Cheap Thunderbirds - Set 1 (DVD) (Desmond Saunders, David Lane, Brian Burgess, David Elliott (II), Alan Pattillo) Price
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On this DVD: International Rescue's very first adventure provides a template for all the rest: in "Trapped in the Sky," an experimental new aircraft becomes the target of an evil Bond-style megalomaniac who wants to get his hands on all the neat gear operated by the Tracey siblings. The show introduces, in fetishistic detail, the recurring set-pieces: Thunderbird 1 taking off from the roll-back swimming pool, the question of which pod Thunderbird 2 will use this week--the mole, or the submarine, perhaps?--and so on. Nostalgia fans will be pleased to learn that despite digital remastering the puppet strings are still in evidence, and no amount of high-tech restoration could remove the clunky expository dialogue:
Stewardess: "It's the maiden flight of the new atomic-powered Fireflash."
Passenger: "Isn't that the new aircraft that flies six times the speed of sound?"
Stewardess: "That's right, but don't worry: it's perfectly safe."
[Cut to: interior, Fireflash landing gear, a device clearly labeled "Auto-Bomb Detonator Unit"]
Sinister bad guy (talking to himself for no readily apparent reason): "Perfect. Enough explosives to smash the Atomic Reactor."
In the second episode, "Pit of Peril," an absurdly impractical U.S. Army vehicle falls into the eponymous pit, necessitating use of pod 5, the mole. Joy! Four more episodes are included. --Mark Walker
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Desmond Saunders, David Lane, Brian Burgess, David Elliott (II), Alan Pattillo |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 1964 |
| MANUFACTURER: | A & E Entertainment |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Color, Animated, Box set, Dolby |
| TYPE: | Television |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 2 |
| UPC: | 733961701593 |
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Customer Reviews of Thunderbirds - Set 1
Thunderbirds - a retrospective As a child in England I would race home from school, eat my food and settle down in front of the television set for the latest Gerry Anderson epic production whether it was Torchy the battery boy, Fireball XL5. or in later years UFO and Space 1999. Forget the sixties music, what about the sixties science fiction.
Thunderbirds to me is the pivotal Gerry Anderson production. Whatever was to come later from "SUPERMARIONATION" albeit Joe 90 or Captain Scarlet (always a personal favourite), or involving real people Thunderbirds marked the turning point.
Until that time the shows involved single setting stories but with Thunderbirds it was clear that this was a much more ambitious project. Not only was the scope of Anderson's concept much grander but the concept itself was transformed into something much more sophisticated than a simple battle between good and evil. The two dimensional characters assumed a greater depth and complexity. The future as seen by Anderson was no longer purely technologically advanced but was darker and more threatening than any future he had previosly painted. The need for secrecy and the repeating them of being in disguise postulated a society threatened by potential terrorists epitomised by the Hood, of unmistaken Asian origin.
From here, following Thunderbirds success both on television and on the big screen, the Andersons went on to develop their creations in a much bigger way. While the shows were state of the art puppeteering, the stories were better and ran for an hour rather than thirty minutes, the machines were once pure fantasy and yet...
Thunderbirds on DVD is a great idea. Perhaps running them on television would be a better one. Perhaps running a number of the Anderson creations a better one still. Gerry Anderson, like Arthur C. Clarke before him, is another of those prescient men for whom their time has come.
P.S. They are fun to watch too
THUNDERBIRDS to the RESCUE!
I have been a big fan of this U.K. television series from the 1960's for years, and I spent a considerable sum of money just to get the original episodes on VHS imported to the U.S. Some of the prints used for these videos were in bad shape, but I didn't care since this was the only way for me to see them. Not anymore! I got this set (along with a DVD player) as a gift and I must say that I am impressed with the quality of these DVDs (two in the set). The image quality is very crisp and clear and the colors are very vibrant. I have read some reviews where people wished they had digitally removed the puppet strings but I didn't find this to be a major issue. The special features such as the "Making of Thunderbirds" featurette and the gallery of productions stills are great, but I wish there had been some audio commentary and/or video interviews with Gerry Anderson, whom I consider to be the British version of George Lucas. As for the re-mastered soundtrack, you definitely feel the effect of the explosions, but they stand out too much from the rest of the audio (i.e. the volume is really LOUD compared to the other audio elements). I would have preferred hearing the original sound mix, or at least having the option to choose the original sound or the remastered version. Overall, I think Thunderbirds fans will be happy with this set. Hopefully, all of the episodes will be released on DVD in the near future. THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
FAB - naturally
Yes, yes, yes ... dunderklumpen Parker is tripping all over his cockney vowels and Tintin (the non-francophone version) is demurely aiding (wink, wink) Alan, but how can you resist a world where technology is always fallible (planes exploding, reactors exploding, grandma exploding - just kidding) yet can only be saved by the same, now infallible, technology. A feature film with non-stringy actors is being made of this series - it's a guaranteed flop already. You can't tell these stories today with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of thirty years ago. Also, when Thunderbirds was made, the directors were making mini-feature-films. Now, alas, even our biggest films are made to play on TV, just like a movie-of-the-week. It'll look like a Star Trek episode - neat, clean-cut and sanitary with all the soul sucked out of its CGI animated pores. What it won't have is Lord Lew Grade sitting behind it, marvelling at its imagination, egging on its producer, giggling like a large cherubic baby. The original can't be anything other than FAB - a Fully Aknowledged Broadcast.