The Gathering, Part II

The original "The Gathering," was a heart-warming and heart-wrenching film that demonstrated how love should triumph over all things: our pride, our ideals, etc. The performances there are fantastic in the original- particularly that of Ed Asner who is missing from this cast. It's a sad attempt to recapture the magic of that first film. As such, it's a huge disappointment - nothing more than a forgettable episode of Love Boat.

The first movie was so much better. The fact that the house and town were different was just weird. The only thing you can say that is close to good is that it gave you an idea of what happened next, but that kinda spoiled the first one. Don't waste your time. Watch the first movie and skip the second!

I would love to purchase this video , but cannot find it, if anyone can tell me where to find i I would be very thankful. It is a continuing story , following The Gathering with Ed Asner. This was a TV movie airing in the 70"s I believe...thanks in advance Carol.It is called The Gathering Part ll

This movie purports to take up where the first, excellent, movie left off, but there are a number of problems. The setting is different from the town and Thornton Industries' building right down to the Thornton house. Yes, people notice when it is this obvious. Second, the storyline meanders wildly from the plot of the original movie, changing the personalities of key characters for inane reasons. Efram Zimbalist Jr., who is introduced in this sequel to play a love interest to Kate, is believed by some of the family members to be after the old man's company, which divides the siblings regarding his presence. It's all smoothed out in the end (one way or the other is for you to ascertain) but no solid reason is really given for the conclusion reached by the family as to whether they would trust him.

This sequel is as good as most sequels, which means it is not very, relying on the first movie's coattails to win its audience, but don't bother. It's daddy was a winner and once you've seen The Gathering, you don't want to spoil it with the sequel.

For your information, Warner Brothers' Archive Collection bundles these two for sale at a reasonable price and the picture quality is quite good. Amazon has them for sale and don't worry about the caveat that it may not play in your machine. It played like any standard DVD in my Sony. Buy it and at least enjoy the first movie.