Powerful

Must See Movie...

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Something Wicked This Way Comes, a terrifying story of envy, celebrates the invisible dark side of want. Unfortunately the story was not able to fully flesh out director Jack Clayton's darker intentions for the story, as it was taken and "doctored" by Disney. Unfortunately that meant Clayton collaborator's Georges Delerue's superior score and the most adult aspects of the story were butchered. But what is left is a superb, atmospheric period film. The director, Jack Clayton, is by far one of the best filmmakers of the 20th century. Having years earlier helmed the scariest film ever made, The Innocents, Clayton was thoroughly prepared for this.For one, the story shines where it exhibits the performance of Jason Robards. He plays a tired middle-aged man with the heart and soul of a child. The movie's brilliant trailer suggests the story follows him, but in the end the children are the true vehicles; which also brings me to another facet of the film: the children are great. One thing common in Clayton's films is great performances, which he believed, and I agree, to be the most important part of making a movie. No, I do not think it is the greatest film made by Clayton, but the 10/10 rating assignment is simply because what wasn't cut exposes a masterpiece of cinema. The film, through a looking glass, is about a proprietor for the devil who will grant your deepest dreams: with a price. Unfortunately that payment is one that is irreversible. Obviously I would not recommend this movie to most kids under 10. Its demonic undercurrents and often frightening scenes will most likely scar a little kid for life, especially if deeply religious. However, you must see it before you age out, so before 14.

The devil-comes-to-town premise is one that Stephen King has practically built half his smelly career on. He has used it – or shall we say "ripped it off" – from Bradbury (and others) and turned it into countless formulaic stories and novels. Satan comes to a small town to wreck havoc, and it's always the same shticks, over and over, at least when it comes to his drivel. There are, however, worlds between how an intelligent, skillful writer such as Bradbury treated this idea and how a commercial, fluff-for-the-masses mediocrity such as King does. SWTWC is a moody, subtle, enjoyable take on the subject. King treats this type of story (his favourite story) with much more pomp, clichés, and very exaggerated and annoying small-town stereotypes – most of which reveal this left-winger's barely hidden resentment towards small-town folk (and people in general; perhaps he's just frustrated that nearly all of us are much prettier than him). King wrote these kinds of stories with the primary intention of dragging small-town America through the mud, because - as every good Marxist - he detests the success of democracy and Capitalism, and nothing annoys him more than religious folk. (I am an atheist myself, and yet I do not hate believers the way King does.) No such pathetic, sociopathic, misanthropic tendencies are to be found in SWTWC.The movie has an excellent visual quality; the photography, the look of the movie is reason enough to watch it. Most of the special effects stand up very well to today's CGI; there is very little of that miserable cheesy quality or hoakeyness that some 80s fantasy movies have. It's a Disney flick, but it strikes a fairly decent balance between a kid's movie and adult horror, although obviously leaning more toward the former. Nowadays, the Disney conglomerate would be hard-pressed to squeeze anything of quality out of its ravaged/fruitless Mickey Mouse butt, let alone make a movie that either kids (with taste) or adults (with brains) can like. (I do not count Pixar's movies as Disney produce.)The only "beef" I have with SWTWC centers around Jason Robards. No, not the actor himself; he is excellent, as always (one of the very few top-notch nepotists in Hollywood). I am referring first-and-foremost to the age difference between him and his wife, played by a useless nepotist that goes by the name of Ellen Geer; she was 42 at the time of filming, he was 61, which is simply ludicrous. Far from make-up reducing the difference between them, they actually look as if there's 30 years between them - though this is by no means intended as a compliment to the homely Geer. Robards looks like the kid's grandpa, not his father. The other thing that I found silly was Mr. Halloway's unlikely/exaggerated obsession with his failure to save his son from drowning a few years earlier. It would make perfect sense had his son drowned - but he didn't. Halloway (Robards) even states that he harbors ill-feelings toward the man who saved his son – which I find highly far-fetched and a bit of a leap; it would imply that the life of his son takes a backseat to his own Ego, i.e. the issue of whether he is a "real man" and brave father. Still, I guess the story needed some kind of "inner conflict" in order to make the all pieces fall together in the movie's evil-snuffs-it finale.For other film versions of Bradbury's material, I highly recommend "Fahrenheit 451", and especially the lesser-known, fairly ignored gem "The Illustrated Man".

by 1983 a collaboration between Disney and author Ray Bradbury was long overdue. Bradbury had admired Disney for decades and even had a few personal meetings with Disney. since both were highly respected you would think they would have been paired earlier cinematically but it was probably felt that Bradbury wouldn't make for a family film or good Disney. Disney seldom did horror or sci fi, so exploring author Bradbury would make for a whole new venture.1983 was probably when the Disney studios was mature and ready but ironically they were cutting back on Disney live action releases and were in the process of shutting down the Disney back lot in Burbank. 'Something Wicked' was one of the last live action films to be filmed on the Burbank backlot and Disney ranch using the same techniques for production as the old school live action films produced by Walt himself. it was lucky that they got to film a Bradbury movie on the original lot and the way Walt did and under the Disney production banner.not only was it a good thing that the Bradbury film got to be conceived by the Disney old school but it also turned out wonderfully and was a excellent adaptation of the book, and yes, i have read the book.knowing the book i'm sure it wasn't a easy task to bring off. the book is not only too dark for a Disney film, but it is also very descriptive with over half of it being description and literary prose. what works well in descriptive form doesn't always easily translate to quick, precise visuals that move a film along as cinema. the finished result here is so good because it manages to convey the literary importance of the book without compromising itself as quick moving cinema. the literary aspect is well preserved but the film also moves fast enough as not to be too long for cinema audiences and not too long for children and the family viewers which should be Disney's target audience. the film is beautifully atmospheric which gives homage to the literary element as well as elegantly photographed and directed. it is a class act all the way.is it scary? well yes, i think so. it's not too scary for kids or Disney, but scary enough to justify itself as horror. things also move quicker and are less subtle than the book so the Dark circus itself comes off as more homicidal and aggressive in snatching away it's woeful victims than even the book described.excellent adaptation of a difficult source as well as classic Disney and very good cinema. a must for anyone interested in the final films from the original Burbank studio and the old school staff.

I try not to watch Disney movies as they invariably are very schmaltzy, preachy and basic for my taste. This film as others have noted is about as dark as Disney has ever got. But most importantly, its entertaining, this is an old-fashioned good versus evil tale set in pre-war small town America. Carnivals were always big deals in the pre-TV era and Disney spent some good money on production to bring it all to life. Johnathon Pryce has always played the part of the villain well and he doesn't disappoint here. The special effects by 80's standards were good enough, veteran director jack clayton made this very watchable, keeping up a level of suspense throughout and while not terrifying, there were some very creepy scenes that made this a bona fide horror movie.