Yes, this movie was produced by Coppola's American Zoetrope Studios back in 1971, but why? In just one year, Coppola would become one of the most important figures in cinema of the latter 20th century with "The Godfather" movies and "The Conversation." His Zoetrope Studios was originally set up in Marin County, CA as a kind of utopian ideal for film production, giving wide creative freedom to both the crew and actors/actresses. Unfortunately, he seems to have given the filmmakers too much freedom here - to mess things up, that is.
I guess he could have seen the possibility of a movie like this as representing a breakthrough in some kind of counter-cultural film-making, as it has a very obvious early '70s New Age/ communal vibe to it. But in 2005, this vibe seems laughably ridiculous, and MST3K could make a fine episode out of this. The movie is a mess. Though supposed to be set in an isolated Amish-like farming community, the film was obviously shot in Northern California (and we all know how many Amish live there!!). Kim Darby plays what could be the most annoying character I have ever seen in a movie. She stammers and pouts to get her way with this community - no wonder the townspeople don't trust her. If the fact that the people in this old-fashioned community are aliens from another planet is supposed to be the grand twist of the film, then it fails miserably. First of all, anyone watching this - even if they haven't read Zenna Henderson's original source stories - can spot it a mile away. What's worse, this twist is supposed to be what carries the whole movie, as if nothing else is really important.
At only 75 minutes, this movie is awfully short, and yet the material had potential. Henderson wrote several stories about this fictional community of people, but the movie just cuts off midway without any explanation of what happens to them once this bratty schoolteacher finds out their "secrets." There really is almost no plot.
This is an example of TV-movie film-making at its worst. It inevitably carries some curiosity value because the names Coppola and William Shatner are attached to it, but trust me, Shatner has hardly any screen time, and this is one of Coppola's several failed experiments in innovative film production. This belongs in the trash heap with all the other pseudo-artistic experimental nonsense of the late-'60s and early '70s.
I guess he could have seen the possibility of a movie like this as representing a breakthrough in some kind of counter-cultural film-making, as it has a very obvious early '70s New Age/ communal vibe to it. But in 2005, this vibe seems laughably ridiculous, and MST3K could make a fine episode out of this. The movie is a mess. Though supposed to be set in an isolated Amish-like farming community, the film was obviously shot in Northern California (and we all know how many Amish live there!!). Kim Darby plays what could be the most annoying character I have ever seen in a movie. She stammers and pouts to get her way with this community - no wonder the townspeople don't trust her. If the fact that the people in this old-fashioned community are aliens from another planet is supposed to be the grand twist of the film, then it fails miserably. First of all, anyone watching this - even if they haven't read Zenna Henderson's original source stories - can spot it a mile away. What's worse, this twist is supposed to be what carries the whole movie, as if nothing else is really important.
At only 75 minutes, this movie is awfully short, and yet the material had potential. Henderson wrote several stories about this fictional community of people, but the movie just cuts off midway without any explanation of what happens to them once this bratty schoolteacher finds out their "secrets." There really is almost no plot.
This is an example of TV-movie film-making at its worst. It inevitably carries some curiosity value because the names Coppola and William Shatner are attached to it, but trust me, Shatner has hardly any screen time, and this is one of Coppola's several failed experiments in innovative film production. This belongs in the trash heap with all the other pseudo-artistic experimental nonsense of the late-'60s and early '70s.