Something Wicked This Way Comes: Revisiting a Dark Disney Classic

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  • Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
  • In the seventies and early eighties, Walt Disney Productions were experimenting with adult fare, and Something Wicked This Way Comes ranks as one of the darkest movies the studio ever made, at least before opening Touchstone Pictures the year after this came out. Based on the novel by Ray Bradbury, this starred Jonathan Pryce as a carnival leader named Mr. Dark, who visits a small town in Illinois during the thirties and tempts the residence. It turns out, Mr. Dark just might be the Devil himself. In this episode of Fantasizing About Fantasy Films, we dig into the making of this cult classic.
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Комментарии • 442

  • @wstine79
    @wstine79 Год назад +163

    I remember watching this as a kid along with The Black Hole, Tron, and Escape from Witch Mountain.

    • @sicknote1558
      @sicknote1558 Год назад +9

      Loved that film the black hole plus the island at the top of the world and tom cruise LEGEND and David bowies labyrinth don't make them as great as that anymore

    • @youtubeme7195
      @youtubeme7195 Год назад +6

      Kids don't have the intellectual challenge of thoughtful filmmaking that we had, and it's our fault, for not sharing it with our kids.

    • @gateauxq4604
      @gateauxq4604 Год назад

      Same. This explains a lot about me 👀

    • @anadraham2995
      @anadraham2995 Год назад +5

      Every single one of those movies left an indelible impression on me soul. I can still hear the score from Black Hole haunting me dreams 🎃

    • @Ultamami
      @Ultamami Год назад +1

      50yee!

  • @Talwyn22
    @Talwyn22 Год назад +145

    This is probably one of the best novel adaptations ever made.
    Brilliant cast, great effects and a chillingly dramatic story that stands the test of time. 5 Stars

    • @trhansen3244
      @trhansen3244 Год назад +7

      I watched it a few months ago. I was shocked at the almost total lack of diversity. I contacted Disney about this and they might be able to digitally add more diverse people in the cast.

    • @lifeandThings
      @lifeandThings Год назад +2

      Did you read tho book? If so, how was it?

    • @Talwyn22
      @Talwyn22 Год назад +10

      @@lifeandThings I did, years ago after I saw the film. Ray Bradbury is one of the best writers ever

    • @AngryNewAger
      @AngryNewAger Год назад +5

      @@Talwyn22 me too! I am a BIG fan of Bradbury - but I believe this is probably my choice for the category “Movies that are much better than the book”

    • @Talwyn22
      @Talwyn22 Год назад +8

      @@AngryNewAger I can agree on that. Something Wicked is a rare example of a story that has transcended its original form and became something more.

  • @ZestonN
    @ZestonN Год назад +49

    Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce are amazing in this! 😃
    This is actually one of my favorite roles by Jonathan Pryce, and I had no idea it was his first.
    He establishes the style of character he would be known for the rest of his career in this movie. 😃

    • @rufus231
      @rufus231 7 месяцев назад +2

      Jonathan is just being himself.

    • @MarkFloyd7451
      @MarkFloyd7451 Месяц назад

      I totally agree about Jonathan Pryce and Jason Robards but I also think the two child actors, Vidal Peterson & Shawn Carson, do a really good job as well. The casting for this movie was spot on and it really is a hidden gem that deserves more accolades than it received. I agree with the late movie critic Roger Ebert who gave it a high rating and called it a horror film with elegance.

  • @jasongarrison9918
    @jasongarrison9918 Год назад +27

    Great exposition. The library scene is dynamite. And when Dark questions Mr Holloway about the boys is absolute fire. He shows him the boys tattoos on his hands and squeezes blood from them, calls Holloway a liar and pathetic, and then creeps away with them while they play a funeral dirge, staring him down as he leaves.

    • @dpr821
      @dpr821 Год назад

      Yes, that was cinema gold. One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie.

  • @jimmyboy7817
    @jimmyboy7817 Год назад +50

    This along with Dragonslayer, The Watcher in the Woods and Return to Oz is where Disney really pushed the boundaries of its family live action movies by remaining "family" but being dark and scary compared to most of its films. The Black Cauldron, likewise pushed the boundaries in its animated division. They were box office disappointments at the time because they were judged as being too juvenile for adults and too adult for children. It wasn't until they created the Touchstone Pictures label that Disney could successfully produce mature adult movies beginning with Splash.

    • @pablocasas5906
      @pablocasas5906 Год назад +4

      Especially since after Walt's death Disney seemed to pump a lot of safe comedies like The Happiest Millionaire, The Computer wore Tennis Shoes, The Million Dollar Duck, The Love Bug, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and their animated output was pretty scarce with Robin Hood being Disney's first animated movie that wasn't produced by Walt
      It seemed like Disney was stuck in the past while the rest of Hollywood was making revolutionary films in the 70s like Jaws and Star Wars

    • @jimmyboy7817
      @jimmyboy7817 Год назад +4

      @Pablo Casas Yes, they certainly were pumping out their old-fashioned family entertainment at that time. At least Kurt Russell completed his acting apprenticeship during those years!

    • @Oddmanoutre
      @Oddmanoutre Год назад +2

      @@pablocasas5906 Jaws and Star Wars is a funny way to spell Sorceror and Chinatown.

    • @pablocasas5906
      @pablocasas5906 Год назад +2

      @@jimmyboy7817 sorry for replying so late but yeah, it's interesting how Kurt started his career at Disney in movies like the Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Now you See him, now you don't, The Strongest man in the World, Charley and the Angel and Superdad. I also think he even narrated a rare short film made by one of Disney's best animators, Ward Kimball, called "Dad... Can I Borrow the Car?"
      Kurt made a great transition from child to adult actor, it's kind of funny that one of his last roles in a Disney movie from the company's dark ages, as adult Copper in The Fox and the Hound, was released the same year when he played Snake Plissken in Escape from New York. He came back to Disney years later in movies such as Sky High and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 though

    • @celestepalm6949
      @celestepalm6949 Год назад +6

      It never registered with me that Dragonslayer was a Disney film. Such a great dark fantasy & the dragon effects were phenomenal.

  • @celestepalm6949
    @celestepalm6949 Год назад +9

    Jonathan Pryce is such a woefully underrated actor. He deserves so much more recognition.

  • @andychandler1737
    @andychandler1737 Год назад +10

    Man, I was in fifth grade and was (still am) enraptured by this film. It was the perfect movie at a perfect age. Jonathan Price absolutely NAILS it. Of course, he's good in everything.

  • @brentstantonfun
    @brentstantonfun Год назад +7

    so Ive been very privileged in my career. But the single biggest highlight for me was meeting and going to a screening of this film with the legend and my personal hero, Ray Bradbury. I grew up on many of his stories, as well as being a fan of his writing for old NBC Science fiction Radio. Ray, at the screening spoke about how dark the original film cut was. How Disney had screened it and how they contacted Ray and told him that Both the Music and film were Too Dark for Disneys standards. Ray said he would look at it. After looking at it, he admitted it was far beyond even what He wrote about. Disney had planned on pulling the plug on the project in the middle of shooting, but Ray said he could fix it. Another Director was brought in to help guild Ray, but that Ray had been on set and basically helped to direct the reshoots and the remained of the film. He said he also was crucial in the changing of the music for his lighter version. Ill never forget sitting next to Ray at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica watching this film. I lament his passing but am so grateful even today for the Charms of his life long body of work.

  • @CornishCreamtea07
    @CornishCreamtea07 Год назад +72

    It's a shame that this is not on Disney+

    • @Kurtsg10
      @Kurtsg10 Год назад +8

      Disney sadly seems to not put any movie that they're embarrassed of on the channel.

    • @cheneethompson5756
      @cheneethompson5756 Год назад +8

      ​​ @Kurtsg10 well, the black cauldron's on disney plus
      And it was a flop when it premiered
      And is widely known as disney's first PG film
      It was much darker in the screen tests

    • @nicodemus369
      @nicodemus369 Год назад +10

      That’s why I purchased a BluRay of it. So I have a hard-copy of this excellent-classic. ✌️😊

    • @Number4lead
      @Number4lead Год назад +11

      ​@@Kurtsg10now they make nothing but embarrassing films.

    • @karstpyrod9992
      @karstpyrod9992 Год назад +8

      It’s a shame you can’t find it anywhere. No streaming options even for purchase. Amazon has a dvd but shipping time is over a month so I guess it’s coming from overseas.

  • @theleap2946
    @theleap2946 Год назад +41

    This whole era was pretty awesome. Tron, Escape from Witch Mountain and Return to Oz were also great additions. I wish Disney+ would stop denying this era existed and put this on their streaming platform. And Condorman…we need that back on.
    I will say this, Jonathan Price is amazing. Especially the scene where he first looks for the boys. Plus the carnival procession is unnerving.

    • @pablocasas5906
      @pablocasas5906 Год назад +3

      Disney+, at least in my region, seems to lack a lot of content. The only Touchstone Pictures movies that I could find were Splash, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Nightmare before Christmas. It's difficult to find some of the experimental films that Disney Productions made in the 70s and early 80s

    • @jenniferschillig3768
      @jenniferschillig3768 Год назад +3

      Seeing this on cable was the first I ever saw Jonathan Pryce, though I didn't know his name at the time. A few years later, when I listened to the Miss Saigon cast album, I had no idea that The Engineer was the same guy who'd played Mr. Dark.

    • @ytanonymity3585
      @ytanonymity3585 9 месяцев назад +1

      Don't forget Never Cry Wolf and Watcher In The woods

    • @rufus231
      @rufus231 7 месяцев назад

      Jonathan isn't acting.

    • @bassage13
      @bassage13 18 дней назад

      Screw stupid streaming. Give us the 4k discs now!

  • @alankelly1001
    @alankelly1001 Год назад +28

    This has always been one of my top four Disney live action films (along with "The Black Hole", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", and "Tron"), all of which I encountered under 10 years old, and they have stuck with me for life... to the extent that I still have a fascination with black holes, giant squid, and carnivals.
    And I remember Michael Eisner (before he became CEO) hosting a promotional behind-the-scenes segment on "Wonderful World of Disney" before the movie was released.

  • @StevenAbney
    @StevenAbney Год назад +12

    I agree about that confrontation with Dark and Halloway in the library. I think it’s one of the best cinematic Good vs Evil exchanges ever put to film. So glad you covered this one!

  • @daemionluccas490
    @daemionluccas490 Год назад +14

    Effing love this movie. It's one of my Halloween traditions right up there with Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Halloween Tree (another amazing Bradbury movie). Ironically I actually dressed as Mr. Dark for Halloween last year. Nobody got it. and that made me sad.

  • @pablocasas5906
    @pablocasas5906 Год назад +29

    I was always fascinated by the Disney era after Walt's death and before Eisner came to the company when they were still called Walt Disney Productions, it seemed like most of their movies were failures with very few exceptions like The Love Bug or The Apple Dumpling Gang, but most of the company’s profits came from their theme parks. There were experimental and big budgeted films like The Black Hole, Tron, Pete's Dragon but they weren't huge hits compared to what other studios did. It's interesting that Disney finally decided to enter the adult market by founding Touchstone Pictures.
    It's kind of unbelievable that before Eisner arrived Disney was almost going to be bought by other companies, now Disney owns Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox

  • @tomowens7499
    @tomowens7499 Год назад +13

    i love this movie... I worked at Disney animation for years, and when I worked there in the early 90's the town center used in this movie was still on the backlot, and you could take your lunch there to eat... it was so cool to see. it's all gone now, replaced by big office buildings...

  • @JessicaDwyer
    @JessicaDwyer Год назад +20

    I saw this when I was young and it stuck with me. This was an important one for me to get out there. I truly love it and boy, seriously...I didn't realize how hard it would knock me seeing this after losing my dad. That part of the story just hits so much more home now. Bravo Bradbury.

  • @danielbullock1019
    @danielbullock1019 Год назад +5

    This movie is an underrated gem! It scared the crap out of me as a kid.

  • @jtmcgee
    @jtmcgee Год назад +2

    My paternal grandmother would put this on EVERY time all the grand-kids were over. Even though we weren't actively watching it, it was on in the background and is etched into many childhood memories.

  • @michaelapodaca-h1k
    @michaelapodaca-h1k Год назад +2

    The film still unsettles the mind like nothing out there today. And this narrator has a delightful way of speaking that captivates. Excelsior!

  • @KarelPKerezman
    @KarelPKerezman Год назад +3

    I was one of those kids. I saw this movie, alone, in the theater in the small town of Brewster Washington, way WAY too young to properly appreciate it. My main take-away was an ongoing appreciation for the superb Jason Robards. I didn't remember that Jonathan Pryce was Mister Dark at all! What an early role for a marvelous actor.

  • @themysteriousdomainmoviepalace
    @themysteriousdomainmoviepalace Год назад +3

    Jonathan Pryce was outstanding in this. Also Pam Grier. Its a great film.

  • @AmosTheTalented
    @AmosTheTalented Год назад +3

    I think I’m in love with you, for this review.
    Terrifying as it was, Something Wicked This Way Comes became a cornerstone of my childhood. Almost as much as Dragonslayer, but that’s another story. Furthermore, you are right about the library scene, as it has always been the most captivating for me. It’s a duel. Not with weapons, but words, experience, intimidation, and dare I say… faith. Also, it’s a duel that ends in a draw, where both men appear to have impressed the other.
    Yes, not all stories have a happy ending, as this movie deftly explains.

  • @Daisy-sc6tm
    @Daisy-sc6tm Год назад +13

    I saw this in the 80's on Disney channel. It is my favorite scary movie. It scared the crap out of me as a kid. Its pretty freaking scary as an adult.❤

  • @curiousworld7912
    @curiousworld7912 Год назад +5

    I read the book when i was about 10, and loved it - as I did all Bradbury's stories. I was so delighted when I heard a film had been made, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a wonderful book, and a wonderful film. Thanks for covering it. :)

  • @62LeftyBlues
    @62LeftyBlues Год назад +14

    I bought this and rewatched it a month ago! I was one of the few that paid to see it at the theater when it came out. Great movie when Disney was Disney.

    • @karstpyrod9992
      @karstpyrod9992 Год назад +1

      Where did you find it? I can’t find it anywhere to purchase to stream and the only one I see on Amazon has over a month shipping time so I’m not sure it’s legit

    • @62LeftyBlues
      @62LeftyBlues Год назад

      @@karstpyrod9992 Ebay! where the world shops! LOL

  • @alienmoosestudios
    @alienmoosestudios Год назад +2

    I remember seeing this movie as a child. Always been a favorite. 🤩 Thanks for sharing this entertaining video 🤩

  • @teeznyarlathotep8700
    @teeznyarlathotep8700 Год назад +11

    Excellent review and analysis of a truly underrated solid film. By no means amazing, _Something Wicked This Way Comes_ is a *satisfying* film, something you'll enjoy watching again every so often. I wish Jessica would have spoken more about the differences between the movie and book, but I suppose she can make another video for that. Hint, hint. ;-)

    • @chasehedges6775
      @chasehedges6775 Год назад +1

      👍👍👍👍👍.

    • @chasehedges6775
      @chasehedges6775 Год назад +2

      Something you’ll watch again every so often.
      As someone who watched it a lot as a kid, I enjoyed it very much

  • @charlesfcopeland9756
    @charlesfcopeland9756 Год назад +2

    This was one of my favorites when it first came out. Back then, I identified with both William and Jim through many of my developing life occurrences. However, the part of Mr Dark confronting Will's father in the library with the "book of life" has always remained in my consciousness. Now, identifying more as the Jason Robards character, it haunts me even more.

  • @FigmentForever
    @FigmentForever Год назад +2

    Little known fact: Ray Bradbury was a huge influence & advisor on Epcot Center as well. As former member of Hollywood/Touchstone Pictures prop department & a current Disney archivist in Glendale, I wish I was able to find the cut/reshot content from this movie. Finding lost reels for 20k Leagues was the highlight of my career!

  • @thejudgmentalcat
    @thejudgmentalcat Год назад +1

    "...my neighbors, who gave me my first glance into the fearful needs of the human heart" my favorite quote. I've always loved this movie ❤

  • @frankb821
    @frankb821 Год назад +2

    Stellar analysis, well done! Just discovered this gem a couple of years back during my lament of the loss of good Disney movies. Thankfully, the back catalog is strong, to get us through this cringe period.

  • @markfarris2630
    @markfarris2630 Год назад +4

    This movie is hard as hell to find. Really needs a re-release and remaster to BluRay and 4k.

  • @thebowandbullet
    @thebowandbullet Год назад +8

    I *_love_* this movie! I'm definitely overdue to watch it again.

  • @janmarchand7294
    @janmarchand7294 Год назад +4

    I loved everything about this movie, being a child who loved dark tales. I remember how excited I was about the title, it sounded so deliciously scary!

  • @IndyCrewInNYC
    @IndyCrewInNYC Год назад +4

    I remember it fondly from the numerous showings on HBO/Showtime back then. Price's Mr. Dark so terrified me but yet I could watch this film over and over. Years later, I was so surprised that THE Pam Grier (so gorgeous) was the Dust Witch as I didn't know who she was back then. This film has atmosphere and totally envelops you. I own both soundtracks and I agree, while I really like Horner's score, Delerue truly hits all the right marks, it's a shame it was rejected. That title tune is pure Gothic fuel.

  • @kungfew1396
    @kungfew1396 Год назад +6

    I love this movie and that is probably one of the coolest book title names I've ever heard of.

    • @loogoo
      @loogoo Год назад +3

      The title is taken from a line in Shakespeare's Macbeth - "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" - which is said by one of the three witches in the play.

  • @dlfendel2844
    @dlfendel2844 Год назад +1

    Ray Bradbury once told me that the original plan for the opening of the film was to show the town in bright springtime with flowers blooming and as the credits unspooled it would go through summer and then go all brown and decrepit for October and Fall by the time the film began. They didn't do that, but he was very involved in the film which is why it is so good.

  • @tommylakindasorta3068
    @tommylakindasorta3068 Год назад +3

    I feel like Jonathan Pryce deserves more accolades. He's been a working actor for over 50 years and has been in some iconic films. (Glengarry Glen Ross and Brazil, among others.) I've never seen him give a bad performance.

  • @kri249
    @kri249 Год назад +2

    I haven't seen this since I was a kid but I always found it fascinating. I know the "for the kids" phrase is to mock how a supposed kids movie has horror elements but it never phased me. I never got nightmares from it. Watching a kids movie with horror scenes only made me feel more mature.

  • @wayhollobj36
    @wayhollobj36 Год назад +5

    Hey Jo Blowers y'all do a great job
    I remember seeing this one in the early 80s and loved how spooky it was
    Jason Robards was awesome too
    Especially because his character shares my last name Slightly spelled differently
    Amusing coincidence that I have lived in Waukegan IL for years now
    And enjoy the public library daily reminder of Ray Bradbury with a statue and entire section dedicated to him

  • @Stonecutter334
    @Stonecutter334 Год назад +3

    A wildly underrated film. If you haven’t seen it you absolutely should.

  • @anthonyambrose8783
    @anthonyambrose8783 Год назад +2

    Absolutely one of my favorite movies ever. Such a true gem that is a rare creature. Nothing like this would ever be made again, in my opinion. It packs such a punch and hands down, Jonathan Pryce just oozes malevolence. So good.

  • @johngay8416
    @johngay8416 Год назад +2

    I remember hearing about this coming out!
    Bradbury was one of my favorite writers! So I rushed out and read the book right before this movie came out.
    And I was hugely disappointed in how different the movie was from the book.
    In fact I never read a book before watching a movie any more because of this.
    Maybe I should rewatch this now that it’s been decades since I first saw it.

  • @SaintSteven67
    @SaintSteven67 Год назад +3

    I remember this one and I liked it when I was 17 when it first was released. I like is more as an adult. Something Wicked is fantastic and very deep - and it's based on my second-favorite novel by Ray Bradbury. Thanks for making this video!

  • @GTX1123
    @GTX1123 24 дня назад

    This movie is an incredibly well done adaptation of Bradbury's story, fraught with wisdom and deeper meanings about life and the spiritual realm in the battle of good against evil. The library scene is absolutely PHENOMENAL.

  • @patriciayoung3267
    @patriciayoung3267 Год назад

    Very well done piece. I have always loved Ray Bradbury's writing. Especially his "Autumn People". They come out of the dark only in the Fall in the dying days before Winter. Something Wicked This Way Comes was one of my favorites and Disney did it well, in spite of themselves.

  • @chinchillaka
    @chinchillaka Год назад +3

    One of my favourite films growing up. It's an unsung classic. Thank you for bringing this excellent film to light.

  • @BigBubbaloola
    @BigBubbaloola Год назад +7

    I remember watching this one Halloween on the old Disney Channel (I think) back in 1985 when visiting Florida. The scene where Dark crushes Charles' hand horrified me as a kid. I do remember it was a great film though.

    • @Linuxpunk81
      @Linuxpunk81 Год назад +3

      Yes! Disney Channel would show these "flop" movies all the time as filler and we all benefited greatly 😊Disney also was the first time I saw the hobbit animation and japanese anime of all things with unico and the island of magic!

  • @rikspector
    @rikspector 8 месяцев назад

    Ray Bradbury was a poetic and brilliant author and this
    film does Him justice.
    Something Wicked and Return to Oz are without doubt, two of the best films Disney ever made.
    They are both visually stunning and intellectually demanding.
    They have stood the test of time .
    Cheers,
    Rik Spector

  • @floydmills8963
    @floydmills8963 Год назад +1

    I don't ever remember watching this movie. I thought I'd watched all the Disney movies until the early 2000's. I'ma have to find this!!!

  • @bigneon_glitter
    @bigneon_glitter Год назад +1

    The shot of Jonathan Pryce breaking Jason Robards' hand has been burned into my brain fof 40 years.

  • @JasonON
    @JasonON Год назад +3

    I saw this movie a lot when I was a kid as it was played fairly regularly on HBO and I don't think I've seen it since. I don't remember it being scary at all, but rather a warning of looking to the past instead of accepting the present and welcoming the future. I'll have to find it somewhere because every once in a while, usually when there is a cool breeze at the end of a hot summer day, I think about this movie and wonder how I'd perceive it as an adult.

  • @TheBlindDyslexic
    @TheBlindDyslexic Год назад +1

    One of my Go-To Movies.
    God, I lost track of how many times I saw it back in the 80s on HBO.

  • @andersonrearickiii6392
    @andersonrearickiii6392 Год назад +1

    I use this film in a class on fantasy and science fiction in which I made the point the fantasy can tell stories that realism cannot. The library scene, which is one of my favorites, is wonderful as a direct confrontation between dark and light. The added quotes from Shakespeare and Wordsworth add weight to the conflict. The film in general was helped, of course, by Ray Bradberry‘s fabulous text.

  • @dpr821
    @dpr821 Год назад

    I was in 9th grade when this flick came out, and my whole speech class went to see it because we had recently read the book in Mrs. Scott's class. I'll never forget the impression it left on me. The special effects were awesome!
    I love Jason Robards, and I ADORE Jonathan Price! Mr. Dark scared the shit out of me!
    This was a much deeper film than I remember. You're right: Looking at it now when I'm a little older and wiser, it hits harder.
    It's a true classic; cinematic art at its best!
    Thanks for the review! Excellent analysis!
    I immediately ordered a dvd copy and watched it again!

  • @shainewhite2781
    @shainewhite2781 Год назад +18

    This is one of the very first dark fantasy horror movies that Disney produced. That's amazing, considering that Disney is in the toilet right now.
    The music score by James Horner is both haunting and beautiful.
    The original composer, Georges Delerue wrote a score that was immediately thrown out, and Horner was picked.

    • @lunartat77
      @lunartat77 Год назад +1

      Delerue's score is on RUclips. Horner's score is amazing but so is Delerue's.

  • @Minimuffkiller07
    @Minimuffkiller07 Год назад +2

    I watched this movie last sunday and it threw me back in my childhood full of adventures

  • @SMtWalkerS
    @SMtWalkerS Год назад +1

    What a fantastic review! I saw the movie first-run, and didn't like it, comparing it to the novel. I love Ray Bradbury and thought the movie was ok, but not that great. I have watched it once or twice a year since and have come to love it. The cast is fantastic and visually, it really evokes, fall and Halloween season to me. I love the dark quality. I had watched James Stacey in westerns before his accident and found him very crushworthy. I had no idea that the barber was played by the brother in "East of Eden"! Jason Robards, Pam Grier, Royal Dano, Johnathon Price - all are great. Your analysis is thought-provoking, and the background info is fascinating! Thanks for doing this review.

  • @carolgottlieb1271
    @carolgottlieb1271 Год назад

    I first watched this on TV in the 80s (Wonderful World of Disney), and I immediately fell in love with it. Its probably my favorite Disney movie ever, and its definitely in my top 10 children's movies.

  • @desiv1170
    @desiv1170 Год назад +2

    Great movie. One of my favorites growing up...
    When I read Stephen King's Needful Things (which I also loved), I immediately thought of this story...
    I am convinced King was inspired (knowingly or not) by this...

  • @vitus.verdegast
    @vitus.verdegast Год назад +2

    In the 1990s I watched this film with Ray Bradbury in attendance. The author claimed to have directed large sections of it himself because the director "didn't know what he was doing."

  • @BullyPorterJones
    @BullyPorterJones Год назад

    Becky here - this is one of my favorite movies…..seriously underrated……worth watching again and again….

  • @mattpurcell2462
    @mattpurcell2462 Год назад +1

    This movie still hits all the right notes for me all these years later. Saw it as a kid with my dad, and it left an indelible mark.

  • @georgeflegel8778
    @georgeflegel8778 7 месяцев назад

    I just rewatched this with my son. It was great to relive a classic from my childhood and it definitely hits home harder with me being a father now. I would love it if they would release the original cut with the original music.

  • @FigmentForever
    @FigmentForever Год назад +1

    Glad I joined Disney Movie Club at the right time to get this & tons of other Disney classics you can’t find anywhere. Free shipping for life & I’ll never have to worry about a streaming service having them!

  • @coryoneil5064
    @coryoneil5064 Год назад +1

    This was such a great movie for it's time. I'm glad I got to experience it.

  • @ladyjatheist2763
    @ladyjatheist2763 Год назад

    LOOOOOOVED this movie as a kid! Creeped the beejeepers out of me to no end! but I was a Bradbury fan, and was amazed by the treachery of the "wishes come true".

  • @ingridfong-daley5899
    @ingridfong-daley5899 Год назад +1

    This and John Carpenter's original "The Fog" are the two scariest movies i ever remember seeing as a kid. Yeah, Poltergeist had skeletons in the pool, but Mr. Dark's WORDS are his evil and his magic power--the lulling and spoiling and soothing of egos, the loss of integrity/control over Self to excess indulgence... more terrifying than Carpenter's murderous ghost pirates, precisely because of how REAL the fears of each Something Wicked character feels. Loss, regret, jealousy, these are experiences children can recognise, and the movie made it clear that adults do too, so they're lifelong fears you'll never outgrow--an endless cycle of suffering.
    The entire cast is stellar, but Robards and Pryce are so solid their characters are permanent in my memory.

  • @erichartley1846
    @erichartley1846 Год назад +1

    Read the book in high school--loved it.
    Saw the movie in college--loved it, too.
    Thanks for reminding me why.

  • @Guernicaman
    @Guernicaman Год назад +1

    Always ❤'d this movie's tone & atmosphere. Wish 'Something Wicked...' got a 4K bluRay release, plus be featured on Disney+. Perhaps that way more of the older kids might be able to discover it.

  • @jiszmo6668
    @jiszmo6668 Год назад +1

    I was in elementary school when this came out. It was heavily promoted by schools at the time. I know because I was in a couple of different schools, in different states, over the course of it's run. It was promoted in The Weekly Reader, a classroom newspaper, that was nationwide in schools back then. Many issues featured this movie. The newspaper also advertised various books, that kids could buy.

  • @GrantErickson_IT
    @GrantErickson_IT Год назад +2

    You have no idea how long I've searched for this childhood traumatic experience... 20+ years? Mystery solved. Thank you!
    UPDATE: Just rewatched and yeah.... It's really good! It was undoubtedly this movie, Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Tales from the Crypt that helped to desensitize 7 year old me, twisting me into the freaky-weirdo I am today. (Quite fond of that side of myself :)

  • @JHowesitgoing123
    @JHowesitgoing123 11 месяцев назад

    Glad you made a video about this movie. I watch it every Halloween. Wish it had a bigger fanbase, it deserves more recognition.

  • @nemo7782
    @nemo7782 Год назад

    My introduction to the awesome talent of Jonathan Pryce. I have loved his work ever since. 😊

  • @nigeldonaldson1647
    @nigeldonaldson1647 Год назад

    Ive always thought of Jonathan Price as being wooden as a rocking chair, BUT here he is very charismatic and convincing |(helped all the more by a good wardrobe) give the Devil his due, literally.

  • @bensneb360
    @bensneb360 Год назад +10

    I’d love to see a dark more creative remake of this movie with Michael Fassbender as Mr. Dark, he’ll be perfect in the role, and I always feel like this movie had a lot of potential that it didn’t quite meet that could make for something special if it got remade… Plus more modern Ray Bradberry movies would be cool

  • @BuckarooBanzai84
    @BuckarooBanzai84 Год назад +2

    Couldn't agree more! I loved the book too! Also, I think you'll be happy to know it's on Disney+. That being said, I hope you do more movies from the Disney "Dark Age" (now re-branded "the Bronze Age, ugh") in future videos! It really was an underrated chapter in their filmography, and I think it deserves more attention. Please do 'Return to Oz' next!! =D

    • @reikun86
      @reikun86 Год назад +1

      Ooh. Which region are you in? It's still not available in the US version of Disney+.

    • @BuckarooBanzai84
      @BuckarooBanzai84 Год назад

      @@reikun86 U.S., region 1. I dunno for sure, but I'm almost certain I saw it while scrolling. I suggest using the "search" -feature and typing it in. Sorry I can't help more. =)

  • @kristentaylor5359
    @kristentaylor5359 Год назад +5

    I loved this movie, it's so annoying that I haven't seen it on tv, cable or even Disney in forever. How do we find it again? On another note, I actually ended up with a crush on Jonathan Pryce after this role. He played this part perfectly

  • @bmiller949
    @bmiller949 Год назад +1

    I remember watching this when I was in college. It didn't seem like a kids movie to me back then.

  • @STho205
    @STho205 Год назад +1

    It came out when I was in college, having read Bradbury and this story. It was a wonderful and artistic adaptation. I consider it one of Disney Studios best quality pictures.
    Ray Bradbury did not like being revised, but he wrote the screenplay to Moby Dick and seriously and poignantly rewrote Herman Melville...so fair is fair.
    Never be afraid of the dark, nor temped by evil bargains. The worst they can do to you if you stick to your will and morality is kill you.
    There are worse hells than that.

  • @erichunter77
    @erichunter77 Год назад +1

    I loved this film and it has always stuck with me. Especially the "hand splitting" scene. It was the only part that actually disturbed me.

  • @adrianguinn3331
    @adrianguinn3331 Год назад

    read the book over 35 years ago and "G.M. Dark" is still one of my favorite literary creations of all time

  • @EricDaMAJ
    @EricDaMAJ Год назад

    I saw this with my father years ago when it came out. We were both impressed. I need to see it again.

  • @chereecargill355
    @chereecargill355 Год назад

    Great movie. This was the first time I saw Jonathan Pryce. It still holds up today.

  • @ericnierstedt6242
    @ericnierstedt6242 Год назад +1

    This is my favorite Bradbury story and I watch this movie at the beginning of every Halloween. It's definitely not as good as the novel (I agree, I don't think Disney quite knew what to do with a darker story), but what it gets right makes up for it. Even the score by James Horner does has great moments; I still love the opening score. Thanks for shedding some light on this hidden gem!

  • @asamacres
    @asamacres 21 день назад

    I think about this movie every fall. I first saw it on video disc when I was 5 and loved it.

  • @SuperStewie83
    @SuperStewie83 Год назад +1

    This movie is a classic imo. Every scene has stayed with me in my life even though I haven’t seen it in more then 20 years

  • @blackamerican40
    @blackamerican40 Год назад +1

    That princess eating scene in Dragonslayer is still disturbing to this day over 40 years ago.

  • @catherineholden6388
    @catherineholden6388 Год назад +1

    One of my favorite films of all time. Horner's score is primo. I rank it in the top 10 of movie scores, so if the Delerue score is better, I'll have to give it a listen. Beautiful photography. Pam Grier is certainly a plus and Royal Dano is always a treat.

  • @electricden
    @electricden Год назад

    Thank you SO MUCH for this video. I first came across this film at the perfect age of around 13 years old, the same age as Will and Jim, not long after it had been released in the UK, but being too young to see the film at the time according to my parents, instead devoured Ray Bradbury's book and the subsequent Cinemafantastique magazine special which came out around the same time. Luckily not long after I somehow caught it on British TV, but sadly that was the LAST time I saw it, as far as I know, unlike in the United States, Disney has NEVER released it to buy on ANY format in the UK!! But still, the images I saw in that magazine, the book cover, and within the story haunted me for years later to the point when I had the choice of creating a Circus style image for my Art A Level I choose instead to replicate my OWN version of a possible 'Dark & Cooger's Pandemonium Carnival' travelling poster incorporating all my favourite images (Mr Dark's 'painted' chest, the Dust Witch, Mr Cooger as Mr Electro etc.) within it. Sadly, my dearest wish would have been to have sent a copy of it to Ray himself in Los Angeles before his death, but this never happened. So along with his 'Halloween Tree' animation (ALSO not available in the UK), I consigned this film to unfortunate Bradbury films which I would NEVER see again. Thank you therefore for your video incorporating clips from it, of resurrecting it and facts I didn't know about it (Pam Griers!). I am curious also about the George Delerue original soundtrack being now released, as well as the James Horner one, both of which I have never been able to source in the UK. Any possible links to either for listening to during Bradbury's October Country season?

  • @BinxandDan
    @BinxandDan Год назад +2

    One of my favorite movies of all time!

  • @keith2366
    @keith2366 Год назад

    I am not a big fan of narration in movies but the narration for Something Wicked by Arthur Hill is perfect.

  • @destinycaptain247
    @destinycaptain247 Год назад +1

    Saw it when it came out as a kid. It was covered extensively in Starlog magazine at the time. Loved it. The poster by Bob Peak is a classic.

  • @Dave19812506
    @Dave19812506 Год назад +2

    We rented this on VHS as a kid I loved it

  • @sethwooten5678
    @sethwooten5678 Год назад +2

    Secret of NIMH hits differently as an adult too. I loved it as a kid. Watched it recently. Mind blown

  • @ryeguy7471
    @ryeguy7471 Год назад +1

    To my young mind at the time, Dragonslayer was AMAZING. Disney squandered an opportunity to appeal to older kids and adults with some serious subject matter.

  • @nehor90210
    @nehor90210 Год назад +1

    "Everyone can see a bit of their own father in [Robards]."
    I certainly can, but then he's my dad's second cousin, for what that's worth.

  • @simonwoodthrillerwriter
    @simonwoodthrillerwriter Год назад +1

    I haven't seen since it came out and I loved it. I have to give it a re-watch.

  • @cheneethompson5756
    @cheneethompson5756 Год назад

    It's like Mr Dark was saying, "i will give you your youth back, but at a price.*evil laugh*"
    Great movie!

  • @Brooks24
    @Brooks24 15 часов назад

    I thought I imagined this movie. Nobody seemed to remember when I used to bring it up. I couldn’t remember the name just the spooky carousel.