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Thunderbird 6: The Movie [1968]


RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £2.95 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Thunderbird 6 was the second feature spin-off from the hit Gerry Anderson puppet-animation TV series Thunderbirds, and revolved around a new addition to the line-up of International Rescue's five emergency craft. The plot sees Lady Penelope, Alan, Tin-Tin and Parker as the only passengers on the maiden, round-the-world flight of a futuristic airship, which is hijacked in a bid to capture Thunderbirds 1 and 2. From the moment Alan arrives on a Bond-style jetpack, the film veers away from the TV show into espionage adventure territory, and while the only people International Rescue rescue are their own members, they kill a fair number of baddies. The global tour means there are more locations than ever, and though the story takes a long time developing, the Die Hard-on-an-airship finale delivers the most explosive set piece of Gerry Anderson's career. As for Thunderbird 6, opinion remains divided as to whether it's an ingenious twist or a disappointing gimmick, but the movie's blend of model and live-action footage results in two superbly staged stunt sequences. Predecessor Thunderbirds Are Go (1968) is also available, and the Andersons would make one further feature film, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969).

On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 ratio image is sharp, full of detail and boasting well-saturated colours, only the briefest moments of damage and some graininess revealing the age of the print. The film was shot in ultra-wide Techniscope, and there are moments were it is very obvious that parts of the original 2.74:1 picture have been cropped at the sides. The mono sound is powerful with no hint of distortion. Extras are the original trailer, galleries of behind the scenes photos and promotional artwork, though the highlight is the highly informative commentary by Sylvia Anderson and director David Lane where they note how they made this film and worked on Captain Scarlet simultaneously.--Gary S Dalkin


I have always loved Thunderbirds, however..............
Review date: 2008-10-10 Rating: 6 out of 10

Thunderbirds is wonderful, of course, however, I personally have always felt that it is a wonderful television series. The spin off in to the world of films,just did not seem to capture the drama and excitement of the series. Too long perhaps? Running low on original ideas? While I respect all those who contributed to both feature films, I would prefer to watch 2 tv episodes back to back! How about Trapped in the sky and The Univited

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Reviews


Thunderbirds are long
Review date: 2008-06-17 Rating: 6 out of 10

As a massive fan of the TV series, and having missed this film version over the last 40 years I watched this tonight with considerable expectation. Sadly I was mostly disappointed.

The film is too long with an over reliance on film of a Tiger Moth, which whilst its is cleverly done, with real footage and radio controlled models is not in keeping with the TV series. The long Skyship flight was over extended and the traditional main characters were largely under-used.

That said some of the TV series strong points wrere still evident: Good music, occasional humerous moments and clever models with a particularly impressive explosion at one point.

Its also interesting to note that when the film was made in 1968, the vision of 21st England was that Dover would have a very large missile base. Ah the joys of the cold war - halycon days!

thundering thunderbirds
Review date: 2004-08-02 Rating: 8 out of 10

I loved thunderbird six and I am glad the villain was the Hood. The thing I did not like was the creators making a normal plane a thunderbird. I liked the explosions though. I liked all the other thunderbird videos and I recommend this film to all thunderbirds viewers. I hope you found this review useful.

Thunderbird 6 tailed off
Review date: 2003-02-06 Rating: 6 out of 10

Oh dear this was a film too far for the Thunderbirds team...everything that made "Thunderbirds are Go" so great is missing here. This really does feel like an over-extended episode!

The biplane itself is not bad and the idea of a highly manoeuverable craft complementing the existing Thunderbirds squad was OK but the repetitious scenes of Brains having a great design only for Mr Tracy to reject it should have been non-starters.

The skyship on a round the world flight has all the hallmarks of previous episodes ( the Fireflash and the Monorail especially ) and the "anti-gravity" rotating rings appeared far too often to show anything other than a lack of imagination. Having said that the biplane landing and taking off from the stricken skyship was fun to watch.

Overall this is as passable as a long episode of Thunderbirds but if you want a great Thunderbirds film...go watch "Thunderbirds are Go"

More Supermarionation fun
Review date: 2002-10-01 Rating: 6 out of 10

Thunderbird 6: The Movie was another attempt by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, alongside tv mogul Lew Grade to cash in on the massive success Thunderbirds was enjoying on television.

Although the first film Thunderbirds Are Go didn't enjoy huge success, the producers went ahead and made another one...

Although this film captures some of the elements of the series, it doesnt really work as well. Its great to see a wide screen version of the programme, but the show lacks much of the excitement and humour of the show. Yes, there are loads of explosions and bits of sets flying towards the cameras, but this isn't enough to keep you interested. The great set pieces from the series eg the Thunderbird launch sequences do not feature as much, and this is the one thing that every Thunderbird fan never tires of seeing, so its a mistake not to include them

However, there is a great reason to buy the dvd. The commentary by the films producer Sylvia Anderson and the director David Lane provide a fascinating insight into how the picture was shot as well as many of the challenges they faced.

Your Thunderbird DVD collection is incomplete without it, so go ahead and buy!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Sylvia Anderson
Peter Dyneley
Keith Alexander
Gary Files
John Carson

Creators:
Keith Alexander (Primary Contributor)
Sylvia Anderson (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070005271
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-04-09
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1968
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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