CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Mark Honhorst This movie must have disappointed legions of fans upon it's 1978 television premiere, over a decade after the original show had been taken off the air. And why? Well, let's have a look. It starts off decent enough, but the scene where Gilligan and his pals escape from the island was overlong and dull. It is immediately followed by another overlong and unfunny scene where the castaways are at their welcome home party. The castaways then go separate ways, which is all well and good, but we don't get too in depth about any of their personal lives. The Professor, Mary-Ann, Ginger, and the Howells only get one scene each of their lives in civilization. The rest of the movie is Gilligan and the Skipper bumbling around trying to prove that they didn't cause the accident that landed them on the island in the first place. This doesn't constitute much of a story. Oh, and there'as some stereotypical Russians who try to get some disk back from Gilligan. In the end (Spoilers) they crash again and end up back on the island, making this movie completely pointless. And then, before I knew it, it was over. I know it's just a stupid sit com, and plots really don't matter, but the worst part is, it was not funny! Not in the slightest.

Damon Fordham My friends, I thought "Gilligan's Island" was one of the stupidest shows of all time even as a kid. But back in the 70s, we only had 4 channels and not much else to do after we played and did our homework after school and you were too young to go out. So we didn't have much choice other than to watch tripe like this.Anyway, I recall watching some of this particular flick back in the 8th grade in 1978. I think I fell asleep around the time Thurston Howell orders some cigars from a man who is supposed to be Fidel Castro. Anyway, this was on a $3.99 DVD set at the grocery store with other public domain comedy films, so I said, "Why Not?" Now I know the answer to that last question. This was about every bit as dumb as the TV show, mixed in with topical 1970s humor about Jimmy Carter, Star Wars, Watergate, the Castro gag mentioned earlier, etc. along with Gilligan and the Skipper's poor man's Laurel and Hardy antics redux. About 20 minutes before the film ends, you can already figure out what's going to happen. You see, the late 70s was no golden age of TV comedy ("Hello Larry," "Sugar Time," and"Blansky's Beauties" anyone?) HOWEVER, there is one redeeming value of this that kept me from doing the Frisbee thing with this DVD (and from giving it only 1 star). This film did more than any original episode to show the way the characters (and the real actors, in a way) really cared about each other. I was actually touched of how each time the castaways back in civilization ran into those who wanted to exploit them individually, they stood together in each case as a united front. (This concern actually extended to real life as a very sick Jim Backus reprised his role in a later GI film out of friendship for the cast).So if you want a good movie, this ain't it. But if you want to see an interesting look at what real friendship is all about, this might help.

dpartn Where to start? First you need to know that a very important aspect was missing when this movie was filmed. Well, several aspects actually... Using a REAL camera to film the movie would have been very helpful. Instead it looks like they used Bob Denver's Betamax video cam he no doubt owned in that era. They also must have assumed that using a mid 1970s cassette tape recorder to record the audio would have enhanced the reality of spotty audio that no doubt would have been the case in reality. Then to make matters worse they seemed to have forgotten to have brought any LIGHTS to film with. The opening sequence looks like they used Bob Denver's Zippo lighter held next to the betamax camera to supply the lighting element. Then the transfer to DVD must have been done by some kid with a DVD recorder from Wal Mart who found the Beta master sitting in the back seat of one of the cast member's cars in the direct sunlight. OK, I could have just said the video, audio and transfer quality suck hideously. No fear of this one ever coming out on Blu-Ray.The plot is unfortunately as bad as the film quality. For a series that developed such a following and was well in demand you could tell how obviously small the budget was for it. The film starts out with the threat of a storm wiping the island off the map (what map?) so only then do the castaways get the idea that they can tie the huts together to make a big raft. You do have to wonder for castaways who have not had a working radio in over a decade how they kept up with the times in terms of hair style. all the men seem to have sideburns now and Ginger is doing her best Farrah hair imitation. Mr. Howell seems to have had an eye doctor visit somehow as he has prescription glasses now. Not to mention his clothes seems to fit despite his weight gain. This is true of Skipper also who has put on a few lbs. Not to mention their clothes not only seem to never show 15 years wear, but Skipper seems to be wearing a completely different shade of blue shirts now. the never ending supply of fresh clothes was a mystery when they were on the island after just 6 months. When they are on the ocean in their hut raft they figure using a sail would make them move in one direction. Subsequently everyone offers up their clothes to make a sail. a moment later we see a huge sale made of clothes but not one castaway has lost any clothes despite them saying seconds earlier of how they will be happy to remove their clothes to make a sail. I guess we forgot the episode that never aired where a freighter of clothes destine for Sears Robuck no doubt loses several tons of clothing cargo while passing the island. The plot once rescued seems absolutely goofy and not goofy good. throw in some nonsense about a pair of Russians chasing Gilligan around because he's wearing a storage disc full of sensitive data around his neck. The plot is wasted on this silly pursuit. The plot could have been a lot better but we are talking the imagination of writers in the late 70s. Not exactly our finest hour in terms of film history. But it all gores down to budget. had they put in just a couple hundred thousand more the film would have no doubt been worlds better..One would do well to watch the docudrama made around 2000 with Bob, Russell and Dawn participating in a recreation of how the show evolved. Much better film and though its not really a remake of any kind its still quite interesting to watch.

TVholic By the late '70s, I'd spent many an afternoon watching Gilligan's Island in syndication after school. Each episode was the TV equivalent of a Hostess Twinkie - light, fluffy, undeniably artificial, sweet and sappy enough to make you sick. But come the next day, you wanted another one anyway. Rescue from Gilligan's Island looks like nothing so much as an extended episode from the original series. Depending on how much you liked or hated the series, that can be good or bad. All the old staples were back, from the fast-motion slapstick to the groaners masquerading as punchlines. As soon as I saw the network promo where the Skipper said, "After 15 years, we're finally rescued," I was looking forward to watching this on TV. I missed the original lagoon set, though. The new lagoon looked a lot smaller and darker, not at all inviting. Perhaps the worst part of the movie was seeing everyone back in "civilization" after years of seeing them only on the "island." The message of the movie is true: there's no place like home, which in this case was the island.Most of the cast was back, looking none the worse for wear. Alan Hale, Jr. could have stepped fresh from the series, as could Dawn Wells, Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer. Russell Johnson looked his age, and Bob Denver added the most years. Judith Baldwin was nowhere near as alluring as Tina Louise. Choosing between Mary Ann and this Ginger would be no contest. At least her leaden delivery and wooden expressions made me appreciate how underrated Tina really was.The DVD transfer is easily the worst I've ever seen. Where did they get the source material, off a videocassette recorded from a local broadcast? There were numerous flaws in the tape, including a fuzzy, washed out picture, bad dropouts, tracking problems and many jumpy edits where a second or two seemed to be missing. In fact, roughly three minutes of running time are missing here, clocking in at only 92 minutes. Lots of hiss on the audio track. Even the printing on the DVD was bad. It was ragged and looked like somebody used an old inkjet printer to sloppily print the label. The company involved in the DVD mastering got prominent on-screen credit. If it were me, I wouldn't brag about it. I'd call it amateurish, but I've seen amateur-produced DVDs that were much better. But what can you expect for a $5 DVD? At least secondhand copies can be had for less.