Production Company(ies)
RKO Radio Pictures,
 
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1984
 

 
Genre(s)
Fantasy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Dody Goodman, Shecky Greene, directed by Ron Howard, written by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman, fantasy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Rita Kempley, Duane Byrge, Richard Schickel, Ian Freer, produced by Brian Grazer, PG rating, mermaid, romantic comedy, underwater romance, scientist, New York, beach, comedy, heart-warming, pathos, teamsters, mermaid mythology, fish out of water, love story, charming performances, unobtrusive direction, scheming scientist, deep sea paradise, dry land, intervention, tidal wave, moonlit tide, wild and crazy spirit, salty and bracing, plunge in the surf, airy tone, delectable, unblemished performance, underwater scenes, mermaid tail, mermaid transformation, mermaid kiss, mermaid hair, mermaid mythology, mermaid culture, mermaid language, mermaid songs, mermaid powers, mermaid abilities, mermaid society, mermaid family, mermaid community, mermaid love, mermaid fantasy
 

Cast & Crew

Tom Hanks

Daryl Hannah

John Candy

Eugene Levy

Dody Goodman

Allen Bauer

Madison

Freddie Bauer

Walter Kornbluth

Mrs. Stimler

Tom Hanks – Allen Bauer
Daryl Hannah – Madison
John Candy – Freddie Bauer
Eugene Levy – Walter Kornbluth
Dody Goodman – Mrs. Stimler
Shecky Greene – Mr. Buyrite

 

Ron Howard

Lowell Ganz

Brian Grazer

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ron Howard
 
Writer(s)
Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman
 
Producer(s)
Brian Grazer

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 9 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Rita Kempley

Duane Byrge

Richard Schickel

Ian Freer

Variety Staff

Washington Post

Hollywood Reporter

TIME Magazine

Empire Magazine

Variety

SPLASH
 All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (4)
 Splash, an aquacade of myth and laughter, glimmers like moonlit tide. It’s an enrapturing underwater romance pairing dry-lander Tom Hanks with mermaid Daryl Hannah (not an easy affair for a nonswimmer).
 
 July 3, 2018
 
 Rita Kempley
 Washington Post
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s a rambunctious comedy, coming from director Ron Howard who, with his previous, wacky Night Shift, unarguably shows that beneath that Opie Taylor/Richie Cunningham persona, there’s a wild and crazy spirit.
 
 March 9, 2017
 
 Duane Byrge
 Hollywood Reporter
 TOP CRITIC
 A romantic comedy that is as salty and bracing as a plunge in the surf.
 
 May 10, 2009
 
 Richard Schickel
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 The movie that really showed Tom Hanks’ promise as a deliverer of great comedy and heart-warming pathos.
 
 February 3, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Ian Freer
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Although film is a bit uneven, production benefits from a tasty look, an airy tone, and a delectable, unblemished performance from Hannah.
 
 May 21, 2008
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 Howard demonstrates exactly the correct soft touch, skirting the myriad problems of taste.
 
 February 9, 2006
 
 Chris Peachment
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 Manages plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and genuine fun.
 
 September 7, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Splash could have been a silly and simple comedy, but it escapes that destiny thanks to its creative script and talented actors. [Full Review in Spanish]
 
 February 18, 2020
 
 Octavi Marti
 El Pais (Spain)
 A mild and bland slapstick Disney comedy.
 
 July 3, 2018 | Rating: C+
 
 Dennis Schwartz
 Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
 Line up a row of Howard’s films and ask someone to choose. Chances are, their hands will fall to Splash as often as any other
 
 March 17, 2014 | Rating: B+
 
 Rob Vaux
 Mania.com
 This charming romantic comedy touched a chord with audiences around the world and propelled its stars Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, along with director Ron Howard, to Hollywood’s front rank.
 
 February 10, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 John Ferguson
 Radio Times
 Fishy fairy tale the wrong hook on relationships.
 
 December 18, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Heather Boerner
 Common Sense Media…

 

Plot
Allen Bauer is rescued from drowning as a young boy off Cape Cod by a young mermaid. Years later, he returns to the same location, and once again manages to fall into the sea, and is rescued once more by the mermaid (Allen isn’t sure what he has seen and what he has imagined). Using maps from a sunken ship, the mermaid decides to search for Allen in New York City, sprouting legs when her tail dries. On finding Allen, they fall in love, but she has a secret, which will no longer be a secret if she gets her legs wet.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises the “charming performances” of Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in Splash.
 

 
Ron-Howard.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Piki Films, Defender Films, Curious Film
 
Distributor
AVCO Embassy Pictures
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Dunsmuir House & Gardens – 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for nudity, violence, and intense scenes
 
Year of Release
1979
 

 
Genre(s)
Horror
 
Keyword(s)
starring A Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Kathy Lester, Terrie Kalbus, Kenneth V Jones, directed by Don Coscarelli, written by Don Coscarelli, horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gary Arnold, Noel Murray, Soren Andersen, Katie Rife, Tom Huddleston, Kim Newman, David Nusair, Mike Massie, Anton Bitel, Molly Henery, Charles Mudede, Augusto Martínez Torres, R, AVCO Embassy Pictures, Tall Man, zombies, silver sphere, mortician, ice cream man, small town, death, mourning, reincarnation
 

Cast & Crew

A. Michael Baldwin

Bill Thornbury

Reggie Bannister

Kathy Lester

Terrie Kalbus

Michael Baldwin

Bill Thornbury

Reggie Bannister

Kathy Lester

Terrie Kalbus

A. Michael Baldwin – Michael “Mike” Pearson
Bill Thornbury – Jody Pearson
Reggie Bannister – Reggie
Kathy Lester – Lady in Lavender
Terrie Kalbus – Fortune Teller’s grandaughter
Kenneth V. Jones – Caretaker

 

Don Coscarelli

Don Coscarelli

Dac Coscarelli

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Don Coscarelli
 
Writer(s)
Don Coscarelli
 
Producer(s)
Dac Coscarelli

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 2 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Gary Arnold

Noel Murray

Soren Andersen

Katie Rife

Tom Huddleston

Washington Post

Los Angeles Times

Seattle Times

AV Club

Time Out

PHANTASM
 All Critics (46) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (12)
 “Phantasm” will not be remembered as a masterpiece of the horror genre, but it sustains a gauche, hokey, desperately improvisational charm.
 
 October 20, 2017
 
 Gary Arnold
 Washington Post
 TOP CRITIC
 While holding onto the handmade charm of the original, the 4K version makes the image less murky and the seams less visible, giving the picture back the vividly nightmarish quality of its original theatrical run.
 
 October 6, 2016
 
 Noel Murray
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Freshly refurbished with better sound and digitally sharpened visuals for this latest rerelease, “Phantasm” remains a pretty effective fright fest.
 
 October 6, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 Soren Andersen
 Seattle Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Phantasm is wildly imaginative and legitimately creepy, confronting death and mourning as part of the coming-of-age process while also delivering nutty Jawa-type critters and blood spurting out of peoples’ faces.
 
 October 6, 2016 | Rating: B+
 
 Katie Rife
 AV Club
 TOP CRITIC
 One of the most idiosyncratic movies in the horror canon.
 
 October 3, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Tom Huddleston
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 Extremely gory. Horror fans should delight.
 
 May 6, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Kim Newman
 Empire Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 …a relatively promising set-up that’s employed to persistently (and increasingly) underwhelming and uninvolving effect by Coscarelli…
 
 January 22, 2021 | Rating: 1/4
 
 David Nusair
 Reel Film Reviews
 Coscarelli utilizes a disturbingly unstable reality that borders on a world of nightmares – the perfect setting for pondering life, death, and reincarnation.
 
 August 30, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 a pre-adolescent’s pre-Lynchian fugue from mortality’s mourning side
 
 April 13, 2019
 
 Anton Bitel
 VODzilla.co
 Phantasm was a cheesy, somewhat nonsensical, seventies horror scifi film that became a cult classic despite all its shortcomings.
 
 November 2, 2018 | Rating: 6.5/10
 
 Molly Henery
 The Blogging Banshee
 It retains its power to make you stay the hell away from your closet after dark.
 
 August 22, 2018
 
 Charles Mudede
 The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
 The film has an especially attractive first part where fantastic and terrifying elements are developed with great visual and dramatic interes[… [Full review in Spanish]
 
 April 3, 2018
 
 Augusto Martínez Torres
 El Pais (Spain)…

 

Plot
Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, afraid to lose his brother follow him to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lifting a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate, and discovers that the Tall Man, protected by his flying spheres, is shrinking dead bodies down to half their normal size and reanimating them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The Tall Man, played by Angus Scrimm, is killing and reanimating the dead as misshapen zombies.
 

 
Don-Coscarelli.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Plattform Produktion Film i Väst Essential Filmproduktion, GmbH,
 
Distributor
United Artists
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Piz Gloria Revolving Restaurant, Piz Gloria, Kanton Bern, Switzerland
 
MPAA / Certificate
(Rating Symbol Changed)
 
Year of Release
1969
 

 
Genre(s)
Action
 
Keyword(s)
starring George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Gabriele Ferzetti, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, directed by Peter Hunt, written by Ian Fleming, Richard Maibaum, Simon Raven, action, James Bond, spy, SPECTRE, Swiss Alps, ski chases, germ warfare, PG, Albert R Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, United Artists, box office, budget, reviewed by Variety Staff, Don Druker, Geoff Andrew, A.H Weiler, Debbie Barham, Charles Taylor, Victor Pineyro, Joe Baltake, Matt Brunson
 

Cast & Crew

George Lazenby

Diana Rigg

Telly Savalas

Gabriele Ferzetti

Bernard Lee

James Bond

Tracy

Blofeld

Draco

M

George Lazenby – James Bond
Diana Rigg – Tracy
Telly Savalas – Blofeld
Gabriele Ferzetti – Draco
Bernard Lee – M
Lois Maxwell – Moneypenny

 

Peter Hunt

Ian Fleming

Albert R. Broccoli

Harry Saltzman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Peter Hunt
 
Writer(s)
Ian Fleming, Richard Maibaum, Simon Raven
 
Producer(s)
Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 4 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Variety Staff

Don Druker

Geoff Andrew

A.H. Weiler

Debbie Barham

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

New York Times

BBC.com

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
 All Critics (56) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (11)
 Film of break-neck physical excitement and stunning visual attractions in which George Lazenby replaced Sean Connery as James Bond.
 
 October 13, 2008
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 Director Peter Hunt manages to inject some life into this 1969 exercise with a wonderful ski chase, but otherwise the film is a bore.
 
 October 13, 2008
 
 Don Druker
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 The Bond films were bad enough even with the partially ironic performances of Connery.
 
 June 24, 2006
 
 Geoff Andrew
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 What are Bond’s problems now? They’re too numerous, as usual, to hold the constant attention of anyone other than a charter member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
 
 May 9, 2005
 
 A.H. Weiler
 New York Times
 TOP CRITIC
 By no means the premium Bond, but an intriguing one.
 
 July 25, 2001 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Debbie Barham
 BBC.com
 TOP CRITIC
 It offers supremely satisfying versions of all the conventions we expect from the series … and then it does the one thing you don’t expect a James Bond movie to do: It breaks your heart.
 
 January 1, 2000
 
 Charles Taylor
 Salon.com
 TOP CRITIC
 George Lazenby’s only 007 movie, turns out to also simply be my favorite James Bond movie of all time. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 June 23, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
 
 Victor Pineyro
 Seventh Art Studio
 His fantastic adventures, which once seemed slick and incredibly daring, now come across as warmed-over leftovers; they’re embarrassingly silly and weatherbeaten. The series has completely lost what little sophistication and humor it ever had.
 
 June 15, 2022
 
 Joe Baltake
 Philadelphia Daily News
 You won’t find a more tragic ending in any Bond flick.
 
 September 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 Savalas makes a great Bond villain here as the notorious Blofeld.
 
 September 25, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Tom Meek
 Cambridge Day
 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is pure poetry. It transcends the idea of a Bond film. Gorgeously photographed, thrillingly executed, and wonderfully performed, this is the franchise zenith.
 
 September 1, 2020
 
 Jake Tropila
 Film Inquiry
 While trying to include all of the expected constituents of a Bond picture, many elements actually slow down the pacing – creating the longest runtime yet.
 
 August 27, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
George Lazenby steps into the role of James Bond and is sent on his first mission. For help with Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), he must become very close friends with his daughter, Teresa “Tracy” (Dame Diana Rigg), and heads off to hunt down Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) one more time. This takes him to Switzerland, where he must pose as Sir Hilary Bray to find out the secret plan of Blofeld. The facility is covered with Blofeld’s guards, as well as his henchwoman, Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat). What does Blofeld have in mind this time? Can Bond keep up this act for much longer? Are any Bond Girls safe?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Diana Rigg’s portrayal of Tracy di Vincenzo is considered one of the most intriguing Bond girls in the series.
 

 
Peter-Hunt.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Road Movies Filmproduktion, Argos Films, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
 
Distributor
United Artists
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Mount Shinmu-dake, Kirishima-Yaku National Park, Kagoshima, Japan
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1967
 

 
Genre(s)
Action
 
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Donald Pleasence, Tetsurô Tanba, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, directed by Lewis Gilbert, written by Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Harold Jack Bloom, produced by Albert R Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, action, Cold War, espionage, spy, James Bond, exotic locales, special effects, central villain, messy story, memorable, box office performance, budget, PG rating, reviewed by Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Nigel Floyd, Bosley Crowther, Roger Ebert, Ali Barclay, Matt Brunson, Sean Connery’s finesse, Roald Dahl’s implausible script, Japanese settings, gadgets, nuclear war, global conspiracy, British intelligence, American spacecrafts, Russian spacecrafts, Tiger Tanaka, Aki, Helga Brandt, Kissy, MPAA rating, United Artists, Mono, Scope (2.35:1), James Bond 007
 

Cast & Crew

Sean Connery

Akiko Wakabayashi

Donald Pleasence

Tetsurô Tanba

Mie Hama

James Bond

Aki

Blofeld

Tiger Tanaka

Kissy

Sean Connery – James Bond
Akiko Wakabayashi – Aki
Donald Pleasence – Blofeld
Tetsurô Tanba – Tiger Tanaka
Mie Hama – Kissy
Karin Dor – Helga Brandt
Director – Lewis Gilbert
Producers – Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman
Writers – Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Harold Jack Bloom

 

Lewis Gilbert

Ian Fleming

Albert R. Broccoli

Harry Saltzman

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Lewis Gilbert
 
Writer(s)
Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Harold Jack Bloom
 
Producer(s)
Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
2 wins & 3 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Variety Staff

Dave Kehr

Nigel Floyd

Bosley Crowther

Roger Ebert

Variety

Chicago Reader

Time Out

New York Times

Chicago Sun-Times

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
 All Critics (52) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (14)
 Sean Connery plays 007 with his usual finesse.
 
 July 22, 2008
 
 Variety Staff
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 Tired, poorly paced Bond from 1967, with Sean Connery displaying his discontent.
 
 July 22, 2008
 
 Dave Kehr
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 Roald Dahl’s implausible script is padded out with the usual exotic locations, stunts, and trickery.
 
 February 9, 2006
 
 Nigel Floyd
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 This noisy and wildly violent picture… is evidently pegged to the notion that nothing succeeds like excess. And because it is shamelessly excessive, it is about a half-hour too long.
 
 May 9, 2005
 
 Bosley Crowther
 New York Times
 TOP CRITIC
 This one is top-heavy with gadgets but weak on plotting and getting everything to work at the same time.
 
 October 23, 2004 | Rating: 2.5/4
 
 Roger Ebert
 Chicago Sun-Times
 TOP CRITIC
 While Dahl clearly helped thrust Bond into a whole new world of villainy and technology, maybe his concepts were slightly ahead of themselves, or maybe he just tried too hard.
 
 July 25, 2001 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Ali Barclay
 BBC.com
 TOP CRITIC
 This one’s a lot of fun.
 
 September 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Matt Brunson
 Film Frenzy
 The special effects aren’t as visually pleasing as one might hope for, with many of the stunts clearly designed to be performed by actors in front of greenscreens.
 
 August 27, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 While far from perfect, the film stands as a series crowning achievement of spectacle, soaring Bond to literal new heights and proving that sometimes bigger is better.
 
 August 11, 2020
 
 Jake Tropila
 Film Inquiry
 I’m going to be honest – You Only Live Twice doesn’t have the best story…but in saying that, I still love this film immensely.
 
 July 16, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Kelechi Ehenulo
 Confessions From A Geek Mind
 The gadgets are demure, house broken, the Japanese settings are restful, the plot, such as it is, is taken seriously.
 
 February 6, 2020
 
 Wilfrid Sheed
 Esquire Magazine
 The outlandish elements that were soon to become tired in the Bond series are actually quite novel and imaginative here.
 
 October 31, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
 
 PJ Nabarro
 Patrick Nabarro…

 

Plot
During the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union lose one spacecraft each after they are both seemingly swallowed whole by a second unidentified spacecraft. The two superpowers are quick to blame one another for the disappearances, causing tensions to skyrocket. The United Kingdom has an alternate theory regarding the disappearances however, a theory involving Japan, and sends their number one spy, James Bond, to investigate there. With the help of the Japanese Secret Service, he uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have ever imagined.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film in the Fresh Kernels database.
 

 
Lewis-Gilbert.jpg