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Warning Sign
(1985)
View at IMDB
Commentaries on this disc:
Commentary 1:
Director Hal Barwood
Rating:5.0/10 (1 vote) [
graph
]
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Reviewed by frankasu03 on January 5th, 2016
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Solo tracks can be a "tricky" listen. One voice tries to fill (often) 90 minutes of screen action, and keep the information engaging, and hopefully entertaining. Director Hal Barwood brings a fair amount of enthusiasm to this commentary. The tone of self-deprecation is quite welcome; Hal often points out the scenes he would have cut sooner, graciously crediting his editor with executing a competently made product. Aside from the unfortunate bits of plot narration (that is, commenting on the exact actions as they occur), there are some interesting trivial nuggets that come forth: 1) The original title was "BioHazard" (although Schlock-meister Fred Olen Ray appears to have beaten the producers to the punch on that front) 2) "Blue Harvest" is referenced throughout "Warning Sign," a clear reference to the "Empire Strikes Back." Not coincidentally, both projects shared the same producer. 3) Stars Quinlan and Yaphet Kotto were quite the improvisers, and Barwood points out the acting bits that demonstrate those abilities. I would give the commentary a higher grade, but the second half falls prey to silent gaps of "dead-air." Equally frustrating is Barwood's repeated claims of "poverty." That is, not enough time or resources for the proper effects, or film coverage. "Warning Sign" begins with the "20th Century Fox" logo. What were these constraints, exactly? Perhaps "Warning Sign" was produced independently as a "negative pick-up." Whose to say, but further elaboration by the Director would have been interesting. Additionally, Hal Barwood became quite prolific in writing and directing video games, which he alludes to often. A "Compare and Contrast" of working in the 2 mediums presented here would have really set this commentary apart from the solo track fold. A shame, really, to pass that up. 5/10