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Richard--W · 07-21-2007, 04:16 PM

I haven't read this whole thread, but I do want to comment on the pilot film, "Cocoon."

I never watched HAWAII FIVE-O when it was new. I was just about old enough, but my interest began in the early 1980s when I saw the pilot film aired as a repeat.

HAWAII FIVE-O: COCOON is one of my favorite action films of the 1960s. It has none of the budget or writing restraints one associates with television. It's filmed liked a motion picture, and it has all the quality of a motion picture. It looks more expensive than it really is, it's pictorially beautiful, it has impeccable style, and it's genuinely cool. Way cool. It combines law enforcement with believable espionage and a sense of the inexplicable. This is a literate script by writers who understand action and character. Casting the villain -- sorry, I forget the actor's name -- from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE was an inspired idea. Steve McGarrett walks a fine line between dedicated and utterly ruthless; I liked how he blows up at another intelligence agency for following him, how he outwits them at every step. Jack Lord was sensational in the role. Part of my enjoyment of the pilot film is to see how Jack Lord pulls it off.

I would also single out Paul Wendkos, whose direction and lensmanship was at least two decades ahead of every other director working in television.

I also like the positive spirit and optimism of HAWAII FIVE-O: COCOON. That's been missing from television police shows for a long time.

07-21-2007, 04:16 PM	#275 of 417
Richard--W Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Local Time: 01:21 AM Local Date: 12-02-2008 Posts: 913	Re: Hawaii Five-O - Any Interest Out There? I haven't read this whole thread, but I do want to comment on the pilot film, "Cocoon." I never watched HAWAII FIVE-O when it was new. I was just about old enough, but my interest began in the early 1980s when I saw the pilot film aired as a repeat. HAWAII FIVE-O: COCOON is one of my favorite action films of the 1960s. It has none of the budget or writing restraints one associates with television. It's filmed liked a motion picture, and it has all the quality of a motion picture. It looks more expensive than it really is, it's pictorially beautiful, it has impeccable style, and it's genuinely cool. Way cool. It combines law enforcement with believable espionage and a sense of the inexplicable. This is a literate script by writers who understand action and character. Casting the villain -- sorry, I forget the actor's name -- from THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE was an inspired idea. Steve McGarrett walks a fine line between dedicated and utterly ruthless; I liked how he blows up at another intelligence agency for following him, how he outwits them at every step. Jack Lord was sensational in the role. Part of my enjoyment of the pilot film is to see how Jack Lord pulls it off. I would also single out Paul Wendkos, whose direction and lensmanship was at least two decades ahead of every other director working in television. I also like the positive spirit and optimism of HAWAII FIVE-O: COCOON. That's been missing from television police shows for a long time. http://www.3dfilmpf.org/ "... little by little the look of the country changes because of the people we admire." dialog in HUD (1963)