Twilight Zone: The Movie Improves on the TV Series' Best Episode - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 05-10-2023, 11:57 PM

https://www.cbr.com/the-twilight-zon...at-20000-feet/

The Twilight Zone hit an all-time high with Season 5, Episode 3, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which arguably constitutes its greatest entry ever. Screenwriter Richard Matheson and then-fledgling director Richard Donner crafted a suspense masterpiece, as William Shatner's white-knuckle airline passenger becomes convinced that a monster is on the wing. The episode was a triumph for all concerned -- a highlight on some very impressive resumes -- and remains one of the crown jewels in The Twilight Zone's crown.

And yet it still might only be the second-best adaptation of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" ever made. 1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie closes with a remake of the story, featuring John Lithgow in Shatner's role. The movie itself suffered from on-set tragedy and an uneven tone. But with George Miller at the helm and a fresh script that mainlines into the same anxieties as the original, it closes on a high note. It might have topped the seemingly un-toppable episode on which it is based.

"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" began as a short story by Matheson -- published in 1961 in the anthology Alone by Night -- and one of many works he later adapted to The Twilight Zone. The episode succeeds with emotional simplicity: tapping into common fears of flying, combined with a Cassandra-esque horror of being the only person in a large group who sees approaching danger. Shatner's Robert Wilson spots a gremlin on the wing of the plane, tampering with the engine and threatening to bring the plane down. Naturally, no one else sees the monster, and since he's on his way home from a mental health facility, everyone thinks he's imagining it, leaving him helplessly watching while the gremlin goes about its work.

Miller's segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie is the last of four, positioned at the end to close a decidedly uneven movie on a high note. The film's first segment, directed by John Landis, is marred by the on-site deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors in a helicopter crash. The story's uneven qualities and middling presentation pale before the human tragedy. The second -- Steven Spielberg's version of Season 3, Episode 21, "Kick the Can" -- is syrupy and limp. While Joe Dante's energetic retake on Season 3, Episode 8, "It's a Good Life," helps the film recover, Miller's finale still faces headwinds that the original version of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" didn't.

Miller responds by upping the emotional intensity rather than tweaking the narrative. The scenario itself is no different, but the individual components in Twilight Zone: The Movie are far more unsettling. Lithgow's John Valentine is a hot mess of barely disguised terror, in contrast to Wilson's more stringently feigned normality. The passengers -- anonymous in the original version -- are self-absorbed yahoos madly dancing on Valentine's jangled nerves. Perhaps most importantly, the gremlin itself is more malevolent, turning the original's dog-like curiosity into an act of gleeful vandalism. And it goes without saying that 20 years of improved effects technology make this gremlin far more unsettling than the TV episode's shag-carpet simian.

To that, Miller brings the same bag of visual tricks he uses in the Mad Max movies: distorted angles, sweaty close-ups, rabbit-punch editing, and a hand-held camera that lurches through the aisles with the passengers. He even slips in a ringer or two, such as a few brief frames of Valentine's eyes popping cartoonishly out of his head amid all the mayhem. Jerry Goldsmith's score -- all spiky brass and strings -- builds mercilessly toward the climax, in which Valentine's panicked solution proves far less effective than Wilson's late-inning heroics. Donner utilizes more traditional filmmaking techniques with his version, saving the surreal touches for the gremlin itself to enhance its creepiness. Wilson's nightmare merely intrudes on the normal world. Valentine's nightmare engulfs it.

Matheson wrote the screenplay for both versions, keeping the original author's DNA intact. He -- and Miller -- take full advantage of Twilight Zone: The Movie's creative freedoms to enhance and intensify everything that was already great about the first episode. At the end of the day, however, Lithgow probably deserves the most credit. Sooner or later, everyone has been Valentine on a plane trip, and that human connection amid the chaos ties it all together in a bow. The original episode is brilliant -- one of the greatest in a TV series whose influence continues to be felt -- but the update goes darker and reaps the scenario's full potential as a result.

05-10-2023, 11:57 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,334	Twilight Zone: The Movie Improves on the TV Series' Best Episode https://www.cbr.com/the-twilight-zon...at-20000-feet/ The Twilight Zone hit an all-time high with Season 5, Episode 3, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which arguably constitutes its greatest entry ever. Screenwriter Richard Matheson and then-fledgling director Richard Donner crafted a suspense masterpiece, as William Shatner's white-knuckle airline passenger becomes convinced that a monster is on the wing. The episode was a triumph for all concerned -- a highlight on some very impressive resumes -- and remains one of the crown jewels in The Twilight Zone's crown. And yet it still might only be the second-best adaptation of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" ever made. 1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie closes with a remake of the story, featuring John Lithgow in Shatner's role. The movie itself suffered from on-set tragedy and an uneven tone. But with George Miller at the helm and a fresh script that mainlines into the same anxieties as the original, it closes on a high note. It might have topped the seemingly un-toppable episode on which it is based. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" began as a short story by Matheson -- published in 1961 in the anthology Alone by Night -- and one of many works he later adapted to The Twilight Zone. The episode succeeds with emotional simplicity: tapping into common fears of flying, combined with a Cassandra-esque horror of being the only person in a large group who sees approaching danger. Shatner's Robert Wilson spots a gremlin on the wing of the plane, tampering with the engine and threatening to bring the plane down. Naturally, no one else sees the monster, and since he's on his way home from a mental health facility, everyone thinks he's imagining it, leaving him helplessly watching while the gremlin goes about its work. Miller's segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie is the last of four, positioned at the end to close a decidedly uneven movie on a high note. The film's first segment, directed by John Landis, is marred by the on-site deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors in a helicopter crash. The story's uneven qualities and middling presentation pale before the human tragedy. The second -- Steven Spielberg's version of Season 3, Episode 21, "Kick the Can" -- is syrupy and limp. While Joe Dante's energetic retake on Season 3, Episode 8, "It's a Good Life," helps the film recover, Miller's finale still faces headwinds that the original version of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" didn't. Miller responds by upping the emotional intensity rather than tweaking the narrative. The scenario itself is no different, but the individual components in Twilight Zone: The Movie are far more unsettling. Lithgow's John Valentine is a hot mess of barely disguised terror, in contrast to Wilson's more stringently feigned normality. The passengers -- anonymous in the original version -- are self-absorbed yahoos madly dancing on Valentine's jangled nerves. Perhaps most importantly, the gremlin itself is more malevolent, turning the original's dog-like curiosity into an act of gleeful vandalism. And it goes without saying that 20 years of improved effects technology make this gremlin far more unsettling than the TV episode's shag-carpet simian. To that, Miller brings the same bag of visual tricks he uses in the Mad Max movies: distorted angles, sweaty close-ups, rabbit-punch editing, and a hand-held camera that lurches through the aisles with the passengers. He even slips in a ringer or two, such as a few brief frames of Valentine's eyes popping cartoonishly out of his head amid all the mayhem. Jerry Goldsmith's score -- all spiky brass and strings -- builds mercilessly toward the climax, in which Valentine's panicked solution proves far less effective than Wilson's late-inning heroics. Donner utilizes more traditional filmmaking techniques with his version, saving the surreal touches for the gremlin itself to enhance its creepiness. Wilson's nightmare merely intrudes on the normal world. Valentine's nightmare engulfs it. Matheson wrote the screenplay for both versions, keeping the original author's DNA intact. He -- and Miller -- take full advantage of Twilight Zone: The Movie's creative freedoms to enhance and intensify everything that was already great about the first episode. At the end of the day, however, Lithgow probably deserves the most credit. Sooner or later, everyone has been Valentine on a plane trip, and that human connection amid the chaos ties it all together in a bow. The original episode is brilliant -- one of the greatest in a TV series whose influence continues to be felt -- but the update goes darker and reaps the scenario's full potential as a result.