Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I just taught my kids (I'm a teacher) the story "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury. I would like to show them the video, but I don't know if it is sold like other series that are already boxed in DVD sets. I went into Amazon, and there are two volumes, but I'm not sure which seasons each contains.

Can somebody help me with this?

Thankyou.
Lydia González

"The Veldt" is in the set of DVD's that encompasses all episodes of THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER, that sells on Amazon for $31.99. The Ray Bradbury Theater Volumes 1 and 2 contain, I believe, only a few selected episodes each. Since I bought the more expensive complete set, I don't know if either Volume 1 or 2 contains "The Veldt." Hopefully, someone else will be able to provide that information.

Good advice above.
Warning: do NOT get the Rod Steiger movie version of "The Illustrated Man" in order to see "The Veldt" portion. All the stories in that film have (in my opinion) been butchered.

Agree on the butchering of RB in movie Illustrated Man. The investment is well worth it if you decide to get a copy of all 65 episodes of RB Theater (often on e-bay or Half-bay). The interpretations of the stories are right off from the page. Mr. B had his hand in on their production throughout, from what I have read.

[I mentioned this to a resource room teacher in my building who works with kids with reading difficulties. She went right out and ordered the complete collection. She stopped in last week and said the students are reading the stories in class orally and then watching the episodes and discussing. They have enjoyed every story covered and can't wait for the next one to be assigned! She has never had more enthusiasm for an author's works. Pretty neat.]

I am currently doing a s.s. unit of classic stories with hs seniors, including Poe, Bierce, Hemingway, O'Henry, London, Hawthorne, Chekov, Kafka, etc.). The dvd collection is a perfect tie in for the many RB's I have in my files that are a part of the studies. (Ie, Veldt, Emissary, Marionettes, Inc. (how about that, BrII!?), Dwarf, Pedestrian, Sound of Thunder, Mars is Heaven, Usher II, Toynbee, Zero Hour, Lonely One, Long Rain, and a few others.) How great is that to able to read, watch, study, discuss, and write about Ray Bradbury...and get paid for it? "Thanks, Mr. B."

Tickticktickticktick!

Sound bite quote of RB's reaction to the film version of "The Illustrated Man": "I detested it."

Thank goodness so many of the stories have been filmed right and are being enjoyed by students!

That movie was indeed awful...
RBT is difficult to watch for me. Some episodes are almost good, but the production values are just so unspeakably low...it's really quite painful to watch some of them. The scripts are good, all of them by Ray, and sometimes there are very good performances, it's just run into the ground by the production values that look like $2 was spent per episode

quote:

Originally posted by Something_Wicked_451:
That movie was indeed awful...
RBT is difficult to watch for me. Some episodes are almost good, but the production values are just so unspeakably low...it's really quite painful to watch some of them. The scripts are good, all of them by Ray, and sometimes there are very good performances, it's just run into the ground by the production values that look like $2 was spent per episode

I agree that it would have been much nicer if they spent a little more, but there are quite a few episodes that stand up with anything on TV today. "The Screaming Woman," "The Murderer," "A Sound Of Thunder," "The Town Where No One Got Off," "The Veldt," ect., are all good examples of where they got it right. For the most part, though, it does seem like they skimped a little bit. Still, I rank it above pretty much any other anthology show out there.

"A Sound of Thunder" all right EXCEPT for the way-cheap dinosaur. It was good for scaring my cat (the timid one--doubt it would scare the beasts I keep now--) but that's about it.

Hey, No. 6,
Just curious, did you get your title from "The Prisoner" TV series?
One of my favourites. I've actually been to Portmerion where it was filmed.
Be seeing you.

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
"A Sound of Thunder" all right EXCEPT for the way-cheap dinosaur. It was good for scaring my cat (the timid one--doubt it would scare the beasts I keep now--) but that's about it.

You mean "A Sound Of Thunder" is the only one with good production values? The others I mentioned, minus "The Veldt," aren't filled with great special F/X or anything, but they are highly polished examples of filmmaking. "The Town Where No One Got Off" and "The Screaming Lady" look like they were made for the big screen, and not for TV. The first time I saw "The Town Where No One Got Off" was actually on a VHS copy I rented from the video store with 2 other episodes from the show.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Hey, No. 6,
Just curious, did you get your title from "The Prisoner" TV series?
One of my favourites. I've actually been to Portmerion where it was filmed.
Be seeing you.

Yeah. I couldn't think of any good Bradbury references, so I just went with The Prisoner. Love that show.

You were on the actual island? That had to be fun. I probably would've went overboard, though. "Here, chase me down the street pushing this big, white ball and take some pictures."
Be seeing you.

No. 6,
Portmeirion is actually on the coast in Wales (not an island).
Two sites you'll like:

http://www.portmeirion-village.com/

http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/

Be seeing you.

Actually, I wasn't crazy about most of the RBT episodes I saw, but we could only get them on a fuzzy cable channel with horrible reception. I will try to give them another chance with the DVDs.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
No. 6,
Portmeirion is actually on the coast in Wales (not an island).
Two sites you'll like:

http://www.portmeirion-village.com/

http://www.netreach.net/~sixofone/

Be seeing you.

Woops. I saw the documentary on the DVD a few months ago, and I remember they had to get permission from the eccentric millionare who owned the place, so I assumed it actually was an island.

Thanks for the links - I'll be sure to check 'em out.