There's a mischievous playfulness about the spirit of Gremlins, and that's its most endearing quality.
Along the way we get to see Robbie the Robot and the Time Machine at an inventors' fair, plus snippets of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and even "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," with the mogwai's evil selves singing along with the little men. "Gremlins" intends itself to be hip and clever, but what it really succeeds at best is becoming too cutesy for this adult in the first half and I imagine too vicious and violent for younger kids in the second half. I mean, it's only grossly funny to see a gremlin explode in a microwave or get pureed in a blender.
Given the phenomenal sensation "E.T." created only a couple of years before, it was no wonder that another sweet and adorable alien pet movie would come along, this one adding the horror elements so beloved of audiences everywhere. "Gremlins" is a comedy, and partly a put-on, so a lot of things have to be forgiven; among the clichés being spoofed are lapses in logic and plot holes big enough to drive snow tractors through. But the mere fact that it's a comedy shouldn't excuse the idiot characters that abound in the film nor the vacuous ones. When the mogwai or gremlins aren't in the picture, poor Galligan and Cates are basically at a loss for anything to do; and Axton, who has the only genuinely interesting part in the story, is kept out of most of it after the introduction. In any case, by the time the gremlins were out and about on the town, I had pretty much lost interest.
Video:
The picture is presented in a new 1.74:1 ratio digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen TVs. The image is somewhat soft, the color often blurry, most of it probably intended to look that way by the director, especially at the beginning of the film, to establish a fable-like atmosphere. The colors are also a touch rough and grainy, probably not intentional, but they do have the virtue of being bright and natural.
Audio:
The film's original two-channel stereo has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and, while retaining good front-channel stereo separation, does not impart much rear-channel information until the gremlins are set loose. Then you'll hear a whole lot of random rear-channel effects popping up. The sound in general is slightly hard and bright, particularly noticeable during Jerry Goldsmith's musical score, with its annoying title theme, the "Gremlin Rag" or whatever it's named. For those listeners who prefer the original audio, WB also offer a Dolby 2.0 Surround track.
Extras:
As this is a Special Edition of the movie, the disc has several more useful bonus items than one would normally find on an older Warner Bros. release. Of greatest interest are two complete audio commentaries, the first with director Joe Dante and actors Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Dick Miller, and Howie Mandel; the second again with director Joe Dante, this time accompanied by producer Michael Finnell and special effects artist Chris Walas. I listened only to a few minutes of each and would choose the first, the actor commentary, for entertainment and the second, the crew commentary, for substance. Next, there are about ten minutes' worth of additional scenes that can be played with or without a filmmakers' commentary. Then, there's a brief, six-minute featurette made at the time of the film's production, "Gremlins: Behind the Scenes." Finally, there are production notes; a photo gallery; cast and crew biographies; twenty-seven scene selections; and three theatrical trailers, one for the original opening of "Gremlins," one for its reissue, and one for its sequel. English, French, and Spanish are available for spoken languages and subtitles.
Parting Shots:
Despite the misgivings I've noted, the public adored "Gremlins" and it became, if you'll pardon the expression, a monster hit. In fact, it did so well at the box office, it engendered a sequel in 1990, "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," again starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates and again directed by Joe Dante. This time the scale was larger, the little critters starting to infest New York City. The sequel is also available from Warner Bros. on DVD.
There's a mischievous playfulness about the spirit of "Gremlins," and that's its most endearing quality, but I found it grating on me by the story's end. In the final analysis I've never seen much in the film more than a huge merchandising scheme to sell Mogwai dolls and other movie-related paraphernalia. Yet, I can see its appeal in the black-comedy horror departments. Maybe if it had been a mite more developed as either a black comedy or a horror movie, I would have liked it better. As it stands, it's a wonderful could-have-been.
Given the phenomenal sensation "E.T." created only a couple of years before, it was no wonder that another sweet and adorable alien pet movie would come along, this one adding the horror elements so beloved of audiences everywhere. "Gremlins" is a comedy, and partly a put-on, so a lot of things have to be forgiven; among the clichés being spoofed are lapses in logic and plot holes big enough to drive snow tractors through. But the mere fact that it's a comedy shouldn't excuse the idiot characters that abound in the film nor the vacuous ones. When the mogwai or gremlins aren't in the picture, poor Galligan and Cates are basically at a loss for anything to do; and Axton, who has the only genuinely interesting part in the story, is kept out of most of it after the introduction. In any case, by the time the gremlins were out and about on the town, I had pretty much lost interest.
Video:
The picture is presented in a new 1.74:1 ratio digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen TVs. The image is somewhat soft, the color often blurry, most of it probably intended to look that way by the director, especially at the beginning of the film, to establish a fable-like atmosphere. The colors are also a touch rough and grainy, probably not intentional, but they do have the virtue of being bright and natural.
Audio:
The film's original two-channel stereo has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and, while retaining good front-channel stereo separation, does not impart much rear-channel information until the gremlins are set loose. Then you'll hear a whole lot of random rear-channel effects popping up. The sound in general is slightly hard and bright, particularly noticeable during Jerry Goldsmith's musical score, with its annoying title theme, the "Gremlin Rag" or whatever it's named. For those listeners who prefer the original audio, WB also offer a Dolby 2.0 Surround track.
Extras:
As this is a Special Edition of the movie, the disc has several more useful bonus items than one would normally find on an older Warner Bros. release. Of greatest interest are two complete audio commentaries, the first with director Joe Dante and actors Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Dick Miller, and Howie Mandel; the second again with director Joe Dante, this time accompanied by producer Michael Finnell and special effects artist Chris Walas. I listened only to a few minutes of each and would choose the first, the actor commentary, for entertainment and the second, the crew commentary, for substance. Next, there are about ten minutes' worth of additional scenes that can be played with or without a filmmakers' commentary. Then, there's a brief, six-minute featurette made at the time of the film's production, "Gremlins: Behind the Scenes." Finally, there are production notes; a photo gallery; cast and crew biographies; twenty-seven scene selections; and three theatrical trailers, one for the original opening of "Gremlins," one for its reissue, and one for its sequel. English, French, and Spanish are available for spoken languages and subtitles.
Parting Shots:
Despite the misgivings I've noted, the public adored "Gremlins" and it became, if you'll pardon the expression, a monster hit. In fact, it did so well at the box office, it engendered a sequel in 1990, "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," again starring Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates and again directed by Joe Dante. This time the scale was larger, the little critters starting to infest New York City. The sequel is also available from Warner Bros. on DVD.
There's a mischievous playfulness about the spirit of "Gremlins," and that's its most endearing quality, but I found it grating on me by the story's end. In the final analysis I've never seen much in the film more than a huge merchandising scheme to sell Mogwai dolls and other movie-related paraphernalia. Yet, I can see its appeal in the black-comedy horror departments. Maybe if it had been a mite more developed as either a black comedy or a horror movie, I would have liked it better. As it stands, it's a wonderful could-have-been.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]10321[/release]