THE GLITTERBALL
&
THE PURPLE BALL dvd
(aka Lilac Ball)
(aka Lilyovyy Shar)
(1977 / 1988)
(Double Feature on one DVD)
DIRECTOR: Glitterball: Harley Cokeliss (Battletruck, Black Moon Rising) / The Purple Ball: Pavel Arsenov (Guest from the Future)
STARS: Glitterball: Ben Beckon, Keith Jayne, Ron Pember, / The Purple Ball: Natalya Guseva (Guest from the Future), Alexandr Gusev, Vyacheslav, Boris Shcherbakov (To the Stars by Hard Ways)
SYNOPSIS: Two children's fantasy film imports.
Glitterball: I imagine this film was a childhood favorite if you were growing up in the UK in the late 70's. A small UFO crashes to Earth and ends up in a countryside shed. A small silver ball rolls out and makes it way to a house where it gobbles up any food it can find including custard, crisps and even dog kibble. The house is home to a RAF (Royal Air Force) radar specialist, his wife and young son "Max". It's Max who starts noticing weird goings-on around his new home and eventually finds the orb which he keeps in his pocket. Max befriends a spunky kid "Pete" and they're both amazed by their new alien pal. A creepy neighbor nicknamed "Filthy" finds out about the boys' secret and sets out to steal the glitterball for his criminal plans. It all comes to a climax with the boys, Filthy and Max's father who's closing in on the alien with help from the RAF's newfangled technology. All the special effects with the ball are Gumby-style stop animation. This is an entertaining example of 70's era Saturday afternoon fun. Fans of Winter of the Witch and The Red Balloon will enjoy this one. WIDESCREEN. Running time: 53 mins
The Purple Ball: Fun space-age children's film from the USSR. A trio of astronauts (or cosmonauts) in the future find a deadly ship know as the "Black Wanderer" which has a reputation for wiping out entire planets. They're able to board the vessel and find the crew all dead. They also find a large purple sphere that has negative effects when broken open. It infects humans with a rage virus and causes them to kill each other. Our heroes (the ship's captain, a young girl named Alice, and her father) realize that a purple ball was left on Earth many centuries earlier and will soon explode. Alice comes up with a crazy plan to use the ship's handy time machine to go back to a period called The Era of Legends, find the ball and dispose of it. She's helped out by "Gromozeka" a huge 4-armed man who looks like a cross between Bigfoot and the Cowardly Lion. He easily dispatches any trouble with his large size and fighting skills. Alice also runs into a giant baby bird, a witch named Baba Yaga, a flying dragon, a trio of cartoonish cannibal men as well as the evil aliens. With the help of her wizard friend "Magician Uuuh" she saves the day. Almost all the effects look like they're achieved practically including spaceships, flying carpets, and hungry monsters. This will remind you of films like Dark Crystal, Never-Ending Story and Krull. Recommended. In spoken Russian with English subtitles. WIDESCREEN. Running time: 1hr 13mins
*For more see: Wishing Machine, Christmas Martian and Mystery of the Million Dollar Hockey Puck
Widescreen / Color (both films)
Region Free NTSC dvd-R
BLUE dvd case (above image is the front cover art)
Buy "Glitterball / Purple Ball" : $20.00
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