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List Price: $27.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 55840
Released: November 16, 2004 |
| Our Price: $7.53 |
| Used Price: $7.18 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
An american astronaut dies and is reincarnated with other persons who have lived throughout all of human history and end up on a mysterious planet called riverworld.The humans are left to their own devices and create tribal fiefdoms and succumb to brutal wars and raids. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/16/2004 Starring: Brad Johnson Kevin Smith Run time: 86 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Kari Skogland
Riverworld Reviews:
Did you see Water World? This is better by a mile! 
2009-09-06 - Did you see Water World? I did and it was the most boring film ever made. When I saw Riverworld come to SyFy I had to watch it to compare/contrast the H20 movies. Despite the negative reviews of this film, I loved it. Characters like Mark Twain, Nero, and more are brought back to life when their life on Earth ends. For what purpose and to where they have gone.. no one knows. Everyone comes alive again as a 30 year old in a medieval style world where the strongest survive. Using their wits from their former lives, each contributes either to the oppression or freedom of others. The scenery is absolutely stunning with high mountains, deep gorges, and rivers covering the planet. It reminds me of the Pacific Northwest meets Welsh countryside.
If you've read the books by Philip Jose Farmer, you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for "answers", you'll be disappointed since this was the shelved pilot. But, if you just want to indulge your mind in a an interesting world and beautiful scenery, you'll probably enjoy this film.
I heard syfy was going to re-do this story as a 4 hour miniseries with different actors in 2009. We'll see..
Reincarnation Is Placed In the Background 
2009-09-06 - There is a tendency for Hollywood to take a series of related novels and squeeze them together to fit one ninety minute film. The result is most often a jumble that proves a disappointment to the readers who come to the movie with high expectations. In RIVERWORLD, author Phillip Jose Farmer postulates a colossal world populated exclusively by those who have died on earth from any era only to be reincarnated somewhere on Riverworld. The premise is both astounding and metaphysical. Farmer's novels explore the reality and the morality of life reborn in a land that promises to be neither heaven nor hell. However, director Kari Skolgard gives us a film and fills it with a standard hero villain format to such an extant that Skolgard might just as easily placed his cast in a Lost Continent environment. There are only scattered attempts to infuse a pallid script with the real trauma of beings facing rebirth in a land that looks suspiciously like the banks of the Mississippi River.
Brad Johnson is Hale, an American astronaut who dies while on a space mission. The film opens with him in a sort of underwater bubble from which he bursts out to swim to shore. There he meets Alice Hargreaves (Emily LLoyd) who in her "real" life was a favorite of explorer Richard Burton. Other interesting characters appear: a Jewish survivor from Birkenau, a beautiful slave girl, and the historical Nero. The plot quickly devolves into a standard Mad Max actioner in which the villain (Nero) attempts to recreate on Riverworld a semblance of the empire he ruled on earth. Along the way, he attempts to seduce the reticent Alice although one would think that he would be more attracted to the Warrior-Princess like slave girl who spends more than a few minutes dancing a slave girl bugaloo to the delight of all. It is almost a quibble to point out that it would have been impossible for the reincarnated humans to have constructed even a semblance of a post-industrial level of technology that results in a steam driven paddle boat. It is simply a matter of not having the tools to build the tools to build the tools. Further, the film hints at a hooded race of beings who appear at convenient moments to suggest that Riverworld has a plan that may be carried out in further sequels. It would have taken more spirit and vision for director Skolgard to have abandoned the action format and instead consider the spiritual and psychological ramifications of a transition from death on Earth to rebirth on Riverworld. No such luck here.
Alex Proyas fans beware! 
2009-07-02 - I originally made a point to watch this film because it was advertized as being from Alex Proyas (who has made such great movies as The Crow, I Robot, the Knowing, Garage Days and one of my all time favorites... Dark City). However, Alex was only a producer on Riverworld. After watching it, I thought it was terrible. So I say if you were considering this film based on Proyas' connection, do your self a favor & skip it. Riverworld does not deserve to be listed on the same page as his other movies.
A Disaster In Sci Fi Movie Making
2009-05-05 - If you read the complete Riverworld Series by P. Farmer, don't waste your time watching this pathetic SCIFI Channel movie. It was a total disappointment.
Avoid this like the plague
2009-04-27 - I watched this stinker on the Sci-Fi Channel when it first came out and was horrified. I've been a Riverworld fan since the first book was published in the '70s and I cannot believe that the makers of this thing had the audacity to name it after the great series by PJF. I can't believe that anyone who's read the books would actually recommend it. Perhaps some day a good movie version of the books will be made but this ain't it. This monstrosity needs to be buried and forgotten.
