|
| Steven Spielberg Presents Taken | 
 enlarge | Actors: Dakota Fanning, Matt Frewer, Heather Donahue, Emily Bergl, Adam Kaufman
Studio: Sci-Fi Channel, The
Category: DVD
List Price: $55.98
Buy New: $24.49
You Save: $31.49 (56%)
New (45) Used (19) Collectible (3) from $24.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  118 reviews
Sales Rank: 1778
Format: Anamorphic, Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Number Of Items: 6
Running Time: 885
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.7 x 1.4
MPN: DRWD90555D
ISBN: 0783280807
UPC: 678149055528
EAN: 9780783280806
ASIN: B00005JM39
Theatrical Release Date: December 2, 2002
Release Date: October 21, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Steven Spielberg's alien abduction opus Taken is what happens when you cross-breed Close Encounters of the Third Kind with The Waltons. Obviously flushed with the success of the TV miniseries Band of Brothers, Spielberg's Dreamworks studio has created an equally epic 10-part story chronicling 50 years of habitual abduction over several generations of three American families. Beginning with the most notorious alien cover-up in U.S. history, the 1947 "crash" at Roswell, New Mexico, Taken introduces the "Greys" and the families they routinely abduct, probe, and, in a couple of cases, impregnate over the course of the ten 90-minute episodes. The three families are: the Keys, from which first Russell, then his son Jessie, then grandson Danny, are all abducted; the Clarkes, who are descended from a liaison between lonely put-upon housewife Sally Clarke and one of the Roswell crash survivors; and the Crawfords, the ruthless G-men who are committed to uncovering the purpose behind the alien visitations at any cost. It's this question that forms the main thread of the story: but even though the Greys' actions are at best ambiguous and at worst hostile, the viewer can't help feeling that after all this systematic abuse of their human test subjects the aliens will in the end present them with a cure for cancer. In fact, Taken is Spielberg at his most touchy-feely: for all its science fiction trappings it's basically a soap opera, lacking the sinister undercurrent of either Dark Skies or The X-Files. Nevertheless, it's an engaging series with decent performances--most notably Joel Gretsch as psychotic Owen Crawford--good special effects, and an engaging enough storyline to make it entertaining, if somewhat disposable, TV. --Kristen Bowditch
Product Description
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/01/2007 Rating: Nr
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 113 more reviews...
watched it multple times September 22, 2008
the only sink hole in the whole thing is when it shows that Lubbock, Texas has mountains in the background!!! That took a little credibility from this otherwise very entertaining DVD series. Maybe they will fix that in 10 or 15 years when the sequel is done!!! :D
 Engaging June 27, 2008
This is a DVD series which our whole family looked forward to watching every night, as long as it lasted. The story is engaging and the acting is 1st rate, especially the original Air Force officer who ruthlessly maneuvers himself into a position to run the Alien project. The story line over this series meanders a bit but this series is definitely worth watching. I'm surprised no one mentioned that the last segment just sort of stops. There's no real ending, finale, or payoff. Also, I was hoping for more interaction with the aliens, like what makes them tick? Nevertheless, it was great to watch something on TV without all the usual cliches.
Suprisingly good television May 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love sci-fi and this is an engrossing story. Actors performances are great and I like the way the mini-series gives us time to watch the characters develop and find out what makes them tick. There are some parts of this story that seem a bit long, but overall I found this to be a very interesting and and well made mini-series. I find story and character development much more important than a bunch of splashy special effects, but this series delivers on both counts. The special effects are believable and the characters draw you into the story. I would recommend this mini-series.
 A Mediocre Melodrama with Very Little Alien : Disappointing May 12, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
First of all, if you approach "Taken" with the intent to savor some special effects or gaze upon various sorts of aliens and spacecrafts, then forget it. Of the 15 hours of programming here, there is a total of about ten proper minutes with aliens. That is a SERIOUS lack of alien, in my opinion. Even with low expectations, "Taken" falters, only because it promises so many things and delivers on absolutely nothing.
The concept of three generations starting from the 1940s to the 2000s seems interesting, but in practice it seems a bit muddled. By Episode Six, you feel a bit dissociated from all the characters - this might have to do with the casting. The first four episodes of "Taken" are the best - the vintage scenario and pitch perfect Julie Benz, coupled with the initial start of UFOlogy itself is a treat to watch, but as the story shifts more and more into the modern era, it gets more confused.
Its also clear that by Episode Seven that the writers literally had no idea to go (which would also explain the ridiculously bad series finale). But perhaps the worst thing here is the dull, sappy and monotonous voice-over by Dakota Fanning. There are about five to six of these lengthy 'gems' every episode. Which genius thought that Dakota Fanning, a hugely overrated child star, could ever infuse dull passages of 'spiritual wisdom' with any life? Also, these voiceovers have nothing in common with the scenes they accompany. Case in point, you have a man walking toward a car, entering the car, and then driving away. The entire non-scene is punctuated by Dakota's voice that says : "Which of us is truly good or bad? Is goodness every really measured? Is man inherently good, or could it be that the universe doesn't really distinguish between either. I guess we'll never know". THAT is the level of sophistication this show has, and if you're a sappy ten year old that weeps at Hallmark cards, then good luck, this show was made for you.
At the end, despite some excellent production and reasonably interesting storylines, "Taken" falters because it is pretentious, and badly cast. The script doesn't do it any favors, and NO resolution is given as to why the aliens want to abduct people and conduct experiments. Also, given that they've supposedly been doing this for sixty years and SO many people have been abducted, at least give us SOME fictional sense of what is going on. Instead, we have one sordid love story after the other with no direction whatsoever, and it all plays out like some boring afternoon soap, with some sci-fi thrown in every now and then to remind you that you are watching Spielberg.
Give this one a miss. There are much better shows out there on the same subject ("The 4400", for example is at least ten times as good as this). Its also a bit shocking that people are giving "Taken" such good reviews because its pretty much a 15-hour long love story with some really uninteresting leads, all of whom have some 'alien connection' that is NEVER truly explained. You will feel cheated and ripped off, and at this price, its a crime that they can get away with this.
Two Stars. Great actor Desmond Harrington was thoroughly wasted here, though admittedly his storyline was the most interesting, for what it was worth.
Not a real Sci Fi fan, but this is great drama! April 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm not a rabid Sci Fi fan, but this series is so character-driven and so reliant on everyday human beings to tell the story that it won me over in the first episode. It's well written, well acted and brilliantly directed.
This isn't about battleships and star wars, nor is it about benevolent aliens come down to save us humans from ourselves....it's riveting drama and at the same time subtlely philosophical.....it just poses the question, 'what if? The question from which all good stories begin.
|
|
|
 Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
