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Aliens pretending to be friendly come to Earth and are received openly. The aliens have masqueraded themselves to look just like humans. When it is discovered that the aliens' planet is dying and that they have come to rape the Earth of its natural resources, the war for Earth begins. An important key to the humans' success is distinguishing the their own from the aliens.
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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
- Aliens pretending to be friendly come to Earth and are received openly.The aliens have masqueraded themselves to look just like humans. Whenit is discovered that the aliens' planet is dying and that they havecome to rape the Earth of its natural resources, the war for Earthbegins. An important key to the humans' success is distinguishing theirown from the aliens. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?
V: The Original TV Miniseries Reviews
V: The Original TV Miniseries Reviews
| 164 of 170 people found the following review helpful  V on DVD: The mother of all invasions!, By David W. Ingram (Akron, OH United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: V: The Original TV Miniseries (DVD) For anyone who is a fan of 'alien invasion' movies, sci-fi in general, or just good-old storytelling, the original 'V' mini-series is an absolute classic. The story begins with the arrival of 50 gigantic spacecraft over 50 major cities around the world; a civilization of human-like beings have come to ask for our aid in saving their dying planet. Over the film's 3+ hours, our 'visitors' go from friend to foe, and humanity faces the prospect of enslavement by a facist regime, not unlike in World War II, this time on a world-wide scale. V was (and still is) unique in its ability to weave together action and drama, along with some sci-fi elements, to create a 'morality tale' of sorts. I must admit, there were a couple of scenes that still leave me choked up. The mini-series debuted on NBC in the Spring of 1983 and was followed by an excellent sequel, 'The Final Battle,' a year later. Considering the date of release, it must be mentioned that the special effects are not up to... Read more 73 of 75 people found the following review helpful Great Movie, great disc, By A Customer This review is from: V: The Original TV Miniseries (DVD) Like many, I was a BIG fan of both the "V" mini-series as a kid. Though even as a kid I found the dumbed-down weekly series to be sub-par, which is ironic considering I was the target demographic NBC was looking for. In rewatching the mini-series' as an adult it's apparent that "V: The Final Battle," while good, was also inferior to Ken Johnson's original. It's a shame he wasn't allowed to guide the further installments, "V" would probably still be on the air today in some form.I wanted to clear up some of the confusion I'm seeing in these postings. First of all there is no missing footage, the mini-series is not cut in half. This DVD is exactly what it is billed as, "V - The Original Mini-Series." The original "V" was two parts which ran over two nights in 1983. It didn't have an ending, it wasn't really suppose to in order to tell its allegorical tale. The second mini-series, "V : The Final Battle" was three parts and aired over a year later. Both mini-series' were syndicated to... Read more 75 of 80 people found the following review helpful The thinking person's Independence Day :-), By Mr Ghostface (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews This review is from: V: The Original TV Miniseries (DVD) 'V'Kenneth Johnson's superb 1983 mini-series might have dated visually, but this is easily overshadowed by the power of his writing and direction. 'V' is perhaps as fine an example of an alien invasion/conspiracy theory you will ever see, never equalled by The X-Files or the risible Independence Day (please compare the opening arrival sequences of these two films - homage my ass, ID4 is simply an inferior rip-off). Populated by dozens of characters - the film has in excess of 90 speaking parts - this story centres, initially, around a young medical student called Julie Parrish (Faye Grant). It is through her that other characters come together to ally against the invading 'Visitors'. These characters cross all colour, class and religious lines to unite against the fascist, genocidal alien regime. The analogies to McCarthyism (with the witch-hunts for the Conspiracy of Scientists) and Nazism (genocide) are drawn sharply and early on. Despite the immense scale of the project, 'V'... Read more |
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