Rating: 
Summary: La Rivière du hibou
Review: "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" (the original English name for this French film which was presented as Episode 142 of the "Twilight Zone" on 2/28/64) is this DVD's ONLY raison d'être. The other two TZ episodes ("Where Is Everybody?" and "The Encounter") appear on DVD volumes 43 and 33, respectively, and the fillers (The '59 Serling/Wallace interview and "Inside the Twilight Zone") are shamelessly (or perhaps shamefully) duplicated on "More Treasures From the Twilight Zone." So, is this DVD worth its price just for this one feature? Probably. In the first place, it is based on an Ambrose Bierce short story. Bierce is best known for his acidly satiric aphorisms in _The Devil's Dictionary_, but, more to the point here, he was also a consummate (arguably America's best) short story writer, and this story in particular has achieved near legendary status in literary circles. In its French video version, it won best short subject in the '62 Cannes and '63 BAFTA (British Academy Awards) competitions. Somewhere along the line, Rod Serling saw it, and when William Froung (the series' producer for its final episodes) told him that the 36-episode budget had been exceeded after only 35 episodes, Serling suggested acquiring US TV rights to the French film. For a paltry $10,000, which saved the 5th season's budget, but not the series, the deal was done. Later that year, probably as a result of the exposure it received on TZ, the film completed its hat trick by winning the '64 Academy Award for best short subject. Although I'm not positive on this point, I believe it to be the least expensive and most highly honored half-hour-long film in the history of US television. The original film (with a few minutes of footage that was cut for the TZ version and sans the Serling narration) is available as a VHS cassette, but, for the few dollars extra, I recommend that you go ahead and buy this DVD -- especially if you don't already have one or more of its other features.
Rating:
Summary: La Rivière du hibou
Review: "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" (the original English name for this French film which was presented as Episode 142 of the "Twilight Zone" on 2/28/64) is this DVD's ONLY raison d'être. The other two TZ episodes ("Where Is Everybody?" and "The Encounter") appear on DVD volumes 43 and 33, respectively, and the fillers (The '59 Serling/Wallace interview and "Inside the Twilight Zone") are shamelessly (or perhaps shamefully) duplicated on "More Treasures From the Twilight Zone." So, is this DVD worth its price just for this one feature? Probably.In the first place, it is based on an Ambrose Bierce short story. Bierce is best known for his acidly satiric aphorisms in _The Devil's Dictionary_," but, more to the point here, he was also a consummate (arguably America's best) short story writer, and this story in particular has achieved near legendary status in literary circles. In its French video version, it won best short subject in the '62 Cannes and '63 BAFTA (British Academy Awards) competitions. Somewhere along the line, Rod Serling saw it, and when William Froung (the series' producer for its final episodes) told him that the 36-episode budget had been exceeded after only 35 episodes, Serling suggested acquiring US TV rights to the French film. For a paltry $10,000, which saved the 5th season's budget, but not the series, the deal was done. Later that year, probably as a result of the exposure it received on TZ, the film completed its hat trick by winning the '64 Academy Award for best short subject. Although I'm not positive on this point, I believe it to be the least expensive and most highly honored hour-long film in the history of US television. The original film (with a few minutes of footage that was cut for the TZ version and sans the Serling narration) is available as a VHS cassette, but, for the few dollars extra, I recommend that you go ahead and buy this DVD -- especially if you don't have one or more of its other features.
Rating: 
Summary: So-so overall
Review: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is really good - but it wasn't even a TZ derived show. It won an Oscar and other awards as a French short film, however. During the Civil War, a man is sentenced to death by hanging and has a nice fantasy on the way down. "The Encounter" between hate-filled Marine versus repressed Japanese-American apparently was never in the re-run loop. Rather bad acting and somewhat silly premise. Only interesting for George Takei ("Sulu" from Star Trek). "Where Is Everybody?" asks Earl Holliman. Possibly interesting premise but his continuous talking out loud gets tedious. Kinda lame ending. DVD includes a short "pitch" film to be shown to adverstisers, and a nice 1959 interview with Mike Wallace which might be the actual treasure.
Rating:
Summary: La Rivière du hibou
Review: "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" (the original English name for this French film which was presented as Episode 142 of the "Twilight Zone" on 2/28/64) is this DVD's ONLY raison d'être. The other two TZ episodes ("Where Is Everybody?" and "The Encounter") appear on DVD volumes 43 and 33, respectively, and the fillers (The '59 Serling/Wallace interview and "Inside the Twilight Zone") are shamelessly (or perhaps shamefully) duplicated on "More Treasures From the Twilight Zone." So, is this DVD worth its price just for this one feature? Probably. In the first place, it is based on an Ambrose Bierce short story. Bierce is best known for his acidly satiric aphorisms in _The Devil's Dictionary_, but, more to the point here, he was also a consummate (arguably America's best) short story writer, and this story in particular has achieved near legendary status in literary circles. In its French video version, it won best short subject in the '62 Cannes and '63 BAFTA (British Academy Awards) competitions. Somewhere along the line, Rod Serling saw it, and when William Froung (the series' producer for its final episodes) told him that the 36-episode budget had been exceeded after only 35 episodes, Serling suggested acquiring US TV rights to the French film. For a paltry $10,000, which saved the 5th season's budget, but not the series, the deal was done. Later that year, probably as a result of the exposure it received on TZ, the film completed its hat trick by winning the '64 Academy Award for best short subject. Although I'm not positive on this point, I believe it to be the least expensive and most highly honored half-hour-long film in the history of US television. The original film (with a few minutes of footage that was cut for the TZ version and sans the Serling narration) is available as a VHS cassette, but, for the few dollars extra, I recommend that you go ahead and buy this DVD -- especially if you don't already have one or more of its other features.
Rating:
Summary: So-so overall
Review: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is really good - but it wasn't even a TZ derived show. It won an Oscar and other awards as a French short film, however. During the Civil War, a man is sentenced to death by hanging and has a nice fantasy on the way down. "The Encounter" between hate-filled Marine versus repressed Japanese-American apparently was never in the re-run loop. Rather bad acting and somewhat silly premise. Only interesting for George Takei ("Sulu" from Star Trek). "Where Is Everybody?" asks Earl Holliman. Possibly interesting premise but his continuous talking out loud gets tedious. Kinda lame ending. DVD includes a short "pitch" film to be shown to adverstisers, and a nice 1959 interview with Mike Wallace which might be the actual treasure.
Rating:
Summary: What was lost has now been found in "The Twilight Zone"
Review: "Treasures of The Twilight Zone" offers three episodes that are not seen in syndication for various reasons. "Where is Everybody?" was the pilot episode for "The Twilight Zone." Written by Rod Serling, it stars Earl Holliman as Mike Ferris, apparently a member of the U.S. Air Force since he is wearing a jumpsuit, but who is suffering from amnesia. Finding himself in a town where all the people have disappeared, Ferris still has the feeling he is being watched. An average episode, it does set the tone for future Twilight Zone twists. "The Encounter," written by Martin Goldsmith, pits a bigoted World War II veteran named Fenton (Neville Brand) against a young Japanese-American gardener named Taro (George Takei). Things come to a head when the samurai sword Fenton claims to have taken off a Japanese solider apparently inspires the two men to confess their worst sins when trapped in an attic. Ironically, Brand was the fourth-most decorated U.S. Army soldier from World War II. "The Encounter" is another episode that is not shown in syndication, presumably because of its fairly overt racism (for the time) and its somewhat offensive suggestion there was a Japanese-American traitor who was directing enemy plans at Pearl Harbor. Finally, we have "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was a French film that had won first prize for short subjects at Cannes in 1962. Written and Directed by Robert Enrico, it is based on the short story by Ambrose Bierce. Since the film only had a half-dozen lines in it, dubbing an "English version" was relatively easy. A few minutes were cut and Serling's opening and closing narration (which made it clear this was a French film) were added. Robert Jacquet stars as a Confederate about to be hung for being a spy with Anne Cornaly as the wife he desperately wants to return home to see. This short film went on to win an Oscar in 1964 for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects. This collection of episodes is actually better than I remember from way back when, although none of them qualify as classics from the celebrated television series.
Rating:
Summary: What was lost has now been found in "The Twilight Zone"
Review: "Treasures of The Twilight Zone" offers three episodes that are not seen in syndication for various reasons. "Where is Everybody?" was the pilot episode for "The Twilight Zone." Written by Rod Serling, it stars Earl Holliman as Mike Ferris, apparently a member of the U.S. Air Force since he is wearing a jumpsuit, but who is suffering from amnesia. Finding himself in a town where all the people have disappeared, Ferris still has the feeling he is being watched. An average episode, it does set the tone for future Twilight Zone twists. "The Encounter," written by Martin Goldsmith, pits a bigoted World War II veteran named Fenton (Neville Brand) against a young Japanese-American gardener named Taro (George Takei). Things come to a head when the samurai sword Fenton claims to have taken off a Japanese solider apparently inspires the two men to confess their worst sins when trapped in an attic. Ironically, Brand was the fourth-most decorated U.S. Army soldier from World War II. "The Encounter" is another episode that is not shown in syndication, presumably because of its fairly overt racism (for the time) and its somewhat offensive suggestion there was a Japanese-American traitor who was directing enemy plans at Pearl Harbor. Finally, we have "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was a French film that had won first prize for short subjects at Cannes in 1962. Written and Directed by Robert Enrico, it is based on the short story by Ambrose Bierce. Since the film only had a half-dozen lines in it, dubbing an "English version" was relatively easy. A few minutes were cut and Serling's opening and closing narration (which made it clear this was a French film) were added. Robert Jacquet stars as a Confederate about to be hung for being a spy with Anne Cornaly as the wife he desperately wants to return home to see. This short film went on to win an Oscar in 1964 for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects. This collection of episodes is actually better than I remember from way back when, although none of them qualify as classics from the celebrated television series.
Rating: 
Summary: The Encounter is a Disaster!
Review: First off, I've been a die-hard fan of the Twilight Zone -- that is -- until NOW. "Owl Creek Bridge" and "Where is Everybody" are rightly-deserved classics, but "The Encounter" episode is not only slanderous, but OUTRAGEOUS as well. Credibility and logic are thrust aside to showcase the "cunning and devious" nature of the "Oriental." Nevermind the fact that no Japanese American has ever been found guilty of treason (let alone contributing to the Pearl Harbor attack!) or that they served in the MOST DECORATED US military unit of WWII (it's true; look up the book "Go For Broke!") -- but just nevermind all that and let's plunge ahead, as the episode's writer did, into a story with a ridiculous premise that pits a grumpy, bumptious ex-Marine against a foolhardy, possibly insane Japanese American with the resulting "moral" being that "A Jap's a Jap." And they always yell, BANZAI before leaping out a window. There's no stripping away of stereotypes here -- only a compounding of them as it pushes the idea that an accurate measure of a person derives from the color of his skin. This episode is not a study IN racism, it IS racism -- a very sad fate for a twilight zone episode and what it's doing here on a so-called "Treasures" DVD beats the heck out of me. I'm just surprised the JACL isn't up in arms about this -- it is THAT distrubing. George Takei ought to be thoroughly ashamed of himself. What were you thinking, George? I doubt Amazon.com will publish this review as they are adamantly against reviews that are not of a "glowing" and "wonderful" nature. Woe to them. I just hope somebody out there still has ears for the truth.
Rating:
Summary: Incomplete :-(
Review: I have not bought this DVD even though I have all of The Twilight Zone on VHS and should replace them. This disc and it's sequel "More Treasures of The Twilight Zone" contain the entire contents that were originally released as a 2 VHS tape set. For the first time a transition from tape to disc was made incomplete. This to me insults my intelligence, even though the only 2 episodes not currently available in syndication are on this first disc. If someone re-releases this disc and it's sequel together for equal to or less than you can buy the taped copy. I will consider making the purchase. Until then for the first time, the DVD has hurt me. :-(
Rating:
Summary: Incomplete :-(
Review: I have not bought this DVD even though I have all of The Twilight Zone on VHS and should replace them. This disc and it's sequel "More Treasures of The Twilight Zone" contain the entire contents that were originally released as a 2 VHS tape set. For the first time a transition from tape to disc was made incomplete. This to me insults my intelligence, even though the only 2 episodes not currently available in syndication are on this first disc. If someone re-releases this disc and it's sequel together for equal to or less than you can buy the taped copy. I will consider making the purchase. Until then for the first time, the DVD has hurt me. :-(
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