Q: The Winged Serpent |  | Director: Larry Cohen
Actors: David Carradine, Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, Richard Roundtree, James Dixon
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $3.99
as of 2/10/2010 09:48 EST details
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Seller: goHastings
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 110842
Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 0
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 630505102X
UPC: 013131048599
EAN: 9786305051022
ASIN: 630505102X
Theatrical Release Date: October 29, 1982
Release Date: July 28, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
OK, who's Q, anyway? "Q" is short for Quetzacoatl, an enormous winged serpent and Aztec deity who's called back to life after a series of ritual human sacrifices in Manhattan. It takes a lot to keep a critter like Q satisfied, so he flies around and lops the heads off sunbathers, window washers and swimmers as handily as popping grapes off the vine. The police are confounded by the murders, decapitated bodies (blood rains from the skies on NYC denizens) and Q-sightings. The solution comes in the unlikely form of Jimmy (Michael Moriarty), a petty thief. After a heist goes bad, he hides from his cronies in the uppermost spires of the Chrysler Building and stumbles on the giant bird's nest and egg. He leads the NYPD up to the lair for a big showdown with Q, but it's not quite as easy as anybody thought, of course. Director/screenwriter Larry Cohen was one of the more inventive, original voices of Seventies B-movies, with credits that include God Told Me To, Black Caesar, It's Alive!, Hell Up in Harlem and The Stuff. With Q, Cohen put together an interesting, entertaining mix of Fifties sci-fi homage (complete with great stop-motion special effects for the terrifying beast), action movie, and crime drama. It also touches on the metaphysical question of how exactly one goes about killing off a god. It'd be difficult to think of a more compelling performance from Moriarty; as the piano-playing, scat-singing small-time crook Jimmy, he's repellent and sleazy. However, he's struck on something that will give him 15 minutes to bask in the spotlight ("I'm the most important man in New York!", he gloats) and give him a chance to redeem himself and save thousands of lives. Moriarty brings a depth to the character that makes him absorbing, if not quite sympathetic, and gets to come across with the choice line, "Stick it up your…brain! Your small little brain!". With plenty of humor, suspense, a gallon or two of gore, and great performances from Moriarty and David Carradine and Richard Roundtree as his cop nemeses, this is great, original, entertaining sci-fi fare. --Jerry Renshaw
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 NEEDS MOAR GOD-BEAST September 19, 2009
Robert Buchanan (Wisconsin)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Look out from above! Awakened from its ageless slumber by some generous instances of human sacrifice, Aztec god Quetzalcoatl nests in the Chrysler Building and swoops over Manhattan, devouring the city's residents at random. Neat, eh? After an inept thief (Michael Moriarty, not too many years prior to his successes in "Troll" and "Law & Order") discovers the god-beast in the aftermath of a botched heist, he decides to exploit the location of the menace, to the frustration of two detectives (David Carradine, Richard Roundtree) who are investigating its feeding habits.
Larry Cohen's homage to drive-in creature features is more a miraculous example of how far a filmmaker can stretch a $1M budget than a particularly good film. The movie's premise is novel and cleverly realized with the use of some terrific stop-motion animation and props. While much the cinematography is lackluster, there is some great, sweeping aerial photography from the perspective of the flying serpent. However, there's nowhere near enough carnage and too much of Moriarty (who struggles to make the best of a deeply irritating role) for this reviewer's taste; maybe Cohen should have requested more cash so that Q could have been afforded greater visibility at the expense of its far less interesting human co-stars. Not a single frame of this movie takes itself seriously, and it's fun...but hardly as much as it could be.
While Moriarty at least tries to make his obnoxious character interesting, Carradine is downright awful, as usual: wooden, dull, totally devoid of charm. Roundtree and Candy Clark fare much better in more likable roles, but they - like the monster - are granted far too little screen time.
It's clear that Cohen takes a lot of pride in shooting big films on shoestring budgets, and that's admirable - if more Hollywood directors were as creative and efficient as he is, major studios would produce much more interesting movies at far less cost. It seems as though his singular vision would be complimented by a greater degree of collaboration. If it had the benefit of a smarter, tighter script, more likable characters, a better cast and a higher budget, "Q" could have been a schlock classic.
I wasn't at all familiar with Blue Underground until I revisited Larry Cohen's early movies, but their DVDs are excellent, especially by the standards of an independent distributor. The menus of this disc are blue-tinted and feature some great artwork and screen stills. Music from Robert Ragland's exciting score can be heard in the main and extras menus. The visuals are fair: gritty, slightly fuzzy, but just as they were presented in the movie's theatrical exhibition, so I can't complain. Surprisingly, quite a few audio options are available. Like the visuals, the original mono track is a bit muddled but by no means terrible. Only slightly better, the Dolby Surround 2.0 track sports far more clarity but sounds quite flat. However, the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround soundtrack is first-rate - expertly mixed and as clear as filtered water, it jumps right out of the speakers at you. A DTS-ES track is also available, but I haven't the equipment to evaluate it.
Larry Cohen's commentary track is definitely the best of the special features. Cohen's agreeable demeanor is pleasant to hear, and his enthusiasm and drive are inspiring. He has plenty of stories to tell concerning the production of "Q" that are remarkable, funny and invariably interesting. For the disgruntled fans who are expecting it, he does explain how this movie was shamelessly plagiarized by the screenwriters of Roland Emmerich's bloated, stupid 1998 "Godzilla" remake.
An appropriately cheesy, very effective teaser trailer is included, as is the usual image gallery. Two of the theatrical posters feature striking artwork, and the promotional posters are quite funny. A post-release advertisement boasts of "Q's" impressive premiere box office gross. Another pre-release ad exploits a news media accident in order to publicize the movie under its working title, "Serpent." When shooting a crucial scene that required machine guns to be discharged at the top of the Chrysler Building, some overzealous journalists mistook the gunfire for a terrorist attack on the United Nations Headquarters and rushed to the scene of the nonexistent incident! As a result, the headline of Cohen's typically opportunistic advertisement reads, "DEAR NEW YORK, SORRY IF WE SCARED YOU!" Many of the stills are taken from the movie's press kit; Q is displayed in vibrant color, while its human co-stars are relegated to B&W publicity photos. The behind-the-scenes photos are nowhere near so interesting, and are recommended only to devoted Cohen fans.
A reasonably well-written career retrospective titled, "Larry Cohen - Low Budget Renaissance Man" is the last of the special features, and while it has no surprises for Cohen's faithful, it's a good introduction to the uninitiated and benefits from numerous photographs, movie posters and interview excerpts.
 An eternal masterpiece June 18, 2009
Matt the Knife (Los Angeles, City of the Dead)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Over the course of 30 years, only 3 movies have inspired me to memorize every single line of dialogue (over the course of many, many viewings): "Star Wars," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" ... and "Q." Either "Q" is a classic or I am mentally ill. Take it in what sense thou wilt.
Really Good Cohen Movie that Overcomes Low Budget December 3, 2008
observer22
Probably Larry Cohen's best movie (Return to Salem's Lot and Black Caesar were also quality Cohen works).
"Q" is different enough to hold up well to repeat viewings over the years. Michael Moriarity is great and the overall cast just seem to "click" together so well.
"Q" consistently overcomes its typical for Cohen low budget and holds your attention. A very young Bruce Willis was almost cast in "Q". Should have been a big hit in 1982. Get the DVD version with all the interesting extras.
U should C Q - its OK :) A good B movie December 1, 2008
D. Steigman (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Ive been watching this film for almost 30 years and still enjoy it. I love the monster, Q the flying serpent is really cool. Some cool gore scenes , but nothing to disgusting. I thought this was a well done B effort just before the Jurassic Park SPFX boom. It is not scary at all, but if you like monster movies, this is worth checking out. The acting is fine especially by Michael Moriarty. this was a remake of sorts of the Flying Serpent an early black and white movie also worth seeing.. I own both :)
It didnt do well enough for a sequel as the ending of it made it seem like it could happen..
AS for the DVD - get the Blue Underground version, slight improvement over the non OOP Anchor Bay DVD
Direct Hit from a King of the Cult Directors April 10, 2008
Crawlspace Man (USA)
"Q" is one of my favorite films. Helmed by one of the great cult writer/directors, Larry Cohen, this movie is an outrageous blast! Michael Moriarty is PERFECT as the much put-upon Jimmy Quinn, a small-time hood/loser who stumbles upon the hidden nest of an ancient creature that's decapitating roof-top sun-bathers and window-washers! Awesome! Of course, being a cynical, world-weary type of fella, Quinn decides to keep the location of the murderous monster a secret until the city coughs up some serious green. Moriarty's voice inflections and mannerisms are absolutely infectious! At one point, at the end of his emotional rope, he lies down on the couch and drones out a line from a scat song he performs on the soundtrack: "Evil dream, go away!" David Carradine provides solid support, also, as the cop on the trail of the flying killer. The film's sky-scraper climax is just great and the stop-motion effects used to bring "Q" to life are a ton of fun! Watch this movie! It's fun, funny, exciting and beguilingly entertaining!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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