V - The Original TV Miniseries

At the time, the epic scale of this production was unprecedented. Those 50 motherships that hover over Earth's major cities anticipate Independence Day by more than a decade. The special effects and makeup are still awesome. Less so is the often-hackneyed dialogue. But thanks to their signature roles, the mostly no-star cast, most of whom would be reunited for a sequel and subsequent television series, have ensured themselves standing invitations to sci-fi conventions. Marc Singer is cameraman-turned-freedom-fighter Mike Donovan. Julie Parrish is a medical student-turned-rebel. Richard Herd is the aliens' supreme commander. Jane Bradler is Diana, the ravishing but ruthlessly ambitious alien science officer. Leonardo Cimino lends dignity to his heavy-handed allegorical role as a Holocaust survivor. Look for a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund as one of the aliens.

The DVD is presented for the first time in widescreen format. Supplemental features include an amiable and enlightening director's commentary and a brief "making of" segment. --Donald Liebenson

Spotlight Reviews
Great sci fi TV classic of the 80ty's (2009-01-07)
Customer Review : 4
I remember watching V - The Original TV Miniseries as a kid, and I still enjoy watching it today when I was a little V was one of the best TV miniseries on TV, but of course the special effects may not stand up in today's standards, but I still find the series and its story line very entertaining to watch, and it brings back wonderful memory's of my childhood this DVD will remain apart of my movie collection for a long time, because Iv looked for this mini series for a long time and Iv kind of had a difficult time finding it on other sites, thank goodness amazon had it, and when I purchased the product I recived it in perfect condition there was not a scratch on it I was pleasantly surprised at the great service I got from amazon.com I will definitely be purchasing more products from amazon in the near future because they have products and movies that you may not find any where else and at great prices too, in fact this site is one of the very first online stores I have ever shopped on Iv always been sceptical about shopping online but this site has completely changed my mined about online shopping.

My Parents Love It! (2008-12-30)
Customer Review : 5
So I bought this series for my parents for Christmas since they do not have satellite or cable. They pretty much just watch videos. They loved it! They are huge fans of anything sci-fi and this was perfect for them. The quality is excellent and even though some of the special effects are cheezy, you can't stop watching. I reccomend this to anyone who doest want to spend a ton of money on a miniseries but wants to be entertained for a few days.

good fun video (2008-12-24)
Customer Review : 4
Good fun mini-series as the earth resistance fights for freedom with the secret help of some of the invaders. Story idea based on Nazi Germany's take over of Europe. Will not win any acting awards but good fun video for the family to watch together at a good price.

More trash from Ken Johnson (2008-09-08)
Customer Review : 1
If you like really bad dialoge, lousy action scenes, and weak casting then anything by Ken Johnson would do. This mini-series is a joke, The Johnson commentery and short featurtte is a joke, and as useual it is packaged with Warner Brothers second rate DVD standards.

Remember the one where the lady swallowed the Guinea pig? (2008-08-17)
Customer Review : 5
Unfortunately, that's one of several reminders I throw out there whenever I'm trying to find out if someone has ever watched V before.

Eating live rodents, harvesting humans for food, and stealing the earth's water supply are not usually the big plot items that turn people onto a TV show or movie. And yet in 1983, everyone was glued to their television sets to watch V. (And even those who weren't were joining the throng of fans a year later for V: THE FINAL BATTLE.) Perhaps, it's because, although most people are not science fiction fans, they will watch a science fiction show (or movie) that has a non-sci-fi element as its primary vehicle. For instance, there are the mythological and mystical aspects of the STAR WARS saga. Many feel that there's a theological theme to the MATRIX trilogy.

In the same vein, V is undoubtedly a World War II/Holocaust allegory. The Visitors' emblem looks very similar to a swastika. They post propaganda posters all over the place. They establish the Visitor Friends Group in every major city (equivalent to the Hitler Youth). The Visitors require all scientists and their families to be registered; these same scientists (with their families) are often the target of outrageous persecutions and false accusations of conspiring against the Visitors.

V is the quintessential cheesy 80s melodrama. There are no fabulous performances in V, and none of the principle actors went on to bigger and better careers. The special effects, though unremarkable by today's standards, were way ahead of the game 25 years ago. (And many of the special effects sequences are recycled not only throughout this series but also throughout V: THE FINAL BATTLE and V: THE SERIES).

The unique thing V does offer is fun, exciting, intriguing, and action-packed family entertainment. And this kind of entertainment was delivered at a time when family entertainment was, unfortunately, going rapidly out of style.