Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

ted_isted I hate all these idiot directors thinking they can make a story better than the writer! Nobody likes your tampering with good stories! We do not think you are creative! We think you are the hacks that you are! Ace was the best part of the whole story! So to remove the greatest part of the story is a big xxx- up ! I will never pay a dime for this movie! I will never watch this movie if someone gave it to me! And these directors should be homeless and starving on the streets! Because they do not deserve a dime from of our hard earned money! However with most actors today reading the book is the only way! Every time a movie adaptation of a King movie comes out I automatically know it is going to be a butchered version because some arrogant director and producer!

zetes An adaptation of the only Stephen King novel I've ever finished (the only other one I started - and gave up on - is The Tommyknockers), Needful Things stars Max von Sydow as the Devil. He opens a new shop in the town of Castle Rock, selling people's deepest desire for them on the cheap. Well, not really. The asking price is always some bit of mischief that ends up turning neighbors against each other until they're ready to murder. From what I gather, this isn't one of King's better novels. I remember quite enjoying it back in the day, or at least it being a quick, fun read despite its excessive length. The film version hews fairly close, as far as I recall. It's overlong for what it is and it starts off a bit slow. It has several really good scenes and the cast is mostly very good. Von Sydow is a lot of fun as Leland Gaunt. Ed Harris stars as the sheriff and Amanda Plummer is memorable as one of the first citizens to go off the rail. Other good performances include those of Ray McKinnon and JT Walsh.

Wuchak I saw this movie when it was first released in '93 and again recently and I liked it both times. Like all Stephen King films based on his books, "Needful Things" takes place in a small town and has a cartooney air.The film asks the question: What would happen if the devil literally came to town? In this case it's a small New England coastal village (actually shot in British Columbia). Ed Harris plays the main protagonist while Bonnie Bedelia plays his girlfriend, and Max Von Sydow plays the mysterious shopkeeper who moves into town and causes havoc by selling the villagers their most deepest desires for the price of a "deed." So, what would happen if the devil came to town? Would he make it a paradise? A fun hedonistic haven? Not bloody likely.Since the movie utilizes Christian themes I'll consider it from that perspective for the sake of reviewing. According to the bible, the blessing of the Lord produces the qualities of the Garden of Eden, that is, paradise, which is why it says that the kingdom of heaven is a matter of righteousness, peace, joy and power. By contrast, the devil's kingdom produces un-righteousness, strife, war, anxiety, depression, misery, bondage and helplessness.The fictional town of Castle Rock was a veritable haven before Leland Gaunt (Sydow) moved to town. Sure, there were the typical petty dislikes and rivalries, etc. but, generally speaking, it was a nice place to live, a small coastal paradise, which is what motivated Ed Harris' character to live there. Of course, Gaunt is intent on changing all this.I just find it interesting the way the new shopkeeper slowly turns the town into a literal living hell. He utilizes the people's petty dislikes, paranoias and jealousies against them.FINAL WORD: "Needful Things" may not be great and it's definitely not scary, but it's effective in a theological sense as a creepy satanic take-over through simple manipulation of human nature.The theatrical version runs 120 minutes and the TV version runs 183 minutes. I've never seen the latter, but I'm sure it's the better version in that it further fleshes out the characters.GRADE: B-

TransAtlantyk I'm not a big Stephen King fan but the premise to this story is just great. It should make for a great film but for some reason the film disappoints. Not terribly but you feel like you should have gotten more.Enter Max von Sydow. The man is an absolute pleasure to watch in any film he is in and no matter how long he appears in a given film it is better for his involvement. Without question one of the world's greatest actors of the twentieth century. This is obviously not his best role but he lends a wonderful Old World charm to this American story, his turn as the shopkeeper saves this movie from being low- quality and brings it up to a decent spooky story.I have heard that the TBS version is much better as it feature more characterization (what I found to be the weakest part of the film) but I have not seen it. If anyone has any idea where to acquire it please leave a comment.