{"id":39630,"date":"2023-10-16T00:03:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T04:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=39630"},"modified":"2023-10-15T21:52:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T01:52:22","slug":"pennywise-the-story-of-it-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/16\/pennywise-the-story-of-it-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennywise: The Story of IT (2021)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s easy to forget that once upon a time \u201cIt<\/a>\u201d was the prime example of a master class in terror. In a world that\u2019s largely forgotten TV movies, \u201cIt\u201d broke all kinds of barriers when it came to primetime TV movies. TV movies were mostly safe melodramas and soft thrillers that were never really about staying power. \u201cIt\u201d came along and showed the world that not only could they be an event, but they could be as immortal as theatrical films. You\u2019d think a documentary about a legendary TV movie wouldn\u2019t be prime for valuable film information, but \u201cPennywise: the Story of IT\u201d disproved a lot of the cynicism I had going in to it.<\/p>\n

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John Campopiano, and Chris Griffiths\u2019 documentary is an informative and entertaining look at the conception and production of the 1991 TV movie \u201cIT.\u201d We get to explore everything from the original candidates who were interested in making the movie, the casting process for both the child and adult actors, and their big process for casting the horrific villain Pennywise, the Clown. At the time, they were working with a hit Stephen King novel that was massive in lore and story and immensely violent. And thanks to the censors of the time, they had to truncate the narrative and fit it in to a four hour movie and dial down on the violence big time.<\/p>\n

This meant that the writers had to get as resourceful as possible, accidentally making horror and television history, in the process. There is so much fascinating information to be mined here, from Emily Perkins\u2019 trauma that came from the bathroom scene, to Richard Masur\u2019s frustrating shoot playing a decapitated head in night two of \u201cIt.\u201d There\u2019s also a sad detour with a discussion about the late Jonathan Brandis and the casts experience working with him. One of the most shocking revelations is the cast and crew\u2019s collective disappointment about the climax of the mini-series involving the giant spider.<\/p>\n

After all these years it\u2019s great to see that the folks behind the film tend to agree with the collective horror fan base and immensely liked the finale, too. If you grew up with the miniseries as I did, or just genuinely love Tommy Lee Wallace\u2019s production, \u201cPennywise: The Story of IT\u201d is highly recommended.<\/p>\n