Production Year: 1990 - Horror - Director: Tommy Lee Wallace - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Curry, Olivia Hussey, Richard Masur, Annette O'Toole, Tim Reid, John Ritter, Richard Thomas more
A small town group of youngsters are terrorized by a malignant force that kills. Some thirty years later, they learn of another string of child murders back in their home town, and... more
Stephen King? You see where we're going.Itputs a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King's fat novel gets ...
Stephen King? You see where we're going.Itputs a malevolent clown (given demented life by a powdered, red-nosed Tim Curry) front and center, as King's fat novel gets ...
Stephen King's It
It can be anything. A fanged monster that wont stay on the movie screen. Something ominous ... more
lurking in the basement. No matter what your biggest fear is, no one knows it better than Stephen King.Based on Kings 1986 bestseller, It is a jittery, jolting excursion into personal fear starring Harry Anderson, Annette OToole, John Ritter and Richard Thomas. A malevolent force in a small New England town takes the shape of a clown (Tim Curry), but hes not clowning around. Instead, he terrifies youngsters and brings some to their untimely doom - until some wily kids fight back. The evil resurfaces 30 years later: meaner, angrier, deadlier. And friends who vividly remember youthful terrors reunite to battle It.
It - Stephen King
Stephen King's idea forItcame from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of theBugs ... more
Bunny Showcoming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye, Rodan,It Came from Outer Space.Itis about a group of adults who were once troubled children in the late '50s--"The Losers." One of them is a best selling horror writer much like Stephen King (or his friend and collaborator Peter Straub). In order to defeat the protean "It" that threatens their hometown, they have to go back- -not only to the town itself, but deep into their childhood memories, to regain the talent for magic they once had. King saysItis for "the buried child in us, but I'm writing for the grown-up, too. I want grown-ups to look atthe child long enough to be able to give him up."This huge, baggy beast of a novel is a favorite of Stephen King fans--second in popularity only toThe Stand. Perhaps longtime fans develop mental filters for King's sloppy storytelling to tune out the repetitions and silliness. King is like the pointillist painter Seurat: if you stand too close to the little dots, the picture falls apart, and it looks meaningless. That's why he makes the storyscape so big--to take you up to that macro-level where you like the book in spite of its flaws. --Fiona Webster
It - Stephen King
Stephen King's idea for It came from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of the ... more
Bugs Bunny Show coming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye, Rodan, It Came from Outer Space. It is about a group of adults who were once troubled children in the late '50s--"The Losers." One of them is a best selling horror writer much like Stephen King (or his friend and collaborator Peter Straub). In order to defeat the protean "It" that threatens their hometown, they have to go back- -not only to the town itself, but deep into their childhood memories, to regain the talent for magic they once had. King says It is for "the buried child in us, but I'm writing for the grown-up, too. I want grown-ups to look at the child long enough to be able to give him up." This huge, baggy beast of a novel is a favorite of Stephen King fans--second in popularity only to The Stand. Perhaps longtime fans develop mental filters for King's sloppy storytelling to tune out the repetitions and silliness. King is like the pointillist painter Seurat: if you stand too close to the little dots, the picture falls apart, and it looks meaningless. That's why he makes the storyscape so big--to take you up to that macro-level where you like the book in spite of its flaws. --Fiona Webster
It - Stephen King
Stephen King's idea for It came from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of the ... more
Bugs Bunny Show coming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye, Rodan, It Came from Outer Space. It is about a group of adults who were once troubled children in the late '50s--"The Losers." One of them is a best selling horror writer much like Stephen King (or his friend and collaborator Peter Straub). In order to defeat the protean "It" that threatens their hometown, they have to go back- -not only to the town itself, but deep into their childhood memories, to regain the talent for magic they once had. King says It is for "the buried child in us, but I'm writing for the grown-up, too. I want grown-ups to look at the child long enough to be able to give him up." This huge, baggy beast of a novel is a favorite of Stephen King fans--second in popularity only to The Stand. Perhaps longtime fans develop mental filters for King's sloppy storytelling to tune out the repetitions and silliness. King is like the pointillist painter Seurat: if you stand too close to the little dots, the picture falls apart, and it looks meaningless. That's why he makes the storyscape so big--to take you up to that macro-level where you like the book in spite of its flaws. --Fiona Webster
Production Year: 2005 - Horror - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Djimon Hounsou, Tilda Swinton, Rachel Weisz, Keanu Reeves, Shia LaBeouf, Peter Stormare, Tim Murdock
A review by sghawken on Stephen King's IT (DVD) June 28th, 2006
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Indifferent to it
Story
Satisfactory
Characters / Performances
Satisfactory
Special Effects
Weak
How does it compare to similar films?
Unmemorable
Advantages:
Nice performances from the child cast
Disadvantages:
Disjointed story, dire special effects and poor quality acting .
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
"I am your most terrifying nightmare… Your worst dream come true… I'm everything you ever were afraid of!"
It's the 1960's and in small town Derry a vicious child serial killer is stalking the streets, while all other children live in fear a group of seven children from different backgrounds strike up a friendship. One thing they all have in common as that they are all lacking something dignity, strength, health, self belief.
One by one they are threatened by this vicious killer who appears to them in dream like scenarios. One thing they have in common is that the killer is dressed as a clown and goes by the name Pennywise. As time goes on they realise that Pennywise is just a disguise used by "IT", and what ever it is it's something more evil than just a madman.
After a battle in the sewers the children manage to outsmart "IT" but then at the end of the 1990's "IT" returns, causing the only remaining resident of the seven children to call the others back to Derry to beat "IT" once and for all.
Cast
Harry Anderson .... Richard 'Richie/Trashmouth' Tozier Dennis Christopher .... Eddie Kaspbrak Richard Masur .... Stanley 'Stan' Uris Annette O'Toole .... Beverly 'Bev/Bevvie' Marsh Tim Reid .... Michael 'Mike/Mikey' Hanlon John Ritter .... Ben 'Haystack' Hanscom Richard Thomas .... William 'Stuttering Bill' Denbrough Tim Curry .... Robert 'Bob' Gray/Pennywise the Dancing Clown/It Jonathan Brandis .... William 'Stuttering Bill' Denbrough (age 12) Brandon Crane .... Ben 'Haystack' Hanscom (age 12) Adam Faraizl .... Eddie Kaspbrak (age 12) Seth Green .... Richard 'Richie' Tozier (age 12) Ben Heller .... Stanley 'Stan' Uris (age 12) Emily Perkins .... Beverly 'Bev/Bevvie' Marsh (age 12) Marlon Taylor .... Michael 'Mike/Mikey' Hanlon (age 12)
Growing up Stephen King was my favourite author, until IT. I have two memories of IT one was that King had written 5 pages just explaining the plants and weeds that grew outside the sewer entrance; the second was that King spent 11 pages explaining a scene involving the character of Bev with a doorknob. I had seen it coming, King's books were getting more and more descriptive and I'd find I was missing large plotlines because he had lost my interest. Sop when I heard that "IT" was being released as a 2 part mini series I was really pleased.
Warner Brothers had decided to turn King's latest novel "IT" into a mini series as they had nearly 15 years prior with Salem's Lot. Warner had got in quick with the bidding for the rights that no sooner had King actually started writing the novel than Warner had acquired the rights. King was releasing pages to a screenwriter in instalments to rework for the series. Over 18 months the series was made, and released to the public just six months after the book hit the shelves.
Back in 1990, I remember thinking that although the TV series was far better than the book, it lacked something. It was only more recently that I discovered that the story was being given to Warner in instalments, which I thought gave me the chance to show a little more forgiveness for the lacking element.
Now in 2006 I finally get to see IT again, and not only is the story far weaker than I remember it, but the whole thing seems flawed and dated, so much so that Salem's Lot seems to have dated less than IT although Salem's Lot was made nearly 30 years ago.
The performances are some of the worst I have seen, while the children's interpretation of the characters is excellent. The older actors seem to not have the grasp of the characters, and come off a little cheesy and poorly crafted. Brandon Crane who plays Haystack as a child really is the star of the first half of the story; you develop a bond with him much quicker than the other characters. But when it comes to the late John Ritter to play him as an adult it seems a ridiculous transition. I really liked John Ritter as an actor, I think he was massively underused but then if IT is anything to go by I can see why. One scene in which he defines his live as a child to a potential lover actually makes my skin crawl he says "You may not believe this but as a child I was fat, I was F A T" and something about the sentence is just offensive, it certainly lacks realism. The late Jonathon Brandis who played Bill, again excelled in his portrayal as a child with a speech impediment. Bill as a child is the next character you bond with; his brother was one if IT's victims. However when the transition from boy to adult takes place he is portrayed by Richard Thomas, best known for his role of John Boy in the Waltons; Thomas pulls off the most ludicrous stammer you have ever head. The rest of the characters don't play such crucial roles and as a result the acting seems of a better standard, as an adult Annette O'Toole stands out for me as the best of the actors. The best performance comes from Tim Curry, he plays the vicious Pennywise and has a face that is at times kind and considerate. But when Curry does evil, he does it better than anybody else and his performance is by far the saving grace of IT.
As if the acting was not poor enough the storyline seems too long and drawn out, and unrealistic to boot. The flaw I saw sixteen years ago is now made to seem far worse as with a little age behind me I can see all the other flaws too. It almost seems as if I was finding a problem with every scene. Something was missing, which again I put down to the way in which the scripts were addressed. The finale of the story which seemed pathetic before just seems worse now. I came away from this viewing of IT feeling I had just sacrificed three hours of my life for nothing.
The special effects are downright diabolical. I'm aware we are talking about television rather than movies and that as a result the special effects are likely to be a lesser standard. But somewhere along the line someone decided that in their infinite wisdom they would replace people with clay mouldings during certain scenes. So picture the scene, you have Tim Curry dressed as a clown who is very menacing then suddenly he turns into a clay mould to achieve a desired effect. Not only is the desired affect a failure but it looks positively awful to boot.
I cannot recommend IT to anyone, it just is lacking so much that it's hard to put into words where to start. If ever there were a story that needed to be remade then IT is a prime example. It's poorly crafted, poor acted, with a disjointed storyline that a child could write. Now saddle this off with the £14.99 price tag from Play.com or Amazon, or the high street price of £18.99 and there are no special features, you are bound to feel robbed. My advise is to wait and see if it turns up on the television again, because if you have not seen this you will regret such a large financial investment for something you will only watch once.
More Reviews
what is IT? Review ofStephen King's IT (DVD)by
Ghaida
Advantages: great storyline - good characters- usual stephen king greatness Disadvantages: cinematic effetcs a little outdated
...has to be one of stephen kings finest. the story is about a group of kids who after battling with some sort of imaginary force that haunts them, reunite once they're older to battle this 'IT' again. the strange thing about IT is that is claimed the life of one of the boys from the group, and now 30 years or so after IT was defeated, it comes back to take its revenge on the very same group of kid, only this time they're adults. I first saw IT when ... ...as the amazing story line- stephen king has a way of messing with your head!- then you'd love this movie. I believe that the film has had a few bad reviews, but i think people aren't entirely appreciative of the storyline or the way that (to this very day) i'm still slightly confused what IT is...
I'd only advise you to buy it, if like me, you're really into Stephen King, otherwise you're not going to enjoy the film or wont be able to understand ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
helpful
07.02.2009
IT's Great Review ofStephen King's IT (DVD)by
nufcbabe99
Advantages: Good film , I enjoyed IT Disadvantages: Book's muchhh better , quite long for fidgety people :P , doesn't follow storyline
IT's actaully quite good !
A monster has been haunting Derry since the 1700's , killing kids and taking the form of what they fear the most. Seven kids try to kill IT and think they have suceeded until twenty seven years later , when IT comes back and starts killing again. The kids (who are now adults) must come back and beat it for a second time , but this time , they need to kill IT before it kills anymore.
Don't make the mistake of watching ... ...much better than the film
The film leaves out so much important information from the book , such as characters , attacks of IT and a lot of oher important things.
The child actors I do agree are brilliant , adults weren't as convincing really !
I enjoyed the film though , it has two sides (both an hour and a half long roughly) but don't forget , this was filmed in 1990 , so some of the graphics aren't that great !
Please don't watch the film ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Very different to what you would expect, good story line. Disadvantages: too long
...could have made this fantastic Stephen King novel into a better film than this. IT represents something scary and can turn into anything including a clown, ghost, monster etc. The storyline is based on a group of children who are taunted by IT in a town called Derry and evenutally they think they have killed it. However, it comes back 30 years later and the group reunite to try to defeat IT. All but one of the members has moved away from Derry and ... ...back. He must therefore contact the others as they all made a prmise that if IT ever returned, they must come back to Derry to defeat it. Some of the gruesome happenings include blood spurting from a sink, a clown entising young children into the gutter and a childs dead dad speaking to him then trying to grab him with a rotting hand.
The most memorable scary part in the film is the clown which appears on a few occasions. His catchphrase to entise ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: It's scary at the first part Disadvantages: The ending is disappointing
I didn't read the story for IT, but I can say that the movie for me was a big disappointment. Watching it had me on the edge of my seat wondering what "It" could possibly be; and then there was what could only be described as the anticlimax as you find out what "It" really is in the last part, and you hear "what?" coming from your lips in disbelief.
THE PLOT: The plot is about seven youths who are terrorised by a demonic creature dressed in a clown ... ...Maines in the 60s.
Years pass, and the youngsters have grown in to adults; but they are forced to return when the town is once again plagued by a series of child murders; and they fear that IT might have come back. They go back to try to defeat IT.
DVD DETAILS:
Label: Warner Brothers
DVD Features: Subtitles: English, Spanish, French,
Studio: Warner Home Video ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Scary and fun! Disadvantages: If you didn't have a fear of clowns before watching this, you will after!
I first saw this move when it first came out in 1990. I was only about 5 years old and I managed to persuade my parents to let me watch it. They had rented it from our local video store and I actually remember crying during this movie because I was so afraid. Ever since that day I have had a fear of clowns. The clown IT was just so creepy and it gave me nightmares for ages. NowI'm 24 years old and I watched this movie again last week and let me tell ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Excellent speech at the end. Disadvantages: Plot seems quite empty.
...A friend recommended this film to me as we are both huge StephenKing fans. I purchased the DVD off the internet last night and watched it this morning. The plot consists of a student called Jonathan Jackson setting out on a journey to visit his dying mother in hospital.While watching the film you're never quite sure what is real and what is reality as the character keeps recreating his visions throughout the film.The plot seems fairly empty as not a lot happens but it still manages to keep you gripped throughout. By far my favorite part of the film would be the speech at the end as touches on many Philosophical points and is bound to bring a tear to your eye.
I have watched nearly all film adaptations of StephenKings books and this is by far in my top 5....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: good acting, direction Disadvantages: a bit too long, not many extras
....85:1 anamorphic widescreen and the print quality is perfect with the warm and cold colours perfectly matched. The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is quite atmospheric and makes good use of the rear speakers. It's quite suprising considering that the film is mainly dialogue based.
There isn't much in the way of extras. There are some nice simple animated menus that take you into some cast notes and there is also the theatrical trailer. The main extras is a making of documentary that only runs for 10 minutes. However it isn't the usual promotional rubbish and actually features a lot of behind the scenes footage with the cast and StephenKing.
If you like the film then the dvd is worth getting. After watching it you might like more extra material but the film speaks for itself....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Suspenseful Disadvantages: Very boring, not exactly scary either
...The Mist is a horror film based on a StephenKing novel. I had high hopes for this film, I didn't get chance to see it at the cinema so I bought it on DVD a few days ago when I was in ASDA, it cost me £12.99 which is a bit expensive.
The film stars Thomas Jane as David Drayton, a married father of one. When a freak storm hits the community a tree from next door hits his studio house & he goes next door to confront his neighbour whom he doesn't get along with at all. The man doesn't put up a fight instead asks for a ride to the supermarket to get some supplies as his car was crushed in the storm so David takes him along with him & his son. While on their way they see several military vehicles driving the other way which of course you don't see everyday.
When they arrive at the supermarket everything seems normal until a man...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
A small town group of youngsters are terrorized by a malignant force that kills. Some thirty years later, they learn of another string of child murders back in their home town, and this time team up to fight back. Based on the novel by Stephen King.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date: 07/08/2006
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: D 012198
Barcode: 7321900121989
Languages
Main Language: English
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Listed on Ciao since : 28/06/2006
Compare Stephen King's IT (DVD) to other similar Horror
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