Search - Glen And Randa on DVD

The most realistic "post apocalyptic" movie ever

Huw Powell | Lee, NH United States | 12/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll keep it short. This film follows two teenagers through their attempts to cope in a world strewn with the debris of a collapsed civilisation (ours). Oddly poignant and wonderfully lacking in any pretentious silliness about "what might happen," i would recommend this film to anyone who likes films that address the ways real human beings try to get by in their lives and also has a penchant for quality science fiction."

A small sad vision of the post-apocalypse

Timothy O. Riley | usa | 03/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Before Jim McBride became a famous producer/director, he made the ultra low budget "Glen and Randa" in 1970. Long considered a mini-sci'fi masterpiece by film cultists everywhere, G&R tells the slight story of two naive teens wandering a doomed landscape like a new Adam and Eve-- looking for the magical city of Metropolis.
The futileness of their quest is brought home in that we (the audience) know from the outset-- there is no such place. This makes the movie's touching conclusion all the more sad.
Shot for about a dollar "Glen and Randa" none-the-less, delivers its message of humanity's last gasp with aplomb and gravity.
This film deserves a comprehensive DVD release."

The Search for Metropolis

kvetch | Newton, MA United States | 05/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a post-apocalypic film in which a young man, accompained by his pregnant girl friend, search for the city of Metropolis, which he had seen in a comic book he found.I originally saw it in its theatrical release, when it was X-rated due to sex and nudity (the film begins with the couple making love in a car body stuck in a tree). It's pretty mild by today's standards.I was impressed at the time with the scenes of people searching through a ruined Howard Johnson's for canned goods. However, the quality of the video makes the characteristic orange roof muddy and unrecognizable. I also like the couple's meeting with an old man, who hadn't spoken to anyone years, and has difficulty remembering how to talk. It's little touches like that that are part of its charm.But although it's the same film, the quality of the transfer to video (at least the copy I have) is poor. One brief scene also repeats in the video, a little disconcerting. It's too bad, because it's really is a fine film, thoughtful and touching. It was made by the Seattle Film Collective, and shot on location in the Pacific Northwest.Should you buy it? Sure, if only to see it once. See if you can get copies of Brian DePalma's Greetings! and Hi Mom! too. Then you can have a real 60's retro movie party."

Decent film, faulty DVD

Michael J. Covino | Key West, Fl United States | 05/01/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Avoid this DVD at all costs, for surely your money will be wasted. I bought this movie to feed my recent post apocalyptic binge, and though I found the movie to be strangely satisfying (I am not a huge Independent Buff) the quality of this DVD is terrible, and believe me when I tell you, my standards are not high. Aspect Ratio is 1.85:1/16x9 Anamorphic.

First off, the third chapter is unreadable. I don't know if this is a fault in the DVD I got or if all of them here are that way. Every other chapter is fine. Second, the sound is so bad you have to crank up the volume to where you hear a hum from the TV speakers during silent moments in the movie. I thought the picture quality was alright. People will still be unhappy with it though. The DVD comes with a lengthy interview with the director, Jim McBride, who had only confirmed my suspicions about him when he admitted that yes, he was a hippie in 1970 and yes, he was stoned when he directed this movie.

The movie itself received an X rating when it was originally released in 1970 for its shots of frontal nudity. It begins with Glen and Randa completely naked in the forest. Glen often finds himself wondering how humans lived before everybody was reduced to squalors scavenging the ruins of a dead civilization for food, until one day a traveling merchant pays a visit to their little community showing off all these weird mechanics and gizmos that no one there understands (a blender, [...], a record player). What happens next, I don't know since the DVD was too faulty and I had to skip to the next Chapter but Glen gets it in his head to leave the settlement and make a journey to Metropolis, a city where everyone is dressed in white and can soar through the air...

Randa does not want to go, but knowing she cannot survive without him, she reluctantly follows Glen to this mystical place. The journey there is long and challenging, and with a baby on the way, Randa becomes deeply concerned since food is so scarce in the wild, but Glen keeps raving about glittering lights, cars that go, Playboy, Miss January, The Rolling Stones and a bunch of other nonsense that Randa simply has never heard of and does not understand.

If you are looking for leather-clad warriors with shotguns held together by duck tape like in Madmax, you will need to steer clear of this film. Glen and Randa tries to depict a more realistic future of humanity. Instead of fighting gangs and tribes, Glen and Randa battle hunger. Instead of collecting oil, they collect firewood, cloth, and rope as they fight their way to the mythical city.

Unfortunately, VCI Entertainment is not trustworthy. The first DVD they put out for this movie is total crap.

A Boy and His Dog is a better movie. My opinion. I would have given this movie 3 stars if it were not for all the problems I had with the DVD. Threads is the best Post Apocalyptic Movie ever. Americans need to seriously discover that one.
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