Needful Things

Rating:
Summary: Needing 2.5 stars
Review: Stephen King adaptations are strictly hit-or-miss propositions, and this supernatural thriller from 1993 is definitely a "miss," based on one of King's lesser novels and starring Max von Sydow as the evil proprietor of a small-town antique shop named "Needful Things." That's the place where anyone can go to find the one thing they cherish the most, but of course there's a price for such priceless keepsakes. Yep, that's right ... von Sydow is Satan, and his customers pay for "needful things" with their souls. The sheriff catches onto this hellish predicament, and, well ... let's just say things go downhill from there, with von Sydow delivering sardonic wisecracks as he wreaks devilish havoc on the town. Lots of stuff gets blown to bits, by which time this movie has long since worn out its welcome. Harris and von Sydow do their best to liven up the dreary scenario, but this is strictly for die-hard King fans, and even then the recommendation is marginal. Not one I'd recommend. It's bad, real bad, but funny. A good laugh is all that this provides, but then again most King adaptations usually end up bad. For good King movies check out The Shining, Carrie, Salem's Lot, and Pet Sematary.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book, skip the movie.
Review: The movie was quit different from the book, but with that aside the movie still wasn't that good. The movie had a certain childish quality towards it. I also found it a bit slow especially the first half. The way people acted and thought were sometime unrealistic. Although this movie was made in 1990 or so, maybe it might have been more popular back then. I was dissapointed in it. Unfotuantely a lot of King's movies are far different from the book and a lot of the good stuff is missed. The only one that goes against this that I know of so far is the Green Mile. But if you're bored one day you might as well rent it if you can't find anything else, it is entertaining to an extent.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book, skip the movie.
Review: The movie was quit different from the book, but with that aside the movie still wasn't that good. The movie had a certain childish quality towards it. I also found it a bit slow especially the first half. The way people acted and thought were sometime unrealistic. Although this movie was made in 1990 or so, maybe it might have been more popular back then. I was dissapointed in it. Unfotuantely a lot of King's movies are far different from the book and a lot of the good stuff is missed. The only one that goes against this that I know of so far is the Green Mile. But if you're bored one day you might as well rent it if you can't find anything else, it is entertaining to an extent.

Rating:
Summary: Just like the other reviews
Review: The movie wasn't bad, the acting was actually very good. Sydow does a pretty good emulation of Gaunt; you really like him at the beginning as in the book. It would have been impossible to recreate the book, there are WAY too many characters. In the movie, they don't include any of the school staff, some of the purchasers, or the con man from the past. If I had a complaint about the movie, it was ignoring the past lives of the Sheriff and Polly Chalmers. IMHO, those were two very crucial subplots to the story. Faithful to the book? Impossible without becoming a miniseries (The Shining testified to that). Acting and setting were well executed, however.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Movie
Review: The movie's humor made up for its lack of suspense. The plot was predictable, almost soap opera-ish. Definitely not a horror movie. If you're looking for the suspense in this story, read the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Film wasted
Review: The original Needful Things was an hour longer than it appears on this DVD. Also, there is no widescreen version that is produced. This is probably the best adaptation of a Stephen King book ever brought to film, but it has not yet been deemed profitable enough to put any effort into the produciton of the DVD. The movie itself is superb (for its genre), 3 and 1/2 stars easy. However, this is one of the most shoddily made DVDs that I have ever seen. It is simply not worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, the movie is a let down
Review: The screenplay is a far cry from the original novel. First of all, many of the book's main characters are completely missing. Where's Ace Merrill? Replaced by a one minute extra character (the Treasure Island book guy.) The book is also much more suspensful and has a lot more dark humor buried in it. I didn't expect the film to be as elaborate as the book but this film just simply is a poor cinematic work all around in addition. Cheap. Incomplete. Bad effort. Read the book and watch something more worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: YANKEE GALS BUST UP THE PLACE: A 5 STAR CAT FIGHT
Review: There are already plenty of reviews, so rather than bore the reader with my interpretation of the entire film, I wanted to focus on a portion. Stephen King is Stephen King and he has kept me up many a long night for my entire adult life. The formula of these stories works well (although I much prefer the Dolores Claiborne stuff as I age along with King), but the fight scene between Nettie and Wilma in "Needful Things" reigns supreme in the annals of cinematic cat fights. This is no grappling match between two well endowed bathing beauties wrasslin' around in the mud. Two middle aged Yankee broads, each holding a misplaced grudge due to a shopping spree at the local antique and "thrift" shop, engage in a second story battle royale using every household weapon they can grab and culminating with a spectacular airborne climax. I never miss this film when it's on, due to the wry and sadistically bawdy screenplay and this particular stunt sequence. The flick gets a four, the fight goes the distance.

Rating:
Summary: Great novel, fair film
Review: This film confirms one glaring fact about King's novels: they just don't translate to film very well. The screenplay for "Needful Things" attempts to compress a long novel, resulting in a mostly unsatisfactory film for those viewers who have read the novel. The cast is rather good, and the actors do their best within the constraints of the script. OK for those who have never read the novel, but a confusing bore for those who have. Don't blame Mr. Gaunt - the real villains are the scriptwriters. Caveat emptor!

Rating:
Summary: Needful Things good movie but a very bad DVD
Review: This is a bad version if this good movie and no I will buy this DVD its not even in widescreen for god sack and no long version eather are you crazy now I love NEEDFUL THING I have the VHS movie and I seen it on TNT the long version is very good