Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers / The Stand / Golden Years)
by Stephen King
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DVD details
Director: Stephen KingBrand: Paramount
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 774 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Box set; Closed-captioned; Color; DVD; Full Screen; NTSC
DVD Reviews of Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers / The Stand / Golden Years)
DVD Review: Try it, You may like it.
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not normally a big fan of collections or boxed sets ... preferring to buy each feature individually. Many times a collection has one or two good titles and the rest is filler.
So why am I going against the grain here and giving this a favorable rating? Especially since I haven't seen "The Golden Years" yet?
Because two of the included features are worth the price of the set. "The Stand" is arguably the best SK novel and probably one of the closest (to the novel) transfers to the TV screen. The plot hinges on a biological warfare mishap in which most of the human race is wiped out by "Captain Trips", a.k.a. the superflu. In the aftermath, two groups form, one following Mother Abigail as the disciples of the faithful; and one group following the "Walking Dude" as a representative of the darker powers (hell is never mentioned although the parallel is plain enough). Character development is well done, although not as complete as in the novel (go figure) and is primarily restricted to Mother Abigail's group. It is, however, more than we usually get in a novel to movie transfer. The story, while four hours long, needs every minute to guide us on what makes each person tick ... and it does this extremely well. Horror scenes, Stephan King style, are abundantly present and are well done cinematically. King has a gift of taking ordinary circumstances and twisting them into outlandish, dreadful nightmares.
The second film, "The Langoliers", is cast in more of a sci-fi vein; albeit with the usual SK treatment of uncovering the darker side of human nature. The story revolves around a typical airline flight from Los Angels to Boston which literally flies `out of time' and `loses' everyone who was not asleep at the time of the event. Good thing there was a pilot napping as a passenger, eh?
What happens to the light in a room when you turn off the switch? This movie explores that question. What DOES happen to the past? According to one of the character's father (Craig Toomey), it is eaten by the langoliers .... Beings which devour the inactive and useless in the world. These creatures look like large copies of Pacman with razor sharp teeth. As the plane flies along and eventually lands, we see that the pace of the past winds down and eventually stops. The past is unpopulated by people, leading us to beleive that people march with time and have no presence in the past. Matches don't light or will only fizzle, fuel does not burn and beer is flat straight out of the bottle. The past sorta coasts along by momentum until it finally comes to a complete stop ... at which point the langoliers come in to erase it. Craig was always threatened by his "go getter" of a father that lazy, useless boys are eaten by the langoliers. Now the threat comes to life for the passengers from the plane as the munching sound gets closer and closer. Again, this is a very entertaining film well worth watching.
Going by the reviews of others, "The Golden Years" falls flat. Haven't seen this one for myself, so I'll have to pass on judgement. Read the other reviews and make your own determination.
Bottom line is that for a reasonable price, there are at least two SK winners - and possibly a third (reviews are, after all, just opinions). I would say that this is a worthwhile purchase and will provide hours of entertainment.
As word to the wise - "The Langoliers" is probably not a movie for younger kids (under the age of 10) unless you want to stay up with them for several sleepless nights. Younger ones probably won't understand "The Stand", but some of the scenes will shock and scare them. You might want to view these films yourself first before letting your kids sit in on a family room viewing.
Cheerfully Recommended.
~P~
Description of Stephen King Gift Set (The Langoliers / The Stand / Golden Years)
The Langoliers
Ten passengers on a red-eye flight from L.A. to Boston discover that they are not the only people on the plane, but after making an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine, they discover that they are the only people on the planet. This film was based off the Stephen King short story Four Past Midnight.
The Stand
Originally aired as a television mini-series, this all-star filmization of Stephen King's gripping epic of good versus evil chronicles the episodic adventures of a disparate group of people who struggle to reestablish civilization after a man-made catastrophe wipes out most of the world's population. The world abruptly ends when a deadly virus accidentally escapes from a government sponsored biological warfare laboratory. Soon people are dropping like flies from the plague, but a few survive and find themselves strangely compelled to head into the West. Good-hearted people follow the voice of an ancient black woman and head for Boulder, Colorado. Bad people follow the enigmatic Walkin' Dude to Las Vegas. It is only a matter of time before the two sides are forced into a climactic battle over the final fate of humanity.
Golden Years
This made-for-TV mini-series from the notorious horror writer centers upon a hapless old janitor who begins undergoing incredible physical changes after he is accidentally covered with experimental chemicals following a laboratory mishap. Now the government will stop at nothing to get him back.
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