Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) Retrospective / Review
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- Опубліковано 16 сер 2019
- I return to TMNT (1990) for a redux review.
New Ninja Turtles artwork produced by Jack Davies
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#TMNT #NinjaTurtles #TurtlePower #SteveBarron #OliverHarper #Retrospective - Розваги
Those animatronics are so impressive even to this day.
not sure if anything better was even constructed since then
Cheappy V Ikr cuz everything cgi nowadays
It was hard after Jim Henson died
That’s not animatronics, just men in stupid costumes ;)
Agreed. Even to my adult eyes they look eeriely realistic, the facial animations are spot on. It was a lot of work and the actors had it rough under those costumes and machines but it paid off. Recreating them in CGI is going to be really hard if they ever do another live action Turtles movie.
Two things I always really liked about the 1990 film. First the exploration of fathers and sons is much more than what you'd expected from a Turtle movie. Splinter's arc words of "All fathers care for their sons" carries through the entire story, with Danny's experience making him rethink the troubled relationship with his dad, Splinter's genuine love for his sons being made deeply clear by the Turtles' journey, and the hollow nature of Shredder's claim of being the runaway teens' father completely exposed by how heartless he actually is towards them.
Second, there's a great thematic demonstration of the self destructive nature of anger; Splinter warns Raphael of its dangers early on, Danny being pissed at his dad drives him further into the Foot Clan, Raphael leaves himself vulnerable due to storming away after his fight with Leo, and Leonardo gets basically a weapon at this throat because he let Shredder's words get to him.
The major character development is Raphael growing out of this (notice he's the first to calmly throw his sais when Shredder demands their weapons) and its fitting in the ending that its that very anger that does Oroku Saki in when he lets his own rage at Hamato Yoshi and Splinter get the best of him.
In general its a surprisingly deeper film than one would think a movie made at the height of Turtlemania would be.
Absolutely brilliant comment and reflection for this film.
Very astute.
Well said, and definitely one of the big reasons the film still holds up so well. For being a movie about 4 mutated turtles trained in ninjitsu...the core of its story stays completely focused on its themes of family and personal discipline. In short, it treats the turtles as actual characters instead of a spectacle.
Great analysis
I liked it because April had juicy bunz
Shredders entrance where it pans on his shadow first is one of the best villan introductions of all time . I watched it for the first time as an adult and that scene stuck in my mind
The music is so incredible too.
I think it can be agreed that the cinematography is excellent? Satisfyingly gritty. Would love to see it on the big screen, and ideally, on 35mm!
David James I’ve been thinking about how much I want to see tmnt in a theater again. A local theater where I live played Batman 89 last fall. I would love for them to get a print.
The cape looked like a trail of black blood, following him like a symbiote.
Skeletors intro is great even though many hate the He-Man movie
Well Hollywood is wrong yet again, as a kid the dark and gritty tone was one of the things I love about this film. Thank you Steve Barron for standing your ground on that. Still love this movie as much now as the little kid that saw this in theaters. 🤘
Exactly, I love the "dark and gritty" tone because it's REAL. They don't pretty up the city or any of the other environments or locations in order to look more aesthetically pleasing or anything like that. The turtles have to move around at night mostly as if they're seen by most any citizen, they'll have the cops called on them for being "monsters" and then the government will try and capture them to "study" them or whatever, no good, so it makes sense there are more "dark" night scenes. Never saw it in theaters as I was born in 1989 but it is my favorite movie of all time.
I remember being so pleasantly shocked as a 10-year-old hearing Raph exclaim "Damn." I never heard a superhero swear before. It was revolutionary for my young mind and I still love that moment. It happens so early in the movie that I knew I was seeing something different and special.
I hated as a kid that producers or adults thought everything made for children should be dumb and silly and ADHD style. I loved and appreciated movies like this one because it doesn't underestimate the viewers (kids) and it is made as a proper film. the photography and ambience of this film is perfect. I never thought it was dark per se. TIm Burton's Batman movies were way darker and the second one was actually somewhat disturbing.
I love the film. I love the 90s tv series.
But my favorite representation was the 2002 series. It was mostly comic accurate, so basically it was dark but it was also funny. Very underrated series
moviemetalhead same!
Isn't it crazy that the best TMNT film came out in 1990? Better story, look, feel and humour than the other movies by far.
And hasn't dated, even though it was made on a low budget! It baffles me the sequel has double the budget, yet looks like a TV special.
all the world needed was a bayhem adaptation
Yeah 100%
agreed, f@!# the Michael Bay films
The cinematography of the first film, looking back now as an adult that has done some film studies, is very impressive.
Heard the first film is darker than the sequel.
The cinematography for a comic book film only has one rival to TMNT and that is The Crow.....everything is marvel and DC has done comes nowhere near as close...NOWHERE.....every other comic book adaptation is straight garbage compared to these two films.
I feel like everyone on UA-cam just learned the word "cinematography"
Batman 89 and Turtles 90 the best dark comic films ever made
I agree with u 100%
Don't forget Batman Returns & The Crow
@@christermyrberg3661 yeah but me Batman returns is ok but it does have problems
@@jswatch9270 Well all movies have 😁
I never saw the Tim Burton Batman movies as a kid. I just recently watched them last week. What I'm going to say will anger a lot of people. Batman '89 is a dark oversimplified and underdeveloped story that does not understand the foundations of the character. Batman returns is a strange, kinda perverted uncanny mess that doubles down on the previous problems.
What ruined Ninja turtles during the 90s was parents
Ruined Batman too.
Parents are such wet blankets. Kids know best.
Goes to show this SJW cencership crap is not new.
Damn you concerned parents. You ruined the sequels by making the creators water them down.
They ruin everything.
My parents wrote off the turtles as silly kids stuff when I was 10 years old. When I got the VHS, my enthusiasm must have been infectious...
Imagine my surprise at breakfast one morning when they both told me how much they enjoyed the film!
That’s the mark of a good film.
That score when the antique shop/April's apartment is burning STILL gives me chills every time.
That was one of 3 musical moments that gave me the feels. The others are when the turtles Train in the country as a team, and them getting beat down by Shredder.
Judith Hoag isn't getting enough love in the comments. She's a total babe with the perfect amount of sass and attitude, and still the best April.
I loved her and Casey. They had genuine chemistry and seemed like two real people who completely grounded the Turtles in the real world.
Levi Boldock I met her at comic con
Like Oliver, when I was a kid, I didn't like Judith. Actually I preferred the actress who played April in the sequels. But now I can see how hot Hoag was. And she was great at playing April.
i love her omg
I always liked Judith as April. I was dissapointed as a child when she did not come back for the 2nd movie.
No giant budget no CGI, just pure craftsmanship and some turtle power! 👊 🐢
Forget the Snyder cut. I want the Barron Cut of TMNT lol. Seriously I want that extra footage on a disc
An even darker Turtles The Movie? Wooooooooo!
The first movie is an absolute masterpiece. They accomplished so much with so little. The score is so underrated.
1 of my favorite movies of all time right up there with T2 and Robocop
I could watch tmnt 1990, Robocop & T2 on repeat forever
im 37yo that has mad nostalgia towards the turtles....so yea, i agree 100% with the love toward the first film.
im a big fan of ur reviews, and thanx for putting in hard work in these.....
i really love your editting at the end trailer style!!
cheers from japan.
I love this movie! I'm 41 and still enjoy watching it. Yes it reminds me of my childhood but it's also a great film. Definitely one of the best ever movies based on a comic book.
I was too young to watch this in theaters, but I saw this and the sequel on VHS in the early 90s.
The first TMNT film is perfect in my opinion, enough amount of dark, humor and charm.
Its truly a film of its time and that will never be recreated.
@tyrone kinard how the hell do you know? It depends who made it and how it was made. That statement holds zero context whatsoever. This movie was based heavily on the mirage comic. The first issue to be exact. It added a few elements from the cartoon show because that's what most people knew. But it was literally based on the comic. You clearly haven't read them or you would know that.
@tyrone kinard a Tarantino turtles movie sounds pretty whack and it seems like ur just putting them together only because he did kill Bill and ur doing a similar thing with the rza
@tyrone kinard demolish???? Hahaha yeah right. Tmnt 1 cost 14 million to make and made over 350 million dollars! That's like 1000 percent profit. No movie made today would even come close to that.
@tyrone kinard a movie would be 15 thousand tops huh?? Hahaha. What are you like 12 years old or something? Do you have any clue what you're even talking about?? Who are you going to get to star in this 15k budget movie?? Homeless people?? And where are you going to film this? The middle of the Sahara desert? Or maybe Siberia? Christ a movie camera costs more than that. Unless of course you're going to film it on an iPhone. Wow. I've heard some dumb things before but just... wow.
My all-time favorite part is when the turtles are fighting the shredder and the camera is positioned with the Clashing of the weapons f****** brilliant
I like how the actually fight and their are winners and losers in the fight. Like how Casey Jones beats Raphael in the park.
I grieve for the loss of international audiences being denied the line uttered by a gleeful Michaelangelo upon stepping forward to accept the challenge of a Foot Clan random to a contest of nunchaku proficiency, "Ooh, a fellow chucker, eh?"
Another strike for the localization if the following line was omitted: "rrrgh, Ah, ninja kick the damn rabbit!"
Luckily I had a US pirate copy.. So I was always unaware that this stuff got cut out in the UK, The "Ooh, a fellow chucker, eh?" is one of the lines I'd quote the most as a kid lol.
bruce lee and Mikey made me get a chuck collection. starting with my own wood and rope I put together myself as a kid, that actually lasted for about 8yrs of hitting trees full power as I took on training myself at a young age cause my family couldn't afford true classes
I bet the rabbit did it dude!
Daniel Bloomquist another was, “God, I *_Love_* Being A Turtle!”
saw this in theatres, only GenXers can know how big this was. It was Turtle fever
Hell yeah. This film is on my dream list for films to own on 35mm.
Saw this at least 5 times in the theater and drive-in as a kid... I was a real turtlemaniac!
in terms of hype it was on a par with Batman. though i must admit i enjoyed Turtles MORE than i did Batman. Batman Returns hit the spot with me where Batman failed! Turtles 1 is a fantastic film and it holds up even today! the sequels were awful of course but the original as a standalone is a BIG-THUMBS-UP!
Gen Y remembers. But nobody remembers Gen Y.
@@StCerberusEngel Gen Y is the old name for Millennials.
I had a big crush on Judith Hoag when I was a kid, because of this movie.
YES! She is gorgeous as April O'Neal. A friend of mine and I re-watched this as teenagers and we couldn't get over how utterly attractive she was. I mean those skirts she wears at the farm are unbelievably short!
Asian Movie Enthusiast I met her at a comic con. I got her autograph.
I was actually surprised years later to realise she was only turned 21 when she played April. As a 10 yr old, I always thought of her being much older, a WOMAN, not a girl. Who I looked up to and desired. Obviously she was an adult, but still weird to think during casting she wasn't old enough to buy alcohol!
This is still one of the best comic book movies ever made. Cowabunga!!
Radical, bodacious!
"All fathers care for their sons"
That cut deep with me
As a kid when I saw this in the theater I remember thinking, " This is a way better movie than I expected for a cartoon..... ". It was almost as much fun as Batman 89.
I remember thinking the same thing. I was a kid yet I was impressed.
@@ninjacarm It had an adult nature to it. It was kind of dark. And as a kid I sat there with my mouth open in awe at it. The slight grit made it seem kind of...real.
@@Corehaven22 Yeah, I remember seeing it on opening day. When Raphael first shouted "damn" we were like, "oh yeah, this movie is going to rock."
As a kid, I was always wondering why the hell the Turtles in the 1987 cartoon never fought like the ones in this movie. It bugged the hell outta me.
@@teddybeer6206 Because the FCC wouldn't allow them!
My childhood relived.
And parents complained about it..
I’m no 90s baby, I was born in 02, but my momma grew up with these movies and when she bought the dvd out of nostalgia from when she was younger she showed me the beauty of these films and the whole series and so they really mean a lot to me. As a young kid I absolutely loved the turtles, I bought toys, watched the cartoon, rewatched the movies and I developed my love for pizza because of them lmao. I guess rewatching this has actually shown me that my love for them is still here and I truly do hope we get to see a new film with updated practical effects and what not because that would be wonderful.
This was the very first film I've ever seen in a movie theater. My mom took me to see it when I was 7 years old. I still love it to this day. One of my all-time favorites! A classic!
Goes to show that a work of filmmaking that rises above everyone’s expectations and stands the test of time can come from anywhere, even when almost every studio bigwig turns you down.
Fantastic retrospective, Oliver! I’m glad you were able to cover this film in greater depth than the old review.
In my personal opinion I think this is the greatest comic book adaption of all time, because it follows the source and respects it...
Bearwolf13 except for everything about it that it doesn’t follow regarding the source material. If you’re talking about the comics as source material they change a lot. If you are talking the cartoon for source material then things like the foot being angsty teens instead of robots doesn’t follow the source material, nor does the backstory of splinter.
@@evilsWa Of course the film tones down a lot from the original book and incorporates some things from the show... But they do use a lot from the first book and Master Splinters backstory is the same where he is a pet of Hamato Yoshi instead of being him like the cartoons.
Bearwolf13 I know Splinter’s origin in the comics is as such in the movie, but I think the cartoon’s changing it to Splinter was Yoshi (as in the 2012 series) made more sense biologically.
There are some alterations to satisfy the legion of 87 cartoon fans, and to streamline the story. Otherwise, this movie is a page-for-page recreation of the original comic
My grandmother took my brother and I to see it in theaters. I will never forget it because she first took us to a theater she knew only to find out it was torn down. Instead of giving up, she took us to another theater so we could see it.
That may not seem like much but my grandmother didn't drive so we had to take the bus, several buses by the end of the day and she couldn't move very quickly. I imagine it took a lot out of her to travel so much in a single day.
When we got back home, we overheard her talking to her sister and nailed the movie. She said it was a movie about the relationship between a father and his sons.
We laughed back then. Now i realized she understood the movie much better than 8 year old me.
The 1st film still has a special place in my heart, I still think its the best TMNT film.
Re-watched it a few days ago, while paying extra attention to their faces. I was blown away. They felt real, I could see real emotions on their faces. And turtle's design is superb in every way, all unique and all look amazing, the benchmark for all generations to come. These animatronics are an achievement that won't be beaten in many years to come, if ever.
The saddest part of Turtles 3 is that they initially hired the legendary Shaw Brothers Action Icon Lau Kar Leung as the action director and they let him go WTF???
So sad
@tyrone kinard Sadly by then, Turtles really were going out of fashion fast, so I can understand the limited budget. Power Rangers was the only thing kids wanted then.
@tyrone kinard Sure, I don't know personally about the comic, but I was referring to Turtles mass popularity, through the toys and cartoon. I remember how by 93, Turtles was just not something kids were into anymore, and the toys were selling cheap. Due to this, there presumably wasn't much support for the third movie, and that's why it got such a limited production. It just seemed like them squeezing the last dollars out of the IP.
@tyrone kinard The decline in popularity wasn't to do with parents insisting it be different to the comics, because Turtles didn't become hugely popular until it was different to the comics (in the toys and cartoon series). It was just naturally after the cartoon series launching in 1987, that by 93, Turtles had run it's course as a kid's thing. As always happens with kid's toys and cartoons. Turtles had replaced He-Man in popularity, and then Turtles was superseded by Power Rangers. I'll take your word for it that the comics remained popular, but they always had a much lower support than the toys and cartoon. Which is why they couldn't justify spending much on the third movie, that in itself was still aimed at kids.
@tyrone kinard Yeah, I remember being surprised at the gritty-ness of the first film compared to the cartoon, before I heard about how the original comics were more so. You could definitely have different levels of film adaptations, as has been suggested for Batman. And with Logan, compared to the other X-Men films. Or 18 cert Daredevil and Punisher Netflix series to MCU. Have you heard of Adi Shankar? He makes professional short fan films, often R rated versions of more PG properties. One was Power Rangers. Would be interesting to see him do a Turtles one.
Henson Studios really made this movie come alive. It would have failed badly if the turtle costume/effects didn’t work, but thanks to Henson and their people it MAKES the movie. So incredible.
I watched the movie in cinema when i was a little child. Because it was too dark for a children movie, i was little bit scared. Actually if you take an eye to 80s and 90s hollywood movies, ypu can see easily that many of them are unique and little bit dark compared to today movies taking to only sell something such as toy, video game, clothes etc.
There was a one night screening of the original in august 2012. I went to see it with my girlfriend at the time thinking that it would probably just be me and her but nope, full house. The movie actually holds up better than it did when I was a kid.
Lol, the Shredder was better than Bane.
"If I take off your mask, will you die?" "No"
I'm necessary evil.
Im still so impressed by this film. Looking at the original graphic novels, 90s kid tv show, action figures as well as the massive undertaking of the animatronic suits anyone today would think - no way will this work. Waaaaayyy too many various elements that dont seemingly go together. But it worked. And it worked damn well. It truely felt like lightning in a bottle and its still far more enjoyable than any other tmnt movie to date. Simply brilliant.
There is a very proud part of me that loves the fact that the one man that connects all of my childhood memories is a master puppet craftsman whose work spanned vast genres. Henson was an amazing talent, and honestly, we lost a true genius when he passed away. I'm just glad his workshop lived on to continue his legacy.
Best TMNT movie to this day. The fact they made this idea work in the real world is a masterpiece in itself.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 thus far has always been the best interpretation of the TMNT! No film has surpassed this yet. Great review Oliver Harper, cheers!
*notices Ollie not acknowledging Saban's Next Mutation*
Me: for the best....
kory stephens That’s the one where the dragons legit wanted to eat them right?
Jonathan Piedra and that crossover episode with Power Rangers In Space, yes...
Oh and the thing Laird says doesn't exist (i.e. Venus)
“Regular? Or Menthols??
I wish an interviewer would ask him about working on Turtles. We don't want to know about Three Billboards, or Vice, give us the interesting stuff!
"Is there air, can you breathe, you don't know
it was "hose dung or ape hair?" in the german dub. Never got that joke. Probably a reference to the taste?
This was the first movie I saw at a theater as a kid, I must've been 3 1/2 at the time. All I can really remember is sitting on my cousins lap and holding my action figures. In retrospect, this is an awesome movie. I can still enjoy it to this day.
God I miss the Golden Harvest logo before a movie. And Goddamn, this film is actually pretty good.
The Golden Harvest logo just makes a perfect film even more perfect. It's Ninja Turtles, so of course it's produced by GH! So much better than seeing a regular Hollywood studio.
Grab a slice dude! 🍕
“Pizza time”.
Animated Maguire Spider-Man and TMNT crossover, when?
Firmus That or Batman considering they did a crossover with the Dark Knight.
Cowabunga dude.
Mr. Slim
Oh, yeah! Give me 4 bro!
I can't believe this film is almost 30 years old, damn time flies like fast.
SAM ROCKWELL? WHAT?
This movie just got that much better for me, man.
took me ages before i started calling him by name, growing up i always said "you know, the guy from the turtles movie who's in everything".
Regular or menthol?
Even thought animatronics does have functional limits. No matter how much people praise CGI for the crazy effects it can bring to life. This movie still has the best looking turtles so far... The fact they are actually there and not digitally added on top really does make all the difference. Still holds up quite well overall. A movie that is well worth the praise it recieved and should be watch by any turtles fans of any ages. As much as I wanted to like the new movies... The turtles simply looked grotesque and bad. Could never really get over that... Subjective sure, but in my eyes there is no doubt.
Agreed. Also, the tech has come a long way and you can do more with it. CGI would be good to use for things (Like the turtles hopping off walls) or something like that, to add. But using real effects when you can always works better, with CGI added in for those scenes you can't.
@@John231984 Exactly what I'd love to see...
I loved this movie so much I had to make a music video dedicated to it. The best TMNT movie ever made by far!
That movie felt real and had heart.
The modern remakes are just creepy.
With no heart.
This has been long coming... thanks mate! Great movie from my childhood. ;-)
Yup... Now prepare for that long wait again for any more content.
The lady who played as April in the original Ninja Turtles movie didn't know who the turtles were or anything about them, though I heard of a rumor that Robin Williams (R.I.P.) of all people was a big TMNT fan, he gave her a crash course about the turtles origins. (This was a rumor that I heard about many years ago)
This is a staple in a lot of people's childhoods. Thank you for doing this. Your retrospectives are the best on UA-cam! Speed next please :)
Shredder entrance is some of the best music of the TMNT... also the TMNT theme is good. Radical.
I share your enthusiasm for in shot effects. Newer CG movie characters and scenes take away a part of the believability of what we're watching. These turtles were expressive enough to be real.
Great review Oliver. I hope one day soon the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise can return to the reverence and artistic style that the 1990 film displayed. The animatronics, the music, story tone, character design, cast chemistry, story, and cinematography all connected so well for a premise that sounds so ridiculous on paper. Nothing that has come out since it's release has come close to what the first film achieved.
FINALLY, a new retrospective! Thanks Oliver, always look forward to these!!
You know a movie is effective when the generations that succeed the era cannot wait to show it to their children. A classic.
I liked ninja turtles, but this movie made me LOVE it...I had no idea until years later it was based on the original comics...but this movie was by FAR the best of the TMNT movies.
This movie along with the first four seasons of the 2003 series is my favorite version of TMNT outside the Mirage comics.
Nowadays the turtles are either caricatures of their former selves or viewed as a team of four Mikeys.
Awesome retrospective oliver. I haven't seen the original movie in years, definitely want to watch it again thanks to your video. 🖒🖒
I consider it one of the best comic films ever made along with the Crow, Watchmen, Nolan Batman Trilogy, and V For Vendetta, and Logan.
Yeah go rewatch it, I bought it on bluray and in still holds up and retains its charm.
@Sam Loomis - me too
ua-cam.com/video/dfucgmef8LA/v-deo.html There ya go
Our generation, which loved this movie and others, is coming to power. We must keep the torch lit!
What a well done review, i REALLY enjoyed watching this. 1990 TMNT was one of my favorite movies as an 7 year old kid. I loved how edgy it was and it is imo still the best turtles movie made to this day. So watching this review reminded me of how much i loved this movie, great times!
So glad you did a video on the best version of the Ninja Turtles; yet another top notch quality video Oliver👍🏻
This is in my TOP 10 comic book movies list!
This is one of my favorite movies ever, specifically because of how seriously it takes everything and how confident it is in its dark little vision. Similar to BLADE for me in that regard. Better than it had any business being.
This movie is one of the best examples of how critics often can be clueless.
I have the soundtracks to TMNT 1, 2 and 3 on audio cassette and always wanted the score on it's own. Luckily, I was searching UA-cam one day and found someone had uploaded the full score album. I also found the score to TMNT 2 on here.
I would pay good money to see the original cut from Baron, so curious! I had no idea this conflict existed - I wonder if it's possible that it was a rare case of where the studio's changes benefited the film, given the great product we got in 1990.
That scene with Raff in the abandoned apartments always got me as a kid
I was SO blessed to be a kid during that time. 1990 was the wonder year of my life, and why wouldn't it be?! Ninja Turtles was such an amazing phenomenon, it was everywhere -- and I long for those days again. Gives me a good smile, knowing that Jim Henson's last big project was working on TMNT.
I saw this movie first-run in the theater, and I thought it was gonna be like the cartoon. When Raphael said "DAMN!"...that was the moment that made me realize that this movie was nothing compared to the cartoon -- yet I still loved it. Still is my favorite flick to this day.
Hopefully they go back to the original TMNT 87 for a series and thier design.
Truly an underrated classic! This was one of my first films as well!
This movie holds up surprisingly well even by todays standards. A true classic. I watched it recently and heard a few good jokes that my 7 year old self didn’t catch. Like when Raph asks the Foot clan on the rooftop if they’re using the “abridged” version of ninjitsu. Or when he rolls across the hood of the taxi and the passenger asks what that was. The cabbie casually says, “looked like sort of a big toitle. In a trench coat. You going to LaGuardia, right?”
This is still to me my favorite superhero film of all time. It hits so many beats well, and Shredder is just unmatched as a lead villain.
Radical dude! Crazy that after all these years we still haven't had a better Turtles film. Though I do find Secret of the Ooze fun.
The same can be said for Terminator. T1 and T2 were great (T2 being release in 1991), and everything thereafter was a dumpsterfire, and now we have Terminator Dark fete due out later this year in 2019, and its been hijacked by feminist politics. I miss the 90's so so much. Remember when going to the movies used to be fun? I went to see the last jedi not too long ago when that was in cinemas and I felt feeling like id been punched in the face. I think I would like to wake up now, thankyou.
I agree. Movies aren't fun anymore they're too much of a lecture. I barely ever go to the cinema anymore.
Judith Hoag's April is my perfect woman
Legend has it that Robin Williams was a serious fan of the comic, and told Judith Hoag not to pass on the role of April O'Neill.
This is one of your finest reviews to date, Oliver. Detailed, nuanced, and personal. The Turtles were a big part of my childhood too, and it was great to re-live this film through your review.
Thanks Daniel!
As always, great editing and review. Cheers Oliver!
"produced and funded outside the Hollywood system." perhaps this is why I haven't seen this movie on tv for at least 2 decades. maybe a rights issue?
Same
I remember seeing this movie play all the time on abc family in the US all the time. The wonder if it pops up from time to time on the new rebranded channel.
@@JeanRodo not really
The cartoon exploded in popularity in 1987. The movie came out in 1990 so all the fans were 3 years older. Making it dark appealed to them perfectly
Honestly, if this movie didn't exist I wouldn't be into turtles as much as I am. I think it's so amazing, it's really faithful to the comics, the changes they do make are for the movies benefits. The humor of course was a little cheesy at times but it's great, the cinematography is really nice as well. The music can send chills down my spine or put a huge smile on my face. The turtles are absolutely badass when they need to be and humorous at the right times. I'm glad they added elements of the cartoon, like the different colored headbands and the unique character traits, but still kept the core story of the comics. The actors were casted perfectly. I don't think a better watchable version of the ninja turtles will ever be made. This is truly a classic.
I can't think of a better way to wind down on a Saturday than a retrospective like this! Pretty sure I saw the original one you did years back but am glad you revisited it. This was one of my favorite movies growing up and I think it has aged quite well. I completely agree about the animatronics and the heart/soul this film has. It's a fantastic movie.
How have you not been headhunted for a Netflix series Oliver? These are just as good as The Toys That Made Us and shows like that on terrestrial TV and Netflix.
This movie was so much better than it should have been.
Saw this in the theater when I was 9. I remember being shocked when Rafael yelled "damn." Still one of my favorite films. Totally agree with your comparison to The Warriors regarding the gritty NYC aesthetic.
Turtle Power by Partners in Kryme was also the first ever single I purchased! I still own the CD. The first film is still the best. It took it seriously and the turtles are actually treated as real characters. Such a delightful film. As always an excellent retrospective and the intro and outro edits are always so good! 👍🏼
Definitely one of the BEST movies EVER in my book!
For soooo many years I thought
Casey Jones was played by Christopher Meloni of Law and Order SVU fame. What a great movie. Another sample on how practical effects are so much better than CGI.
Hahah yea I think I used to mix those actors up sometimes too
Falls into my category of "Movies that should not be good but hold up exceptionally well."
Another FANTASTIC Review! I love your retrospectives.
I love TMNT!
Yaaay your back and another vid of TMNT one of my fave movies 👍
I’m 40 years old and I’ve loved this movie ever since I first saw it as a kid in 1990
Thanks so much for doing this Oliver! Not only did your original retrospec bring me to your channel, but this takes me back to the days of playing catch up and working my way through your retrospecs. One every day before work! I know you're busy with several things, but it's great when you can make a retrospective! Cheers!
This was the last movie they could use their weapons in. A bunch of whiny ass parents complained about the violence.
So in the sequels, you’ll notice the turtles will only pull their weapons out, but kick and punch.
Havent seen this film since the late 90s. I watched it three times at the cinema and countless times on VHS. It was hard to get on Laserdisc. I really like the neo noir feel this film has.
As an avid fan that watches everything in this vein on the Turtles, what an incredible job! This is probably the best video on TMNT ever, with many tidbits even I didn't know, and hard to find clips, plus the to-the-point, well thought out ideas on why it works! Incredible job! A+, 11/10! Sent this to some fellow fans!
You're the man! Still kicking out top grade reviews of classic movies! 👌