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In 1972 a chartered plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby squad and various family members crashed in the Andes. If that sounds dry and matter-of-fact, you haven't seen director Frank Marshall's harrowing re-creation Alive, an adrenaline-pounding, heart-in-your-mouth spectacle that kicks off this famous story of survival. The real-life against-all-odds odyssey made worldwide headlines when it became known that the survivors ate their own dead to survive. What could have easily become sensationalistic exploitation is treated with compassion and dignity by Marshall as he explores their moral and spiritual struggles as well as their physical ordeal. As team captain and base-camp cheerleader Vincent Spano slowly collapses under the stress and Ethan Hawke rouses from mourning his dead family to taking charge of saving himself, it also becomes a portrait in leadership, hope, and emotional courage. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (85)

Preposterous, But Fun Jungle Adventure
In the tradition of H. Rider Haggard and "Indiana Jones" comes another blockbuster adaptation of a bestselling Michael Crichton novel. Up until now, this has not been one of his better known books, although it was a good enough read. The film is okay, but hopefully it will lead people to the even better book.

The story begins in the jungles of the Congo. An expedition of scientists has discovered an incredible find: a huge source of pure, blue diamonds. They communicate the good news back home, but before they can transmit their coordinates, they are suddenly attacked and killed. But by what?

Another scientist is sent in to find out. Dr. Karen Ross (Laura Linney), for reasons best left unexplained, attaches herself to a mission already bound for Zaire. A primatologist (Dylan Walsh) is returning his talking gorilla-she communicates through sign language-to her home in Africa. He is accompanied by a mysterious and very shady Romanian "philanthropist" with the unlikely name of Herkermer Homolka (Tim Curry). Karen comes along at a crucial time with a pile of money and is soon part of the gang.

Once in Africa, they meet up with Monroe Kelly (Ernie Hudson), their Great White Hunter "who happens to be black." That's when their adventure begins in earnest and it is a wild one. I won't give it away here-you probably wouldn't believe me anyway-but it is exciting and suspenseful, if never actually believable.

The screenplay for "Congo" was written by noted playwright John Patrick Shanley ("Moonstruck"). He has an odd sense of humor-witness his underrated "Joe Vs. the Volcano"-that is very much in evidence here. The story at times borders on the ludicrous and it is filled with all the delightful cliches that usually populate jungle adventure films (e.g. porters who go missing in the night, and a corpse with a diamond clutched in its hand).

Maybe the film wouldn't have worked any other way. I don't know. By making the story a pseudo-spoof, though, Shanley has removed the dramatic tension and suspense that made the novel work. Since everything is played for laughs-all too frequently unintentionally-then it is almost impossible for us to really get involved and care about what is happening.

Still, there is always pleasure to be had from a film that doesn't take itself too seriously and is not above poking fun at the customs of its genre. "Congo" has that, plus a few exciting scenes and some fun performances, particularly by Ernie Hudson. It is certainly not a great film, but it is a pleasant diversion on a hot summer day.

Why are these folks so critical, was the book so good?
I did not read the novel and while I won't say it's the best movie ever made (It's probably a four and a half in my opinion) I found it perfectly entertaining. Admittedly, I have read a lot of SF and like well made SF and adventure movies (Aliens 2, Matrix, even Bakshi's LOTR) but I also enjoy any genre of movie that is created with attention and art if possible and not with lowest-common-denominator formulaic design or for contract obligations. True, if your looking for dramatic acting, go watch "Boys Don't Cry", or "Men Don't Leave" (Movies, not a Four Seasons greatest hits compendium) Congo lacks the special effects of the newer Godzilla movie, but I enjoyed it more than the latest Star Wars movie (Phantom Menace) Congo, which I have watched twice on VHS and will most likely pick up on DVD, has, as one of the other reviewers noted, a Saturday morning adventure feel. It was tense and the gorillas were well done for monster movie make-up. The characters all unobtrusively played out their archetype roles. I recommend this movie to those who can keep thier minds open and who have a taste for adventure in a E. R. Burroughs vein.

EXCELLENT STORY-EXCELLENT MOVIE!!!
Definitely a great adventure and one of my personal favorites, Congo, brings to the screen a tale set in the African jungles involving an unlikely group that has banded together in search of a lost city and the rare diamonds that are rumored to exist there in abundance. The actors' performances are outstanding, especially Tim Curry whose "Romanian philanthropist" character steals the show. The plot, the jungle ruins, and the battles are all wonderful, making this film one of the best of its kind.
Congo is an action packed movie with strong elements of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider, therefore, a "must see" for those with a passion for archaeology, mystery and adventure.

Before Python there was Congo
Made way back in 1995. A horror story about a lost city and killer gorillas. A research team is slaughtered by some unknown creature will locking for a dimon to power a laser. Design for communication. She goes on a quest across the africian border to retrive it.

What she things is an ancient legendary city and killer gorilas. Can the survive and get off the island. Before the volcano errupts.

If you like Congo I also recomend Raptor, Python, Phyton 2, Anadaconda.

Entertainment well done
I loved this movie, bought the DVD and watch it over and over the performance is so good. It is hard to single out any one thing. The musical score and songs are so good, I keep playing them over in my head. The scene where Dylan Walsh's character starts singing "California Dreaming" to Amy and everyone of the Africans join in the song shows the universality of music and song to people. As with any well executed movie, the details were done right letting the viewer enjoy the actors work. All of the priciple actors came accross as believable in their characters. The only mystery to me is the total lack of credit listing for Joe Pantoliano's participation and his character not even being listed in the ending credits! There must be some Hollywood Gossip behind that. Ernie Hudson really stole the show. The using of a British accent was genius. Since the English colonized and ruled most of Africa for years and set up most of the schools, an African guide would speak English with a British accent. The ending sequence with the volcano erupting and the land splitting brings back fond memories of 1940s "expedition" movies that always ended with such a scene.

"Congo" is entertaining, well directed, scored and acted. It is well worth the price of purchase and my only critcism (the devil is in the details) is the depiction of too few porters to haul the amount of equipment they kept coming up with for different scenes. Laura Linney's character was great! She had the best lines in the movie too.

Rent it or buy it, you will not regret it. ... Read more

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Most horror movies depend on giant monsters; Arachnophobia getsjust as many thrills out of creatures only a few inches long. A scientist(Julian Sands, Warlock, A Room with a View) who's hunting avicious new species of spider in Venezuela unknowingly ships one back tothe U.S. It ends up in a small town where a new doctor (Jeff Daniels,The Purple Rose of Cairo, Something Wild) is trying toestablish a practice. When his patients start suddenly dying, Danielssuspects spiders--but no one takes him seriously because he's had a phobia about spiders since childhood. Arachnophobia builds a slow butrelentless sense of menace and creepiness, mixed with a sneaky satire ofsmall town life. If you're squeamish about spiders, this will get underyour skin. Also featuring the ever-dependable John Goodman (The BigLebowski, Barton Fink) as a comically zealous exterminator.--Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (24)

One Bite And... Blleeaaagggcckk!!
ARACHNOPHOBIA takes a simple fear of spiders and magnifies it into monstrous proportions! While studying rare insects in deepest / darkest Venezuela, a scientist discovers a new, deadly, species of arachnid that is extremely aggressive. This eight-legged, super-pest is also resistant to the toxic fog that brought it down from the trees to be studied. It bites a photographer, killing him almost instantly. When his body is shipped back to the US, no one notices that there's a little hairy stowaway in the coffin! Thus begins our tale of terror in small town america. Dr. Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) has just moved into the same town with his wife and kids. Not only the same town, but the very house that is ground zero for the coming spider invasion! The south american mega-spider has mated with a common housespider, producing offspring even deadlier than itself. The brood fans out, going house to house, striking unwary citizens. The spiders themselves are the best bugs I've ever seen in a movie. They seem to be trained to act menacing. Whoever the "bug-wrangler" was, did a superb job of getting them to "act" smart. The camera work also adds to their appearance as both intelligent and scary. Can Jennings overcome his fear of spiders and stand up to this tiny army of death? Check out John Goodman as Delbert McClintock, exterminator extraordinaire! He's a riot! ARACHNOPHOBIA was an unexpected hit when it was released, and remains a solid example of horror / comedy. You'll never look at those webs in the attic / basement the same way again! Highly recommended...

One of the scariest movies ever made!
There stands Jeff Daniels, holding a shovel, ready to strike at the predators that would do his family harm. Only minutes before, his family is running up the stairs, as if trying to escape something massive and deadly. What's ironic about the situation in "Arachnophobia" is that there are no gruesome monsters or devilish people running amuck in the small town setting, but instead, a simple fear is given a whole new name as innumerable tiny spiders begin a rampage that makes for one of the best movies of 1990.

"Arachnophobia," which, appropriately defines a fear of spiders, presents us with a plotline that pits man again nature, calling attention to the horror movies of the old days while taking its title and creating an immense amount of tension and suspense with unique story twists and some nicely added comic relief. I did find the movie to be predictable in places, but that didn't stop me from having an enormous amount of fun with it.

The movie begins in Venezuela, where an expedition into the tropical forests leads to the discovery of a previously unknown species of arachnid. A photographer along for the ride is bitten by the spider and dies of convulsions, yet the cause of death remains unknown to everyone else, and so the body, along with the stowaway spider, is shipped back to his hometown of Canaima, where a new doctor is also moving in.

Having moved from San Francisco to begin a practice in the small town, Dr. Ross Jennings, with his wife and two children, is dismayed when he learns that the previous doctor has decided not to retire. Beginning a practice of his own, he starts out with one patient, who is bitten by a deadly spider which was spawned in the barn in the backyard of Jennings' house. This, along with many other deaths, raise questions about the circumstances of the deaths, and as the facts are slowly revealed, the tension becomes increasingly delicious as the arachnids begin taking over the town.

The mark of a truly good film is its ability to stay in touch with a certain message in its title in order for it to make sense. "Arachnophobia" is magnificent in its achievement of this goal, taking the minute fear of spiders and turning it into something quite suspenseful. This is done by placing a spider in almost every scene, and centering that specific part of the story around something that has to do with it, or them. One minute we see a lone creature, and the next there are thousands of them crawling across dry grass, up walls, and sometimes, on people.

And these aren't the textbook spiders who merely hunt their prey from their spun webs and await some unsuspecting insect to fly into their trap. These arachnids are hunters, out for a taste of any kind of blood they can lay their fangs on. They are fast and unrelenting, vicious and brutal, and altogether extremely scary.

The story is a well-spun (pardon the pun) piece of work which presents its elements well. The beginning takes things in stride by introducing us to the characters fluidly, and then slowly builds up to a heightened amount of suspense by placing those characters into extreme situations. We can care for what happens to the characters because we know who they are: Jennings' fear of spiders is presented, which comes into play with his confrontation with the spider.

The spider makes a truly marvelous enemy, and Ross Jennings is an equally engrossing hero in the final act. Played by Jeff Daniels, his stand-off with the queen spider is just as good as any modern-day action sequence you'll see. We have a slight idea of what is going to happen, but Daniels' acting not only brings out the immense fear in his character, but keeps us at bay, wanting more until the climax reaches its peak. And to allay some of the tension comes John Goodman as an extremely hilarious exterminator who jumps in to save the day in his own little way.

"Arachnophobia" does many different things for me: it certainly makes me think twice before reaching into my popcorn bowl, putting on my shoes or a football helmet. But, it also is a great ride, with lots of thrills and even more chills to please all. Fear will never be the same again!

Arachnophobia (1990)
Director: Frank Marshall
Cast: Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Harley Jane Kozak.
Running Time: 110 minutes.
Rated PG-13 for arachnid violence and language.

In true Spielberg-formula fashion, director Frank Marshall (who produced many of Spielberg's works during the 1980's) creates a tense, atmospheric thriller that has enough scares and laughs for two movies. A deadly South American spider is accidentally braught to a small, country town--the spider proceeds to kill of many of the inhabitants and gives birth to hundreds of venomous spawn. Small-town doctor Jeff Daniels, who happens to be horrified of the eight-legged beasts, must conjure up enough strength to save his community, and more importantly his family from the threatening bugs.

John Goodman is down-right hilarious as the Rambo-esque terminator, using a splendid script to invoke many laughs throughout the picture. Daniels is equally good as the tormented M.D., running around like a petrified girl scout at the beginning of the film, but ultimately encounters the mother-spider for the showdown of all man vs. spider showdowns. A fun, exciting scare fare that is actually viewable for most of the family due to its fairly low amounts of violence and profanity.

lives up to its name
If ever a movie deserved the title arachnophobia, it is definitly this one. I saw this when I kid, and still have a huge fear of spiders, thanks to this movie. Although really fearful of spiders, I love this movie because it plays so beautifully into it. The last 15-30 minutes will make anyones skin crawl, and I definitly recommened this to anyone, even those with arachnophobia.

Terrifying movie!
I still get the heeby jeebies when watching this movie even after so many years after first seeing it and having horrific nightmares for days afterwards even though I've grown to appreciate spiders more nowadays. The reason this movie is so able to scare is because of it's suprisingly realistic nature of dangerous spiders with extremely toxic venom being able to be transported to different countries.

In this case, a species of spider from South America hitches a ride aboard a ship and ends up breeding with the domestic house spiders in the United States and the hatchling spiders start killing residents of a small California town and time is running out to stop the spiders from spreading and breeding with more domestic house spiders and enabling this dangerous species to spread all over the United States.

This is a really terrifying and very well thought-out movie of immense proportions. It truly demonstrates why it's a very bad idea to bring 'alien' species to other lands other than their own native habitats.

Go and get this movie if you want a scary but fun ride. Arachnophobes though should steer clear. For everyone else, welcome aboard! ... Read more