This warm-hearted Spielbergian cryptozoological adventure didn’t fare quite as well as the colossal hits he was producing earlier in the decade, but it’s far from being the Skunk Ape critics panned – the boy-and-his-bigfoot formula is still a fun Sask-watch 38 years later. While John Lithgow and Melinda Dillon are excellent as the harried parents, … Read more
Steven Spielberg’s winning streak was starting to take on some water by the mid 80’s, with Young Sherlock Holmes, Batteries Not Included and Innerspace all failing to capture the same box office magic as Gremlins or Poltergeist. The Money Pit was no exception. But Amblin is where I lived, and I unabashedly loved everything the … Read more
Who Framed Roger Rabbit finally arrived on home video today in 1989, after a June 22nd, 1988 theatrical release. The long wait was definitely worth it, one of the biggest phenomenons of ‘88 got the priced-to-own treatment and, along with Batman, became one of the biggest stocking stuffers that holiday season. Other than Gremlins, no … Read more
*batteries not included expressed something I’ve always felt in my bones: that interesting matters more than the beautiful. Not the successful or the shiny – the interesting. Frank’s café with its cracked linoleum where the coffee tastes like forty years of conversations. Faye feeding pigeons on the roof while her mind drifts between decades. The … Read more
There was a moment, around 1984 to 1986, when every effects-driven family adventure was trying to be the next Amblin film. Wonder and upheaval in equal parts. BMX-powered high-adventure with the wide-eyed wish fulfilment of a Pepsi commercial. It wasn’t always easy to pull off, even when Amblin was trying to be Amblin. Young Sherlock … Read more
InnerSpace blew up on Home Video today in 1988, after a wilted July 1st, 1987 theatrical release. “Steven Spielberg Presents” really used to mean something. In the early ’80s, it leapt off posters like a promise – Gremlins, Goonies, Back to the Future, that moonlit Amblin logo glowing like a seal of quality. These films … Read more
Gather Ye Acorns (1986). In the mid-80s, Amazing Stories was Steven Spielberg’s attempt to bring the grand tradition of classic anthology storytelling – The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Tales of the Unexpected – into the blockbuster era. It wasn’t about twists or horror so much as wonder, sentimentality, and a touch of … Read more
Too Intense for Kids, Just Right for VHS Glory It took over 2 years, but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom finally arrived on home video today in 1986 after a May 23rd, 1984 theatrical release. Obviously it was another lucrative priced-to-own Paramount title at $29.95, and with Raiders being co-promoted at a cool … Read more
The film that took 6 years to come home to VHS E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial finally arrived on VHS this week in 1988, after a June 11th, 1982 theatrical release. At the time of its October ’88 home video bonanza, 24.95 was the lowest initial price for a major blockbuster compared to the average priced-to-own SRP … Read more