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Plan 9 from Outer Space

Plan 9 from Outer Space

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: One star for quality, five for entertainment value.
Review: Average that out, and you get three stars. "Plan Nine from Outer Space" must be seen to be believed; it can best be described as a combination of utter incompetence and swaggering assurance. Everything you have heard about it is true: the wobbling tombstones, the spray-painted paper plates masquerading as spaceships, the scenes that can't even match day and night, the tall blond stand-in for Bela Lugosi, the stiff and pompous performances, the ridiculously tin-eared dialogue ("We have tried to contact the Earthlings. They refuse our existence!"). Only a director with an unshakable belief in his own star could could put such complete, festering dreck on the screen with such a straight face--which makes "Plan Nine from Outer Space" one of the great laff riots of all time. One writer once described Ed Wood as having all the attributes of genius except talent; in all the annals of art, I can think of only one other figure that resembles him--the Scottish poet William McGonagall, another guaranteed laff riot. I hope that, somewhere in a particularly goofy corner of Heaven, Ed Wood is shooting a William McGonagall script. The angels must be busting a gut!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: be sure that you buy the better of 2 DVDs of this film
Review: Plan 9 is just as bad as everyone says it is (buy it buy it buy it!), so this review is just a reminder for you to purchase the better of the two DVDs that Amazon offers of this title.

Do NOT buy the Passport Video edition...it has horrible sound and the picture lighting throbs between dark and bright through the entire film. Passport Video also included a watermark of their logo in the bottom right hand corner of the screen that lasts throughout the film. In addition to all of this, what is advertised on the package as "Show 2: THE ED WOOD STORY" is in fact 40 mins. of cobbled together interviews with Vampira, Johnny Depp, Ed Wood's wife, and one of Tor Johnson's neighbors. Sounds okay, but they are actually mind-bogglingly uninsightful and focus mostly upon Tim Burton's Ed Wood film.

The edition of this DVD that you will want to buy is the Image Entertainment version that includes the 111 min. documentary "Flying Saucers Over Hollywood" (which is a wonderful addition). This DVD has great sound and picture quality, vastly superior to Passport Video's piddly excuse for a quality DVD.

I know that it may seem counter productive to buy a more expensive release of the worst movie of all time, but you will appreciate the horrible experience of grave robbers from outerspace much more (and Image Entertaiment's documentary is great too).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watch It At 2 A.M.
Review: In a nutshell, if you like bad B movies, this is the quintessential model - you must possess this movie at all costs and watch it with all your friends very late at night. If you don't "get" the humor in B movies, then stay away.

Classic bad acting - classic horrid sets.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Future events such as these will affect you in the future
Review: There are two kinds of bad movies - the kind through which you cannot sit and the kind that raise their "badness" to an art form. Plan 9 is in the latter category. Originally titled Graverobbers from Outer Space, it tells the story of the Leader of the Galaxy (named Eros = Greek god of love) and how he tries to take over the Earth using human zombies. Various people catch onto the plan and try to stop the surprisingly humanoid aliens.

None of this is important, though. What is fun in the inane dialogue, some examples of which are, "We are all interested in the future for that is where you and I will spend the rest of our lives.", "You see? Your stupid minds!", and "Inspector Clay is dead! Murdered! And someone's responsible!". In addition, supposedly contiguous scenes are filmed half in the daytime, half at night; you can see strings on the flying saucers (descibed as "cigar shaped" in the dialogue); styrofoam gravestones wobble; etc. The star of the film, Bela Lugosi, passed away before the movie started production - most of his part is played by another actor with a cape over his face.

Thus, there is enough here to keep anyone amused, if not laughing out loud, through most of the film. It is highly recommended.

The rest of my comments will centre on the DVD edition. The video is remarkably clear and crisp. The audio track does not fare as well, but it's okay. There are some extras, including some trailers for both this film and other Wood offerings - very entertaining. Finally, there are some interviews. Unfortunately, some are inane, dealing solely with the Tim Burton Movie "Ed Wood", which, while interesting, are not really appropriate here. The more personal interviews are better - one of Wood's actresses and ex-girlfriends, a neighbour of Tor Johnson's, and Lugosi's son. An okay set of extras for a movie that's 40 years old. But why, OH WHY??, did the company that produced the movie insist on putting its semitransparent logo in the corner (like the little TV network logos) through the entire movie? Argh!! This feature alone robs the movie of its fifth star.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Gloriously Bad Film. Hey, can YOU prove it DIDN'T happen?
Review: Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is a legendary film, not because it is great cinema but because watching it is an unforgettable experience. In that respect it is more comparable to a midnight showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" than anything else. I am perfectly comfortable with the oxymoronic notion that the film is so gloriously bad that it becomes transcendent in a way "Reefer Madness" and other notable "bad" films are not. I have shown "Plan 9 From Outer Space" to many an unsuspecting audience and all of them have enjoyed the experience. There is such an audacity to Wood's film that you have to smile if just to keep your jaw from dropping all the way to the ground. The only other explanation is, as the head alien says in the film, "Because you earth people are all idiots!" I am comfortable with either one of these explanations.

Just count all the things Ed Wood gets wrong in this film. After eight disastrous attempts to take over the planet, the aliens invoke "Plan 9" wherein they raise the dead as foot soldiers. Vampira and wrestler Tor Johnson become zombies. You have a flying saucer that look a lot like a Cadillac hubcap held up by string. You have a star, Bela Lugosi, who died before filming started but who appears from beyond the grave, not to mention his stand-in, the chiropractor of the producer's wife. You have cops who scratch their noses with loaded guns, Dudley Manlove as the unforgettable leader of the aliens, sets that are about to tip over, plus a chilling introduction and postscript from the Amazing Criswell!

Is this the worst film of all time? What difference does it make? Do you really want to keep looking after you have experienced the two-time Golden Turkey Award-winning "Plan 9 From Outer Space?" You owe it to yourself to watch this movie at least once. It is part of our cultural legacy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Deceptive Packaging! But, Great Movie
Review: Beware, this version advertises "The Ed Wood Story" documentary. It isn't a documentary, but individual interviews. They are good invterviews, but it's not a documentary.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun for anyone who loves bad movies.
Review: While it's not quite as funny as an episode of MST3K, Plan 9 From Outer Space will still have you rolling around on the floor, at least if you have enough friends around to make the laughter contagious! It's not the worst movie of all time, but it's close.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Greatness/Trash is in the Eye of the Beholder
Review: This movie has been labeled (and rightfully so) THE worst film of all time. To earn this lofty and envious distinction, you have to remember that there was an abundance of really bad science fiction/horror movies released in the 50's. PLAN 9 has been so bad for so long, it's developed a cult following. People LOVE to see it. It's so bad, it's good...if that makes sense...

The plot (if you can call it that) is about a group of aliens seeking to destroy mankind before mankind fouls up the universe. The acting is really funny! (I think third graders would have a better chance of pulling off RICHARD III.) The sets, effects....all awful! Production values? There are none! Lugosi died before the film was even halfway completed. He only appears in the first few scenes. Rather than reshoot, a replacement was put in: Lugosi's chiropractor, who was at least a head taller than Lugosi. Also any scene with Tor Johnson is a real hoot!

Don't get me wrong: You should see this movie for laughs --- you'll find plenty! The film will be around for a long time to show us just how bad a film can be. Whenever you have a really bad day, pop in PLAN 9 and tell yourself, "It can't get any worse than this!" ....I hope.....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Plan 9 or a night and enjoy haha
Review: Ok, so we all know that there are several things done kinda poorly but this film is so bad that its a fun fest! I enjoyed it. Yes, it is sad that this was Bela Lugosi's last film as i really am a huge fan of Bela but this movie is a good one to have fun with and just look at it that way. I especially enjoyed the bonus interviews of Vampira, Bela himself and son, and the rest. This is a must for all cult film fans and even for those who like goofy spooky films and the like.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How can something this bad be this good?
Review: Plan 9 from outer space is one of the worst movies ever made. It is certainly the most famous bad movie ever made. This movie, is so incredibly badly written/acted/directed/produced that it is actually a very good film! It has a certain charm, something that grabs you the most when u know the background to the movie and its director. A truly well intentioned man, who happened to be very unskilled at what he was the most passioante about; making movies. This movie has so many classic mistakes and errors in it, they're not worth counting.

Treat yourself to one of the treasures of filmamking history. This movie oozes charm from beginning to end, and has great entertainment value. However you take this film, one thing is for sure; you'll be entertained! - and isn't that the point of watching movies? Five stars.


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