 | |
List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 625
Released: July 3, 2001 |
| Our Price: $8.14 |
| Used Price: $6.66 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Aliens pretending to be friendly come to Earth and are received openly. The aliens have masqueraded themselves to look just like humans. When it is discovered that the aliens' planet is dying and that they have come to rape the Earth of its natural resources, the war for Earth begins. An important key to the humans' success is distinguishing the their own from the aliens.
Description of V - The Original TV Miniseries:
In its day, V was a monumental event that for one generation remains a pop-culture touchstone. Close Encounters of the Third Kind may have reassured us that perhaps we have nothing to fear from alien visitors and E.T. introduced us to a benign extraterrestrial who only wanted to go home, but Kenneth Johnson's 1983 television miniseries knew better. Visitors who claim to come in peace are revealed to be nothing but human-looking reptilians on human conversion and conquest. As in the dark days of fascism, some collaborate with the enemy; others form the resistance.
At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. Those 50 motherships that hover over Earth's major cities anticipate Independence Day by more than a decade. The special effects and makeup are still awesome. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast, most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series, have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions. Marc Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan. Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-rebel. Richard Herd is the aliens' supreme commander. Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing but ruthlessly ambitious alien science officer. Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens.
The DVD is presented for the first time in widescreen format. Supplemental features include an amiable and enlightening director's commentary and a brief "making of" segment. --Donald Liebenson
V - The Original TV Miniseries Reviews:
Old School 
2009-11-30 - This was what I remembered. It was nice to relive the good old days.
Spectacular sci-fi TV miniseries 
2009-11-28 - I remembered watching "V" when it first aired back in 1983. At the time this was reportedly one of the most expensive TV miniseries' ever made, and it's easy to see why. But in the end all the money that was spent to make this miniseries paid off. It was very well received by the critics, and it became one of the most watched TV miniseries' of the first half of the '80s.
"V" is the ultimate TV sci-fi extravaganza: aliens (who look like humans) from a planet far away come to Earth in gigantic, saucer-shaped motherships that hover over the world's major cities (most of the action here takes place in Los Angeles). Calling themselves the Visitors, they claim that they have come in peace, and begin to integrate themselves with the humans of earth. They also claim that they need special chemicals and minerals to aid their dying world. But strange events start to occur (ordinary people disappear; bizarre accidents happen, etc.), and some people discover that everything the Visitors have said has turned out to be a lie. A TV cameraman named Mike Donovan finds his way onto one of the motherships and makes a shocking discovery: the Visitors are actually lizard-like reptiles (which is revealed after the cameraman gets into a fight with one of them and rips off the aliens' human-like skin) who's main goal is to steal all of the Earth's water and use millions of human people as food. The cameraman joins a group known as the resistance movement led by Juliet Parrish, a female medical student. Their plans are to expose and oppose the Visitors. Their symbol is V for victory, which is spray-painted over the Visitors' posters that are posted all over Los Angeles. This resistance movement plan to fight for their planet. Their message to the Visitors: this is war! And yes, the ending clearly sets up a sequel ("V: The Final Battle", which aired a year later).
In my opinion, "V" (The Original Miniseries) is one of the very best TV miniseries' ever made. I just viewed this great science fiction epic again (on DVD), and it hasn't lost its touch. Extremely well written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, it's got spectacular special effects (for its time), exciting action, a terrific story, and lots of interesting characters that we get to know and care about. Best of all, the DVD transfer is superb (with the presentation shown in widescreen instead of full screen, which is how it originally aired on television since widescreen presentations weren't available on television back in 1983). Marc Singer and Faye Grant do an exceptional job in the principal leading roles of Mike Donovan and Juliet Parrish, respectively. And there's lots of good work from the supporting actors, which include many actors who would later turn up in hit movies or TV shows. These include: Bonnie Bartlett ("St. Elsewhere"), Joanna Kerns ("Growing Pains"), William Russ ("Boy Meets World"), and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies).
If you like great sci-fi epics like me, then "V" (The Original Miniseries) is a must-see.
Cropped version! 
2009-11-25 - It doesn't seem so long ago that when movies on VHS were cropped on the left and right to fit 4:3 screens, people were indignant over losing a third or more of the original image. Producers responded with letterbox format, which then consisted of adding black bars at the top and bottom to preserve the entire original image.
Now for DVD release, older TV shows are cropped at the top and bottom so the original 4:3 image will fit 16:9 screens. Sometimes they now call this letterboxing! Where is the indignation? Why are there so many five-star ratings on Amazon for the V miniseries without mention of how the image was mutilated?
In fact when the first season of Route 66 was released with the top and bottom cropped, there was much indignation, and the producers responded by re-releasing the season in its original format.
I hope fans of V and other great shows will think about this when posting reviews and ratings. The more people give these versions low ratings and state why, the more likely that producers will do the right thing and stop cropping these shows.
V
2009-11-18 - this DVD brought back so many memories for me! i remember watching the original mini-series and tv show back in the 80s and being obsessed with them. i remembered so many details while watching these DVDs, it was like i had just seen the episodes a few weeks ago - not 25 years ago!
a MUST BUY for anyone who was a fan of tv in the 80s. :)
The Invasion Begins
2009-11-11 - If a ninety-nine out of a hundred science fiction films fall into being cliché ridden, one will stand out above the rest. V, in its original miniseries, would be one of those that stands above the rest. V is anything but your typical science fiction story of an alien invasion. It is a tale of a fascist (alien) takeover of our society and the resistance of a few in a society to it. As a result V, while a product of the technology and culture of the 1980's, is a timeless piece of science fiction.
One of the elements to V's success is its cast. Leading, so to speak, the cast of human characters are Marc Singer as cameraman Mike Donovan and Faye Grant as med-student turned rebel leader Julie Parrish. Both Singer and Grant give nice performances that, for the most part, come across as real people in extraordinary situations. In fact the performances of the entire cast be described by that last phrase as well ranging from the Maxwell family (Michael Durrell, Penelope Windust as the parents with Blair Tefkin, Viveka Davis and Marin May as their daughters) who find themselves persecuted to the point of joining the resistance much like the Taylor family (Jason Bernard, Richard Lawson and Michael Wright) to the Bernstein family (George Morfogen, Bonnie Bartlett) who find themselves torn between their Visitor friendly son Daniel (David Packer) and the Holocaust survivor grandfather Abraham (Leonardo Cimino). In fact the single best scene involves Abraham, who is wanting to hide the persecuted Maxwell's, reminding his son that this whole situation is all too familiar for the consequences of them not being hidden means "we haven't learned a thing". This is a scene that is not only well acted and well written but incredibly rare in your average science fiction story as well. There's also many other fine members of the cast including Neva Patterson (Donovan's mom), Evan Kim (Donovan's camera partner Tony), Jenny Sullivan (reporter turned Visitor spokeswoman Kristine Walsh) and Kristine Walsh (as Gardener turned rebel Sancho) amongst many others. The human side of the cast is just the tip of the iceberg though.
There's also a fine cast playing the alien "visitors" as well. They range from their seemingly benevolent leader John (played briefly and well by Richard Herd) to Andrew Prine as the authoritative Steven. Then there's the innocent abroad in the form of Robert Englund as Willie and the resistance from within the visitors themselves in the form of Frank Ashmore as Martin and Jenny Neumann as Barbara. Then there is Jane Badler as Diana, perhaps the most attractive and conniving of the alien visitors, who plays the role with a seriousness not usually found in this kind of role. Together they form one of the best, and definitely one of the most diverse, cast of alien invaders ever assembled.
V is also aided by fine work behind the camera. There's the cinematography of John McPherson especially the tracking shot of characters watching the first contact sequence and the scenes in the mother-ship. The production design in the form of the mother ship interiors are fine examples of science fiction sets. There's also the special effects work ranging from the excellent shots of mother-ships (a decade plus before Independence Day) to the aerial dogfight at the end which all work marvelously for the most part despite a very few shots which don't look quite finished. No review of V is complete without mentioned the fine prosthetic work of the miniseries which range from the Visitors true faces to some rather uncomfortable dining sequences. Last, but not least by any means, is the fine score by composer Joe Harnell which takes puts together classical music influences and choir in one of the most unusual and best scores produced for any science fiction television piece I have heard, especially for the opening and closing credits of any part. In short: strong production values go a long way.
To my mind V's ultimate success lies in the script and direction of Kenneth Johnson. V was originally conceived not as a science fiction tale of alien invasion but as the tale of a fascist takeover of the U.S which can still be found deeply embedded in the final product. In fact that is what separates V from many other alien invasion stories. V is about fascism, how people can be lured in by it, how far those in power will go to secure their position, how the average person will react and what happens when ordinary people stand up to resist it. There's also more then a few hints of Nazi Germany as well from the Swastika-like symbol of the Visitors to Friends of the Visitors youth groups (the Hitler Youth) and, before the miniseries is over with, a strong allegory with the Holocaust as well (see the miniseries to get it). Wisely Johnson also puts a fair (but not gratitude) amount of action in as well which helps to compliment the story and move it along. V is embedded in the technology and culture of the 1980's when it was made to sure but that doesn't date the story at all. Instead V becomes, like H.G. Welles War of the Worlds before it, a timeless tale of alien invasion and human resistance to it.
What makes V successful? Well it's large cast of fine actors, nice cinematography, good special effects work, excellent prosthetic work and fine score go along way. Yet the true success of V lies in its script and story. Why? Because ultimately V is not about spaceships and ray-guns but is about people and their reactions to the extraordinary events around them.
