DVDpedia : Library : Title : V

Theatrical: 1984

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 267

Summary: Though followers of current science fiction television series may dismiss "V: The Final Battle" as a quaint relic from the pre-computer animation days, the six-hour miniseries about an alien invasion of Earth was a ratings juggernaut for NBC in 1984 and should still provide some entertainment for hard-bitten devotees and fans of '50s-style sci-fi. "The Final Battle" picks up four months after the shock conclusion of the 1983 prequel miniseries, with a small group of humans known as the Resistance struggling to convince their fellow humans that a fleet of seemingly friendly visitors from space are in fact bent on world domination.
Executive producer Kenneth Johnson (who oversaw most aspects of the first series) only supervised the sequel's script (which underwent several changes before its airing), and the writing occasionally suffers due to the lack of his attention. But the series still delivers its share of action and intrigue, as well as one showstopping gruesome moment involving the birth of interspecies twins. Acting is again a stumbling block, with leads Marc Singer and Faye Grant as bland as any performers from the American International Pictures stable; character actor Michael Ironside makes the strongest impression as a tough Resistance member, and a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund is amusing as a kind-hearted alien. The miniseries was followed by an inevitable weekly series featuring most of the same cast, which was demolished in the ratings by "Dallas", but a faithful Resistance-like following remains to this day. "--Paul Gaita"

Theatrical: 1983

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 196

Summary: In its day, "V" was a monumental event that for one generation remains a pop-culture touchstone. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" may have reassured us that perhaps we have nothing to fear from alien visitors and "E.T." introduced us to a benign extraterrestrial who only wanted to go home, but Kenneth Johnson's 1983 television miniseries knew better. Visitors who claim to come in peace are revealed to be nothing but human-looking reptilians on human conversion and conquest. As in the dark days of fascism, some collaborate with the enemy; others form the resistance.
At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. Those 50 motherships that hover over Earth's major cities anticipate "Independence Day" by more than a decade. The special effects and makeup are still awesome. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast, most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series, have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions. Marc Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan. Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-rebel. Richard Herd is the aliens' supreme commander. Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing but ruthlessly ambitious alien science officer. Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens.
The DVD is presented for the first time in widescreen format. Supplemental features include an amiable and enlightening director's commentary and a brief "making of" segment. "--Donald Liebenson"

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 132

Summary: "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film "V for Vendetta". His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who played Winston Smith in the movie "1984"), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot, and his philosophy on how to induce change.
Based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, "V for Vendetta"'s screenplay was written by the Wachowski brothers (of "The Matrix" fame) and directed by their protégé, James McTeigue. Controversy and criticism followed the film since its inception, from the hyper-stylized use of anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the current U.S. political arena, to graphic novel fans complaining about the reconstruction of Alan Moore's original vision (Moore himself has dismissed the film). Many are valid critiques and opinions, but there's no hiding the message the film is trying to express: Radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change. Unfortunately, the movie only offers a means with no ends, and those looking for answers may find the film stylish, but a bit empty. "--Rob Bracco"

Beyond "Vendetta"
The graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
More by Alan Moore
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen
More by Natalie Portman
More by Hugo Weaving
More by the Wachowski Brothers

Theatrical: 2009

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Television

Duration: 150

Summary: There's a lot to like about "V", an exceptionally well-made series combining science fiction, action-adventure, and personal drama (and debuting here on DVD with all 12 first-season episodes on three discs). From the moment 29 enormous spaceships appear over an equal number of major cities (the principal action takes place in New York and aboard the mother ship that hovers over it), nothing will ever be the same. But the Visitors, commonly known as Vs, "are of peace"--or so says Anna (Morena Baccarin), their young, beautiful, preternaturally serene leader (the Vs look human, but as we soon discover, their appearance is only one part of them that isn't what it seems). Folks around the globe are smitten as the Vs perform Christ-like medical miracles and use their awesome technology and messianic powers of persuasion to wow the Earthlings--especially a smarmy, headline-hugging TV "journalist" (Scott Wolf) who becomes their willing mouthpiece, helping the Vs seduce the entire global population… almost. Of course, there are some who know better, specifically the "Fifth Column," a resistance group comprised of humans (with Elizabeth Mitchell as an FBI agent whose son is in thrall to the aliens) and a few "traitor" Vs who've lived on Earth for years (including Morris Chestnut as a V whose human girlfriend is pregnant). They know what the Visitors' real agenda is--and that dirty deeds like establishing terror cells and surreptitiously injecting drugs into humans are only the beginning.
All of this is offered in a very slick, entertaining package; the plotting is clever and just unpredictable enough, the effects work is outstanding (especially good is a technique whereby Vs on their mother ship are rendered like video game characters), and while "V" is hardly what you'd call profound, it does touch on some interesting ideas (such as the role of emotions, of which the Vs have none, or the danger of putting one's faith in false gods). That will help viewers overlook some of the show's more dubious elements. For instance, the utter gullibility of the vast majority of humans in the face of the aliens' transparent duplicity is preposterous, even by sci-fi standards; by the same token, it's hard to swallow that the Fifth Column, which seems to consist of about four people, could possibly pose a threat to the omnipotent Visitors. Still, by the time it reaches its season-ending cliffhanger, "V" has given us more than enough reasons to tune in again next year. "--Sam Graham"

Theatrical: 2008

Studio: United Artists

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 120

Summary: Unpretentious and dramatically straightforward, Valkyrie is a suspenseful yet ennobling story about the last attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler prior to the end of World War II. Tom Cruise is effective if a little opaque as hero Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who channels his anger at Hitler's atrocities and mismanagement of the war by joining a secret organization bent on killing the Führer. When the outspoken Stauffenberg hits on the idea of linking Hitler's death with an official policy to safeguard Berlin during a government crisis--a contingency plan called "Valkyrie"--the group realizes a post-assassination coup could be covered by rapidly implementing the plan. History tells us the plot failed, of course, and Hitler killed himself months later. But that doesn't stop Cruise or director Bryan Singer from approaching the film as a thinking person's thriller, told from inside the conspirators' camp, where the outcome of their deeds were uncertain for several tense hours.
In the tradition of The Great Escape, Valkyrie is a war movie full of famous faces, including Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard. (The lesser-known David Bamber is very good as Hitler, hunched and cracking under pressure.) The film's gravity is offset a bit by the fun of seeing all these actors in a factually-based slice of history, and by a few, interesting stylistic flourishes on Singer's part, including the peculiarly unsettling image of a mosquito sizzled to death in close-up. --Tom Keogh

Stills from Valkyrie (Click for larger image)



   

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 131

Summary: Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, "Van Helsing" rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns", writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens ("sans" credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled "and" exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, "ever" bore you. A sequel is virtually guaranteed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Drama

Duration: 136

Summary: "Vanilla Sky" reunites director Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire") with über-playboy Tom Cruise, adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure, and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted near exactly from Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 romantic thriller "Open Your Eyes", the film follows David Aames (Cruise) as he falls from his graceful Manhattan perch of inordinate wealth, good looks, and newfound love with Sofia (Cruz) because of severe facial disfigurement in a car accident caused by a suicidal ex-lover (Diaz). What at first promises to be a conventional allegory of redemption via true love is turned on its head as Cruise's character, reduced to wearing a latex mask and spurned by his friends, wins back his princess only after a miracle of plastic surgery restores his former beauty. A series of plot twists follows as waking life, technological advances, and nightmares flip-flop to dizzying effect and David ultimately comes face to face with his own mortality. Despite a final conceit to some vague morality, the appeal of the film is the wonderfully callous message conveyed by the rest of it (money and physical beauty equal happiness) through an unabashed vanity perfectly embodied by Cruise and Cruz. A delicious, decadent treat. "--Fionn Meade"

Theatrical:

Studio: Sony Pictures

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 90

Summary: "Vantage Point", which aspires to be a cunningly twisted thriller, comes equipped with plenty of hurtling action, handheld camerawork, what-was-that? editing, and a plot that has multiple, contradictory agendas writhing like a nest of snakes. It's all set a-boil within a few blocks of a town square in Spain where a U.S. President is targeted for assassination. Although the movie lasts 90 minutes, the events it depicts are mostly over with in a quarter-hour or so--but seen, rewound, and reseen from half a dozen different (you guessed it) vantage points. The first line in the credits reads "Original Film," apparently the name of the production company. "Gimmick Movie" would be more accurate; the opening reel, effectively jolting, affords an initial overview of the events through the eyes, lenses, monitors, and dueling sensibilities of a TV news producer (Sigourney Weaver), her activist-minded reporter (Zoe Saldana) and crew. Everybody’s in Salamanca (actually, Mexico City) for the start of an international conference to reaffirm Arab-Western commitment to the fight against terrorism. Terrorism, of course, sees this as an ideal moment to break out. As gunshots and explosions reduce everything to chaos, the clock is reset to zero and we proceed to revisit the scene as experienced by several Secret Service agents (namely Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), an American tourist with camcorder (Forest Whitaker), sundry locals--including three who may be caught up in a love triangle or a conspiracy or both--and even the President himself (William Hurt).

For a while, this is mildly diverting: that guy, or that gesture, so sinister when glimpsed across the plaza in one run-through, now appears harmless in close-up--or vice versa. But there's no real ambiguity (so stop with the careless comparisons to Kurosawa's "Rashomon")--this is a shell game in which the peas aren't worth tracking. Despite decent actors, the characters might as well be holograms (although poor Forest Whitaker is saddled with "motivation" of surpassing sappiness), and the casting telegraphs several twists: one redoubtable good guy practically gives a wink-wink, nudge-nudge that he's really bad, etc. The movie declines to specify which nutjob philosophy the terrorists espouse, and their numbers are multi-ethnic. There's also a laborious suggestion that they have bloodthirsty, reactionary counterparts among the President's inner circle, which perhaps qualifies as redeeming socio-political comment and prompts a meaningless declaration of deep meaning from the Prez. The whole megilleh finally comes down to an extended car chase through impassably claustrophobic streets that would mark a lurch into unintentional self-parody--if only that point hadn't been passed a couple of rewinds earlier. "--Richard T. Jameson"


Stills from "Vantage Point" (click for larger image)

Theatrical: 1997

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 93

Summary: Check your brain at the door, because it's time once again for a dim-witted visit to Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his happy-go-lucky family, who hit the Vegas strip for this vacation. (The kids who originally played the Griswold children have been replaced.) The Griswold exploits in the casinos are good for a few embarrassed chuckles, especially when Mrs. Griswold (Beverly D'Angelo) gets onstage with Wayne Newton for a truly mind-altering rendition of Minnie Ripperton's ear-piercing 1970s hit "Loving You." And because he scored so many low-brow points as the lame-brained cousin in the original "National Lampoon's Vacation", Randy Quaid is back to cause a lot of trouble, while Chevy Chase is reduced to uninspired slapstick and endless puns involving the word "damn". In other words, "Vegas Vacation" is the kind of comedy that can convince you that civilization is doomed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1998

Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 100

Summary: Peter Berg's dark comedy about a bachelor party gone horribly awry is highly ambitious in its attempts to satirize suburbia, male bonding, and self-help philosophy, and for the most part it does succeed in hitting its targets with a malicious, misanthropic glee. When five buddies arrive in Las Vegas for some pre-wedding shenanigans, things quickly spiral out of control when the requisite prostitute falls victim to a grisly accident, igniting a spark in an already unstable powder keg of personalities. Following the lead of real estate agent and self-help guy Robert (Christian Slater), the men warily agree on a cover-up and covert desert burial. A couple hours and another corpse later, however, they're already at each other's throats, and their escalating breakdowns threaten to disrupt the highly prized wedding of hard-as-nails bride Laura (a stunning Cameron Diaz). Berg, like most actor-turned-directors (this is "The Last Seduction" star's filmmaking debut) helms the film with a wildly sliding tone and tends to weigh its strengths heavily on its performers. Slater's psycho turn is by far his most inventive yet (he's more in control than ever before), Diaz effectively mixes sunshine with poison, and Jon Favreau is effective and understated as the hapless bridegroom; the rest of the cast, however, tends to play up the histrionics. Be warned, though: Those expecting a sunny-style "There's Something About Mary" gross-out comedy will probably be shocked by Berg's take-no-prisoners agenda; this is comedy at its absolute blackest, and no one is spared. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: Funimation

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 109

Summary: "Vexille" (2007, subtitled "2077 Nippon Sakoku": "2077 Isolation of Japan") is a CG/motion capture film that apes the popular "Appleseed" series. In 2077, 10 years after Japan withdrew into a sort of neo-Tokugawa isolation to pursue illegal cyborg technology, most of the population has been turned into androids by the evil Daiwa Heavy Industries. Vexille, a tough-as-press-on-nails "mecha" pilot in theDeunan Knute mode, joins in a raid on the remains of Tokyo to learn about the threat this technology poses. An unremarkable series of chases, "mecha" battles and Morris-the-Explainer-scenes ensues as Vexille, her beau Leon, and the few Japanese who still cling to their humanity destroy Daiwa's fortified island headquarters. Most of the story elements are borrowed other films, including "Appleseed Ex Machina", "Dune" and the two "Ghost in the Shell" features. "Vexille" was clearly a low-budget production: the poorly rendered figures ressemble wax puppets and their shadows shrink and grow like stains on their clothing. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"
Stills from "Vexille" (click for larger image)

Theatrical: 1988

Studio: Sony Pictures

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 99

Summary: Stills from "Vibes" (Click for larger image)

Theatrical: 1996

Studio: DVD International

Genre: Educational

Summary: Having purchased both discs, I have very strong feelings about this. Avia bests VE in almost every respect:
1. Navigation: On VE, the navigation is handled by a very confusing set of menus within menus. On my DVD remote, I could only access one of the menus using a button that I otherwise never use. Until I figured this out, the only way I could skip through the initial (not very useful) audio stuff was to fast forward! Avia's menus work like every other menu I have ever used. No problem with navigation.
2. Color calibration: VE offers only a blue filter. However, Avia provides red, blue, and green filters and allows you set each independently.
3. Sharpness: VE simply tells you to turn your sharpness all the way down. The pattern for setting sharpness is so under explained, it is useless. Avia provides a full explanation and resulted in my setting the sharpness level considerably above zero.
4. Brightness and Contrast settings: VE provides only static bars (and requires that your DVD passes pure black). Avia provides bars that flash. This makes getting proper settings much easier. Also, your DVD doesn't have to pass pure black.

Theatrical: 1985

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 131

Summary: Roger Moore's last outing as James Bond is evidence enough that it was time to pass the torch to another actor. Beset by crummy action (an out-of-control fire engine?) and featuring a fading Moore still trying to prop up his mannered idea of style, the film is largely interesting for Christopher Walken's quirky performance as a sort-of supervillain who wants to take out California's Silicon Valley. Grace Jones has a spookily interesting presence as a lethal associate of Walken's (and who, in the best Bond tradition, has sex with 007 before trying to kill him later), and Patrick Macnee (Steed!) has a warm if brief bit. Even directed by John Glen, who brought some crackle to the Moore years in the Bond franchise, this is a very slight effort. "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone

Genre: Mystery & Suspense

Duration: 108

Summary: Even when his trademark twist-ending formula wears worrisomely thin as it does in "The Village", M. Night Shyamalan is a true showman who knows how to serve up a spookfest. He's derailed this time by a howler of a "surprise" lifted almost directly from "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim," an episode of "The Twilight Zone" starring Cliff Robertson that originally aired in 1961. Even if you're unfamiliar with that Rod Serling scenario, you'll have a good chance of guessing the surprise, which ranks well below "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs" on Shyamalan's shock-o-meter. That leaves you to appreciate Shyamalan's proven strengths, including a sharp eye for fear-laden compositions, a general sense of unease, delicate handling of fine actors (alas, most of them wasted here, save for Bryce Dallas Howard in a promising debut), and the cautious concealment of his ruse, which in this case involves a 19th-century village that maintains an anxious truce with dreadful creatures that live in the forbidden woods nearby. Will any of this take anyone by genuine surprise? That seems unlikely, since Emperor Shyamalan has clearly lost his clothes in "The Village", but it's nice to have him around to scare us, even if he doesn't always succeed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1997

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 104

Summary: Get mindless for awhile with this 1997 disaster flick, starring the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles as a funky place for lava to spew, plus Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche as the brave souls who know how to shut off the spout. Director Mick Jackson ("The Bodyguard") wastes no time getting to the good stuff--it's happening even before opening credits are over--and neither should anyone in the mood for technical efficiency without the burden of art. "--Tom Keogh"

Theatrical: 1986

Studio: BBC Warner

Genre: Art House & International

Duration: 120

Summary: Think of this BBC two-part TV special as "Walking with Planets". One of the makers of the excellent "Walking with..." dinosaur programs looks forward--into the future--and upward--into space--for another presentation of story-driven science. This fake documentary follows an international crew of five on an extraordinary six-year spaceflight. We hear from Mission Control and view footage of the astronauts in training along with the flight photography and "TV broadcasts" (perfect for quickly explaining facts via Q&As). The flight is beyond ambitious: landing on Venus, Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, the rings of Saturn, an asteroid, and the far-off reaches of Pluto. Certainly, no real space agency would sign off on such a mission, but the dramatics work thanks to the deft handling by writer-director Joe Ahearne ("Ultraviolet"). Here's a fun way to learn about the crushing pressure of Venus or the risk/reward of slingshot-ing around the sun. With quick pacing (we are on Venus six minutes into the two-hour movie), smart choices (some of the astronauts' hardships are brutal), plus excellent special effects (the mile-long spacecraft "Pegasus" is a dandy), you have a program with which families can learn together and kids will want to watch more than once.
The DVD contains some great making-of features, plus a complete episode on the real-life space probes that have visited--and are still visiting--the planets. They are just as watchable as the main program. "--Doug Thomas"

Theatrical: 1982

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 972

Summary: No description available for this title.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 07/17/07
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve