Real Genius

Amazon.com

An underrated little picture, Real Genius offers a rare college comedy that doesn't rely on gross-out humor--and a look at Val Kilmer before he turned into a star. A high school whiz kid (Gabriel Jarret) arrives at a brainy college, where the crème de la crème of the science students are marshaled under an ambitious professor (expert villain William Atherton). Unbeknownst to them, the kids are working on a weapons system that the prof plans on selling to the government. The star student, and chief rabble-rouser, is played by Kilmer, in good early form as a cocky genius who hasn't lost touch with his goofy side. The director is Martha Coolidge, whose Valley Girl was one of the brightest (and most unexpected) of '80s comedies; she keeps the movie perking along and never worries about dumbing down a film that just happens to be about smart people. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Real Genius is smart and fun. It's a no brainer........2007-09-04

Real Genius, staring Val Kilmer, William Atherton, and Gabriel Jarret, is stock and trade of many films to emerge during the 1980's. It questions not only the power structures of government and wealth which direct them, but also the innocent and deluded world view often prevailing in scientific circles. Along with War Games, and other such classics of the 1980's, Real Genius is unlikely to age.

Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) is a young man of rare and unusual gifts in mathematics and physics. He welcomes a new wonder kid named Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarret) to show him the ropes and act as an unofficial mentor, and party central. The dynamics of academic politics are played as the typical coming of age story of independence and self discovery against the brooding darkness of Professor Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton), who is under pressure to delver a ray machine to the United States military. On one side are the indolent aphorisms and excesses of Kilmer, and on the other are the demands to produce or fail by academia, which is a willing pawn of Orwellian power figures.

This pressure to get results ends up in a wake up call for all its central characters, when they discover the intended use of their invention. In the modern world it seems virtually impossible to be innocent. This film succeeds largely based on the merits of its fine script written by Neal Israel, and strong direction by Martha Coolidge. The performances are all very good. Atherton, in particular, should be singled out as delivering a very fine performance. Where so many other films from this period are already dated and lose their power to entertain, this offers its viewer issues that belong to any generation.

Loved the gags!.......2007-09-02

My own background is heavy in the arts and sciences, even coming out of college. This film is for those of us who can equate to the technical mind set and that type of journey through life.

This film is light hearted with its premise. Even the scene in the dorm where they fill the hallways with ice, so they can "body slide" the halls on the ice, reminds me of some of the things done at my college dorm so long ago.

If you think the pranks done in this movie don't happen in college, here are some examples of things I saw in my own college days while living on campus. One day someone put a vaseline slick on the carpet, so if you came running down the hallway, you'd be sliding down the length of hallway on your butt. (lol) On another occasion, I passed a trash barrel full of water vicariously and precisely balanced up against someone's door so that when they opened the door, the barrel would fall on them saturating them in water.

Then there was that one morning I woke to use the central bathroom down the hall and could not get out of my dorm room. I simply could not make the door knob turn, as though it were locked. Neither could my room mate. So I climbed out on the window ledge, two stories up no less on the narrow ledge, and got in through someone elses window, whose door was operating. As I stepped into the hallway, I could hear all the door knobs turning as each person was trying to get out of their room. What I learned was that some engineer had stuck pennies inbetween each door and door lip creating enough pressure so that the door knob would not turn. As I freed each person from each dorm, using a kitchen knife to pop out the pennies, I discovered that some doors were three penny doors, some were six penny doors; some were in betweeners. I couldn't stop laughing. I think I made about 45 cents that morning for my trouble and eventually got to use the bathroom when everyone else was done. This happened in just my freshman year.

In my senior year, while living with three other guys sharing an off campus apartment, one of my room mates decided to play a prank on me. One of our teaches kept a life size Marylyn Monroe manikin in his office. My friend Jym had come to me proposing I join him and a few others in sneaking into the office and steal the manikin. I turned him down on that offer and when I didn't join him, by the weekend, when I came in from classes one Friday evening, and climbed the stairs to the two level apartment we shared, to my bedroom, I found Marylyn; lying in my bed in a seductive pose, with my desk light covered in a red gel to mimic the red light district. (lol)

At the time I didn't find it funny. Jym and his buddies could not stop laughing. After awhile I did laugh and suggested we send a ransom note and if our demands were not met, we would take the pieces apart and send the teacher on a treasure hunt to find all the parts. In short, I have my own college prank stories to tell and all of them are good memories 30 years later. I've tried my whole life not to take life too seriously. Afterall, none us are getting out of it alive anyway.

I suppose if any of us had thought of it, we would have filled the hallways with ice, like they showed in this movie. The scene at the end of the film, showing the giant "Jiffy Pop" corn popper is a classic gag. Maybe U.S. leaders should learn from this scene when it comes to dealing with people like Sedom Hussain for instance. Instead of skud missling the enemy, maybe U.S. forces should have sent a heat ray into his home, after sending him a giant Jiffy Pop popper via International carrier and laid him out with a ton of Jiffy pop popcorn! You have to see the movie to appreciate what I'm talking about. I could not stop laughing when I first saw the gag done with the first viewing of this film.

The Amazon summary pretty well gives you the story. I'm just filling in some of the movie's highlights. Overall its a fun 80's film to watch. Val Kilmer was cute when this was made; so are the young college gals during the party scene. Makes me wish I was young again. Reminds me of all the fun times I had in college pursuing my technical studies.

So if you like a light hearted, fun story and a good laugh, then this film is for you. I certainly enjoyed it very much.

Real Genius.......2007-05-24

Yet another 80's classic. The ending credits which play "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," by Tears for Fears brought me back to my childhood. If you love 80's movies, you will love this movie.

Pretty Good Movie..........2007-05-17

This is one of Val Kilmer's first movies and a pretty worthy effort on his part. He plays a hot shot physics (or something) student who is a little bit on the eccentric side. He is teamed up with a 15 year old hot shot and wackiness ensues.

the scene at the end of this movie is classic as are some of the lines used.

Floating, sir..........2007-04-18

I will not waste anymore time with this; the movie was, is and will always be a great cult/80s classic. Val Kilmer is brilliant as Chris Knight. The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is that there are no deleted scenes; specifically... "Knight!!! What the hell are you doing?" "Floating, sir"...

Average customer rating:

MR. HUGHES A MAN WITH TALENT&W/LITTLE RESPECT.
Fabulous footage; lousy presentation
No new info but still entertaining
Yeah, 5 stars, but it's not "Citizen Kane"
Disappointing Supplement to Howard Hughes' Story

Howard Hughes - The Real Aviator
Starring: Howard R. Hughes
Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00064AF64
Release Date: 2004-11-16

Amazon.com

Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator is powerful, razor-sharp storytelling, an unsettling documentary built around Hughes's own recollections written during his final years of bizarre reclusiveness. Using newsreel footage, smart visual effects, and interviews with wife Terry Moore, close friend Jack Real, and key aides and executives from Hughes's sundry enterprises, The Real Aviator tells the almost improbable tale of the strapping Texan who transformed, at age 19, his late father's successful Hughes Tool Company into a colossal enterprise for cutting-edge aircraft and Hollywood film production. A daring pilot and driven captain of industry, Hughes built the planes that allowed him to break every speed record imaginable, created Trans-World Airlines (TWA), and moved heaven and earth to invent his fantastic "flying boat" while under government contract--the latter, dubious achievement (along with a near-lethal plane crash) triggering his long descent into mental illness and horrifying isolation. An essential film about a mythic American figure. --Tom Keogh

Description

An award-winning new film exploring his extraordinary life on a DVD packed with special features!

Winner: "Grand Festival Award" for Best Documentary at the 2004 Berkeley Video & Film Festival.

In Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator, Howard Hughes tells his own story for the first time. Through his own words, taken from his actual memos, conversations and interviews, the man who broke aviation records, survived three plane crashes, built RKO Studios and TWA and changed the face of Las Vegas forever comes to life in this thoroughly engrossing film. This film digs deeper into his life and his impact on modern aviation than any other and it's loaded with fantastic extras!

DVD EXTRAS!

• HUGHES CONQUERS HOLLYWOOD: From Playboy to Producer

The premiere of Hells Angels (the world's largest film premiere)

Original trailers for Hells Angels, Conqueror and Jet Fighter

• HUGHES TAKES ON THE U.S. GOVERNMENT: Rare and dramatic testimony directly from Hughes

• THE FLYING BOAT: WORLD'S LARGEST PLANE — Hughes' grandest achievement

• THE CONSTELLATION: The plane that changed passenger aviation

• HUGHES IN FLIGHT: Redigitized and spectacular aviation footage of Howard Hughes, "The Real Aviator"

• HUGHES AIRCRAFT HEADQUARTERS: Newly filmed footage of the famous headquarters in Culver City, California

• PHOTO GALLERY: Rare collection including Hughes' only known color photo

PLUS!! Never-before-disclosed revelations from those who knew him best

• TERRY MOORE: Hughes' wife and keeper of his legacy

• GEORGE FRANCOM: Member of the often referred to "Mormon Mafia" and Hughes' personal aide and link to the outside world until the day he died

• ROBERT MAHEU: Spearheaded Hughes' Vegas takeover; though they were in contact every day, they never met face-to-face

• JACK REAL: Hughes' lifelong, closest friend and only outside confidante

Customer Reviews:

MR. HUGHES A MAN WITH TALENT&W/LITTLE RESPECT........2007-02-21

I LOVED THIS DVD. I HAVE THE MOST RESPECT MR. HUGHES. HE WAS A MAN THAT WASN'T GIVEN THE RESPECT THAT HE TRUELLY DESERVED.HE WAS AND STILL IS THE REAL AVIATOR.HE LOVED FLYING.AND WATCHING THE DVD YOU WILL GET THE FEEL FOR THE PASSION JUST AS HE DID.HE WAS A HANDSOME, TALENTED MAN. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYONE THAT CAN COMPARE TO THE MR. AMAZING HOWARD HUGHES. IF YOU ARE A FAN AND INTRESTED IN LEARNING MORE ON HUGHES THEN START HERE THEN WORK YOUR UP TO HIS BOOKS. STARTING WITH THE ONE WRITTEN BY MR.NOAH DIETRICH AND YOU'LL HAVE THE SAME PASSION AS HE DID FOR FLYING AND FOR MOVIES.. HOW COULD SOMEONE W/SO MUCH TALENT GET LESS THEN WHAT HE TRUELY DESERVES? BUY THIS DVD AND YOU'LL SEE EXCATLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY.I AM A TRUE FAN OF HOWARD HUGHES.........

Fabulous footage; lousy presentation.......2007-01-06

On balance, a downer. With all this material, fantastic film footage from Hughes' heyday, it was very disappointing to listen to the fake "autobiographical" memoirs, which were both imaginary and poorly imagined. Besides being delivered in a voice and manner which in no way appeared to match the features, character or speech of the real man. The film, and the accompanying bits and pieces, are still interesting in spite of this, but one was constantly aware of how very much better the whole treatment could have been. There has to be a much better and more genuinely understanding account of Hughes' life out there somewhere. What does come across is that Hughes was a very likeable man, who came to an extremely tragic end.

No new info but still entertaining .......2005-07-06

Wasn't completely blown away by the documentary. IF you are a fan of his flying and ground breaking aircraft production, then the footage on this DVD is worth buying.

I agree with the other review, the narration w/ the texan accent and over use of old timers soundtrack makes the THE REAL AVIATOR not a classic or must have. If you are looking for tons of info about his death, vegas empire, etc then this DVD will not satify your appetite. The movie talks a lot about his life in aviation which made me buy it and watch it a lot.

Yeah, 5 stars, but it's not "Citizen Kane".......2005-04-11

This is a great documentary on the life of Howard Hughes. No lifespan can be fully covered in 110 minutes, so if you want every detail, I would suggest a book instead.

However, if you want the "big picture" - and Howard was big in more ways that one - then this is a great DVD. It briefly covers his boyhood and developing love for airplanes and flying, his movie-making business, world-record-setting flights for both speed and distance, and his business and military aircraft designs.

Interspersed with the first-person narration are interviews with personal friends, ex-wives and business partners. They seem genuinely moved at the memory of Howard, who turned out to be a reclusive, drug-addicted loner in the end.

No matter how strangely Howard lived his later years, he was a true aviation pioneer, made some very big contributions to the industry, and ended up giving his fortune to a medical/science fund.

On a side note, I actually stood on top of the flying boat (the "HK-1", called the "Hercules" but popularized as "the Spruce Goose" due to its wood construction) when it was on display in the dome at Long Beach. I knew the security person involved, and it was wholey unauthorized :-)

Disappointing Supplement to Howard Hughes' Story.......2005-03-14

Like many reviewers, my interest in Howard Hughes is ignited on account of Scorsese's engaging movie, "The Aviator", and I bought this DVD, along with Hell's Angels, from amazon.com, in a bid to heighten my knowledge base on the tragic mogul. However, this documentary was unduly disappointing. While it gave selected rare footages and interviews with Hughes' family/friend/business associates*, it was brief and did little to offer a well-rounded picture of Hughes' incredible life story. Conversely, Hell's Angels was good watching as it gave viewers a glimpse into Hughes' seriousness and dedication as a filmaker, like his insistence in doing his own stunts when no hired pilot would risk their lives for, amongst other technical details that went into making the movie an epic of its time.

As many reviewers would attest, the best way to learn about Hughes would be to peruse the best biographies out there, notably "Howard Hughes: His Life & Madness" by Donald L. Barlett and "Howard Hughes: The Untold Story" by Peter Harry Brown. These two books probably provided key background information to the screenplay of the exceptional cinematic depiction of Hughes' life. The difference is that "His Life & Madness" focussed more on Hughes' business dealings whilst "The Untold Story" zeroed in on his private persona & escapades, but both of which are well-researched page-turners, filling any gaping voids in our pursuit to complete the study of Hughes' life, feats and loves.

*The books may steer readers to the conclusion that certain interviewees may have been "convenient" with the truth. I shan't mention any names here but it was implicated that at least one of the so-called close aides/family of Hughes interviewed for the purpose of this DVD successfully got a slice of his empire/wealth by years of skilful, pre-meditated plotting. Curious? Read the books and be your own sleuth!

Average customer rating:

Real Genius is smart and fun. It's a no brainer.
Loved the gags!
Real Genius
Pretty Good Movie...
Floating, sir...

Real Genius [Region 2]
Starring: Val Kilmer , Gabriel Jarret , Michelle Meyrink , William Atherton , and Jon Gries
Director: Martha Coolidge
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000065UHU

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Real Genius is smart and fun. It's a no brainer........2007-09-04

Loved the gags!.......2007-09-02

Real Genius.......2007-05-24

Yet another 80's classic. The ending credits which play "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," by Tears for Fears brought me back to my childhood. If you love 80's movies, you will love this movie.

Pretty Good Movie..........2007-05-17

Floating, sir..........2007-04-18

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