Rating: 
Summary: Why not Two great The Things?
Review: I love the old James Arness The Thing, so I was skeptical when John Carpenter brought out a new version.I was delighted, however, when I saw that he wisely crafted a story much closer to the original story, John Campbell's classic "Who Goes There?" that was the basis for both films. Both films stand on their own and are completely different. I think the older film has the edge on suspense and class, but the Carpenter version has much to like as well. While familiar now, the special effects here were new at the time and state-of-the-art. They are still shocking. Overdone? Yeah, probably (I'm especially no fan of the excess goo used at the time) but still effective. The sets are terrific (especially the ruined Norwegian compound, the spaceship etc.). A nice isolated, claustrophobic feel to it all. The DVD commentary with Carpenter and Kurt Russell is a hoot. You can tell they had a ball making this. Kurt Russell also loves what I think is one of the best and funniest lines ever delivered in a movie when David Clennon sees the head sprout legs and scurry off. It's worth it to see the film just for that moment. Good scares and intriguing plot, well crafted and acted. What more do you want?
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful...but somehow comes up short in Climax
Review: A very good film. Much truer to the source material of John W. Campells short story "Who goes there?" than the original 'The Thing' from the 50's. In the 50's, movies like this took a 'Watch the skies' theme, due to the cold war and such. In the early 80's when this version was filmed there was more an atmosphere in the time that was 'who do I trust? Should I trust anyone?'...THAT is the theme of this movie, much like the original story. The Story is good. Very isolated atmosphere and even the cast is completely male (think of any other movie that can say that)hence lending itself to male commrodership that is quickly thrown out the window due to untrust coming in. The music is basic but *very* effective, truely creepy. Dean Cundy's lighting and cinematography are wonderful. The only beef I have with the movie is that the climax seems anti-climactic to me...i really don't know why. I have seen this movie about 10 times and only watched the last 10-15 minutes only about half of those times. Apart from this, the movie is *still* wonderful! The extra's on this DVD are good. I have the Laserdisc but with all the same extra's as the DVD so I know what I'm talking about :-) ...Anyway, The audio commentary is informative, interesting and entertaining. The documentary is the same--if you can get by the whole thing mostly being what we in the industry call 'talking heads' Then you will enjoy it. Seriously, the documentary visually is 90 percent on the people as they talk. There are very few visuals otherwise. But still, very interesting and full of good stories. An A+ effort on the part of Universal realeasing this film with the respect it deserves. They bashed their own movie when it opened in 1982, but it found it's audience on Home Video and Universal was smart enough to admit their error and do their best to make up. A worthy member for any sci-fi/horror fans DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Original
Review: I was amused by Leonard Maltin's review of this film. Sometimes 'celebrity' critics begin to believe their own press clippings. This film was not bogged down by effects, only enhanced by them. I saw the original black and white version, and trust me, this is way better. Kurt Russell turns in a fine performance as an Artic researcher whose camp is invaded by crazed Norwegians who are chasing apparently innocent wolves. Aaaah, but all is not as it seems. Beware of Aliens in wolves clothing! The camp soon finds itself invaded by an alien that can morph itself into anything it wants to look like by touching it. It has a nasty habit though, of killing the original copy. As you can imagine, the tension rises as everyone accuses everyone else of being an alien, and a Macarthy-esque hunt ensues. The special effects in this film are not only landmark for the time, but also stomach-turning. Gore doesn't bother me, personally, but those with a weak stomach, need not purchase this film. It's gross, even in light of the recent film, 'Hannibal' as a standard.
Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: This is one of the scariest/goriest films to ever be put on film.Its has a great cast and a great story with even better directon.One of carpenters best.
Rating:
Summary: THE THING
Review: THE THING has to be one of John Carpenter's stand-out horror films, especially in terms of special effects. The plot is simple: A team of scientists in the Ant-artic are terrorized by a shape-shifting alien being from another world. The only problem is, who's the alien, and who's human? There's plenty of suspense, drama, thrills, and over-the-top gore. I recommend this to fans of both action, sci-fi, and horror films!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest horror movie ever !
Review: DVD version review: This movie is amazing. Kurt Russell really brings this movie to life. The only good extra on the DVD is the commentary. Everything else is not worth watching.It's great to hear them tell funny stories of things that happened on the set. All I have to say is , the blood test scene almost killed me. The mood of this movie is amazing. You feel like you are trapped with them. how scary is it ? I am a white person now .... I used to be black !
Rating:
Summary: it's something else...
Review: zombies being hacked to bloody bits, I can handle that. vampires gruesomely melting down into gooey skeletal remains, no problem there. but, for better or worse, aliens always get to me. it may have been because I raised on a steady diet of bad old Sci-Fi flicks and had an early exposure to Alien. but whatever the reason, this one really got to me folks, which is why I can, and will, recomend it to anybody who finds pleasure in horror, science fiction, or effects so surreal and gross they become slightly disturbing (but nearly comical at points). in my mind, Carpenter has always had quite a gift for suspense. he turned Halloween, a movie that could easily been ruined in less capable hands, into a classic worthy of any horror fan's collection. and in his remake of The Thing, he does just that, albiet the suspense is heightened by, not hindered by, the special effects. in terms of plot, the movie opens with a crazed Norweigan trying to gun down a cute looking dog across the Antartic landscape. the dog runs into a US labratory base, and the man is gunned down. they trace the man back to a Norway research base and find it decimated. on finding a grousely deformed corpse that they bring back with them, they also bring back an alien that can change shape, and soon nobody knows who's human and who's a *thing*... the ice station is nearly as uncomfortable as I can imagine, tight and claustraphobic, nearly so much that you overlook the shallowness of the scientists. in addition, an interesting element is utilized to create an errie ending: where the scientists adkwodge they have almost no chanche of beating the thing. the DVD does amazing justice to the film. a featurette is as involving as the film is, and nearly all the additional features are interesting to look at. the video is good, although it looks a little oversaturated or grainy at certain parts, and the sound is adequate. the tiny naunces of the music score come through very clearly. overall, if you feel you will enjoy this one, The Thing: Collector's Edition is a very very safe and worthwhile recomend.
Rating:
Summary: Who (or what) Goes There?
Review: When John Carpenter decided to remake the 1951 classic Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World, he went back to the original John W. Campbell Jr. short story Who Goes There instead of the first movie for inspiration. Hawks' version was a very fine depiction of an alien creature loose among an arctic group of scientists and military men, who must fight for their lives against the unknown horror from outer space. Despite their peril, they have only one "thing" to deal with, easily recognizable, and whose movements are easily tracked with a Geiger counter. Still, the battle is a desperate one, with several casualties. Campbell's story was essentially asking the question: what is human, and how do you know? What is a test for humanity? His "thing" could assume a perfect human shape and move among others without detection. How could such a powerful being be discovered and destroyed? Carpenter's film asks the same questions, and how they are answered makes for a gripping suspense thriller, with state-of-the-art visual effects, an eerie music score, and a great ensemble cast. The special effects were so shocking that most mainstream critics were put off by them and their reviews showed it. One in particular, Gary Franklin, said in his TV review that he was "disgusted and outraged" by the movie! Another TV critic, David Sheehan, was more moderate and even-handed, giving it a lukewarm acknowledgment for its suspense. Because of the poor reviews and the fact that it was competing with E.T., The Thing was a box-office failure. But it's not a failure as a sci-fi/horror movie, despite some flaws in the story and the editing, and the unsatisfactory, unresolved ending. Why, for instance, is a scientific research group in Antarctica so well-armed? The Americans have revolvers, shotguns, switchblade knives, dynamite, and flame-throwers! The Norwegians have AK-47s, thermite bombs, and hand-grenades! All this hardware in a place where the predominant lifeform is penguins! What's the rationale for so much weaponry? (In the first movie the Air Force guys had side-arms, thermite, and a carbine, but they were military men.) This DVD edition features a commentary by Carpenter and Kurt Russell, which sounds just like two good buddies sitting around with a six-pack of beer and discussing old times. It's very interesting and amusing. The disk is packed with plenty of interesting stuff and worth its price. I recommend it to all fans of the sci-fi/horror genre and all John Carpenter fans in particular. A class act--don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: This is the one of the best DVDs I have ever bought (my other favorite is the Excorcist). The extra features are all top notch. The documentary was no flashy 5 minute featurette - it's a full 80 minutes and really something to get your teeth into. The audio commentary with Kurt Russel and John Carpenter is also decent. The movie itself, while flawed in parts (in my view), is very successfully executed. The claustraphobic atmosphere of the Antartic research station comes close to the eeriness of Alien. Rob Bottin's special effects in this film are still some of the best (most grotesque!) I've ever seen in a horror film. The blood test scene in particular is brillient. This movie is teeming with excellent, original ideas. In fact, I would regard it as one of the best horror movies of all time. No much comes close. My trouble with the movie is that it is too short on explaination. Certain aspects, such as why they assumed one of the scientists had to be infected, was not clear to me. Also, more should have been made of the fact that no radio contact could be made. This could have been a recurring and interesting theme. I got the feeling that the movie was rushed in parts - I feel it could have easily been longer. Overall though, this film is awesome. The fact that it was cheaper than most DVDs (why?) is also very welcome!
Rating:
Summary: The thing about the dvd of Carpenters The Thing
Review: A stone classic movie by a much under rated director The Thing will in the fullness of time be seen as a film that stands alone. Carpenter of course loves Howard hawks but this is far from aremake and says much about human condition, primal fears and the mystery of the icy wastes that is endless valid scary and stimulating but this DVD is mastered /duped from poor quality print. Was it all that's availbale. in which case a loving restoration aand theatrical re release should take place. Then in fullness of time we'll all be able to buy a DVD that does classic movie justice. I'd like to hear what Carpenter thinks of quality of print. Though I must admit I haven't listened to his commentary yet on DVD (it jusrt arrived tonight) so there may be an explanation there
| 
