bigdinosaur

Well, well, well. I claim the very dubious honour of having watched this...er...movie twice. Once with a friend and her kids; And again with my 14 year old.

Of course it's a stinker. But then many movies that managed to attain cult status have been worse stinkers than this one ('Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' for example).

One method whereby movies rise to cult level is by negative recommendation. People tell friends how bad it is, and the friends watch it to see why. And I've certainly noticed a whole lot of negative comments regarding this movie. For a long time 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' was regaled as the worse movie made. I and many of my acquaintances watched it just to see why it got that reputation. 'Plan 9' now enjoys a modest cult following.

Another contributing factor is unintentional humour. My second viewing of this movie had me chuckling at Lavagirl's constant Cheshire grins, and at some of the tacked in nonsense to show off the 3d effect (Sharkboy throwing a glass of water toward the audience during his "dance" routine, for example).

Sometimes deviating radically from the "norm" can project a film into the realm of cult status also. This movie, while not engaging in major deviation, still has enough strangeness about it to give it a little push in that direction.

Who knows. Perhaps in the future, droves of teenagers (and maybe adults too) will throng to theatres late at night, 3d glasses in hand, to see this little piece...as they do now for 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'.

Right now the future looks grim for this oddity, but I would certainly not be surprised to see it pop up out of nowhere sometime down the road.

Upon reading comments of earlier reviewers of this title, I find myself in an unusual situation...I totally agree with them all! This is a wonderful movie. And excellent for all ages (except maybe for very small children due to the banshee scenes).

I'm very impressed with the effects considering when this was made. Almost flawless! And the story is so delightful and engaging, I can't imagine anyone not getting a lift from this hour-and-a-half of leprechaun fantasy.

Sean Connery is a little weak on the singing, but it certainly doesn't detract from the movie.

I've had this movie on VHS since way back, but recently I upgraded to a DVD. There are some interesting supplemental items on the DVD: Including a 'making-of' that explain the effects; And there is a "Wonderful World of Disney" excerpt with Darby O'Gill, King Brian, & Walt Disney that's cute.

I was surprised how much my teenage boys liked this movie. Usually they are too 'cool' to watch 'kids' movies (as they call them). And they were stodgy at first, but soon they were totally enrapt.

This is one of the best family movies I've seen. Get this one and hold onto it because they just don't make em like this anymore.

Since I live in Cheyenne, WY this type of movie really appeals to me. As all historians know, various towns along the route of this railroad (which coincides quite closely to interstate 80 in Wyoming) were made during its construction. Cheyenne and Rock Springs (because of its coal mining) were especially notable.

I had seen this movie several years ago and was delighted to see it being broadcast on the Turner Classic Movies channel. Perhaps they will re-broadcast it again in the future.

This movie, while not completely accurate historically, certainly gives an idea of the magnitude of the endeavor being undertaken. And it does feature a real locomotive which operated on the railroad during the period portrayed. Historical buffs definitely should not be swayed from enjoying this title simply because it may not strictly conform to history.

I won't go into the story except to say that the various sub-plots keep the viewer very entertained. This was a very well-done movie in my opinion. Acting was very good. And the cinematography was very impressive.

Fans of either westerns or silent-era films certainly should not miss this one.