It (1990)

C. – 192m. (Original Cut), 187 (DVD & Blu–ray)
Format: 1.33:1 – Fullscreen & 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Stephen King’s It
Dir.: Tommy Lee Wallace. Novel by Stephen King.
Starring: Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Annette O’Toole, Tim Reid, Jonathan Brandis, John Ritter, Richard Thomas, Tim Curry and Olivia Hussey.

A group of school–bullied teens get stalked by a monstrous clown during the summer; years later they reunite as adults and vow to take down the clown who has just reappeared. The film is mild in terms of how everything looks decades on from when it was made but it still boasts of fine performances by the cast, particularly Curry. Worth a watch on a rainy day.

Some trivia: Tim Curry gave such a creepy performance as Pennywise the monstrous clown that everyone avoided him during the production. Years later he was offered a chance to reprise the role in the remake but turned it down. Tim Curry was reluctant to take the role because of a bad experience with heavy makeup in Legend (1985). Upon hearing this, the director minimized the makeup for Curry. Sadly Jonathan Brandis and John Ritter died suddenly in 2003. Brandis committed suicide by hanging himself, while Ritter suffered an unexpected and fatal Aortic Dissection. And finally, on the day that the shoot called for the kids to go into the sewer, it was actually raining – thus saving the filmmakers the trouble of creating fake rain.

Rated: [Unrated] or [R] – Violence & Language.

Out Of Print on VHS and Laserdisc, but Available on DVD and Blu–Ray.

It (2017)

A.K.A.: Stephen King’s It Chapter 1, Stephen King’s It Part 1 and It: Chapter 1

C. – 135m.
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 – Widescreen

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis.

A group of teens have a year and change of growing up terrorized by the school bullies and a monstrous clown. It should be noted for those who are not impressed with the film’s ending and feel that there is a massive amount missing from the film, including the ending of the book, that this is just the first half of the story. While a ton of material was left out, there is still (at the time of this writing) a part two pending release. This is a ton darker than the original with much better C.G.I. Perhaps a tad too dark since it features an un–needed incest pedophilia sub–plot. Very well done though and the performances are stellar. Skarsgard’s insane clown is played with gusto and the aid of a plethora of C.G.I. His performance stands out here, as is the performance of Lillis as Beverly!

Some trivia: Skarsgard felt a ton of pressure to play the role of Pennywise to the same flamboyant level as Tim Curry, since Curry’s performance was widely praised in the original 1990 film. Those are really Skarsgard’s eyes that look in different directions in the film, not C.G.I.! The number 27 is often associated with this story; in the film it is mentioned that every 27 years Pennywise returns to Derry; this film was purposefully set to be released 27 years after the original 1990 mini–series aired on TV; the actor Jonathan Brandis, from the original film, died at age 27 (suicide by hanging), and this film was released one month after Bill Skarsgard’s 27th birthday! Skarsgard reportedly trained with a contortionist for his role in the film and yes, he does speak Swedish in the film.

Skarsgard was the fourth actor offered the role of Pennywise. Tim Curry was offered it first as a chance for him to reprise the role, but her turned it down. Then Ben Mendelsohn and Will Poulter were offered the role. The slideshow scene was a nod to Stephen King’s story: The Sun Dog. Chloe Grace Moetz, best known for playing Carrie in the 2013 version of that story, was originally considered for the role of Beverly here but was rejected due to her age when the film finally got around to being shot. The woman that you see in the film, Sophia Lillis, was cast instead. The novel took place in 1957 and 1958, where–as this film takes place in 1988 and 1989. The film, believe it or not, was in pre–production for seven years before the film even started shooting. And finally, the film’s shooting wrapped (finished) one day before Stephen King (the author of the book) turned 69 years old – 9/20/2016 (King’s birthday being 9/21/1947).

A personal note: When I saw this it was 9/9/2017 with Thomas Sawyer and Cory Fairfield. It was part of a celebration of my 30th birthday. We went to Chunky’s Cinema Pub in Nashua, NH and had drinks and watched the film. The boys had food too. The theater had professional people dressed in creepy clown masks stalking around the theater scaring the hell out of patrons who were there in droves to see the film. Mostly they scared the women of the crowds.

Rated: [R] – Violence / Horror, Scary Images, & Language

Available On 4K Blu–ray, Blu–ray, DVD and Digital Copy.