Stephen King's The Langoliers [1995] - DVD (Patricia Wettig, Bronson Pinchot, Dean Stockwell, David Morse, Mark Lindsay Chapman - Dir: Tom Holland)

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Customer Reviews of Stephen King's The Langoliers [1995]

Victoria Hill
UK
3rd January 2009

Has its flaws. Still brilliant though!
I had been wanting this DVD for quite a while as I'd read Stephen King's novella and thought that it was one of his best. It was incredibly long but well worth watching. It's a highly tense horror film about a group of people on board a passenger plane who wake up to find everyone else on the plane gone. They land but realise that they're the only people left on the entire planet. And something feels very wrong. A blind girl, who's other senses are over-developed to make up for her being blind can hear noises and realises that something's coming and getting closer and closer. So it then becomes a race against time (literally) to figure out what's going on and how to get back to safety. It's a good film but not without its flaws. Anyway, I'll point out the bad things first.

The acting was mediocre in a lot of places but diabolical in a few places. Still, this wasn't too bad to overlook as I was more interested in the atmosphere of the film. Some of the actors were good but a lot of the time it was quite wooden.

Continuity. I noticed that the blind girl was wearing a pink outfit in the film but in one scene her outfit had changed from pink to green and then went back to pink in the scene that followed it. However, this is the only thing I noticed so it's not that much of a big deal.

They're really the only flaws.

Now onto the good bits.

I loved the whole atmosphere of the film and how the noises of the Langoliers could be heard really really faintly throughout most of the film, slowly getting louder and louder. It was extrememly tense and I think it made you feel like you were actually there.

Seeing the Langoliers themselves were shocking, in a good way. They're the most frightful looking beasts I think I've ever seen. The effects of these monsters and the cutting out swathes of the earth were really incredibly done.

It was also good how the film kept you on the egde of your seat, always throwing new problems into the equation, such as right at the end of the film when it was suddenly realised that they'd all disappear because none of them were asleep.

Even with its flaws, this was a magnificent film and one I would definitely watch again.

Stephanie Grace
Derby, UK
31st October 2008

A Great Film

This film is great to watch.
The characters are brilliant and edgy. The story I thought scary,but very intriguing because they all enter a different time. Although this film is long and won't please those who love action and fast-paced stories.
This one is a mystery. I enjoyed it very much because it makes you think about what is happening and what the story is telling you.
I haven't read the book 'ten past midnight,' so I don't know if the book is better or not.

Flim

21st October 2008

Dreadful
After reading the novel I thought I'd seek out the DVD. Absoulutely and utterly dreadful is all I can say. Avoid at all costs. Top tip to all film makers - stop making movies based on King's novels. They have all been crap with the exception of Kubrick's The Shining.

xyzzy
Arlington, Texas
23rd August 2008

A good variation on a standard theme
There have been movies and books containing themes on getting ahead of time and behind time. There have been movies and books on Airplanes and time. It has all been done before. However this is a unique and watchable combination.
This is a made for TV movies so don't expect any spectacular graphics or exotic dialog. The story holds its own and the actors (well selected) hold their own. See Dean Stockwell again in the made for TV movie Paper Man (1971) still available on other locations on the net. There is on boring lingering parts. This is science fiction so do not get hung up on obscure physics that would just distract from the story.

This is very suspenseful and everyone gets his just due based on his character and skills.

P. I. MCCLINTON
Hamilton, Scotland
28th December 2007

pathetic
How a film-making company could allow this dross to be released is beyond me. An embarrassment from start to finish, with special effects that a Sinclair ZX81 could do better. Wooden acting, pathetic dialogue and a storyline that is abysmal. A shocking waste of time. If it wasn't so sad it would be funny. No wonder it was only shown on TV so few times (twice, I believe.) Save your money and go and read a book.