"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.
Pictures of Stephen King's IT (DVD)
Pennywise
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I really liked the book, then again I was around 12 when I read it. Couldn't agree more about this t.v. film version, was truly dreadful. Horror films chock full of familiar faces from television just don't work, as you aptly described.
Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than ... 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 ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Is there anything scarier than clowns? Of course not. And who knows scary better than ... 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 ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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 e...
![Stephen King's It [DVD] [1990]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78477181.jpg "Stephen King's It [DVD] [1990]")
Jun 28th, 2006
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