Reviews (4)

Good, old, HBO horror series
They really should bring this series back. To those of you who have been living under a rock for the last 16 years, this is basically a very good, revamped-gory version of the twilight zone. Some great short horror stories!
Side note: I still have the old Crypt keeper dolls (still in their boxes) in my closet. I bought them at Spencer's gifts ages ago, maybe someday they will be worth something.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the FEAREST of them all?"
Welcome to my review, horror freaks! So glad you could join me and read about the 6 eerie episodes of HBO's "Tales from the Crypt," the very ones that helped the series rise from its tomb back in 1989. It's been 9 long years since the show went off the air, and until now, I've been waiting for the Crypt Keeper's putrid puns and awful alliterations to be forever preserved on DVD format. And why not? The show lasted a full 7 seasons and featured many of the biggest actors and directors in Hollywood. Each tale carefully incorporates the grisly black humor William M. Gaines EC comic books, which were almost banned in the 1950's. Did I say 'almost?' Anyway, as other HBO programs like "Dream On," "Deadwood," and "Carnivale" were packaged and displayed on Best Buy shelves, I wondered if "Tales" would ever be among them. Well, the time has finally arrived, creeps! As stated by John Kassir himself, Warner Brothers wisely chose to create these discs so we ourselves can scare the next generation of kiddies to come. Even better is the fact that the second disc of this Season 1 set will contain a sickening array of never-before-seen extras. I don't want to give the surprises away, but I will briefly tell you the stories you are about to see. Enter, if you dare!
"Dig that Cat...He's Real Gone" stars Joe Pantoliano as Ulric, a homeless alcoholic who becomes a rich and famous sideshow performer after a mad doctor (Gustav Vintas) surgically implants a cat's gland into Ulric's brain. This procedure allows him to die and return to life nine times. Morbid hilarity ensues as a carnival barker (Robert Wuhl) presents Ulric the Undying to astounded audiences who watch him get electrocuted, hanged, drowned in a tank, and shot with an arrow (among other things).
In "The Man Who was Death," Bill Sadler (who eventually starred in the 1995 Tales from the Crypt film "Demon Knight") plays Niles Talbot, a state executioner who loses his job after spending 12 years pulling the switch. This resulted because the government unexpectantly repealed the death penalty. However, not wanting to abandon his favorite occupation, Niles drifts to the other side of the law by killing criminals who were acquitted by the courts.
The frightening and festive "And All Through the House" stars Mary Ellen Trainor as a devious housewife named Elizabeth, who brutally bludgeons her husband with a poker to collect on an insurance policy. Just when she is ready to eliminate the corpse, a homicidal maniac donning a Santa Claus costume (Larry Drake) terrorizes her with an axe. Even worse, Elizabeth can't call the police for fear of being convicted of first degree murder and losing custody of her daughter.
Vanity and greed play a central role in "Only Sin Deep," a tale about a street prostitute named Sylvia Vane (Lea Thompson). After killing a pimp and stealing his gold jewellry, she willingly sells her beauty to a strange pawnbroker (Britt Leach) in exchange for $10,000 cash. At first, Sylvia wins over the affections of a suave playboy millionaire. But immediately afterward, as a result of some black magic performed by the pawnbroker, she gets increasingly distraught as her face quickly ages. Desperate to buy back her looks, she shoots her rich lover dead, but is then forced to avoid prison by staying ugly for life.
Prepare for a honeymoon hell in "Lover Come Hack To Me." Here, a cunning bachelor named Charles (Stephen Shellen) marries a naive Peggy (Amanda Plummer) for her inheritance money. On a rainy night, after accidentally getting stuck in an abandoned mansion, the two go up to the bedroom and make perfect love for the very first time. Originally, Charles was going to kill Peggy and stage the crime to look like a burglary. But he soon discovers that her family history is cursed, and that much darker skeletons lie in the bride's closet.
Last but not least is one of my favorite episodes, "Collection Completed." M. Emmet Walsh plays Jonas, a grouchy tool salesman who finally gets to retire after 47 years on the job. His slightly odd wife Anita (Audra Lindley) has developed a fondness for pets...alot of pets. In fact, she keeps a zoo-full of cats, dogs, and birds in the house. On top of that, she talks to squirrels and runs an aquarium in the bathtub. Obviously, such an attachment to animals is enough to drive Jonas up the wall! Inevitably, he gets sick and tired of not having enough attention, and he gleefully takes up taxidermy as a hobby. But those poor animals weren't the only living creatures that ended up getting stuffed.

Tales from the Crypt
I have written HBO countless e-mails over the years begging for this dvd set. I never received one e-mail response from HBO. Oh, well. I really did not expect one.
This is one of the best horror shows, period. Some of the top horror/adventure writers and directors wrote and directed these episodes. I believe this series ran for seven seasons. This can be intense stuff, not for children because of the nudity, sex, graphic violence, superb gore effects, language, and more. Some of these stories are truly the stuff of nightmares. They will haunt you.
If you have never seen Tales from the Crypt you are in for a treat, if you are a fan of horror. Go to your local book store and pick-up a trade paperback of the old EC comics these stories are based upon to get a feel for the translation from comic book to television show. Wait until you meet the Cryptkeeper, who introduces each episode, for a meeting of the surreal and insane and just plain weird. And, you will see some big name stars come to fantastic demises. Just wait, you'll see.
Now, where are Tales from the Darkside and Friday the 13th the series. These are two more violent horror series from the pre-politically correct present day.

Great Series Finds It's Footing In A TV/DVD Obsessed World
Yes, It has finally happened: Warner Bros./HBO Productions has announced that a 2-Disc, First Season set of "Tales from the Crypt" will be released on July 12th. The first season consisted of six episodes that fit quite nicely on this set's first disc. They are: "The Man Who Was Death", Dig That cat...He's Real Gone", "All Through The House", "Only Sin Deep", "Lover Come Hack To Me", and "Collection Completed". The second disc will hold bonus features that are rumored to include 2 Featurettes: One on "Tales From Comic Books To Television" and the other on "The First Season's History." Plus a new introduction by "The CryptKeeper"(John Kassir). Now this has not been confirmed, so it's pretty much a rumor but these are the possibilities. So far, there is no cover art or any other materials but stay tuned to tvshowsondvd.com for more news info which should be coming soon! Tales From The Crypt: Season One, July 12th! ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Just the facts, ma'am
"Dragnet" is one of those movies I never got sick of as a kid, although it did take some growing up for me to get some of the more adult jokes ("Oh thank God...vibrator repair??"). Today, I still enjoy the hilarious banter between Dan Aykroyd as clean-cut Joe Friday, and Tom Hanks as "hipster freebird cop" Pep Streebeck. While Aykroyd has always been a comic genius, I think Hanks' slapstick talent has been underrated due to his super dramatic success. He was very funny in this film and other 80s films like "Big" and "The Money Pit."

The reason I don't give "Dragnet" five stars is the story problem. About halfway through, this movie becomes a sappy mess of a love story/kidnapping plot. It shifts focus from Friday and Streebeck trailing a bevy of PAGAN incidents to Joe trying to save the virgin Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul) from the evil Reverend Jonathan Whirley (played with slime by Christopher Plummer). The romance between Joe and Connie is dull, namely because Paul can't act her way out of a paper bag in this film. But Streebeck's antics without his partner, and Plummer's grinchy grin as he attempts dastardly deeds, save the second half from total destruction.

I believe "Dragnet" is not the dud that most critics make it out to be. It has some very funny moments and some witty dialogue. But it doesn't tie the comedy and drama/action together very well. In a way, it's almost like two different movies. One is fantastic and entertaining, while the other is a bit boring.

Don't expect a glitsy DVD with bucketloads of special features. I guess Universal reserves those special editions for "higher caliber" films. But enjoy the laughs anyway. Key moments: Friday and Streebeck go undercover, the officers meet Enid Borden, a trip to the zoo, chasing Emil Muzz, and a visit to the Bait Magazine mansion.

A Gem In Its Own Right: Dragnet Is As Bad As It is Good
The formula for laughs in this one is basically the old cliche of basically a good-cop bad-cop(Friday good and Strebek bad) relationship with a bunch of funny twists. Aykroyd is funny as the by-the-book-cop Friday spouting penal code from memory and Hanks is funny as the flashy hip officer that probably never read the book to begin with. That contrast sure is not original(It's black and white, too obvious) but in this case the laughs mount when these two of L.A's finest meet up with the Virgin Connie Swayle, the well respected T.V reverend, and the porn distribution engineer(Long distance pimp). Friday and Strebek are challenged with the task of uncovering the vile scheme of the T.V reverend who wants to both fight the porn industry and control it to his benefit at the same time. The concept is very hilarious but in some parts it drags a bit.(The grandmother scene was not funny.) The way the fight against PAGAN(The reverend's secret cult) ends is the funniest part of the entire movie. The punchline at the end of the movie, like Amazon said in their review, is a combustable laugher.(Not in their words, of course) Trust me, you will laugh harder at that than any other part of this flick.

What's wrong with goodness and normalcy?
Based on what I've seen, most classic TV show-based flicks are either pretty good (such as 'The Fugitive' or 'The Untouchables'), or pretty bad ('Car 54 Where Are You?'). 'Dragnet' has the distinction of trodding the middle ground-- it ain't all that bad, but it's nothing special, either. While I thought the concept of turning the classic 'Dragnet' show into a cinematic self-satire was interesting, the final product could've been a bit better. Actually, they'da really gotten some laughs from me by trying to play it 'straight' and as true to the TV show as possible. That's probably why episodes of 'Dragnet' were only a half-hour long--it was actually a sit-com disguised as a harrowing real-case-based cop drama. I mean, seriously, do ya really think you'll ever find a law enforcement official who's even close to being the straight-laced boy scout that Joe Friday was?

I gotta admit, however, that Dan Aykroyd's unbelievably button-down, anal-retentive, and ludicrously straight-arrow portrayal of the nephew of Joe Friday was a pretty good shot at Jack Webb's most notable small screen character. And his partnering up with Tom Hanks' polar-opposite-type character made for a few smile-cracking 'Odd-Couple-With-Badges' moments of humor.

Another neat thing about this movie is that it introduced me to a little acronym I like to spring on folks from time to time: the cultish PAGAN, or People Against Goodness And Normalcy, the minions of which act as the movie's main heavies. Whenever someone talks about pagan religious rituals, I'll usually hit 'em with the reference by stating, "Oh, you mean 'the People Against Goodness And Normalcy'?" My statement is usually followed by about ten seconds of uncomfortable silence and sideways glance(s) from the speaker(s). That's when I try to break up my little faux pas by explaining the reference to 'em. After my explanation, we share one of those hearty 'boy-am-I-relieved' chuckles and part ways, never to speak to each other ever again...

'Late

Dull with flashes of humor
There's a lot of potential in this film, as in many of Aykroyd's efforts, for deft satire; and as in so many of his films, only the most obvious gags are deployed along the way. Some jokes work, but when they don't, or in the long stretches in between, there's simply nothing to draw and hold the interest. In Webb's style, Aykroyd achieves the remarkable feat of overacting restraint. Hanks is at least personable, but not much more. Plummer is wonderfully nasty, and the film has a large budget to display. There's a lot of bloat here, however, and you can't help thinking that the main result of this film was a series of truly wild parties for all concerned in its production.

This is the City of Los Angeles...
Any fan of Dan Akroyd's or Tom Hank's style comedy will love it. Anyone that likes movies like "Beverly Hills Cop", "Police Academy", or "Naked Gun" should like it. Even fans of serious police movies or shows will probably get a kick out of it.

Joe Friday, played by Dan Akroyd, is serious about his work, even if his partner Pep Streebek, played by Tom Hanks, is not. Akroyd does a great job of emulating the original Dragnet Friday's inflections and no nonsense style. A cameo by Harry Morgan is fitting since he played in the original TV show.

The duo must uncover the leadership and plans of a satanic cult that is playing havoc with the city of Los Angeles. In their search they encounter a smut magazine king, a religious leader, the mayor, and a bevy of pin-up girls. Several sight gags and Akroyd's performance make this DVD worth owning.

Not much in the extras department. It would have been better if it included a making of feature and/or commentary by Dan Akroyd and Tom Hanks. I would have given it four stars then. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

My Favourite Movie
This is the most hilarious movie,with John CAndy stuck inside a terrible soap opera!!HE can control events and turn himself into a hero by using his magic typewriter.It is sooooo funny,the characters are idiots,like the doctor who keeps yelling,"I..am a...medical..DOCTOR!!!',and the man whos being poisoned and his hair comes out and then he wipes his finger over his eyebrow and it comes off in his hand and then his teeth fall into the sink and then he tries to shoot his sister,who is poisoning him,only it isn't really his sister because she was swapped at birth so he accidentally shoots his real sister,and he cant talk properly anymore and so he says,"Ah,shthit." LOLOL.My mum is grossed out by the man who is losing his bits so she taped over the movie once.I love it!!!Its soooo funny!

form your own opinion
its easy to state facts when you talk about the quality of a power tool or a tv. but when it comes to things like movies and music, its all a mater of opinion. my idea of a great movie might be your idea of the worst movie ever made. so its not a good idea to buy or not buy a movie based on someones opinion of it. i liked this movie in fact i just watched this movie 5 min before writing this. if you are not sure if its your cup of tea rent it before buying it. i seen it 10 times over the years and i still like it.

A Cute Comedy.
John Candy was one of the true greats of modern comedy. Unfortunately, he spent most of his career performing in poorly written movies which did not allow him to display his comic genius. DELIRIOUS doesn't fit that bill, however, neither does it achieve the heights that it could have.

In DELIRIOUS, Candy plays a soap opera writer/producer of the hottest show on televsion. He finds himself constantly battling the other producers who always want to revamp the show and quite frankly would like to get rid of him. While driving in the country for a weekend vacation, Candy is in a car accident and awakens to find himself in a real version of the fictional town he helped create on his soap.

The movie is a lot of fun and toys with an interesting idea. However, much more could have been done with the "life in a soap opera" concept to have capitalized upon Candy's talent. The movie has an impressive cast including Mariel Hemingway, Robert Wagner, and Raymond Burr.

Overall a charming little movie that's a lot of fun. Great for an evening of escapist delight.

Excellent John Candy Flick!
This is a truly great movie! I am a very critical person and one who believes that nothing is perfect, but I loved nearly everything about this movie! It's a well-written and enjoyable film from the late, great John Candy and it also features a great cast of Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms, Raymond Burr and Charles Rocket. It is a very well cast movie. The one thing I wasn't so thrilled about in this movie was the ending. It was a bit of an obvious ending for any film, although a heart-warming one at that...

Candiavellian Romp
I have to admit that good writing or not this is one of my favorite escape movies and I wish it would come out in DVD. My liking it has something to do with John's use of the typewriter and his ability to change the direction of the characters through the machine. Once he damages the typewriter he needs to make a technical sevice call to get it going again. You can't beat that. We even get to see a perplexed Robert Wagner and the rest of a great cast. ... Read more

Amazon.com

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