Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers), also recruited by Stephen King to remake The Shining, knows how to capture King's horror aesthetic on film. Desperation, based on a more recent King novel, is a pastiche of earlier King novelties, such as the psycho in uniform, this time Sheriff Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), and dogs summoned by the devil, this time by TAK, an ancient Chinese demon. A town called Desperation in Nevada has a collapsed mine full of Chinese immigrant ghosts, whose spirits are trapped with TAK until they're accidentally unleashed. The TAK-possessed local sheriff is killing everyone, save a few travelers who stumble through on road trips. In the opening scene, Mary (Annabeth Gish) and her beau are pulled over by Sheriff Entragian, framed by his placing of marijuana in their trunk, then read their rights with a Satanic "I will kill you" thrown in. Later, Steve (Steven Weber), Cynthia (Kelly Overton), and Vietnam vet John Marinville (Tom Skerrit), ride into town, and they too encounter the evil policeman's wrath. They all meet a brave, imprisoned boy, David (Shane Haboucha), with whom they team up to end the mayhem. Desperation uses blue and green lighting to embrace the funhouse look, and camera shots highlighting the Sheriff's deranged face make the film occasionally spooky. But the rehashed plot detracts from the fear-factor, leaving one to pine for earlier King story adaptations, such as Misery or Cujo
Customer Reviews:
Not a great Stephen King book.......2008-02-22
Disappointing. The story line is not up to Stephen King's normal standard. I'd say only buy it if you've nothing else to hand.
Not very good at all........2008-01-31
I rented this film without having read the book. Basically, most of the acting was bad, the props (dead people etc) didn't look real, the body double was not! I was expecting the TV commercials to come on every 15 minutes. It reminded me of an episode of Tales from the Krypt. I was so bored I was nearly dropping off! I do not recommend this film.
I Just Wish Tak Had Won.......2008-01-17
Unusually with Stephen King Films, I found myself liking about the film exactly what I liked about the book. I found myself equally irritated by things that I disliked about the book - which the film really could have taken the opportunity to address.
Set in a former mining colony in the desert, the best part of the film (and book) is the first part. Here we have plenty of weirdness and tension as a sinister (and huge) cop, excellently realised by Ron Perlman, patrols the outskirts of town hauling in travellers and visitors on trumped-up charges and displaying a marvelously acted mania, jumping from easy chat to screaming insanity and back again as he grills his victims on just what exactly they are doing in town.
The second part of the film deals with what this cop actually is, and why the town's population lie butchered and strewn around (in scenes slightly reminiscent of the 1980s Stephen King film "Children Of The Corn").
But my major gripe, notwithstanding the excuse that someone was trying to keep close to the original story, is the heavily layered preaching from the smart-arse boy. It became pretty wearying pretty quickly. Despite the survivors having lost wives, husbands, baby daughters within the last 12 hours, the boy's frequent reminders about why it's ok for a loving wonderful God to be so cruel (Conclusion: it's because he's God - well, that's alright, then) someone should have kicked him up the arse and straight down the mine shaft.
WHERE IS THE REST.......2007-12-23
Common problem with adapting Kings work is most of the good stuff is left out, the book is a wee bit smaller than The Stand and that book was huge as was the Mick Garris directed series. King explains himself that he wrote the screenplay for this condensing his original story into two hours rather than making the mini series which fans of King would have prefered. This is still a good effort but I agree with the person below that this is lacking, they should go back and fill in the holes with the text in the book, no Stephen King dude we love you at your drawn out as long as your stories could get best now please deliver the mini series.
P.S. ROn Pearlman is at his sinister funny best here, he truly brings the character to life..Tak!!!!
started very well, finished a little lame.......2007-11-18
Without giving anything away, this is pretty much the norm for transfering book to screen regarding stephen king. The movie started off very well, but it is a film of two halves. All to often with kings writing to screen, we get something along the lines of; the wise old man, the dolly bird, the sceptic, the handsome hero, a female hitch hiker, the young child (with hysterical parents) all thrown into a situation they have to find a way out of.
Ron pearlman steals the show as Tak. The solution to good winning over evil at the end was all too easy to accomplish, however it's worth a view.
Product Description
Studio(s): KULTUR
DVD Region: ALL
Theatrical release: 1997
Play time: 100 min.
Sound format(s): LPCM Stereo
Language(s): Russian, English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Format: Color, Letterbox
Genre(s): Ballet
D4196
Thirty years ago the Bolshoi Ballet's first trip to America was a political and artistic triumph and audiences queued for days to see these legends of ballet. Bolshoi in Vegas, a richly entertaining documentary, follows their disastrous 1996 tour in which they hoped to capitalize on this earlier success. Kirov in Petersburg traces the development of an institution, which is both irremediably altered and condemned to trade on its past glories. As Communism gives way to Capitalism, the Kirov Ballet's chief choreographer Oleg Vinogradov's final year in office is set against allegations of bribery and corruption
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UK DVD List
UK DVD
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