Search - Black Rainbow on DVD

Gladys E. (mousie) from SWANNANOA, NC
Reviewed on 2/26/2008...

Not bad... surprising ending

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

A Diamond in the Rough...in Time

P. B Rubalcaba | Redlands, CA USA | 02/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The beauty of film is that it captures a moment in time. "Black Rainbow" is such a film. Released in 1986 (nearly 20 years ago), this novel approach to psychic powers (a Medium) is just what the new Millennium ordered. Despite its frightful moments of peering into the future, it is refreshing to know that the same year my son was born, that this film was fresh and new like him. One part of the script says it all. "Why do serious things have to become entertainment?" Powerful! You will have to watch the film to understand.



The cast is superb. Rosanna Arquette is the medium. Her beauty is captured in a new light. Her mysterious aura sends chills and thrills down your spine all at once. What a hypnotic smile and dreamy eyes. Her father is portrayed by film legend Jason Robards. Upstart actor (at that time) Tom Hulce plays the agnostic reporter.



This film has a lot to offer even though its been on the shelves for nearly two decades.



In the thriller category (though dated) it receives a solid 5. The highlights in this film is are when Rosanna is on stage. As her followers flock to the church to witness her out-of-this-world gifts, she is convincing and sincere. A must see (even a rental) for psycho thriller fans. Good job Rosanna, Jason and Tom!!!"

Greatest movie of its genre

Bob L'Aloge | Texas | 07/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is undoubtedly the greatest movie of its genre and Rosanna Aruqette shines with mystery and an aura that is realistic beyond your wildest imaginations. She is so convincing that she had me believing she was the character instead of a wonderful actress who makes movies. And Jason Robards was outstanding portraying her drunken father with guilt feelings about his dead wife and mother to Rosanna. STORY, PLOT, ACTING, COSTUME, EVERYTHING=PERFECT! Of all the movies that I feel must be owned, I could not live without this one! I would have given it 6 stars rating but they don't offer it on Amazon."

"We steal when we touch tomorrow."

Trevor Willsmer | London, England | 03/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saying that Black Rainbow is one of its director's best films doesn't sound much of a compliment when you're talking about a man whose resume includes Morons From Outer Space and not one but two Clive Owen stinkers even if it is true. Mike Hodges' reputation these days rests solely on a gangster movie he made 35 years ago, and the fact that his subsequent efforts have either been too clinical to work (The Terminal Man), too flawed to completely satisfy (Pulp), outright awful (A Prayer for the Dying) or saw him fired early in production (Damien: Omen II) has done little to deter labelling him as a one-hit wonder. True to his run of luck, this neat little supernatural thriller was barely released, going straight to cable in the US and getting caught up in a distribution scandal in the UK, where Palace tried to get copies into video stores (selling it as virtual soft porn, believe it or not!) before the film even opened theatrically.



It's that old chestnut, the medium who sees too much - in this case getting messages from dead people who haven't died yet - and puts her life in danger, but it's rarely been done this well. Starting off as a sort of Emily Gantry as written by Eugene O'Neill (with Jason Robards playing another of his drunken pater familiases), it offers Rosanna Arquette her best role, and she certainly rises to the challenge. The premonition scenes carry a real frisson, there are neat humanising touches (the hitman for once has a family life and can't get a decent seat on an airplane) and Hodges' dialog is surprisingly good. But what really caries it is the characterization: these are all believably damaged people clinging onto any tenuous hope they can find, be it religion or the bottle, to prevent taking a good look at themselves - as one bereaved character puts it, "Maybe if we weren't so bothered about the hereafter we'd pay more attention to the here and now."



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