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Tales from the Crypt is no Sopranos, but in its day it was HBO's most popular original series. Based on the EC Horror comics of the 1940s and 1950s, these short shock-and-suspense stories with twist (and often twisted) endings weren't exclusively horror tales, but they consistently mined, in a comic sort of way, the dark side of human nature. The three episodes directed by series coproducer Robert Zemeckis are among the most memorable. In "All Through the Night," perhaps the single most famous story from the original comic book series, a psychotic killer dressed as Santa escapes Christmas Eve and terrorizes a middle-class home where murder has already made a holiday appearance: a homicidal wife plunges a fireplace poker into her husband's skull. (It was also adapted in the 1972 British anthology movie Tales from the Crypt). Kirk Douglas stars as a blood-and-thunder World War I general who discovers his son is a coward in the grim "Yellow," the most dramatically acute of the trio. Digital magic morphs Humphrey Bogart into "You, Murderer," a high-concept, rather gimmicky tale of murder, double crosses, and poetic justice as seen through a dead man's eyes. Isabella Rossellini (daughter of Bogie's Casablanca costar Ingrid Bergman) and John Lithgow costar as plotting lovers. Zemeckis has a great deal of fun with the first and last films, giving them a flamboyant comic book exaggeration, but the underplayed irony of "Yellow" makes it one of the darkest, most affecting stories in the series' run. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lights! Camera! Hack-tion! Zemeckis Directs CRYPT!
Based on stories from the deliciously depraved E.C. horror comics (TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VAULT OF HORROR, HAUNT OF FEAR) of the 1950s, TALES FROM THE CRYPT was a TV horror anthology that, like most TV anthologies, had a lot of both hits and misses. Some of the stories really stank, but when a story was a hit, it was usually dead on (excuse the pun). This DVD represents three episodes that HBO execs apparently consider hits, probably because they were all directed by the renowned and Oscar-winning (1994's FORREST GUMP) Robert Zemeckis. And though CRYPT fans would like to see more episodes made available on DVD, the execs made pretty good selections with this lot.

The first story, "And All Through the House," is definitely the scariest of the three. It's about a disgruntled wife who murders her husband on Christmas Eve, only to have a madman dressed in Santa garb show up to deliver her just deserts. It is a particulary frightening morality play not only because it warns that "what goes around, comes around"; it also makes a multi-faceted statement about innocence and youth, as it is the murderous woman's little daughter who ultimately lets "Santa" into the house. Larry Drake delivers a delectably deranged performance as the insane Saint Nick. (This has proven to be one of the most enduring stories from the original E.C. Comics series, as it was also previously dramatized in 1972 as one portion of an excellent five-part British flick entitled TALES FROM THE CRYPT. In that version, Joan Collins--DYNASTY's Alexis Carrington Colby--played the part of the homicidal wife.)

In the second story, "Yellow," Kirk Douglas is a stone-hearted, by-the-book WWI General and, his son, Eric Douglas, is a craven Lieutenant under the General's command. Embarrassed by his "yellow" progeny, the General engages his son in an insidious course of action that will save the young man's reputation as well as allow the General himself to save face. Although the ending is easily predictable, the acting is top-notch and the depiction of WWI is fairly gruesome (for TV, anyway), and it all adds up to an engaging and suspenseful drama. This is definitely the strongest episode of the trio, though not as scary as the first.

The last of the three offerings, "You, Murderer," is also the weakest. It covers the last day in the life of a business exec who, altered via plastic surgery to hide from a dark past, is blackmailed and then offed by his cuckolding wife and her lover. Though the plot is a bit cliche and its ending predictable, the episode does, nonetheless, have a few interesting aspects: one, the story is told via flashbacks from the point of view of the already-dead exec; two, á la plastic surgery, the exec is the spitting image of Humphrey Bogart; and three, great performances are delivered by Isabella Rossellini (daughter of the real-life Bogart's CASABLANCA costar Ingrid Bergman) and character actor John Lithgow. The episode's biggest flaw is the special effects, which are primarily computerized insertions of Bogart film-clips á la FORREST GUMP. Unlike in GUMP, the effects come across as embarrasingly cheesy, and the manner in which they are utilized is very awkward to the flow of the narrative. Still, it's an entertaining entry for CRYPT, just one that is not up to par with the other two on this disc.

One minorly disappointing aspect to the DVD overall is the fact that there are no extras on the disc. Some HBO or syndication promotional spots or an interview with Zemeckis would've been nice, or maybe even a behind-the-scenes short featuring our gregarious host, The Crypt Keeper. Still, this DVD is well worth the expense, especially for fans of TALES FROM THE CRYPT or fans of the horror genre in general. At Amazon.com's asking price, the cost is less than $5 per episode, and that's cheaper than the cost-per-episode charged for many TV shows in either VHS or DVD format!

Yellow Shines, More Tales Please!
Of all the television series I want on DVD, Tales From The Crypt is it!

I hope this is just the first in a long running set for this series, but it doesn't look like it.

This DVD contains the three episodes done by Robert Zemeckis.

And All Through the House" (1989), remided me of the 'Tales From The Crypt - Have A Scary Little Christmas' CD I've had for quite a while. Basically the same backdrop of the story told on the CD is here, except for the 'Mother' killing her husband. Anyhow, that's how it starts, but what the poor mother does not know is that an escaped lunatic is on the prowl.

"Yellow" (1991), A dang good yarn if I do say so eh kiddies? Martin Sheen's excellent in this story of a san who cannot live up to his father's aspects of courageousness.

"You, Murderer" (1995), is really wierd. Stars Humphrey Bogart, Sherilyn Fenn, and some other famous personalities and basically the tale is in Bogart's voice. He is dead (murdered actually) but can still see what is happing around him, hear everything, and worse feel everything!

Pretty good set. Some great stars in these episodes and I really loved the episode 'Yellow'.

Hopefully more will be produced as I love the whole series.

great. but only 3 of the episodes.
this is worth buying if you are even a remote fan of tales from the crypt, however; it's only has 3 of many episodes on it. "yellow" is my personal favorite. they need to release more of the episodes on DVD so i, and everyone else who wants it, could have the complete collection. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The WILD BUNCH meets APOCALYPSE NOW!
EXTREME PREJUDICE is a wild-ride, action-packed "tribute" to the unashamedly "macho" movie genre. It works because Walter Hill's directing is paced at 8000 rpm's and never idles below 6000. John Milius (co-author of the script to "Apocalypse Now!")has contributed a story which is surprisingly complex and engaging. The cast is first rate across the El Paso border into old Mexico and the 6th Estate of the modern Drug Lords. Dressed in black like a grand inquisitor, Nick Nolte is buff and bad as steely-eyed Texas Ranger Jack Benteen. Powers Boothe...elegantly garbed in plantation owner's "first communion" whites...plays Cash Bailey; Nolte's main boyhood compadre, who has become King of the Hill of a drug empire operating like a military staging garrison in Durango. Into the mix is Maria Conchita Alonso...a could-be pearl of great price...over whom the former friends' rivalry is stirred like the proverbial sword in the fire. Michael Ironside does not disappoint as Major Hackett, a Black-OPX's commando...leading an elite NCO squad on an illegal "mission impossible"...who has his own treacherous agenda. The action is violent and unrelenting until the final climax which...as other reviewers have observed...seems deliberately lifted from Sam Peckinpah's, THE WILD BUNCH. The violence is neither gratuitous nor satirized, and there is a quality of irony in the film that could easily be missed. Jack Benteen/ Nick Nolte portrays a "good guy" who "in the olden days" might well have been The Lone Ranger. The glib repartee of Powers Boothe trying to probe how his former amigo could be such a fool (when drug-doing yups really "love the stuff!" he peddles), hits a quiet chord because heroes like Jack...as William Forsythe, playing one of the betrayed commandos observes..."no longer have causes to fight for, only friends." Jack Benteen is forced to kill his once-best friend because he will not bend with the jaded prejudices of the times. EXTREME PREJUDICE is a super action flick which manages to convey some archly ironic comments about a drug culture perhaps "too sophisticated" to appreciate such a macho-man movie where "The Wild Bunch" meets "Apocalypse Now!"

Great Movie!! (Lousy Transfer.._
With Walter Hill channeling Sam Peckinpah, Extreme Prejudice is a low budget film that delivers the goods. This features Nick Nolte at his prime best playing texas ranger Jack Benteen. However, Powers Boothe who plays Cash Bailey, a disillusioned lawman who crossed the line definitely makes this movie complete. This movie also features a slick and effective sub plot that is headed by another one of my favorites, Michael Ironside who plays a corrupt army major out to pull the ultimate heist at the expense of his own men. (Clancy Brown, William Forsythe and the surprising Larry B. Scott of "Revenge of the Nerds" fame)

Hill does a great job editing and building up the tension in the final act of the film culminating in one of the best free for all gun battles ever staged. I hope that the people at artisan entertainment get wise and clean up the print and properly re-release this gem from the '80s.

How Long Must We Wait??!!
Plenty of other reviews here give a synopsis of this story so I'll skip that part, and get to the "Oh how I love this movie" part.
I first saw this Walter Hill movie around '88, and only on VHS, and it has always been on my top 10 list. Back in the day's before Robert Rodriquez,and Q.T. And when those of us on the east coast had no access to Hong Kong Cinema, Walter Hill was a name action fans looked for, along with the better known names of stylized action, Sergio Leone, Sam Peckenpaugh,Richard Donner, and John McTiernen. All of these directors delivered lots of entertaining action,but for my money in the 80s Hill delivered big time with this modern day western.
Performances are strong and memorable. What scenery isnt destroyed by gun fire is chewed to pieces. Rip Torn, and Powers Booth create characters that are especially fun. Nick Nolte does a great job of playing a Texas Ranger, in a mythological kinda way.
The direction is sharp despite some minor plot holes, but of course the action sequences are steller.
Big question now is "How long must we wait for a good DVD version of this film?" Widescreen is a must.

Homage to Peckinpah?
"Extreme Prejudice" is one of those special films that should have worked like gangbusters with the action thriller crowd. Thanks to director Walter Hill (the same guy who later did "48 Hours"), this ultra violent shoot 'em up picture boasts an amazing cast, over the top performances, stark atmosphere, high testosterone, and lots of firepower all wrapped up in a style that would make Sam Peckinpah cry with joy. With all of the positives going for it the film failed to draw great box office receipts. Why? Several reasons, actually. As great as the pieces of "Extreme Prejudice" are independently, director Hill failed to integrate the parts into the sort of seamless whole film critics appreciate. Some movies wildly succeed despite traveling down a road pitted with plot holes. Others manage to just squeak by despite their difficulties, and this is the case with Hill's film. It doesn't quite have what it takes to become a cult classic, can't totally overcome its numerous failings, but this movie survives because it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, namely entertain its target audience.

Texas Ranger Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is a cop's cop and a man's man. Working the beat down in on the Texas-Mexico border, Benteen regularly puts his man down when the time comes for killing. Often operating in tandem with feisty and foul-mouthed local sheriff Hank Pearson, Benteen's biggest problem in the heat blasted climes of Southern Texas is curbing narcotics trafficking. When he isn't out killing local boys gone bad Jack argues incessantly with his live in lover Sarita Cisneros (Maria Conchita Alonso), a woman who works as a singer at the local watering hole and who just happens to be the former girlfriend of ex-cop and now big time drug dealer Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe). Benteen and Bailey get along with each other despite their differences largely due to an unspoken agreement the two have about staying out of each other's way, but that's all about to change after Pearson dies in a violent shootout with some local drug dealers ostensibly working for Bailey's outfit. Now it's personal for Benteen (shouldn't it have been before?), and nothing will get in his way as he prepares to bring down Bailey once and for all.

Then a problem materializes. The federal government, hoping to stem the flow of narcotics into the country, orchestrates a black operation composed of elite ex-military specialists and sends them into Benteen's stomping grounds to wipe out Cash Bailey. These guys are highly trained killers operating under such heavy secrecy that the feds faked the soldiers' deaths in order to protect their identities. Headed up by a thug named Paul Hackett--a man who has his own dirty little secrets--the team plans to rob a bank so they can steal Bailey's files. Perceiving Benteen as a potential problem, Hackett plays the part of a sympathetic DEA agent and feeds the Texas Ranger false information to keep him out of the picture until the operatives can finish the mission. Predictably, the robbery goes horribly awry, a couple of the team members end up in Benteen's jail, and out comes the dirty laundry. Jack teams up with Hackett's team as they head to Bailey's hideout in Mexico, still determined to do in Bailey and liberate the hapless Sarita while he's at it (You didn't think the girl would stay safely behind in Texas for the entire film, did you?). The conclusion is pure Peckinpah as the entire compound erupts into total gunfire riddled chaos.

For all its flaws, I still like watching "Extreme Prejudice" whenever I get the chance because the performances are so much fun. Nick Nolte is at his sweaty, scene chewing best as the relentless cop Jack Benteen. Rip Torn plays Sheriff Hank Pearson so over the top that he is a wonder to watch. Maria Conchita Alonso serves mainly as eye candy in her scenes, and Powers Boothe doesn't start rocking and rolling until the end of the film. The real show stealers here is Hackett's gang. Check out the actors involved in these roles: Michael Ironsides, William Forsythe, Clancy Brown, Matt Mulhern, Larry B.Scott, and Dan Tullis Jr. all play critical parts. If you aren't familiar with low budget cinema, you might not recognize these names or faces, but the rest of us who follow these types of movies know this list represents a goldmine of talent. If you've ever wondered how these guys would work together in a single film, "Extreme Prejudice" is your movie. Heck, even Tom "Tiny" Lister turns up here in a small role as one of Bailey's main henchmen. About the only guy missing from the roster is Randall "Tex" Cobb. Throw these actors into a plot loaded with gunfire, the heat blasted plains of Texas and Mexico, and a script that isn't afraid to punch up the testosterone laden dialogue to unheard of levels, and you have the makings for an entertaining couple of hours.

Sadly, plot holes abound. I still cannot figure out how Benteen could run a computer check on two of Hackett's men and discover that they are supposedly dead. Wouldn't the government cover its tracks with loads of high tech wizardry to prevent some backwoods cop from finding out who these guys are? Moreover, some of the scenes in the film are laughably ridiculous. For example, Bailey blows some guy's head off because of a drug dispute, and then promptly cozies up to Sarita as though nothing happened. In what universe would a woman readily accept with open arms a man who just committed a grisly murder IN FRONT OF HER just seconds before? Only a guy could write such nonsense into a script and think it would work. Give "Extreme Prejudice" a look if you like movies like "Roadhouse." If not, skip it.

EXTREME NOLTE
THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW 'NOLTE' FLICKS I CAN RECOMMEND. HE IS A GOOD ENOUGH ACTOR, BUT HE USUALLY PLAYS MENTALLY UNSTRUNG DRUNKS.
BUT IN THIS ONE WHICH IS STRICTLY ACTION FARE, HE PLAYS STRAIGHT AS AN OLD SCHOOL RANGER COMMITTED TO HIS CODE.
NOT FACT, BUT A LONG WAY FROM PURE FICTION LIKE T.V.S 'WALKER'
NOLTE IS JACK BENTEEN PITTED AGAINST HIS ONE TIME BUDDY CASH BAILEY (POWERS BOOTH) THE ACROSS THE RIVER DRUG LORD WHO IS POLLUTING THE RANGERS JURISDICTION WITH DRUGS AND KILLING FOLKS IN THE PROCESS.
BENTEEN GIVES HIS OLD COMPADRE 'HEADS UP' BUT THE GOON IS "IN TOO DEEP."
SOME FREE LANCE MILITARY SPOOKS GET IN THE THICK OF THINGS AND THE ACTION HEATS UP.
THERE ARE SOME VERY PECKINPAH TYPE BALLETIC SHOOTOUTS AND THE SCORE IS PACED RIGHT.
NOLTES FLAME, MARIA CONCHITA ALONSO IS PERPLEXED BY WHICH MAN SHE WANTS AND CHOOSES CASH SEEMINGLY IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE LAWMAN JEALOUS. THE PLAN WORKS AND THE RANGER CROSSES THE BORDER TO RECLAIM THE GIRL AND FINISH OFF HIS ONE TIME BUDDY TURNED BAD. LET THE SHOWDOWN BEGIN!
REAL LIFE RETIRED RANGER JAQUIN JACKSON WAS THE TECH ADVISOR ON THIS FLICK AND HIS REAL LIFE PERSONA WAS THE INSPIRATION
FOR NOLTES CHARACTER, RIGHT DOWN TO THE COLT COMBAT COMMANDER 1911 COCKED AND LOCKED WITH STAGHORN GRIPS.
THERE IS NOTHING DEEP ABOUT THIS FILM BUT IT WORKS WELL ON A BASIC LEVEL.
RIP TORNS COUNTY SHERIFF STEALS THE SHOW IN THIS ONE.
IT IS BASICLY A CONTEMPORARY SET WESTERN.
AS USUAL THE PROFANITY IS EXCESSIVE BUT OTHER THAN THAT ITS A PRETTY DECENT SHOW. ... Read more