Didn't intend to watch it, but seems like I'm going to.

It's probably a good thing the movie bombed, if it hadn't they might have made a sequel, rather than giving us 7 seasons of Buffy and 5 of Angel, we might not have even got Firefly.

Don't know how they got "Suzuki" from "Kuzui" though.

[ edited by Ghost Spike on 2005-05-14 00:51 ]

Ghost Spike | May 14, 02:41 CET

Funny. I knew of the movie for years, even before the TV show, but never watched it. A few times I even picked it up in Blockbuster to hire but always decided not to for some reason. I got the gag in the title about the great warrior who was a blonde cheerleader called Buffy and thought it funny, but still never rented it. It was only some friends who told me how great the show was in late S3 that got me watching and only then did I see the movie.

Worth watching to spot the Joss lines and for the differences. The movies slayers were, as far as I could tell, the same girl reincarnated. What would THAT make the Faith/Robin relationship?
Also, the Buffy/Faith body swap would have been WAY less noticeable.

zz9 | May 14, 03:13 CET

yep, it would appear that the movie slayers were the same person reincarnated, either that or all of them were played by Kristy Swanson because slayers share the memory's of past slayers and we were seeing Buffy's dreams. It's in Angel season 5 with how Dana had mixed up the memories of old slayers with her own.

There's only one watcher in the movie-verse though, Donald Sutherland reincarnated over and over again until all the vampires are dead.

Ghost Spike | May 14, 03:20 CET

I actually have the DVD from that movie...six bucks at Wal-Mart. If nothing else, it could be noted for early appearances by Hilary Swank and Ben Affleck..and former wrestling champion David Arquette before the Scream movies.
I still wish MST 3000 snarked on this movie someday

[ edited by impalergeneral on 2005-05-14 01:29 ]

impalergeneral | May 14, 03:28 CET

I remember when I first saw a poster of Buffy the vampire slayer, I was in highscool, I thought Buffy? What kinda of a name was that, Buffy really caught my attention, it was a name I never heard much, or heard of I guess. Then the girl being a vampire slayer, felt very fresh. And kinda amusing watching it now, having met Luke Perry at halloween 2004, and him explaining how Joss would of made the film better if he was allowed to direct, and the ideas Joss had back then, impressed him. I find the film pretty amusing, like Sir Ghost Spike said above, the film had to fail probabley, for us to have the tv series, Buffy, Angel and Firefly.

[ edited by SeanValen on 2005-05-14 01:42 ]

[ edited by SeanValen on 2005-05-14 01:42 ]

SeanValen | May 14, 03:40 CET

Personally I think Joss' medium would be best in-between TV and Theaterical releases. Maybe something like a show on HBO, higher budget - full hour long episodes - no commercials - less/no censorship - etc. This way he could have the continuity of TV with aspects of Theaterical Films. I dream of him having the chance the creator of the Sopranos has. It would also justfity the payment of having HBO for another show besides 'Da Ali G Show' and 'Real Time with Bill Marr.' Although in the meantime I hope he has great success with the upcoming films Serenity (or a Serenity Trilogy) and Wonder Women. Maybe after movies he'll settle back into a series, one can hope right? I just like the idea of a series cause in a year we get 20 hours oppose to 2 hours... I guess I'm selfish in that way. Also waiting a week for each episode is much nicer then months for a single movie. Although I will be seeing Serenity Sneak in under 2 weeks and that alone is killing me with anticipation! Anyways, the original movie of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - glad Joss' life gave him lemons so he coould take the seeds and grow a lemon vinyard to give lemonade to millions of a viewers on a weekly basis for nearly a decade! He was struck down and became more powerful then we could've possibly imagined... Sorry, had a Andrew moment there. :/

[ edited by Plecky on 2005-05-14 09:26 ]

Plecky | May 14, 08:59 CET

I had never seen the movie all the way through -- only bits and pieces -- because I just couldn't stomach it. Too campy. But I did watch the whole thing last night. My opinion hasn't changed, but it was interesting, as noted above, to see that the watchers are reincarnated. I guess since Merrick was killed, the movie's Buffy would be watcher-less until the reincarnated Merrick had reached adulthood, by which time she would not need a watcher. But had she been killed beforehand, the new slayer would also be watcher-less. I think the solution in the TV series makes more sense. And, interesting, without the special effects for the dustings, it was difficult to tell when the vampires died (and no vampire in the TV series had as long a death as Paul Rubens' character). I'm also glad that Joss dropped the I-can-tell-when-a-vampire-is-near-because-of-PMS-cramps idea. What a bore that would have been for the TV series. And Buffy's relationship with Angel and Spike would have taken on even new dimensions of pain.

palehorse | May 14, 11:41 CET

if i remember correctly from the movie, not only was the slayer the same girl over and over, (which leaves some gaps in the slaying, what with being an infant and all,) but that the way you knew the new slayer was that she had a huge mole? is that right?! i saw the movie sometime after it came out, and thought it was pretty bad. the only thing i thought was funny, other than the huge amount of spandex, was luke perry's line to the floating vampire, which at the moment i can't even remember...oh well. thank god joss got another chance at it.

plus kristy swanson was not exactly believable as a high school student.

kittyholmes | May 14, 11:48 CET

kittyholmes, you're right about the mole, only the movie's Buffy had the mole removed. But, then, if the slayer was the same girl over and over, and the watcher was, too, why would she need a mole? The watcher would recognize her, mole-less, as Merrick did anyway. I took it as one of Joss's parodies of the genre -- the signifying birthmark that, in this case, could be removed by the vain and shallow Valley Girl -- that, among other things in the movie, was lost in the Kuzui's take on the script. I think all of us Whedonesquers are glad that Joss pursued and was granted another chance at the story. And I thought SMG's casting was inspired compared to Swanson's. But, then, with everything hitting a wrong note in the movie, her casting/believability did not seem out of place.

palehorse | May 14, 12:04 CET

Speaking about the Kuzuis, I think that it is to them that Minear refers at the end of the commentary on Not Fade Away, when he says something like "And thanks to all the team, you all did a great job, except for two which I do not mention because Fox won't let me but we all know who they are". To me it is quite clear, but does anyone confirm?

The film Buffy is not very good, to say the least. There are some Whedon's touches, but I think it has been really spoiled afterwards, as some other Whedon's scripts. I remember Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director on Alien Resurrection, telling in an interview that Whedon was the best script writer he has ever met, and that it is a shame that its script on Alien Resurrection has been "corrected" (read: spoiled) by other writers.

Le Comité | May 14, 12:43 CET

Amazing to think that Joss's version of Buffy was ruined by others but he got a second chance several years later with the TV show and the Firefly TV show was canned but he got another second chance with the movie!

Has anyone else in Hollywood ever been so lucky? Is it just me who pictures a Mayor-like closet in Joss's office filled with sacrifices to the dark lords needed for these breaks? Or is it just that there are actually some people in the business who recognise talent when they see it?

zz9 | May 14, 14:53 CET

Maybe Joss is some champion of the Powers That Be? ;)

Le Comité | May 14, 15:04 CET

Or is it just that there are actually some people in the business who recognise talent when they see it?

zz9


They have to recongise it as some point, Joss has great ideas and writes well, someone was bound to read something of his and say, yeah he's good.

His luck became our luck, this way, having 12 seasons of the slayerverse, have to feel extra proud of it!

SeanValen | May 14, 15:53 CET

http://www.skyone.co.uk/programme/pgefeature.aspx?pid=12&fid=21

"The name Joss is Chinese for "Lucky" "

eddy | May 14, 16:31 CET

I have that 'mission impossible' tune ringing through my head. Silly mind, I should purchase a new one. Still, can't quite swing that thought....

Madhatter | May 14, 23:32 CET