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Stephen King Movies


Most of these movies are quite good. All of the ones starting with Stephen King's before them were made for TV, as were the Salem's Lot movies. The Stand turned out really well because even without commercials it was 6 hours long. This gave them a chance to develop the story. The Dead Zone is one of my favourites as was the book. There are certainly lots to choose from. There has also been a huge number of actors and actresses, too many to list here. King himself shows up in most of these movies (or is it all of them?).
Here's a page about The Shining.

Total Recall (1990)
My favourite Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. It is a great sci-fi flick and I loved the sets and scenery. Enough gratuitous violence for any armchair warriors, although I would have settled for a little more story. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick called We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. Have you seen Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), The Terminator (1985), Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), Red Heat (1988), Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Last Action Hero (1993), True Lies (1994), Eraser (1996).
For more about a couple of great movies try the Terminator Home Page.

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1971 - )
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
Either you love Python's humour or you hate it. If it's on this list I must love it. From the BBC comedy series Flying Circus to the movies Holy Grail and Life of Brian to their other movies together or apart Monty Python has taken silliness to a new level. "She turned me into a newt....well, I got better." The troupe included Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, & Michael Palin.
They have all done all sorts of projects.
Chapman was Yellowbeard (1983).
Cleese is best known for the 12 (too few) episodes of Fawlty Towers and the movie A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
Gilliam directed Holy Grail, Jabberwocky (1977), Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), The Fisher King (1991), and 12 Monkeys (1995).
Idle was involved in a lot of the projects mentioned above and others including dressing up as a nun with Robbie Coltrane in Nuns on the Run (1990).
Jones directed Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Monty Python's Meaning of Life (1983), and Erik the Viking (1989).
Palin, among many of the projects listed above, was also in Python's And Now for Something Completely Different (1972) and he added his humour to two travelling PBS shows when he went Around the World in 80 Days (for real!) and then Pole to Pole.
See the Fawlty Towers Episode Guide.

Highlander (1986)
Lots of cool swordplay in a story of immortals who fight and kill each other by beheading their opponent. The last immortal alive will receive a "prize". The character of Connor MacLeod has a few hundred years of memories that are tapped in flashbacks to tell the story. Starring Christopher Lambert,Sean Connery, and Clancy Brown. This was one of those incredible stories that probably should have been left alone. There are interesting things about the sequels and the Highlander TV series, especially the swordplay, but they can't even come close to living up to the original. I thought Highlander 2: The Quickening (1991) had a very weak back story to explain where the immortals came from. Then came the Director's Cut that was longer and had a different back story, the way director Russell Mulcahy and the producers originally wanted it released. This is the version to get, a way better story. Also called Russell Mulcahy's Renegade Version. Lambert and Connery were back, along with Virginia Madsen. I've only seen Highlander: The Final Dimension (1994) once and it didn't make much impression. Lambert was back, but Connery wasn't. Instead we got Mario van Peebles, oh boy! Also called Highlander 3: The Magician and Highlander 3: The Sorcerer. The TV series is done pretty well. There have been a lot of famous people come in to play immortals, including a bunch of rock stars, most notably a few appearances by Roger Daltrey. The show stars Adrian Paul and Jim Byrnes (another musician).



Planet of the Apes (1968)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
I really enjoy the story told by these movies. It jumps back and forth in time and locale, so it tells a large story that is truly intriguing. For people who might not have seen them I won't spoil any surprises for them. Roddy McDowall was in every one of them with casts that included Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Ricardo Montalban, John Huston, Paul Williams, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, James Whitmore, James Daly, Claude Akins, and James Franciscus. The first was adapted from the novel Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle with a screenplay by Rod Serling and Michael G. Wilson (who wrote a bunch of Bond scripts). The first also received 2 Academy Award nominations in 1968.
For more apes go to The Planet of the Apes or Planet of the Apes: The Forbidden Zone.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
This is a great scary movie a la Disney. A couple of kids discover some very frightening secrets about the members of a travelling carnival and have to fight to survive because of that knowledge. I think it was done very well. The movie was written by Ray Bradbury based on his own novel.

The Dark Crystal (1982)
A very fine fantasy story performed by an amazing variety of muppets, puppets, costumed actors, and mechanical actors. There are 9 gentle natural wizards and 9 evil Skeksis left on an alien world. One of the wizards charges a young Gelfling apprentice with finding a missing shard to repair the Dark Crystal. It is an epic task as in Lord of the Rings and we meet lots of interesting creatures along the way. Designed by Brian Froud. Not only did Jim Henson and Frank Oz direct this movie, they supplied their famous voices as well. Henson, his son Brian, and Oz all directed various Muppet movie projects. Jim also directed Labyrinth (1986); another good fantasy with lots of Henson creatures and a couple of human actors including David Bowie. Frank also directed Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ('88), What About Bob? ('91), Housesitter ('92), and The Indian in the Cupboard ('95).

The NeverEnding Story (1984)
This is yet another good fantasy movie. It is about a special book called The NeverEnding Story that pulls a boy right into the book, the story, and the adventure. Some very interesting characters and effects. A very well done story. The sequel, NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter (1991), is an enjoyable story as well even if it can't measure up to the first. I haven't seen The NeverEnding Story 3 (1994). It looked really lame in the commercials.

Flight of the Navigator (1986)
This is another fun Disney movie. A boy gets picked up by a spaceship and even though no time has passed for him, on Earth 8 years go by. When he returns, still a boy, the misguided government types want to "study" him and the ship. The boy and ship escape for the ship is an intelligent wisecracking robot who requires the boy's services as navigator.

Heavy Metal (1981)
From the makers of Heavy Metal magazine, this is a musical animated extravaganza. The movie is made up of short segments that all tell parts of a larger sci-fi story and are all done in a different style of animation. Voices provided by John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, and more. The music was provided by Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, Devo, and many more. It took 15 years to work out the copyright hassles to release this movie on video just last year. I Love this movie and I've always loved the magazine.

Altered States (1980)
Through sensory deprivation experiments and Mexican shamanastic rituals involving peyote & magic mushrooms, a scientist manages to discover primal memories and then revert along with them. A very interesting sci-fi story and some incredible special effects. They were definitely thinking of people who might see this movie high. William Hurt was great as the obsessive scientist.

Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
Another movie with incredible special effects, some great animation, and the music from one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums. The double-album was written almost exclusively by Roger Waters with a couple of songs co-written by David Gilmour. Waters' strange visions are brought to life in a musical done in Gothic Orwell. It is impossible to forget some of the visions produced in this movie (even the couple you'd like to forget).

Streets of Fire (1984)
This movie is best described by its subtitle; "A Rock n' Roll Fable". It has a Fifties James Dean meets a little of the Eighties feel to it (that's a little simplistic of a description). This movie was filmed beautifully with great backdrops. The score for this movie was done by Ry Cooder and a lot of is reminiscent of Link Wray. As a matter of fact, Cooder performed Wray's Rumble for the movie. Other music for the movie was provided by The Blasters led by Dave Alvin (they also played the bar band at Torchy's in the movie), Maria McKee, and others. The movie stars Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Deborah von Valkenbergh, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Bill Paxton, Ed Begley Jr., and many more.

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