Rating: 
Summary: The Mother of all Psychotic Christmas Tree Ornaments
Review: This is a really interesting film. I am not surprised that it has maitained cult classic status... For the record, I have heard that the director Don Coscarelli's mother was a thriller writer back in the 70s, who was pretty successful. I can only imagine the dark, twisted dinner table conversations about plotlines, and about fantasy vs. reality, which ultimately gave rise to this movie. One of the things you must bear in mind about this movie is that you are always supposed to be a little uncertain about whether it is a dream or not. For that reason, it rarely really makes much sense -- its logic is the logic of dreams, or of nightmares, which is one of the main reasons it works... Also, I just wanted to say one thing -- in the original version, having the character Reggie be an ice cream vendor was an absolutely central plot point, having to do with the way they actually kill the Tall Man, Angus Scrimm. The scene that made sense of that occupation, however, ended up on the cutting room floor, and they elected to take the whole movie in a more dreamlike, less science-fictiony direction. Whether it works well or not, I guess, is up to you and me to decide. Anyway, that kid, Michael Baldwin, was an absolute hero to me and a lot of my friends when this flick came out... I was probably in about 5th grade. He's mind-bogglingly resourceful, and a mechanical wizard, yet a believable little kid at the same time. This is basically a guy flick in a lot of ways, the girls don't get much in the way of lines. Mostly, they just scream when the evil Jawa things come after them. This lack of depth for female characters is made up for somewhat in the later films, by the way. Not too, TOO much, this is just a horror movie, not Jane Austen, but still. Somehow, this movie has a real place in my heart. It was one of the first films I bought on VHS. "Rudy" was the first, for (obviously) different reasons. Anyway, it walks the ever-present line between horror and science-fiction very successfully. It has always seemed funny to me that these two genres should overlap -- aren't they basically opposite types of story? Science fiction glories in science, technology, gadgets, etc., while horror goes exactly the opposite way, getting its punch from the world of the supernatural. This movie somehow mixes the two -- it uses scientific rationales for supernatural occurences, yet gives a supernatural twist to inherently scientific elements of the movie, e.g., that flying silver device, and the dorrway between two worlds. I suppose those are two very basic, human ways of dealing with the unknown -- scientific, or supernatural explanations. A lot of the time, however, if we are really honest with ourselves, what we call science is not really all that rational, and what we call supernatural can often be reduced to simple, scientific, cause-and-effect laws, like "IF you expose a vampire to sunlight, THEN it will die", or "IF and ONLY IF you put a silver bullet in a werewolf's heart, THEN it will die"... Somehow this movie walks a fine line between these world-views, and, I think, does it very well.
Rating: 
Summary: ODDLY ENTERTAINING
Review: I don't quite understand this film. It's odd but certainly original. It is just so weird I don't know how to describe it. The whole film is like this bizarre dream. It's great to see it get such fab treatment on DVD though with tonnes of extras. Although the commentary is recycled as the cast and crew constantly refer to it as as "Laserdisc". This is probably why it is non-anamorphic too. None of the cast seemed to amount to much except the sequels (none of which I have seen). This film pre-dates the stalk 'n' slash genre of the '80's incase you didn't know. The sequels must be released on DVD soon.
Rating:
Summary: Phantastic!
Review: Phantasm on Dvd is awesome!It contains a enormous amount of interesting extras on the dvd version.Including feature-length commentary by Don Coscarelli,a old interview with Don ans Angus Scrimm.A home-movie outtakes with Reggie Bannister and Don Coscarelli commenting.A great transfer also,the colors are much brighter too.All in all great fun.Booyyyyyyy!
Rating:
Summary: What the hell does Leonard Maltin know
Review: A cult classic! You definately have to be a Phan-fan, because I don't believe that many people that are just seeing it for the first time are going to see the true lure of Phantasm films. A slice of personal philosophy...do not take the word of a film critic who is paid to be one. I realized this when I saw Siskel and Ebert give Yentel two thumbs up, and Hellraiser 2 two thumbs down. Anyway, you know the old saying about opinions...
Rating:
Summary: Scared the Hell out of me as a kid and as a 33 year old man
Review: I think this movie was originally rated X until some scenes were cut from it back in 1979. I remember seeing this movie for the first time in a theatre. Back in 1979 this was something different and original--and it still is 21 years later! Phantasm is classic horror with a bit of sci-fi mixed in. A very clever plot and convincing enough acting. This movie is a must for all horror fans. Watch it at home alone at night with all the lights turned off. If it doesn't scare you-you're dead--like it says in the original movie trailer.
Rating:
Summary: PHANTASTIC!
Review: One brilliant, sci-fi, fantasy horror film. The Tall Man is a brilliant character, he's so cold and empty, Angus Scrimm plays the role brilliantly. This is the first of what has now become a cult series. The 3 sequels are also brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Phantasm
Review: This is a great transfer. The sound track was greatly improved. The only thing that bothered me was that the music and special effects were so dynamic and the dialogue was compressed sounding. It sounded a little funny to me. Other than that, it was done very well.
Rating:
Summary: Phantasm The Best Special Edition in my collection.
Review: This DVD is the ultimate!!this is one of many of my collection and is the best of it.Got more than my money's worth.A must have for everyone who love's this movie.Hope the others parts 2,3,4. come out on DVD like this one did,also would love to see Phantasm 2002 at theatre!!
Rating:
Summary: From one Phan to another, you've got to get this DVD!!!!
Review: While most "special edition" dvd's are usually less than special, Phantasm rises way above the rest. If you love the Phantasm series and you haven't got this dvd yet-GO GET IT!!!. The picture is superb, though it has a few (very few) glitches such as surface scracthes but all in all the picture quality is great. And the sound, my god it is perfect, Phantasm has never sounded so great. The real kicker is the extras. Included on this package are behind the scenes footage with commentary by Don Coscarelli and Reggie Bannister, a hilarious Fango Convention appearance by Angus Scrimm, a bizarre interview with Scrimm from Australia, a must hear disco version of the Phantasm theme, a full version of Bill Thornberry's "Sittin' Here at Midnight" (man, that guy can sing) and a whole lot more. Please I'm telling you for your own good, you must get this dvd now - today!!! You'll be glad you did, BOOOOYYY!
Rating:
Summary: unexpectively effective
Review: This movie has probably one of the most stupid plots ever.The acting is okay. But somehow it gets under your skin. Partly due to the excellent sound track which doubles the creepyness of the movie. Who would of thought a movie about grave robbing migets would be so damn scary. Just try not to think how dumb it is when you watch it.
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