"Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King" (2006) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

12 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A television mini-series adaptation of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Stephen King's collection of short horror stories.

Plot Keywords:

Stephen King | Elvis Presley | Anthology | Elvis | TV Mini-Series

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Robert Mammone	...	Dr. Peter Jennings / ... (2 episodes, 2006)
Kodi Smit-McPhee	...	Brandon / ... (2 episodes, 2006)

Runtime:

480 min (8 episodes)

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Coote Hayes Productions

Trivia:

During the entire episode of "Battleground," not a single word is spoken.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the "Crouch End" segment the Freemans are in a Cab in London heading off to "Crouch End". An Australia Post van can be seen passing them on the street.

Quotes:

Howard Fornoy: See, guys like Bobby, they come along maybe once in a lifetime. The Da Vinci's and the Newtons. The Einsteins and the Edisons. And they all have one thing in common: they're like huge compasses swinging aimlessly for a long time. Searching for some True North. Then one day they hone in on it with fearful force.

Movie Connections:

Features "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

First week excellent, second week a bit of a bore

/1/ Battleground had great production values and excellent cast in William Hurt. The first half was slow but it made up for when the doo-doo hit the fan later in the movie.

/2/ Crouch End is one of the few attempts at interpreting King's Lovecraftian inspired tales into a movie, and it mostly excelled at that. Great cinematography, good cast, imaginative directing and creepy special effects make this episode a perfect compliment to Battleground during the first week.

/3/ Umney's Last Case is unfortunately a victim of an over zealous writer intent on changing a lot of Stephen King's work in the original short story. Macy does a good job of trying to salvage this movie, but I would skip this story when renting the DVD.

/4/ End Of the Whole Mess will come across as slow, talky and a bit conventional to many, the writing is probably the deepest of the four aired so far, but that can't help the slow pace and melodramatic performances.