Rating: 
Summary: Ultimate in horror as well as good ol' fashion story telling
Review: OK, first off...there are several facets that are left out of the movie that the book tells about, or at least in a bit more detail. But then again, that's the case with every book-to-movie formula so I won't say too much about that. I did see the movie before reading the book and I must say that like so many other reviews that have been put out, I didn't feel that it took away from the book whatsoever. Tim Curry scared the living hell out me, simply put. Of course I was about 10 or 11 at the time but even as a adult now IT is disturbing in both the movie format as well as the lenghty novel. Aside from the horror aspect of the movie there also is a very detailed character analysis of the "Lucky Seven" crew that is very enriching and warm hearted. It really takes you back to being a child in so many ways. But this is a great movie. Do not watch this movie by yourself at night...that's all I'll say.
Rating: 
Summary: It Has Become $@It
Review: To start things off honestly: "It" is probably one of the poorest book adaptions I've seen in quite some time. After reading the book and finding an extraordinary piece of writing, an amazing work of art, I was thrilled to see the movie. I knew it couldn't be all that the book was, but I hope for some semblance...And some semblance is what I got... and that's all. The deep, thoughtful construction that helped build the novel, where both the stories, the side of 1958 and the side of 1985 (the years are changed in the movie, but there's nothing wrong with that) are shown alternatingly, starting with 1958, moving ahead to 1985, and back again, creating a heartfelt atmosphere. The movie instead plays the older part in the first segment, as one full flashback that tries to cram way too many events into one bit, whereas they should have simply tried to organize their own way of telling, and the more recent events in the second half. It seems like every event in the children's section is segmented into 15 minute episodes, just trying to pile notable events in from the book, and it doesn't work. It might have worked better if they kept the construction that King originally established, but even then it would have hardly stood, as they took the events for no reason. And even with this chronological sorting, they seemed to actually forget scenes and had to tack them on later as additional flashbacks that had little to do with the scene, but desperately needed introduction earlier. Gone is the unifying theme of the group: They each escaped It. That's there, in a way, but it's moreover just tossed in for scares, and horribly stupid ones at that. Gone is the leper with the three-foot tongue that chased Eddie down the traintracks. Gone is any fear or tension when Bill rides off on his bike with Stan (it was Richie in the book, but that's not important...It's supposed to be a moment of escape, but they just simply ride away, ruining all reason for Silver to matter until the end, when the makers suddenly remembered that they needed it. And then, the worst two bastardizations. It's ok if Richie encountered a werewolf instead of a giant statue. It's ok if the scene with Georgie at the start was during the day, stealing what could have been a truly horrific scene (maybe cause it was made for TV, that lightened it.) It's ok if the whole point of Henry's return is gone (maybe not... but I'd have let it slide.) And it's ok that they cut out the kids being lost after first believing they killed It (definitely because of the made for TV movie... hell, even a theatrical movie... I don't see that scene, even in suggestion, ever reaching film if this movie were to be remade and I'm not going to reveal it, you'll just have to read the book.) And gone is the origin of It. No, those things are forgivable... let's get to what isn't. Personal Bastardization: I felt jipped when they finally confronted It and the whole deadlights business was dumbed down. It wasn't supposed to be hypnotic, it was a staring contest, that would eventually lead into the Ritual of Chud. This point is missed. And then the Turtle (don't ask, read) is also gone, losing the relation to the universe that Stephen King set up in the novel. It's no wonder that the scene of Patrick Hockstetter and his demented fridge (aside from it being made for TV and that scene would never be allowed), as the dealings of the Other weren't explored or even mentioned. I wanted to see how they portrayed the whole scene and they didn't even have it, which ruined the entire final confrontation at the end. Universal Bastardization: The vow to return. In this, they easily walk out of the sewer and look outward, where Bill has them promise to return. In the novel, they crawl from there, exhausted and bewildered. Instead, there is no forced promise; they do it themselves, cutting their palms with a glass Coke bottle and making a blood pact that they would return if It was still alive. And the meaning disappeared as well, but I won't get into why, for fear of telling too much of the book, which I truly hope the readers of this review will read. Ok, I suppose I should get onto why I let this have two stars instead of one if I hated what it had done to the book, right? There are some beautifully horrifying scenes, such as when Beverly exits her childhood home and sees a balloon bouncing down the road, laughing. The sharkteeth in Pennywise's mouth aren't used well, but they look scary. And there was the great scene when they were children, where they hold hands in a circle and Stan suddenly finds himself holding hands with the clown. The acting is decent for a TV Movie and there are a few notable celebrities. These few things aren't enough to make the movie good, and it really would only be scary for young children, who probably shouldn't be watching it anyway. With the same budget and time space, a decent movie of "It" could have been made. Instead, there's this trash. I can only hope that someday, there will be another version of this created, one that captures the emotion, atmosphere, and incredible imagination that formed Stephen King's masterpiece of a novel, "It." -Escushion
Rating: 
Summary: That Must Be It...!!!
Review: "It" tells about a group of seven person who are childhood friends. They all have experinces about the clown who tries to kill people. The first part of the film shows them memorizing the old experiences they have. The clown has come back and tries to kill people. He has supernatural powers. They have to fight against him and they have a secret weapon... This isn't just a horror film, there's also romantic scenes. This film is maybe an hour too long and if you watch this one, there's no need for another film for that night. There's good actors, they all are different kinds of. The end is so confusing that I can't understand it. They should have tried more while making the end of this film.
Rating:
Summary: Story's Here, Heart is Missing
Review: The makers of this televised version of Stephen King's bestseller did a remarkable job editing the 1000+ page book down to a "trim" 4 hours. They managed to keep a good number of scenes intact, and it seems clear that what changes they did make were done with the best intentions in order to simplify the story. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the heart of King's story was lost. In book form, "It" is a story about the wonders of childhood: the pure love of childhood friends, the fears of an unknown world (and the unknowns in the known world), and the simple belief that good will conquer evil-- all things that are lost as we cross the threshold into adulthood (except, perhaps, the fear of the unknown). "It" is also a story about adults rediscovering the magic of being a child, and coming to understand what true friendship really is. Sadly, these themes are missing from the movie version. In an effort to get the story right, the moviemakers left little time for the type of character development and elaboration on those themes that make King's novel a hallmark of horror writing. And the story falls flat without those two things. Tim Curry is indeed frightening as Pennywise, but not nearly as frightening as the It that grows in the reader's imagination while the book is read. Watching the movie, the viewer is given too many glimpses of the clown and his mouthful of fangs, and quickly becomes desensetized to Curry's portrayal of evil incarnate. Worse, no explanation is given for many of the things Pennywise does to scare the protagonists. True, these episodes are somewhat frightening in and of themselves, but not nearly as scary as similar episodes in the book that are explained in full. Likewise the climax (which comes, and ends, all too quickly and seemingly easily). It's true nature is visualized but not explained, leaving the viewer puzzled and unfulfilled.
On the positive side, the actors portraying the protagonists at age 11 are a wonder to behold. For the most part, they each manage to capture the essence of King's young characters. The scenes with these kids show depth and charisma that elevate the movie, for those brief moments, above the poor direction and low budget. The adult actors, however, can't seem to rise above either of those two things and at times seem to overact as if that might compensate for poor dialogue and uneven directing.
All in all, "It" does have a few moments of slight terror, but in the end, the weaknesses outweigh the strengths. Without heart, and with little horror, "It" fails to please. True King fanatics will want to watch the movie, but will also be the most disappointed. I suggest they rent the video and spend their money on "Stand By Me" or "The Shawshank Redemption" or, if they must have a King horror movie, "Carrie." For those who may just be interested in getting to know this Stephen King classic, READ THE BOOK! The 1100 pages fly by almost of their own accord, and the end result is much more satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: A Must See!
Review: I first saw this movie when I was about 5. I've never been more terrified in my life. I've never liked clowns since...ever. I'm 18 and STILL hate them. This movie is amazing, used to give me night-mares in fact. It's a pretty long movie ( 2 tapes ) but if you watch it from beginning to end, you won't be dissapointed. You'll have your share of jumps and shreaks right up 'till the end. Yes, I agree with others, the ending is a "twist" and dissapointing, but other than that, I highly recomend you see "IT".
Rating: 
Summary: "Down here, they all float!"
Review: I was anticipating a pretty good flick, as it is probably the most famous of the Stephen King book-into-movie productions, next to "The Shining", but I was disapointed with it. (FYI: I'm not some moron who's going to say the special effects were bad, I don't judge based on stuff that wasn't invented yet.) The acting itself was pretty good, and Tim Curry plays a good It, but some of scenes seemed cheezy after reading the book. As with most King movies, the better scenes from the book aren't included, which is a shame because these are what King is most famous for. I think I would recommend this if you are a die-hard Stephen King fan, or if you have never read a one, and you appreciate a nice ol' horror flick.
Rating:
Summary: Good until the end
Review: This was a great movie. I want to read the book to find out what was left out from the book. The only thing bad though was the end, which I will not give away. Other than that, a must see.
Rating:
Summary: good enough for me
Review: I first saw it when i was about 7 years old, and i loved it. Although i missed about the first 15 minuets of it. I ended up seeing the whole thing after borrowing it from a friend. The second half may not have been so good, but the first half made up for it big time! I mean whats scarier than a killer clown that can turn into your worst nightmare. It's also great because the movie is half about kids, and half about them being adults. Now whats better in a scary movie than kids being the victoms. The movie is nearly perfect, except for a few flaws like the ending was [bad], because of the giant spider! The second half could have had some more work, but it was ok, and the movie didn't explain that much, which is fine except for one thing... they don't tell how or why or when Pennywise the clown came. Even though It has its flaws (like every movie does) I think It deserves an easy 5 stars, because even though the second half wasn't all that great, it still got me to watch that movie many of times. The plot of this movie is great! The acting was good too. the plot is that the town of derry (which is a fake town that stephen king made up himself) is being terrorized by IT, a clown, whose name is Pennywise(which is a spider underneath) is feeding on the childeren of Derry. But the adults don't know about this because they don't beleive in stough like that so they can't see Pennywise. Pennywise only exsists to the children, therefore that's who he feeds on. Pennywise comes back every 30 years, and each time he comes there is a big disaster. When seven kids finally think they have defeated it, they make a promise that if it was ever to return that they would all come back. It is now 30 years later and every one but one of the kids moved away from Derry and became rich. Everyone but Mike. All of the other kids had forgotten about it because they grew up and moved away and it seemed that their imagination went with them. Well Mike finds a picture of Georgie, who is Billy's younger brother, and knows IT is back. So now all the kids are going to have to face the fear they had all frogotten about. IT
Rating:
Summary: good enough for me
Review: first of all i have to say that although i love this movie, i have to say it could use some work, but thats ok. The first time i saw this movie was when i was probably when i was about 7 years old, and i loved it! Don't get me wrong i think this is a great movie, it's just that it just wasn't that scary of a movie. It also isn't for the people who love special effects, because this is a low budget movie. Another thing that bothered me was that in the movie, or in any stephen king movies at that, it dosn't explain much, i mean sure you don't want to spoil the book by the movie, but every now and then they could explain some things, like how it came, why it came, why is it so mean. even though it has it's downs It is still a good movie. Espicially for kids. It may not be too scary but it's pretty eerie at parts, and stephen kings humor is great! The story behind it is great, that's the main reason i liked it so much, the other reason i like it is because half of the movie is about kids, now whats better in a scary movie than having kids be the victoms. I think this movie deservers 4 stars Even though it has its flaws
Rating:
Summary: I hate steven King novels....
Review: I actually dont enjoy reading King's novels and have watched many of his movies, without appreciating them, so when this movie came out I figured what another waste of tape. Sure there was bigname actors in it, but so what???
This one surprised me!! It scared me, it thrilled me, the story of the interaction between the kids and the adults was absolute genius.
The acting was superb, and believable. A great thrilling movie!!!
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