Gargoyles [DVD]

I saw this movie on television in the "old days". You can still tell where the commercial breaks were. As another reviewer said, "There WAS life before CGI." It was a great scary movie and the Gargoyles were REAL people in Gargoyle suits! (Imagine that!) Originally from 1972--74 minutes of scary movie fun. Go pop your microwave popcorn, grab your Dos Equis (beer), and settle in for some fun.The movie is preceded by verbiage about the devil being defeated by God and banished to Hell, as pictures of the devil, demons, and angels are shown. The movie tells us the gargoyles were the devil's offspring and were to take over Earth as the devil's domain. The Gargoyles would be reborn every 600 years until they succeed. So far, man has wiped them out each time. (So, it looks like it's Gargoyle time again.)The movie begins as veteran actor Cornel Wilde/Professor Mercer Boley (a popular actor in his time, who is no longer with us) waits for his daughter Diana Boley/Jennifer Salt at the local airport. Diana lives with her mom, and mom has remarried. The Professor is a best-seller author and a science Professor at a University. He is big into demonology (big surprise-lol) and has an extensive demon figure collection. The Professor invited his daughter to travel to Mexico with him. On the way, he is stopping to see Willie. Willie saw the Professor on a talk show and claims to have something of interest to show, and the Professor is beginning a new book about the last 5000 years.Driving through the desert, they hear and see something strange, but it was quick. They come upon Uncle Willie's Desert Museum, a bizarre desert store in need of repairs but unlikely to get them. In a shack out back, Uncle Willie/Woody Chambliss bolts the door and shows Diana and the Professor a complete set of Gargoyle bones. The Professor thinks this is just a collection of old bones that Willie pieced together, but Willie explains the area was named "Devil's Crossing" by the Indians and they have passed down stories of Gargoyles in the hills for hundreds of years.As Diana starts the old cassette tape recorder, Willie begins to tell the story of the Nocatacachinkos (the Indian name for devils). Suddenly, something begins to attack the shack, knocking over the lanterns and igniting the place. Diana grabs the recorder and the Professor grabs the skull and they run for their lives, with Gargoyles in pursuit. The Professor remembers from his research that the Gargoyles always return for their dead! The excitement continues as Cornel Wilde and his daughter are chased by the Gargoyles through the desert. Remember, it is Gargoyle time, again. The eggs are getting ready to hatch, and this time, they plan to succeed!The Gargoyles are human-sized lizards, with wings and long sharp nails. They have no superior strength or qualities, other than the wings allow them to fly. They can be shot or killed the same as a human. Apparently the women get jealous, too. Bernie Casey plays the main Gargoyle. Excellent make up work, similar to the work done for "Planet of the Apes" and "Enemy Mine" movies.Movie fans will also note a young Scott Glenn as part of a group of motorcycle riders, and a vintage Jeep. Ladies will love Diana's white top that does not get dirty while climbing around the rocks, too. I want one of those!This is a good scare for the price of a video flick and likely a movie you will remember often and watch over-and-over again. Wonderfully done for its time and is said to be an "Award-Winning Horror Classic".

GARGOYLESThis was a made for TV movie from the early 70's so it was before my time but I love all of these old TV flicks from back in the day, I really miss them. I first saw this back in the early 90's when at a friends house and they had it on VHS or something. So I went for years thinking about it wanting to see it again, So when this DVD was released I had to get it, eventually I did.The story follows a father and daughter traveling across the southwest when they find out about a weird skeleton that was found. They decide to check it out real quick but get caught up in a situation in which the relatives of that skeleton show up to reclaim it. The problem is that those relatives are the mythological gargoyles of legend, now the town is at war with these creatures.I still to this day love this movie although now as an adult I do see the flaws but I love the film all the same. I love the practical effects and the acting in this film, director Bill Norton did a great job with this early TV movie. In fact I love his commentary on this DVD, it is very informative even if he pauses at times watching the film. In fact it is this commentary in which we learn not only did legendary effects artist Stan Winston work on this film but so did Rick Baker, love it. Also we see a young Scott Glenn here in this film as one of the bikers.I highly recommend this film if you enjoy those early TV films from the 70's and such. It is not a perfect movie but it is fun and I love the look of the creatures here. Check it out if you get the chance.

WOW! I just got the Classics Media DVD copy of Gargoyles 1972 TV Movie in, the one with the red cover, green text & three Gargoyles on it.This is definitely the edition you want, comes with subtitles and directors commentary and is clear as a bell video & audio,I'm pretty amazed, it looks perfect on my 4K 55" inch Curved Samsung... I watched this many times as a kid inthe 70s and loved how spookyand mysterious it was. Very Scooby Doo.This picture looks INCREDIBLE for such an obscure film, seriously if you remember this movie as well as I do and it was always a favorite this DVD is well worth it. I've been collecting movies and TV Shows since Betamax days and along with the times always upgraded my equipment.From Betamax to VHS to Laserduc to DVD and finally to 4K UHD... I only buy DVD now if that's the only format available but many gems from the 70s & 80s that's all that's available and we're very lucky they're available on that format.If Gargoyles (1972) ever becomes available on Blu-Ray I'll definitely snap it up cause this DVD is pretty stunning for rare...I've collected tons of films & shows over the years and between upgrading formats, buying new films and sometimes like this buying older movies/shows I know what is quality and this DVD of Gargoyles is top notch, I'm not reviewing the movie cause if you're like me it's a precious childhood memory no matter how cheesy it may be (actually I dont find it cheesy at all.)The video image is comparable to The Bionic Woman DVDs which is VERY surprising because those and this look better than some Blu-Rays I own, seriously.I wish everything I owned from the '70's and '80"s looked like this! Mazes & Monsters on DVD is really soft and fuzzy looking unfortunately. But Gargoyles and The Bionic Woman are Blu-Ray quality, I wish all these kinds of shows were...Some of the great fun shows and films I have from the past are The Secrets Of Isis on DVD, Fantastic Voyage DVD, Syd And Marty Croft DVD, Johnny Quest Blu-Ray, Scooby Doo Where Are You Blu-Ray, Batman 1966 Blu-Ray, Mazes & Monsters DVD, The Legend Of The Lone Ranger Blu-Ray, Ladies And Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains DVD, The Parent Trap Blu-Ray (Disney Movie Club Exclusive), Freaky Friday Blu-Ray, The Black Hole Blu-Ray, Pollyanna Blu-Ray, Josie And The Pussycats cartoon Blu-Ray, Remington Steele DVD, The Greatest American Hero DVD, Ranma 1/2 Blu-Ray, The Hideaways DVD, Under The Rainbow DVD, Foxes (Jodie Foster) DVD, Charlie's Angels the Original Series Blu-Ray, The Prisoner Blu-Ray, The Avengers TV Series Blu-Ray, The Twilight Zone Original Series Blu-Ray... and about 100 other blasts from the past and counting! Magnum P.I. was just released on Blu-Ray from Mill Creek so planning on getting that next... but seriously, really, if you remember Gargoyles fondly, this DVD edition is the BEST!