most intelligent and involving of the 1970s paranoid thrillers. Featuring Jason Robards in his Oscar-winning role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, All the President's Men is the film against which all other journalism movies must be measured. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Their obsession for a good story brought down a president
This Oscar winning 1976 film is about Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two Washington Post reporters who broke the biggest story of the 1970's - that of the Watergate scandal. It originally seemed like a small story, a break-in at the Democratic headquarters, but because of these two young men doggedly going after the facts, it brought down a president.

Starring Dustin Hoffman as the chain-smoking and quirky Bernstein, and Robert Redford as the more sophisticated Woodward, there is a chemistry between them which gave them the impetus to push way beyond the limits of what the story required, and as one discovery led to another, build on the accumulated details to go even further. Both the men were good at sizing up people, and the film shows how, in one interview after another, they got each interviewee to reveal those details that could fit into the king-size puzzle that they had taken on. Martin Balsam, cast as the managing editor, wanted to give the job to more senior reporters, but as Jack Warden, the metro editor, pointed out, the two young men had a passion for the story that was very special. Jason Robards, the executive editor, was quick to question all their facts, but generally supported them all the way.

Throughout, there are lots of shots of the massiveness of the tall buildings in contrast to the smallness of the men. And, when it came to the secret informer who they called "Deep Throat", those scenes were cast in shadow. The pacing was excellent and the there was tension throughout, which kept me fascinated even though I knew the eventual outcome. This story became an obsession with the two reporters and it seemed as if nothing would stop them. Occasionally, it got a bit repetitive, but that is the nature of good reporting, which can also be called good detective work.

The film brought back the reality of the 1970s, from the hairstyles to the manual typewriters. I found myself thinking about the cell phones and computers we take for granted today, as I watched them pour through phone directories as well as thousands of library take-out slips as they followed up on every clue. The acting, of course, was excellent as well the screenplay, which focused entirely on the news story, rather than becoming maudlin with the personal lives of the men. I give this film a high recommendation. It's definitely worth seeing.

A timeless historic piece
Absolutely shameful that "Rocky" beat out this Oscar nominee as Best Picture. "All the President's Men" is the faithful big screen treatment of the same-name book by the Washington Post reporting duo that dug deeply enough into the Watergate burglary that it led to the downfall of the Nixon Administration. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, each in some of their best work of their careers, portray their real-life counterparts not only as journalists but with the human frustration they undoubtedly felt while chipping away at what at first couldn't be predicted to become a major event in American history. Just what was at stake for the country is best delivered by the late Jason Robards in his role as Post editor Ben Bradlee, a performance that got Robards one of two back-to-back Best Supporting Oscars ("Julia" was the other). We even get to see Deep Throat. He's Hal Holbrook but, for reasons that still exist, we don't know who he really is and how he has obvious insider knowledge. Read the book by Woodward and Bernstein first, though, for an appreciation of the faithfulness of the movie to its subject. Not only is "All the President's Men" riveting entertainment, it's a vital historical reference. How "Rocky" beat it out for Best Picture ought to be deemed one of those Academy embarrassments.

Re-birth of a Nation
"All the President's Men" is the well-made movie about the political fiasco known as "Watergate". Watergate remains the biggest political mess in American history and it led to the resignation of president Richard "I am not a crook" Nixon.

The movie has big stars, including Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as the two Washington Post reporters who begin to unearth the story about the break-in at the Watergate hotel and subsequently piece together the details that implicate a long list of top politicians.

The intriguing story is helped by supporting actors Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and Hal Holbrook who plays "Deep Throat", the still-unidentified informant who guided Woodward and Bernstein along the trail of information.

The DVD includes text-based cast/crew info, casting notes, location info, a bit about "Deep Thoat", a chronology of the Watergate activity, and a list of awards which include 4 oscars.

If you don't know much about the circumstances surrounding Watergate, this is a good place to start.

A 70's Time capsule.
Nixon resigned on my older sister's 4th birthday. The actual Watergate incident took place exactly one day shy of two monthes before I was born. For my parents its something they lived through. For me, it's American History. This movie is quintessential 70's. Redford, Hackman and tricky dick. Every 70's time capsule should have a copy of this movie tucked inside a folded brown dinner jacket. Even if you don't believe a word of it, you have to admit ATPM is tremendously well made and entertaining. All the cloak and dagger sneaking around, the high-pressure newsroom meetings, the breathless interviews and the clandestine deep throat meetings are perfect Cold War/X-Files/Michael Moore conspiracy theory what-iffing. The truth is out there: Nixon not only knew, he authorized the Watergate break-in it, Reagan knew about and authorized the Iran-Contra arms sales arangement, Clinton lied and he meant to lie, aliens are alive and well among us, and George W. Bush and Co. used 9-11 as an excuse for the hostile and unwarranted takeover of a sovereign nation for it's oil. And so on. Great stuff.

THEN REDFORD MADE THE KENNEDY-STOLE-1960-ELECTION MOVIE??
"All the President's Men", based on the book by Woodward and Bernstein, was impossible to resist for Redford. Nixon! Oh boy! Again, Hollywood passed up the Kennedy-stole-the-election story. What a shock! You have to hand it to these guys, though; they have talent. "President's" was masterful, thanks in large part to Goldman, who knew how to condense the story. Redford tried to play it close to the vest, and comes close to making it come off as straight and narrow. The actual truth portrayed betrays the lack of objectivity, however, at the Washington Post. Redford is Bob Woodward, a former Navy officer and a Republican. This is revealed to Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) who gives him a furtive look upon learning this shocking truth. Jason Robards is Ben Bradlee, the Post's editor. We all know the story: The DNC is broken into by Cubans with White House phone numbers in their address books, and in investigating the burglary Woodward and Bernstein suspect a larger plot, which they uncover through dogged journalism that cannot be denied. The two writers are shown to be complete heroes. Hal Halbrooke plays "Deep Throat", the White House insider who gives Woodward the leads he needs to keep investigating. To this day his identity is unknown, and it remains entirely plausible that he was invented out of whole cloth.
The story is the story, and there is no room for liberal bias in that. To Redford's credit, he does not demonize the Republicans or sermonize. Implicit threat against the pair are made, but not expanded into anything. G. Gordon Liddy did volunteer to "off" Jack Anderson for revealing CIA assets in the U.S.S.R., but there is no evidence that Nixon's Republicans ever thought about blowing Woodward and Bernstein away. Domestic political murders, as best as I can tell, are the province of the Democrats. Even in Oliver Stone's "JFK", it is Lyndon Johnson who supposedly was in on the plan to kill the President.
The bias in "All the President's Men" is subliminal, but leave it to yours truly to see it. First, there is the acronym CREEP, which stands for Committee to Re-elect the President. There have been numerous such committees over he years, and they always go by the acronym CRP. But Woodward and Bernstein turned it into CREEP. Gotcha. There is also a scene in which Bradlee, who in real life was a drinking buddy (and God knows what else) of Kennedy's, getting the news that the story is progressing and has real legs.
"You run that baby," he tells Woodward and Bernstein, then does little jig as he leaves the office. This is telling. Redford and director Alan Pakula allowed it, probably because it let them impart their own happiness over Nixon's downfall through the character. In another scene, Robards/Bradlee tells the reporters, "There's not much riding on this. Just the First Amendment and the Constitution of the United States."
Now just hoooold on there, Ben. Was Watergate really about the Constitution? Was that august document threatened? This begs the question, Where was Bradlee and Post publisher Katherine Graham when the Constitution really was threatened by their pal JFK, who stole the 1960 election? Where were they when their pal Bobby Kennedy was wiretapping Martin Luther King? Democrat operatives had to break into homes, hotels and offices to wiretap Dr. King just as the Plumbers had to break into Dr. Fielding's office, and Larry O'Brien's. A free press is undoubtedly the cornerstone of Democracy, but it functions best when it is not populated by over-inflated egos who think they are the soul arbiter of freedom of expression.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!
Okay now that my Brady colors have been revealed let me say Marsha Mason is the best part of this. I bought this b/c of the great Anthony Hopkins but honestly, in this picture he is upstaged. Marsha Masons performance even rivals the great performance of Ellen Burstyn in the Exorsist. Still, the movie has a few too many weak points to be great.

Most notably, the courtroom scenes. This case would be thrown out, no doubt about it. The jury would have no evidence they could examine out in the open and even having the scenes in the movie sorely undermines the credibility of the story.

The husband is decent, a bit overbearing, now lets discuss Ivy. She has the serious look of someone who should star in this type of movie. A real odd look that is beautiful and yet ... well, odd. But the sound direction is totally off. The dubbing used here for her "drop-outs" is so noticable. Just about every line she has has been obviously overdubbed, and poorly, it comes off as a strange "whine". Still, even with this Ivy/Audry has a sort of timeless quality about it.

Everything about the movie technically is good. The soundtrack has some spooky elements in it but never really approaches greatness. The dvd has a trailer (whoopie!) but nothing else which is a downer for anyone who owns Carrie. Still, it's the story I've always been drawn too when I think of Audrey Rose and the sort of ambiguous ending which I personally like, I think it's held up pretty well. If we could give 1/2 stars bump this to 3.5. Give me some interviews and a remastered soundtrack and this could be a 4 easily.

Quite a good little horror film
One of Anthony Hopkins first major films where he plays the grief stricken father of a child who was tragically killed in a car accident, burnt to death before she could be rescued. This is a slow moving film that follows Hopkins as he tries to convince Marsha Mason that her daughter Ivy is in fact the reincarnation of his child Audrey Rose. Despite some terrible reviews from critics, this is a chilling little film that tries to look at the concept of reincarnation intelligently whilst at same time maintaining its momentum as a horror story. There are some great moments such as the window episode when Ivy/Audrey Rose relives her attempt to get out of the burning car. I kept hearing "HOT HOT HOT" for days after watching the film, so all credit to then newcomer Susan Swift who played the reincarnated child Audrey Rose/Ivy. Hopkins and Mason are convincing as the respective parents of Audrey Rose/Ivy and though the film isn't a masterpiece of direction and cinematography it is still is a very good film. The final scene where Ivy/Audrey Rose is regressed back to her "first" death is both poignant and heart wrenching. Not bad for a film made in 1977 and certainly better than many of its critics have made out.

things of soul also fails in cinema
I don't think this is an terrific film as commonly catalogued. It's a fable about reincarnation as believed in Hindu religion and not so badly conceived although contains a basic failure. Audrey Rose, a little girl eleven years old has disturbing nightmares that worsen progressively. Furthermore his parents are alarmed because a man are watching her. The explanation is this man had years ago a daughter killed in a car accident and he believes Audrey Rose is truly a undue premature reincarnation of her daughter and these is the origin of the strange crises Audrey suffers. Audrey isn't posessed by any devil, simply she expects a better life. Well I find one uses to think things from beyond the grave can't have these defects more own of carnal, human incapacity.

BORN 1959....DIED 1964.....BORN 1964....
Audrey Rose. Who or what is Audrey Rose? Is it a demon? Is it a ghost? No. Audrey Rose a little girl. A little girl who died a tragic death and maybe living in another body of another girl......

Meet the Templetons. Janice and Bill. They live in a high-class New York apartment building with their 11-year-old daughter, Ivy. Suddenly, Ivy's personality has changed. She's not acting 11. But acting like a 5 year old. And she's been having a sleepwalking problem too. She'll get up (though, obviously sleeping) and run around her room screaming "Mommydaddymommydaddyhot!hot!hot!" and has even scorched her hands on some invisible hot fire.

Enter Elliot Hoover. A middle aged mysterious man who follows Janice and Ivy home from school every day. But he stays far behind them. Every day, Janice worries that the mysterious man is going to attack her.

One day, Elliot finally gets the chance to tell Janice and Bill something that has been bothering him. He believes that their daughter Ivy is a reincarnation of his dead child, Audrey Rose. You see, she was in the car that his wife was driving when it skidded off the road and into a ditch below where it caught on fire.He tells them that he moved into town around around the same time that Ivy has had her night fits. Suddenly, from the upstairs of their apartment, Ivy has another fit, screaming "Mommydaddymommydaddyhot!hot!hot!" The Templeton's are horrified to discover that the only way to calm her down is for Hoover to say "Audrey! Audrey Rose! It's daddy! It's daddy!" until she falls asleep peacefully. The Templeton's tell Hoover not to return to their apartment and to leave them alone.

After countless attemps to contact the Templeton's, Elliot kidnaps Ivy and is arrested. During a court battle, Ivy is taken away from her regular school and is brought to a Catholic Elementary where there will be no reports covering the possible "reincarnated girl". During that time, Ivy is upset because all the girls tease her after sneeking in a newspaper with Ivy on the front. During a special holiday event at the school, the children build a gigantic snowman and dance around it singing "Old man winter go away! Don't come back till Christmas day" Ivy is forced by Audrey Rose to walk into the fire and kill herself, but is stopped by a nun. Meanwhile, the trial is still going on and a witness who was in the car accident (the trial is now about reincarnation and if Elliot was right) said the last words she heard Audrey Rose say was "Mommydaddymommydaddyhot!hot!hot!".

Ivy is taken out of the school and Janice believes that Ivy is really Audrey Rose from the second she was born. Bill doesn't. Elliot is found "Innocent" and Janice agrees to Elliot's decision to put her under hypnosis to see what she can remember. It is done live on tv. Suddenly, Janice is startled when they go back in Ivy's memory to discover Audrey Rose yelling "Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!Hot!" constantly. They try to take her off the hypnosis quickly, because if she doesn't snap out of it soon: she'll die.

RECCOMENDED TO FANS OF:
The Exorcist (1973)
The Omen (1976)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)

CAST

Marsha Mason......Janice Templeton
John Beck.............Bill Templeton
Anthony Hopkins..Elliot Hoover
Susan Swift..........Ivy Templeton

THE MOVIE 3/4

THE PICTURE QUALITY: 6/10: Some sparkles. It's presented in a matted 1.85:1 widescreen transfer.

THE AUDIO QUALITY: 6/10: Mono soundtrack. There is Spanish and French language tracks, both mono as well. Dolby Digital.

THE SPECIAL FEATURE: A teaser trailer. Too bad it wasn't a full trailer however, it uses only a few seconds of scenes from the movie. Runs about 19 seconds long.

SUBTITLES: French and Spanish.

A Good Little Thriller About Reincarnation!
Audrey Rose is a good little thriller about reincarnation. it's not scary in a horror movie sort of way like The Excorcist or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre so if you are looking for a movie about demon possession or a movie with lots of blood, guts and decapitations than this aint your flick but if you like stories about reincarnation than this just may be the flick for you! Audrey Rose is more what I would call psychological Suspense and drama then horror and I enjoyed watching it and I thought the girl who played Ivy was really good. And it also stars Anthony Hopkins who is brilliant as Eliot Hoover and Marsha Mason also turns in a great performance as Ivy's mother Janice. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

The Hospital plus 33 years
Its amazing to look back and view this film again to see how " we made out"!

Well we didnt! "The Hospital" underscores the malaise that was beginning in the early 70,s in hospitals. That malaise has now spread into a full blown epidemic. Today, 2004, the hospital,mostly any hospital is one of the most dangerous places to reside in.

They are unhealthy,replete with staff shortages, racked with mal practice suits, hammered by HMO's subverted by medicare rules and regulations and emeregency rooms that are packed with aliens getting their initial health care!

This film shows how organized mayhem effects health care and converts that to disorginized health care. George C. Scott is totally defeated physician who is rejuvenated by the allure of Diana Rigg( who wouldnt be) Its too late for Scott and many of the patients that fall to DR. Wellbeck's unsteady hands or Bernard Hughes' philosophy.

In the end Scott stays on in his quagmire sort of like a Capt who chooses to go down with his ship.

Unrelenting and terrific film hits all the marks so get ready!

CP

The star is successful, but the script dies
Only a volcanic performance by George C. Scott keeps `The Hospital' alive once Paddy Chayefsy's script flatlines.
The blackly comic set-up of the movie's first half _ a large urban hospital whose crass staff is dying off along with its hapless patients _ yields to smug moralizing in the second half and a ludicrous denouement.
As it unravels, `The Hospital' plays like a half-baked sketch for Chayefsky's far superior `Network,' and viewers looking for satire are better directed to that movie.
Still, in misanthropic medical director Dr. Herbert Bock, Scott has a character that allows him to give full vent to his talents as well as to Chayefsky's middle-class, white male rants.
Estranged from his family, curt with associates, overwhelmed by his job, Bock begins the movie one jolt short of suicide. That comes as other inhabitants of his institution beging dying off, in what seem to be hilarious if horrifying accidents.
But in the first of Chayefsky's major blunders, the good doctor's salavation arrives in the form of a free-spirited Southwestern hippie chick, played by Diana Rigg in an odd bit of casting.
After seeing this movie, Rigg talked about the difficulty of watching oneself on-screen. That's true figuratively and literally here. Her character is written not as a person but as middle-aged male wish fulfillment.
`The girl,' Barbara Drummond, mouths psycho-babble. Supposedly caring for her comatose father, she wanders around the hospital braless, her shirt unbuttoned to the waist. Rather than sexy, it seems witless and looks sexless on the utterly undeveloped Diana Rigg.
Wardrobe failures aside, at least Rigg has a semblance of a role. That's more than can be said of an estimable supporting cast that includes Barnard Hughes and Nancy Marchand.
There's only room for one person in Chayefsky's script, and that's his mouthpiece, Bock. It's to Scott's great credit that he makes his every moment on screen riveting. Fans will want to rent this movie. Others will want treatment afterward.

Schizoid
Schizophrenic film that can't decide whether it's Playhouse 90 or Airplane!. In one corner are Scott and Chayevsky making with the intense psychological realism and some really powerful moments; in the other is chaotic urban hospital laboring at zany gallows humor with a few scattered laughs. In between is director Hiller hoping for single workable whole. Result is awkward pastiche that doesn't live up to super-rich potential. Film is object lesson in how miscasting of even top-notch talent can produce disappointment. I keep wishing gifted amateurs like Zucker Bros. & Jim Abrams had gotten hold of idea first. Sure, Scott is great actor, but he's so authentic he overwhelms ambient efforts at satire; yes, Chayevsky gets off some good lines, but keeps piling on the prose long after it's peaked out. What the movie really needs are more sight gags and a lot less talky angst. In short, let the visuals carry the message -- something word fiend Chayevsky could never allow. My advice: once hippie chick Rigg starts bragging about Scott's restored virility, switch off, because it's a downhill ride from there.

The Hospital as microcosm of world's problems circa 1971
Paddy Chayefsky, the screenwriter of "The Hospital," introduces many of the themes here that he will perfect and revisit in 1976's essential film "Network" and his spiritual/psychedelic experiment "Altered States" (1980). "The Hospital," more or less, is about spiritual malaise -- when work can no longer replace sex as a primal drive (to loosely paraphrase one of Freud's maxims) ; when technology and scientific knowledge work to conspire against those it is supposed to help ; when generation gaps form as a result of all these changes. George C. Scott plays Bock, a middle-aged, "male menopausal" suicidal doctor who is trying to figure out where his lust for life is as well as who is killing off his doctors in a Manhattan hospital one by one. Like another classic George C. Scott film, Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove," this is unusually dark terrain even for dark comedy. The cure for Bock's lack of passion comes in the person of Diana Rigg, a mid-twenties spiritual eclectic and acid-head. Ironically, she is presented as a complete space-case, but is the only object that can bring Bock to his central realization -- that he is "middle class" and that for him, love does not conquer all, but, rather, responsibility. Chayefsky shows himself off here to be a master technician, deploying language that would later sound at home in the TV show "ER," as he weaves a skewed realism with his particular brand of post-Marxist social commentary. An odd film, for sure, but definitely worth checking out.

unrealistic
The main draw of this movie is the rare appearance of Dianna Rigg outside Shakespearian theatre after her Avengers run. She is much more sexual in appearance and speech than her role in The Avengers including a low cut outfit and what seems a heavily padded bra.

For the plot to work the hospital is organized in a totally different, suboptimal, way than real hospitals. For instance, in real emergency rooms people are treated first and then at checkout asked for their insurance.

Also for the plot to work totally illogical things have to happen. Not to spoil the movie for you I cannot tell details, but ask yourself on the second viewing how a certain person could gain the knowledge that motivated his conduct. ... Read more

Description

As Chicago radio station WBN celebrates its first night on the air, someone is murdering the company employees one by one, and the station's secretary and her estranged writer-husband must join forces to find the killer. From the mind of George Lucas, creator of "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones," comes this mystery-comedy-adventure set in the heyday of live radio. It's an enegetic, fast-paced romp, sparkling with a brilliant cast, dozens of guest stars, hilarious complications, and a toe-tapping melange of musical standards. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Don't listen to critics...
This is a manic, crazy and fun film, largely due to the Keaton-like performance of Brian Benben. Mary Stuart Masterson is known for great dramatic talent, but this is the first comedy I've seen her in, and she's a natural. This was directed by Mel Smith; is it the same Mel Smith that had a small but hysterical part in "The Princess Bride"? I wonder if this film was given a bad rap because it came out the same year as Woody Allen's brilliant "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994). There are comparisons to be made, if only for period and music. Otherwise, this film takes on its very own character. A wonderful ensemble cast , including Ned Beatty, Michael Lerner, Jeffrey Tambor & Christopher Lloyd, must be commended. Cameo appearances from George Burns and Rosemary Clooney are wonderful. Whatever this film lacks in plot, is made up for with energetic performances, quick editing, and loads of great one-liners. There's also a lot of great period music to entertain. I DO enjoy this film a lot, and at the reasonable price and a great 2.35:1 Widescreen, the DVD is a bargain. If you like "silly", you'll love this. And Brian Benben is marvelous. Too bad the stuck-up critics didn't like it. We, the audience, know better.

Remember?
I'm conducting a wake for Rosemary Clooney (Born May 23, 1928 . Died June 30, 2002.) I read "Girl Singer:an autobiography" and got the conveniently packaged "Songs from the Girl Singer: a musical autobiography "CD set. Like Girranimals, the similarly titled pieces have the same picture on the front so that the purchaser will know that they go together. I heartily recommend both.

I also recommend this madcap musical murder mystery movie that manages to pay homage to Radio Days Gone By while keeping audiences of all eras entertained. It's the 1939 opening night live extravagnaze broadcast of the fictional WBN in Chicago, a 4th national network. Who's killing the participants? What played in Peoria? Meanwhile, "the Show must go on" and the viewer is treated to a mature Rosemary Clooney, (maybe as a metaphor to her own life, Rosemary sings a heart-rendingly beautiful "That Old Feeling" while pandemonium rages off-stage,) George Burns (Gracie had long since left the building by the time this movie was filmed) and others. Christopher Lloyd as the Sound Effects guy and his noise are a real hoot, as are the "Bubbly" live and drop dead commercials and Corbin Bernsen as the smarmy (think his later role as LA Law-yer Arnie Becker) announcer.

Radioland Murders works on many levels. Like the box says: "It's a side-splitting, edge-of-your-seat adventure, part farce, part mystery, and all fun!"

A Misunderstood Masterpiece
Since George Lucas had enough money from his "Star Wars" empire not to care what critics would say, he wrote the story and produced this affectionate nod to old time radio and the imagination. It is a whacky slapstick farce with charm, moving faster than a speeding bullet. It is dopey and dumb, sweet and innocent, cornball and old fashioned, and it was suppose to be. The jarring breakneck speed of it had critics thinking it should have been a riot, and it was received by and large like a slap in the face. It never had a chance.

If you can get past the machine gun speed and accept it on the level that George Lucas intended, there is a sweet wonderful film here, a film that suprisingly has a lot to say, though it may not be clearly evident when you watch it. It all takes place during radio's heyday on the night WBN attempts to go 'National' and become the fourth major radio network.

Lucas gave this film a beautiful 1930's retro look that is magnificent. It almost gets lost in the crazy and corny atmosphere of this film but the radio station itself is teriffic, as are the period details as Lucas pays affectionate homage to everything that was great about radio.

The main crux of the story is the relationship of Roger (Brian Benben) and Penny (a red headed Mary Stuart Masterson) Henderson. She practically runs the station and he's one of the writers. She thinks he was messing around with their sexy star Claudette (Anita Morris) and wants a divorce, but of course he wasn't and has to talk her out of it since he loves her. Meanwhile as she is sending WBN's page Billy (Michael Scott Campbell) back and forth to the writer's room to get her stories page by page, a phantom voice keeps interrupting the broadcast with riddles which are shortly followed by murders behind the curtains and when the police arrive Lt. Cross (Michael Lerner) likes Roger for the murders, which keep piling up.

We get to see the makings of radio as Roger tries to clear himself and find the culprit. Christopher Lloyd of TV's "Taxi" fame is on hand as the frantic sound effects man and Corbin Bernsen of TV's "LA Law" is the announcer. Robert Klein, Peter MacNicol, and Harvey Korman are part of the writing team, but of course it is Leighann Lord as the cleaning lady Morgan who comes up with all the last second ideas.

The murders occur in ways often used in old time radio and that is part of it's charm. Lucas had this filmed in a fast and furious fashion, as if the movie itself WAS an old radio show. None of it is to be taken seriously as it is only entertainment, there to make us smile. It was a time in entertainment when even murder had a sort of a screwy "innocence" about it. So does this film.

One of Lucas's messages here is that it was a better time, as we had an innocence as well. The other message is about the advent of television, and a lament on how it has stopped us from using our imaginations. Pretty thoughtful for a dopey film that has Benben running around dressed like Carmen Miranda in one scene as he tries to catch the killer and get back with Masterson, who loves him as well.

Considered a huge failure at it's time of release (critics still hate it) this film has slowly garnered a following in recent years and may be on the verge of "cult" status soon.We get to see snippets of the shows they are trying to go live with. George Burns is on hand with some stand-up comedy. Rosemary Clooney sings "That Old Feeling". There are great band numbers of the period and "The Miller Sisters" sing at interludes between shows. Just about every staple of old time radio is here.

If you can get past the pace and the dopey slapstick antics, you'll find a lot of charm here, and an innocence in entertainment we'll never see again....

Radioland Murders
I thought this movie was not main stream, and was well written. If you hate those movies that crittics and main stream Hollywood try to slam down your throats and call it a brillant cinamatic masterpeice, then this a refreshing change of pace for you. Yes it was campy, and, no it wasn't Forrest Gump or Titanic (which I thought they weren't even worth the paper they were written on), but a movie that you can curl up with some popcorn and escape for a few hours. I loved the characters, I loved the idea, and it was an alround good story that was never given a chance.

It's by George freaking Lucas
A great comedy. Well, it's not for the faint of brain. It's funny if you can see the underlying message. At the end of the film you can look back and say, "Eh? That's boody good cinema!" ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Warning: Never Visit New York!
I loved this film! I very seldom disagree with one of Leonard Maltin's reviews. But I sure did on this one. He claims this movie is "excruciating". Well...yes, I think so too. Excruciatingly funny, that is! I think that Jack Lemmon is wonderfully "over the top" in this picture. His character (as far as I see it) is obviously written to be played way, way over the top! That's what makes it funny. Realistically, we have to know that all 64 (or so) crises and maladies that befall this poor midwestern couple could not ALL happen at once in a million years! So, therefore, I think the viewer must look upon Lemmon as more of a "caricature" than a "character" in this film. Most of this movie was filmed outdoors, and there's a nice "Big Apple" flavor here. Some of my favorite lines from "The Out-Of-Towners" ..... Lemmon (upon hearing his luggage didn't arrive): "Well you flew ME through the fog! How come you're now worried about two leather valises?!" .... Lemmon (after frisking little boy searching for funds): "...Explain to the police? What I was doing in the woods with a little boy...with my hands in his pockets?!? They'd give me twenty years!"

George and Gwen go to the big bad city of New York
I met Sandy Dennis backstage at a play once and wanting to say something more than the usual remarks of admiration I told her that my father stayed up one night to watch "The Out-of-Towners," which was of some import because my father never stayed up to watch anything. She said her father liked that one too and I got an autograph in which she spelled by first name correctly.

This 1970 film, the original version of "The Out-of-Towners" for those who say the recent version that is part of Steve Martin's attempt to be in more remakes than any other living actor, is my favorite Neil Simon script, which is rather ironic when you consider that he is primarily a comic playwright. However this script takes the hapless couple of George (Jack Lemmon) and Gwen Kellerman (Dennis) from their home in Ohio to New York City, where he has a job interview. However, their plans for a nice dinner at the Four Seasons are dashed when the plan circles the airport for hours before being diverted to Boston. Instead of eating at one of the best restaurants in the world they end up with her eating peanut butter on white bread and him eating crackers and olives with no drinks. This actually ends up being the best thing that happens to George and Gwen the rest of that night, which involves a train ride to New York, no room at the inn, a garbage strike, a mugger, and being kidnapped while in the back of a police car. This is without even mentioning the lost eyelash, the broken heel, and the chipped tooth that resulted from a bad encounter with the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks.

Throughout it all, George and Gwen keep up a running dialogue as he gets angrier and take more names while she tries to be the voice of reason and attests that she can verify everything her husband says in his growing list of complaints against the city is true. Everybody always talks about Lemmon's comic partnership with Walter Matthau, but Dennis comes across as the more perfect foil. Eventually her pessimism is turned into paranoia as the city takes the out of town couple for everything they have and keeps on grinding them into the rain soaked streets where the garbage is piling up to the sky. Eventually the idea of being Vice President in a company that has something to do with plastics does not seem like a step up in the world if this is the world in which they have to live.

I am surprised that this movie is only 98 minutes long, but I suppose it is because of all those commercials with late night television and the way Simon keeps pouring one misery after another on George and Gwen that makes "The Out-of-Towners" seem a lot longer, but not in a bad way. The pacing is pretty brisk for a story about two people who have a hard time getting to where they are going, and there are a lot of patented Neil Simon one liners, most of which are true to character and context, although Dennis gets maximum mileage out of repeating the phrase "Oh my, God!" and getting big laughs.

Simon won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen for this script, which was originally going to be one segment of "Plaza Suite," which came out the next year. But freeing it from the setting of a hotel room or even a hotel, into the wider expanse of New York City and the surrounding environs was what made this black comedy really work. Keep your eye out for lots of familiar faces who were relatively unknowns when this film came out: Anne Meara, Graham Jarvis, Ron Carey, Robert Walden, Richard Libertini, Paul Dooley, and Billy Dee Williams. Final thought: If you want to see a film that takes the exact opposite approach to New York City then that would have to be Woody Allen's "Manhattan," which would come out at the end of this same decade.

Get Out of Town
Probably in its initial release, THE OUT OF TOWNERS was considered a great comedy. However, today's audiences might find it trite and annoying...especially native New Yorkers or even the New York City travel bureau. It does capture a moment in time just before New York City was on the verge of urban decay in the late 70's, so it has its merits for being a time capsule. Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis are husband and wife George and Gwen Kellerman, mid-westerners who are about to relocate to New York City for a job promotion. Their business trip becomes a "Murphy's Law" film as anything that can go wrong...does go wrong. From lost luggage, missed trains, long waits,a garbage and transportation strike, being rained on, muggings, a kidnapping, an unintentional cancelled hotel reservation, an unintentional mugging of hispanic child, etc., the couple suffer every conceivable mishap Neil Simon (screenwriter) can bestow upon his hapless characters. 'George' is a typical Jack Lemmon character. The performance is not exactly "phoned-in",but it is a familiar Lemmon persona. At first, this viewer sympathizes with George Kellerman. However, with each mishap, he becomes (understandably) mean, irritating, and illogical. The one comic gem about the character is that he writes down every person's name he feels has not given the proper customer service (i.e. airport personnel, hotels clerks) or courtesy after each plan on his itinerary has failed. Then he threatens them that they're going to hear from his lawyer. Sandy Dennis has perfect comic timing as the patient and supportive wife of Lemmon and the location shots of New York City play a major "support character" in the film. Overall, the film should be viewed with caution depending on one's disposition at a given moment meaning it can be hilarious or annoying. Lastly, the film is a showcase of a couple of future stars and well-known character actors. A young Billy Dee Williams (STAR WARS:THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) shows up in an airport sequence. Note: Look for actor Sandy Baron as the "TV-man in church". He played the recurring character Mr. Klompus on TV's SEINFELD and had a very funny role in the comedy film IF IT'S TUESDAY, THIS MUST BE BELGIUM.

Good, but you just want to shoot the both of them.
Having successfully avoided the apparent train wreck of a remake of this starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn, I thought I'd rent the original Neil Simon film starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis to see what caused such a fuss as to remake it after such a short period of time.
Jack and Sandy are on their way to New York city from the suburbs, to see about Jack taking a big job there. Suffice it to say, everything that can go wrong does go wrong, and the two are trapped in hell, trying to survive the night before his interview in the morning.
This is considered to be classic dark comedy, that will be annoying to some and funny as heck to others. I think I fell in between the two. Jack Lemmon is such an ass, and his wife such a dunderhead, that it's hard to have much sympathy for either one. As their problems pile up, it's all too obvious that the cause is mainly his own agonizing egotism, being thrown as the small fish into the huge pond. New York chews up and spits out idiots like this daily, and rightly so. Beyond this criticism (coming from a city boy, admittedly), there are some genuinely funny moments here and chuckle worthy constant prattle back and forth between the always talented Lemmon and the creepy huge-gummed Dennis. Still, I felt the "lost in NY hell" story was much better and sympathetically told, as well as more funny in Martin Scorscese's superior "After Hours".

Another Classic American Comedy.
THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS was written by Neil Simon and remains one of his best works, even though Simon is mainly a playwrite. The movie starts off fairly slow and uneventful as George and Gwen Kellerman, from Twin Oaks, Ohio, are flying to New York where George has an interview (just mere formality) for a vice presidency. They are expecting to eat dinner at 8:30pm at the Four Seasons, but they never see the inside of that famous eating establishment. Instead, the plane circles for hours and ends up going to Boston because of fog. Once in Boston their luggage is lost, they miss the train to New York, and catch the train to New York. Once in the Big Apple, they find that the city is in the middle of transit and garbage collectors strikes. In the pouring rain they walk to their hotel only to find that their room wasn't held and has been given away. Later the couple are mugged, kidnapped, and George is mugged in his sleep. Having not eaten for several hours and with no money they chase a stray dog for a breakfast of a half-eaten box of Cracker Jacks. More chases follow and they are even kicked out of praying in a church because of a televised special. George eventually does make his morning meeting, but by then has learned some very important lessons about family and the simple life back home in Twin Oaks, Ohio.

Jack Lemmon is great in this movie, but I find it's Sandy Dennis who really steals the film. She plays Gwen perfectly, brilliantly foiling Lemmon's performance as the loud and boistorous George. The "O, my God" line, which signals a major worry by Gwen, keeps me laughing every time I hear it.

THE-OUT-OF-TOWNERS is a very witty comedy and one of Neil Simon's finest pieces of writing. It's a great movie to watch alone or with family and friends. It's relatively short (around 90 minutes), too, so even if you don't enjoy it, you won't have wasted much time. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Stranger in Paradise
Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer's "The Fluffer" is an earnest, honest and humane attempt at exposing the Gay Porno scene through the eyes of a young gay man Sean (Michael Cunio), new to Hollywood who falls in love with a gay porno star after he rents a movie he thinks is "Citizen Kane" that turns out to be a gay porno starring Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney).
(When the obviously oblivious Sean brings what he thinks is CK to the check out counter, the clerk winks and says: "Doing the Classics tonight, huh?) Sean proceeds to apply and get a job at Janus Films, maker of all of Johnny Rebel's films,as a cameraman and thus sets the film and his infatuation in full motion.
Westmoreland/Glatzer have the sense to steal from some of the best movies: isn't Sean really a palliative for the Phillip Seymour Hoffman character in "Boogie Nights," who is as over-the-top and overwrought in love with Dirk Diggler as Sean is laid back and introspective about his feelings for Johnny Rebel? And it's much harder for Sean to stay cool about Johnny in that, not only is he a cameraman he's also Johnny's designated "Fluffer."
There are some heavy-handed, though earnest attempts to delve into the psyches of Sean as well as Johnny but most of this falls flat as it merely upsets the equilibrium of the film: is this a psychological study or a light comedy? It is possible to be both, but the transitions need to be handled with more aplomb than they are here to be be meaningful and effective.
The final scenes of the film are a hoot though, with blatant references to Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" with Sean standing in for Paul Newman and Johnny for Geraldine Page as Sean consoles Johnny in a cheap motel in Mexico. That scene also cannily references Michelangelo's Pieta!
They probably bite off more than they can chew in "The Fluffer," but Westmoreland/Glacker show a real sense of style, grace and directorial know-how; especially difficult with the obvious constaints of a small budget. Look for these two to do great things in the future.

Not Oscar material, but more than just fluff
I made a point of NOT reading any reviews on Amazon or any print reviews .... I wanted to be able to form my own opinions of the film AFTER seeing it for myself. Having had some time to process and think about it, it was not a bad film.

The characters are quite believable and I felt sympathy for some of them but not for others, particularly for Johnny Rebel Porn Star, played by Scott Gurney. Gurney's performance is quite good. Nevertheless, it's very difficult to feel anything good for either his character or his actions in the story.

The Fluffer is a rather dark love story, but I enjoyed it for its honesty and reality. It's not romanticized in any way--quite refreshing for a gay film. It seems that many GLBT films struggle to make you like them but forcing emotions or plotlines. Not the case here.

For that reason I gave it 4 stars overall. The acting rates 4 stars easily. The screenwriting a 3 and the dialogue a 2. However, the film's unflinching look at life and consequences makes it a strong and thought-provoking look at the lives of some gay (and straight) people's lives.

Recommended.

*YAWN*
My reaction to this movie:

Oh! Hot guy on the cover! Whats this movie about? Hmmm. Interesting. Lets watch it. Okay. Interesting. Stalker-esque type guy trying to hook up with a "Straight" gay porn actor. Hmmm. Hot porn star guy has drug addiction... yada yada ya... nothing new. Okay... pick up pace. Mmmm hmmm... The porn industry is sordid... moving on... angry pregnant girlfriend... Mexico... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Seriously. This movie sucked and not in the good way. I know its not supposed to be porn but the story and actors were so boring they could have at least made it little more steamy.

Two stars for the DVD cover.
If a film has enough heart, character development, and storyline, it can overcome whatever it may lack in production values, budget, and talent. This is not the case with "The Fluffer". This film has none of these. Here are a group of people Mother Theresa wouldn't care about on her best day. The story itself is nonexistant. Here it is.... everyone in the "adult" film industry is screwed up. The end! Roll credits! If Scott Gurney wasn't beautiful, and his face and torso was not on the DVD cover this bad film would go away and no one would even notice.

Come on - this is just "Fluff"
The Fluffer is a film that is titillating in its title only. For those unfamiliar with what the term means - to put it politely, it is the name of a job in the adult film business. That person is responsible for helping the male actors (gay or straight) get it up and at 'em. Once the whole idea of the titillation is gone (about 10 minutes in), the movie is just sadly mundane.

If you want to watch it for hot guys, then okay, but admit that to yourself (frankly, I've seen better looking on most commercials and soap operas). The acting is very sub-par and the script is a long drawn out effort to stretch a thin storyline: this story could have been told in 15 or 20 minutes.

Basically, the plot is: Naive young Hollywood wanna be becomes a production assistant at a gay porn studio (can you see what's coming a mile away?). Eventually, he is asked to be the fluffer for the porn actor of his dreams (who just happens to be straight). One thing leads to another (you don't want me to give away what plot there is do you?) and we learn a little lesson about trust and naivity.

Jeez-a-loo - gay oriented films of the late 90's and early 00's have become what French films were to the 1970's. Everyone wants to seem to be really cutting edge, so they watch them and like them (even though they really know most of them are terrible). In reality, there are good gay films and there are bad ones, just as there were good French films and bad ones too.

This is a bad gay film. So scold it like your dog: "Bad gay film! Bad! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Thanks to repeated showings on cable television and home video, this speculative thriller has built quite a loyal following since its release in 1978. The provocative "what if?" scenario still packs a punch, even if it is not always believable. James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson star as three astronauts who agree to spare the government embarrassment by faking their historic landing on Mars after their spacecraft is determined to be unsafe for blastoff. When a scheming mission controller (Hal Holbrook) plots to kill the astronauts in a staged capsule fire, the trio embarks on a dangerous mission to expose the truth. Elliott Gould costars as the journalist determined to crack the conspiracy, and director Peter Hyams turns up the tension with an exciting chase sequence involving Telly Savalas as an eccentric barnstormer who comes to Gould's aid in his attempt rescue the hoax mission's sole survivor. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (46)

A Good Yarn
Suprisingly, I saw this movie for the first time just a few short days ago, even though I was old enough to have seen it when it hit the theaters. A shame I let it go so long.

At the beginning of this movie, three astronauts (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson) are pulled from a space flight destined for Mars. There was something wrong with the life-support system. The director of the space program (Hal Holbrook) says that they can't afford for the flight to be cancelled, so the three astronauts are coerced through threats to go through with a fake landing filmed on a closed base.

A reporter (Elliot Gould) talks with a friend (Robert Walden) who claims there is something mysterious going on with the flight. Immediately after this revelation, the friend disappears with no trace of him having ever existed. The reorter begins a quest to find out what is going on.

Meanwhile, the now unmanned spaceship burns up on re-entry. This means that except for the three astronauts and few head people in the space program, everyone else thinks they're all dead. This leads to the exciting last half of the movie.

A similar conspiracy theory (held mostly by extreme nutcases) revolves around our own moon shots, but this movie makes the plot an extremely good way to pass a couple of hours.

All the President's Nasa Men
A nifty adventure that fits in well with many of the 1970's paranoid thrillers (i.e. Marathon Man, Three Days of the Condor, etc.).CAPRICORN ONE stars James Brolin (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, WESTWORLD), Sam Waterson (tv's LAW AND ORDER), and O.J. Simpson (THE NAKED GUN) as the three astronauts who reluctantly agree to stage a fake landing on Mars when Nasa determines the mission is unsafe and that the government does not want anymore failures. However, the astronaut's attitude does not sit well with an unscrupulous mission controller Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook-MAGNUM FORCE) and plans to kill them. Then, they must escape and expose the truth. Director Peter Hyams (2010: THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT,TIMECOP) does a pretty good job in the suspense and action while handling a delicate and very interesting plot. Good support roles especially Eliot Gould as the investigative reporter trying to find the truth, Brenda Vaccaro as one of the astronauts wives, David Doyle (tv's CHARLIE'S ANGELS' 'Bosley'), Robert Walden (tv's LOU GRANT, SHIRTS/SKINS) and Telly Savalas.

Underground Classic for Conspiracy Buffs
If this wasn't the original Black Helicopters movie, it sure went a long way toward immortalizing that aviatory image as a sure sign of evil government conspiracies. On a personal note, I remember it for two things -- seeing it on a Sunday afternoon with my Dad on the best weekend we spent together of my pre-teen years; and first hearing the "black guy dies first" movie custom from Dad.

The plot is simple and, at the time, rather chilling. Remember, it was only nine years after the 1969 moon landing, even less after Vietnam lies began coming to light and four years after Watergate climaxed with Nixon's resignation. Also, it's one year after the Viking unmanned craft landed on Mars.

The first manned mission to Mars has a wee bit of a problem -- a life support system that was too cheap and discovered too late. NASA needs this mission to be successful with no glitches to keep its considerable funding amidst dying interest in the space program. Solution? Fake the mission! Hal Holbrook explains all this to astronauts James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O.J. Simpson (there were athletic black actors who could ACT in the 1970s, but the trend was to use famous and semi-famous jocks. Probably has something to do with Q ratings and bankability). Holbrook persuades them to go along in a manner that makes you ask "Are the government or major corporations such as the aerospace industry siblings, distant cousins, kissing cousins or incestuous siblings with the Mafia?"

All is well until technology and the astronauts begin little rebellions that hint this mission isn't exactly a space oddity. This puts Eliott Gould, a newspaper guy always foolishly swinging for the fence sexually and professionally, on the case. Unlike others, I think the part as written called for Gould, someone who could flow between drama and comedy seamlessly.

So you've got Gould doing his Scooby Gang thing and the whole months long fakery being pulled off when there's another wee problem on reentry. That sets up the last third to half of the movie when we get black helicopters, snake lunches and Telly Savalas.

Not a great flick for the quality cast involved (Gould, Waterston, Holbrook, Denise Nicholas, Robert Walden) but a good one. It does drag in some spots. The DVD doesn't have enough extras to be a great DVD or even a good one -- no commentaries, just some production notes. I bought it just because I wanted the movie. I'm not sorry I did, but the DVD package is still disappointing.

An uneven film, still worth the effort
In many ways, Capricorn One is a quissential example of a '70s action film. The film tells the story of the first manned spaceflight to Mars and the three dedicated pioneers (played by James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson -- and yes, it is impossible to watch the film without thinking about Simpson's most recent role) who bring hope to a cynical country by conquering the Red Planet. The only problem, of course, is that the whole thing is a fake. The three men are actually in a hastily constructed studio in the middle of a barren desert and their spacecraft is empty as it journeys through space and time. As implausible as this plot may sound, the film actually goes to the trouble to make the reasoning behind this plot believable and it even goes to the trouble to provide some humanity to the plot's mastermind, a NASA official played by Hal Holbrook. Because the film actually takes the time to set up the situation, it remains compelling even when that empty spacecraft happens to burn up on reentry, meaning that -- in order for the three spacemen to remain martyrs and for NASA to continue to get funding -- they have to die in reality as well. As the three men try to escape across the barren desert (pursued by three very ominous helicopters -- never has a sinister government conspiracy ever looked so realistically sinister), a reporter played by Elliott Gould slowly starts to uncover the conspiracy and soon his life is in danger as well.

While the basic plot itself is similar to quite a few recent action films, what distinguished Capricorn One is that the film -- made while the nation, still feeling the pain of Watergate and Viet Nam, was still getting used to not being able to trust the government -- plays this story totally straight. Neither of the film's leads (Brolin and Gould) manage to get off a single smirky one-liner in the style of our modern action heroes and the film makes it painstakingly clear that neither one of them is invulnerable. Brolin's trek through the desert is almost painful to watch (at one point, nearly dead of dehydration, Brolin very graphically kills and eats a rattlesnake -- a scene that would verge on disgusting if it wasn't obvious that Brolin's life depends on his actions). As for Gould, he has a wonderful scene in which he discovers that his car's breaks have been tamepered with and the entire sequence of his car racing out of control down the streets of Houston before eventually plunging off a bridge is almost totally shot from his point of view -- it's a scary sequence that is well-directed and if it's conclusion seems a little far fetched, the build-up is almost equal to the famous car chase in The French Connection.

That said, this is not a perfect film. Director/Writer Peter Hyams allows quite a few scenes to go on a bit too long. (The film is full of quirky characters but occasionally, the spend so long being quirky that it becomes obvious that they're there for no other purpose other than to show off that quirk.) This is a two hour film that would have been better if it had been thirty minutes shorter. The film has a clever script but far too many scenes (especially of Gould's character trying to figure out the conspiracy) seem to repeat each other for no basic reason other than the lack of a good editor. The performances are a mixed bag. Gould does a good job for the most part except for a few scenes when he was seems to be chanelling Dustin Hoffman from All The President's Men. As for the three astronaughts, their characters aren't strong developed beyond a few identifying quirks -- Brolin is the heroic one, Waterston is the funny one, and Simpson -- well, he doesn't really get any identifying quirks beyond being O.J. Simpson. Of the three, only Waterston gives a memorable performance and this is largely because he gets the funny lines. Brolin is -- well, he's Brolin, vaguely likeable but mostly dull. Simpson's performance is a typical O.J. Simpson performance -- he seems to be trying really hard to excel at something that he has no talent at. You'd almost feel sorry for him if he wasn't O.J.

As far as the supporting roles are concerned, there's a lot of familiar faces and it's a mixed bag. Both Karen Black and Telly Savalas put in what the credits assure us are "special appearances." Black is occasionally amusing even if her character serves no real purpose while Savalas manages to bring the film to a dead stop by wildly overplaying a role that one hopes was meant to be comic relief but, which in the end, just serves as a very annoying distraction. On the plus side, Brenda Vaccaro is sympathetic and compelling as Brolin's wife and the undderrated Denise Nichols has one good scene as Simpson's wife -- one almost regrets that the crew of Capricorn One had to be male as Vacarro and Nichols give the type of performances that should have come from Brolin and Simpson. However, the film's greatest performance is given by the great Hal Holbrook who, instead of playing an outright, melodramatic villian, instead plays a human being who, for good reasons, does some truly evil things. Indeed, the film's main strength is Holbrook's villian who serves as a great testament to what can happen when idealism gives way to self-righteousness. By the film's end, you may hate Holbrook but you never cease to understand him and even mourn the person he used to be.

Capricorn One is a flawed film and it's a dated film but it is still a film that is worth seeing for both it's nostalgia value (Yes, Virginia, there actually was a time when journalists were considered heroes) and for an example of a believable and compelling action film.

Plays to the "Moon Landing Was a Hoax" crowd

Good entertainment. It plays on the old "the moon landing was all a giant hoax" conspiracy theory. There are people who still believe that, and this film is built on the same plot. The trip to Mars was a failure, and so the "power brokers" stage it with real astronauts who have to be killed in the end, and movie and television tricks.

Hal Holbrook plays the heavy (bad government guy in charge of the hoax, including killing folks). Elliott Gould is the plucky young reporter (Caulfield) who is being set up by the government because he knows too much, and suspects more than he knows. The three astronauts are played by James Brolin, O.J. Simpson and a young Sam Waterson. They are supposed to be killed when their heat shield fails on re-entry (to avoid any embarrassing leaks later), but they escape from their southwest location. Even Telly Savalas gets a part in the solution, as Elliott Gould closes in on the bad (read "government") guys who are caught red-handed in their hoax on the gullible American people (aren't they always?).

This film has the whole schmeer, including the black helicopters, bad politicians (probably Republicans, of course), car chases, gun battles from airplanes, and the bad guys getting their comeuppance in the end.

It's good entertainment.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

... Read more

Reviews (11)

An Undiscovered Gem Of '70s Horror Movies!
Jeff Lieberman's BLUE SUNSHINE is the ultimate anti-drug message and a fine horror movie. It's all about an LSD-type drug made in 1967 made in Stanford University that causes the user to spontaneously go berserk (and bald) ten years later to the date of its ingestion. Now a friend (RED SHOE DIARIES Zalman King) of one of the users must get to the bottom of this tangled web. The best thing about BLUE SUNSHINE is that Lieberman evokes Alfred Hitchcock almost without trying; one of his inspirations was Brian DePalma (who made CARRIE the same year this was made) and Lieberman lays on the style much like DePalma did. BLUE SUNSHINE is also a brilliant commentary on the transition of the social climate from the 1960's to the 1970's and the consequences of the '60s movements, mainly drug-related, and it's just as relevant today (especially after 28 DAYS LATER) as it was in 1976! The music is also creepy and creates the perfect atmosphere of tension and paranoia necessary for the subject matter at hand (the soundtrack is included in this fine DVD limited edition). BLUE SUNSHINE is a movie that is definetly worth discovery, especially with remakes of '70s gems THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and DAWN OF THE DEAD! Definetly check this one out; your life may depend on it!

Interesting 70's horror film
The first horror movie about going bald, Blue Sunshine is an original and interesting b-grade horror film. At one time this used to be shown regularly on channel 9 in Southern California (where I saw it as a kid)and has now resurfaced in a quality remastered DVD package with some good extras.

The story is really about the delayed effects of some bad acid called Blue Sunshine, which, years after taking it, suddenly makes you hairless and homicidal. The film has a cool, creepy style to it and the performances are good, except for Zalman King who is really jaw-droppingly over the top in some scenes. However, director Lieberman's audio commentary helps to illuminate why he's so bad, and is generally interesting throughout.

Also included is a 30 minute interview with Jeff Lieberman that is very good. He has some interesting things to say about his films, his career and the film business in general. His first 16mm short film, The Ringer, is on the DVD as well. I couldn't get into it, but you might get a kick out of the 70's fashions and hairstyles. There is a CD of the film's soundtrack as well.

If you've never seen this before, you might want to rent it or get it used (like I did). I hadn't seen it in years, but it doesn't quite hold up over time that well- a lot of it doesn't really make much sense. Let's just say I still like the film,...

Tune in, turn on, and get bald...
The late 60's...a time of rebellion, psychedelic rock 'n' roll, free love, and day trippin' with the help of mind bending, consciousness altering narcotics. To quote Timothy Leary, counterculture icon of the time, "We are now in the psycho, chemical age. In the future it's not going to be what book you read, but what chemical do you use to open your mind to accelerate learning." But what of the harmful effects? Oh, we were warned...Jack Webb did so on a weekly (or weakly, if you're so inclined) basis on TV's Dragnet. Even Wavy Gravy warned us to avoid the brown acid. Sometimes we found out where it was at wasn't where it was really at, if you get my drift.

Blue Sunshine (1976) tells a story that involves the physical and psychological effect of a particular kind of drug many years after its' initial use. The film starts out at a party, a real groovy happening, that soon evolves into a massacre as a guy, who looks a lot like actor John Cryer but isn't, becomes unglued and goes on a psychotic killing spree. Jerry Zipkin, played by Zalman King, who was at the party, soon finds himself in the position of being falsely accused of the crimes and on the run from the police.

Jerry, unable to fathom why his friend went completely bonkers and killed those people and then attacked him, is searching for answers in a desperate attempt to not only clear his name, but also learn exactly what happened. As Jerry delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, more unusual killings occur. The nature of the attackers is similar, right down to certain physical characteristics, alopecia (a loss of hair), glassy-eyed stare, super human strength, and homicidal tendencies. It's soon found that all the people who went schizoid have a common denominator in that they all attended the same university at the same time and all have a link to a politician currently running for congress. Will Jerry learn the meaning of Blue Sunshine before any more killings take place, and before the police capture him?

Blue Sunshine, written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, does have Hitchcockian elements with the whole 'falsely accused man trying to clear his name' theme, but also adds horror elements, giving the film a nice slant and a sense of originality. Lieberman also wrote and directed the creepy crawler Squirm (1976), a horror pic about flesh-eating earthworms. Blue Sunshine also stars Deborah Winters as Jerry's girlfriend Alicia Sweeney, Mark Goddard, who many, including myself, remember as Major Don West in the 60's television sci-fi show Lost in Space, as politician Edward Flemming, and character actor Charles Siebert as Detective Clay. Siebert's name may not ring any bells, but if you've watched television in the 70's, you will most likely recognize his face as he appeared on show like All in the Family, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Barnaby Jones, Good Times, and a slew of others.

While the film does contain some plot holes, they are easy to overlook, especially as the story tends to move pretty quickly, and the instances where the psychosis sets in, causing various individuals to lose it and go on a murderous rampage are exceptionally creepy. This is especially true of the scene with the woman babysitting the two, highly annoying children and her chasing them around with a large knife. Surprisingly, there is very little gore involved, much less than I had expected. Zalman King's performance is fairly odd and discordant, along with the delivery of a lot of his dialogue. It's hard to describe, but I had the feeling he seemed always just of out sync with the film, creating a bizarre element that would normally work against a picture, but here, it seemed to complement the plot as it unraveled. The film did seem to end rather abruptly, hinting at the chilling notion that the instances of violence may only be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

The film, which has been out of circulation on home video for about a decade, looks really clean and clear in this anamorphic wide screen (1:78:1) release. Some very minor speckling and damaged to the print is evident, but one of the special features shows a comparison to the original print and this cleaned up print, exhibiting the amazing restorative work done, supervised by the director himself, on the film for this release, which entailed about 17 hours of intensive labor. Other special features include a new Dolby Digital created especially for home video environments, the original mono soundtrack, a full commentary by director Jeff Lieberman, an original short film directed by Lieberman, a still gallery, the original theatrical trailer for the film, comprehensive liner notes, and a 30 minute video interview with the director. This is a two disc set, with the film and special features on the first disc, the second disc being a never before released original sound track CD. All in all, an excellent release of a creepy, rarely seen film that looks at the possible residual effects of the free love generation.

Cookieman108

Fun stuff
Fun, if you don't take productions values, etc too seriously. Anyone saying that the movie stinks because of "bungled direction", etc, either wasn't old enough in the 60's and 70's to appreciate what this movie is, which is pure, unvarnished B grade fodder. I admit I'm biased, I love this kind of schlock.

However, the premise is an interesting one, and Jeff did a halfway credible job (In B horror flicks this is high praise)directing it. What amazes me is seeing it again after all these years and realizing that the cast is chock full of yet_to_be's and used_to_be's...something I wouldn't have realized while watching it for the first time in a German Student Art-Film House. Speaking of which, I first saw Assault on Precinct 13 there, another nifty lil low budge worth checking out.

Wonderful performance Zalman King & Alice Ghostley!
Terrific film from Jeff (Squirm & Just Before Dawn) Lieberman. Very relaxing and engaging quality to this film. Fantastic performance from Zalman (Red Shoe Diaries) King & Alice (New Faces) Ghostley. The company that produces this DVD really went all out to make it the best possible--great picture, wonderful sound, lots of extras, metallic packaging that really, truly goes the extra mile. Try other Lieberman films, he's every made a bad one. Glad to see this one back, and on a really awesome DVD! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Can I give it NO stars?
One of the worst movies on which I've had the misfortune of wasting money. Not all the Baldwin boys have talent OR taste OR even self-esteem. I can't believe anyone would admit to being in such an amateurly acted, poorly written and unprofessionally produced conglomeration of scenes.

PLEASE don't waste your money.

mdp
I didn't even watch all of this movie because it was so bad. The one thing i did notice in the opening rescue scene was that most of the footage was from the 1990 Charlie Sheen movie Navy Seals which is a much better movie.

Desert Thunder.........BOOM!
I guess most of the other reviewers dont know good clean action when they see it.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Good cast, story, special effects.
No rampant sex (for a change)
No gory scenes (for a change)
A kind of laid back enjoyment.
Try it again.
It is kind of an update of Flight of the Intuder!

I would like 87 minuets of my life back.
This movie was the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. It had no plot and no story line. The actors were terrible and so were the special effects (all in consideration that the movie was made in 1998).

If it is posible I would like to ask the director for the 87 minuets of the my life back, that I wasted watching that stupid movie. (I even hate the name "Desert Thunder")

I would like 87 minuets of my life back.
This was the worst movie I have ever seen. I am very suprised that it is still being manufactured, because it is the worst move ever. It had no plot, no story line, and the special effect were terrrible.

If it is posible I would like to ask the director for the 87 minuets of my life, that I wasted watching that stupid movie. ... Read more