Search - The Twilight Zone: Vol. 3 on DVD

Bill C. (Karmakat) from WALDRON, AR
Reviewed on 9/20/2015...

Easily the best technical quality of ANY B&W DVD ever produced. Absolutely amazing!

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Robert K. R. from ELMIRA, NY
Reviewed on 8/28/2012...

It was very interesting, thought- provoking. A keeper.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

One Good Episode, Three Classic Ones

A. Wolverton | Crofton, MD United States | 03/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vol. 3 of the Twilight Zone DVD series is one in which every episode is a winner. The worst of the four, "Steel," is a very good tale of what men think they can do themselves to bring themselves out of a difficult situation. "Kick the Can" is a touching episode that makes us reflect on fleeting youth and the idea that you are only as old as you feel. "A Game of Pool" is an example of superb acting. Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters deliver more tension and excitement than any current television drama. Finally, "Walking Distance" is a brilliant look at trying to recapture youth and going home again. On most other Zone DVDs, buyers are forced to stomach at least one lousy episode along with their favorites. This disc is an exception. Sure, the extras are not very "extra," but for your money, Vol. 3 contains some of the best Twilight Zone episodes on one disc."

Rod Serling, Crisp and Clear

Peter Farrell | Brooklyn, NY USA | 08/31/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"
The Twilight Zone, Vol. 3 DVD is worth having if only for the episode "Walking Distance," Serling's most autobiographical story from the series, by his own claim. Having watched many a rerun (I heard the Sci-Fi Channel owns the rights to air the episodes, but I never see them on the cable channel...) before the onset of DVD technology, it is quite a treat to see the episodes as the creators saw them: crisp, clear and as nuanced as any great film. I recall being joyfully entertained by almost every episode I ever saw, but "Walking Distance," is the only one to have ever brought tears. The inablility to "go home again," was never more poignantly crafted than in this episode, nor has the truth of those pure feelings of childhood which creep into our consciousness when we least expect it, possibly triggered from a bit of music or a long-forgotten smell.

Jack Klugman demonstrates his range as an actor in the episode, "A Game of Pool," as does his costar Jonathan Winters. Both deliver steely performances with such well-regulated under-the-surface tension that you feel like each is enjoying himself and in agony at the same time, a feeling familiar to anyone engaged in high-stakes competition.

My one complaint about the DVD is that the features listed here are a tad misleading. There is no extra footage or documentary footage included as part of "Inside the Twilight Zone." Rather, it is on-screen text plaquards, with most of the information repeated among all 40+ DVD volumes in the series save the reference material for the episodes on the particular disc. These text screens also scroll by themselves and have no "BACK" control, so if you miss a word or a sentence, you have to go back to the main menu and start over, which is very annoying.
Buy this DVD for "Walking Distance," and you will understand more about where Mr. Serling was coming from than if you were to talk to the man himself."

Some of the sharpest, tightest writing and acting on record.

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 10/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this review, I do not disclose any of the surprise endings. So don't worry.

I own about forty Twilight Zone discs. Every viewer will have his or her favorites. My favorites include: TO SERVE MAN, THE ODYSSEY OF FLIGHT (with William Shatner), NICK OF TIME (with William Shatner), CAVENDER IS MISSING (with Carol Burnett), THE FEVER, THE LIVING DOLL (with Telly Savalas), TIME ENOUGH AT LAST (with Burgess Meredith), PRINTER'S DEVIL (with Burgess Meredith), MISTER BEVIS (with Don Rickles), and PIANO IN THE HOUSE.

The volume being reviewed, Volume Three, contains some of the tightest writing and sharpest acting that I have ever encountered on any T.V. program or movie.

The first story, KICK THE CAN, takes place in an old folks home, where the inhabitants can view youngsters out in the street playing kick the can and other games. One of the retired old folks, reminded of his own childhood, is struck with the notion that if he can persuade the other old folks to join in a game of kick the can, they will somehow recapture some aspect of their youth. FIVE STARS.

The second story, STEEL, takes place in 1974, a time in the future when boxing has been outlawed and all boxing matches are done with competing robots, where the robots look essentially like real people. The issue is that the owner and mechanic, in charge of their boxing android, realize that their android is broken and won't be fixed before that evening's fight. The owner, Lee Marvin, has the idea of placing himself in the ring, instead of the robot. What is astonishing is Lee Marvin's ability to change personna. In one scene, Lee Marvin is forceful and demanding towards his mechanic, that is, the android's mechanic. And in another scene, Lee Marvin is groveling and apologetic towards the owner of the boxing ring, in a scene where the boxing ring owner complains about Lee Marvin's out-dated robot. FIVE STARS.

(A similar transformation -- demanding versus groveling -- can be found in the character of Biff, in Back to the Future. When Michael J. Fox travels to the past, he sees Biff abusing Michael J. Fox's father in a soda shop. However, when Michael J. Fox returns to the future, Biff is acts in a humble and groveling way towards the father.)

The third story, A GAME OF POOL, is initiated when Jack Klugman, a pool player in Chicago, vows to himself that he wants to have a match with deceased pool legend, Jonathan Winters. As it turns out, the pool legend materializes, and after several minutes of negotiating, decide to have a match then and there. FIVE STARS.

(Please note that Jonathan Winters was one of the highest profile comedic actors from the 1960s. I recommend Jonathan Winters' narrative of the Paul Bunyan story, accompanied by Duck Baker on guitar, available on compact disc. If you need to buy a kid a gift, I recommend Jonathan Winters' rendition of Paul Bunyan.)

The fourth story on this disc, WALKING DISTANCE, starts when a high pressure company executive stops in a rural service station for an hour's worth of repairs on his automobile, then decides to walk to a nearby town when he realizes that the town is where he'd spent his childhood. As it turns out, when he stops in an ice cream parlor for a bit of refreshment, the year is 1938 when the man was just a boy. The man finds his childhood home, and visits his disbelieving parents. The man unintentionally scares the younger version of himself, and the younger version of himself (a boy) runs away. The boy runs away when the executive discovers himself (the boy) carving his name in a structure in the town park. Later on in the story, when the executive (the man) tries to approach himself (the boy), the man inadvertently frightens the boy, and the boy falls off the edge of a merry-go-round, injures his leg, thus explaining the etiology of the executive's limp. The story is really a mood piece, that is, the story is not a setup for a suprise ending. The story concludes with a charming little narrative. FOUR STARS.

Volume Three of Twilight Zone makes an excellent, inexpensive gift, for just about anyone. This volume does not include any especially creepy or scary scenes. This volume also includes a couple of stories that feature little kids. All of the actors on this disc are easy to like.






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