ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512270036
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: It came from the video store
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
For the past three years, on the Saturday before Christmas, this column has been devoted to films that are worth watching again. Even though the holiday is associated with family gatherings, that's not always true for everyone. A good video - the kind that creates and sustains a reality you can visit for a couple of hours - may be the best company that some of us can find this weekend. So, here are five suggestions for audiences of all ages, but mostly for kids.
The best of this bunch is an 11-year-old television production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" making a belated appearance on tape.
George C. Scott is a fine Scrooge, both the famous "Bah, Humbug!" character and his changed or reborn self. Director Clive Donner made the film in the historic town of Shrewsbury, England. Filled with snow and coal smoke, it captures that potent combination of horror and revelation that makes the story so effective. Where most Christmas tales tend to be sweet and loving, this one is often frightening. After all, it's a ghost story, with Frank Finlay, Edward Woodward and Susannah York as the spirits.
All in all, this is a first-rate dramatization of one of the most popular works in the English language. Highly recommended.
"Troublemakers" is a curious title for a Christmas Western. The film is a throwback to the early days of spaghetti Westerns - stars Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer have been in the business since the 1960s - but without the violence and killings. Instead, the action is old-fashioned fist fights, shooting guns out of hands and such. The light humor will remind older viewers of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Kids will really like it.
Hill (who directed) and Spencer play feuding brothers whose Mom (fellow '60s survivor Ruth Buzzi) wants them to come home for Christmas. The complications involve comic outlaws, a pretty veterinarian and a bear. The New Mexico locations look terrific but the whole thing goes on a little too long.
Time travel is a popular theme for kids' entertainment, and several new tapes aimed at the short set explore the subject.
The most complicated is "Timemaster," a fast-paced movie that jaunts through space and time. As this story has it, all human conflict from the dawn of history to the future is the result of cosmic virtual reality game-players, led by the Chairman (Michael Dorn). Our wars are their sport, and the fate of the planet winds up in the hands of young Jesse (Jesse Cameron-Glickenhaus). With the reluctant help of Isaiah (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), he must save both his parents (Joanna Pacula and Duncan Regehr) and the world as we know it.
The scene shifts quickly between various pasts and futures, and so it may be a little difficult for the youngest videophiles to follow. But they'll be entertained by the colorful action and the attractive cast.
"Josh Kirby ... Time Warrior" is a six-part serial from Charles Band's Moonbeam Entertainment. In the first installment, "Planet of the Dino-Knights," our 14-year-old hero (Corbin Allred) is plucked from his comfortable suburban life to accompany Dr. Irwin in his Timepod. They must find the parts of "The Nullifier" which could destroy the entire universe if the mad genius Zoetrope gets his hands on it. Also available now are parts II and III, "Trapped on Toyworld" and "Human Pets," with more due next year.
Like all Band films, these have acceptable special effects, well-constructed plots, good production values, and a sense of humor. Fine fare for audiences of the right age.
As sequels go, "Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving" has everything its young audience wants to see: familiar characters, colorful animation, simple conflicts, o.k. songs.
The animated dinosaur tale begins with a brief description of evolution, and then follows its saurian heroes - Littlefoot, Sara, Ducky, Spike and Petry - as they venture forth from the Great Valley into the Mysterious Beyond to find water.
The story teaches lessons about conservation, tolerance and parenting, but those are laid in so painlessly that the kids won't mind. Fans of the first two will love it.
Next week: Sex ... religion ... controversy!
The Essentials:
A Christmas Carol **** 20th Century Fox. 100 min. Unrated, contains some scary scenes.
Troublemakers ** Triboro. 98 min. Rating pending (almost certainly PG) for comic violence.
Timemaster ** 1/2 MCA/Universal. 100 min. Rated PG-13 for violence, some strong language.
Josh Kirby ... Time Warrior! ** 1/2 Paramount. each episode 88-90 min. Rated PG for mild violence.
Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving ** 1/2 MCA/Universal. 67 min. Rated G.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB