hi to everyone,
just wondering if anyone can help i'm trying to find a copy of the movie "something wicked this way,," on DVD for UK formats, as i've tried looking on net and usual places amazon,e-bay etc but can only find the U.S formatted DVD' versions avail, any suggestions or places i could try ?? thanks in advance....
I did recently get a copy of the film on video , but quality wasn't great , even still i loved the movie and it comes close to the book, and it shows this as Ray wrote film script/and helped on production too, i loved the fact that it's from the boys prespective and the cinema photography and feel of the peice was great, it's not so good on special fx's but for the time that's to be expected, i just think the ideas and story shine through, the characters are strong without domianating, the sub-text and morals are the under-pinning elaments, but the thing i love is magic the what if... it's also one of my fav books
and it's probably been said a million times but that's what's lacking in lots of stuff these days be it films/books or music, we'll always go back to classic writer's like ray/steinbeck/H.G wells and laurel and hardy,cagney/bogart and the beatles etc though they should be admired/inspirations and not just copied,,
well any help would be most appreicated cheers dave.. l'pool uk

Greetings Liverpudlian!

You should just get a region-free DVD player, then you can utilise it for other discs, as you'll no doubt find other NTSC, etc DVDs you may want.

I did the same thing for Twin Peaks, series one - I couldn't find a new copy anywhere except on PAL (which also included the pilot), so I just got a region-free for cheap, and now I'm set to play anything I get the world over.

Beyond Twin Peaks, it's already paying dividends: I recently obtained a rare Jacques Tati film unavailable here from the Far East, and it plays beautifully!

On the film, I believe while it's not a great film, it is an adequately good film, although a lot of the book was left out. Overall, Ray says that he is relatively pleased with it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Doug Spaulding,

dave, I completely agree with Doug Spaulding. You can get a multi-region DVD player for peanuts - most of the cheapest players in the UK will play any region (you sometimes just need to use an access code on the remote control to switch it to any region). I have several "Pacific" brand players from Asda (different models, all costing 30 pounds or less), and they will all happily play US region 2 discs. Access codes are all over the web.

You also need a TV that will handle NTSC signals, but as long as you connect with a SCART lead, most modern TVs will do this without any trouble.

I have the US DVD of the movie, and it's pretty good quality, although it doesn't have any extras.

The movie suffered from some compromises in production, mostly arising out of a difference of opinion between writer and director, and the director going behind the writer's back to get a new script (from Rumpole of the Bailey's John Mortimer). After poor previews, Disney gave Bradbury a free hand to fix the movie by re-shooting key scenes. The spider sequence is the most obvious re-shoot, as the boys look strangely older in that section (and their hair looks decidedly wiggy!)

The library scene (Mr Dark contronts Mr Halloway) is a classic, and in itself justfies the film's existence. Jonathan Pryce is superb.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
I completely agree with Doug Spaulding.

I've been justified! I'm bonafide now.

Now, to justify Phil: the library scene is a classic and, much like the final ten minutes of Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451, makes it a good film.

Pryce is superb, as is Robards, whom Ray met quite by accident in a cafe in Hollywood many years ago. Do you want to tell that story jkt (or perhaps you've already told it on here and I just missed it)?