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| The Rocketeer | 
 enlarge | Director: Joe Johnston
Actors: Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $5.63
You Save: $9.36 (62%)
New (51) Used (26) Collectible (2) from $5.62
Avg. Customer Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 2238
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 108
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: DISD17501D
ISBN: 0788816314
UPC: 717951003195
EAN: 9786305428510
ASIN: 6305428514
Theatrical Release Date: June 21, 1991
Release Date: August 17, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Amazon.com
Based on a retro-styled comic book hit of the '80s, this Disney film was meant to launch a whole line of Rocketeer films--but the series began and ended with this one. That's too bad, because this underrated Joe Johnston film has a certain loopy charm. The story centers on a pre-World War II stunt pilot (Bill Campbell) who accidentally comes into possession of a rocket-propelled backpack much coveted by the Nazis. With the aid of his mechanic pal (Alan Arkin), he gets it up and running, then uses it to foil a plot by a gang of vicious Nazi spies (is there any other kind?) led by Timothy Dalton. Jennifer Connelly is on hand as the love interest, but the real fun here is when the Rocketeer takes off. There's also a nifty battle atop an airborne blimp. --Marshall Fine
Product Description
Campbell is perfect as a devil-may-care pilot when he discovers a top-secret jetpack that hurls him into the ultimate adventure. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/03/2002 Starring: Bill Campbell Jennifer Connelly Rating: Pg
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| Customer Reviews: Read 92 more reviews...
 Great movie, lame DVD November 21, 2008
When the special features consist of: 1) the theater trailer, and 2) ads for more movies, you know you've got a Lame DVD on your hands. In its quest to be the World's Lames DVD, there's a terrible-looking pixellated transfer.
Deleted scenes? Commentaries? Other languages? You will find none of those here. Can there be a special edition, please?
The movie's pretty good, though.
 excellent disney movie October 4, 2008
It is an excellent Disney movie. I really enjoyed it. It was quite well done.
Great Film, Lousy DVD September 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I won't go into The Rocketeer's worth as entertainment here - suffice to say that I think it's a wonderful film and well worth 5 stars. But in this review I'm focusing on the technical aspects which I feel detract from the DVD.
This DVD (ASIN: 6305428514) features a 'matted widescreen' transfer which works fine on smaller 4:3 TVs, but which looks awful on larger screen or widescreen TVs. I believe that every DVD today should be made in 'anamorphic widescreen' format so that the image is enhanced for viewing on a larger screen. If it's not then I think that the poor image quality should be clearly marked in some way, as the lack of an anamorphic transfer makes a big difference in quality. In the case of this particular movie the image is very poor due to a terribly grainy transfer that looks as if it came from a VHS tape. The non-anamorphic format makes it even worse and results in what's known as 'gutterboxing' (black bars all around the image) when the movie is played on widescreen TVs. Some TVs allow zooming in to fill the screen in cases like this, but in the case of this film if the image is zoomed to fit the screen the film becomes unwatchable.
So in conclusion, those with the older standard 4:3 TVs under 30 inches probably won't notice any loss of resolution. But for folks with big screen TVs I advise waiting until this movie gets an updated DVD treatment. Alternatively, if you own a good quality up-converting DVD player that can play region 2 discs, the British version (ASIN: B00004CYQH available from Amazon.co.uk) is a good quality anamorphic transfer.
Son of Commander Cody July 11, 2008
Dave Stevens graphic novel -- an obvious tip of the hat to Republic serial classics such as RADAR MEN ON THE MOON and KING OF THE ROCKETMEN -- this wonderfully entertaining film in a summer when TERMINATOR 2 sucked up all the box office oxygen. Too bad, nice performances by Bill Campbell as a barn storming pilot in 1938, Alan Arkin as his sidekick mechanic, the lovely (and very young) Jennifer Connolly as the girl friend, Paul Sorvino as a gangster, and ex-James Bond Timothy Dalton as an Errol Flynn type as a Nazi! (The latter probaby influnced by a book in the 1980's that claimed that Flynn was a Nazi agent.) Though it sank at the box office, I highly recommend this delightful romp which even has a Rondo Hatton henchman and a grand finale on a dirgible!
Skyrockets to the top of my list as one of the most exciting family films of all time... June 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I remember as a young boy absolutely loving this movie. At every sleepover this movie was mandatory. I probably saw `The Rocketeer' a record fifty times as a child and then, sadly, I grew up. In fact I haven't seen this movie in almost ten years. Well, I guess I should say `hadn't' as in that I hadn't seen this movie in almost ten years, because thankfully I caught this movie on Encore the other night and since then it's the only movie I've been able to think of. Sure, this is not a perfect film, but for its genre, for its target audience it `is' perfect. As the film began I felt like a little boy once again; all those childish chills of excitement taking over me, and soon I was fully amerced in the world of my youth, and loving every minute of it.
`The Rocketeer' tells the story of 1930's pilot Cliff Secord, a young and ambitious young man who is on his way to the top. By chance Cliff stumbles upon a rocket pack and decides that it may be a surefire way to make some extra money. That rocket pack, designed by Howard Hughs himself, is stolen property though and is being pursued by some very dangerous men. Heading the pursuit is dashing Hollywood movie star Neville Sinclair, a man who is not who he seems. Knowing that Secord has the rocket pack he decides to get closer to Secord's girlfriend Jenny who is aspiring to act alongside Sinclair. Soon Cliff finds that this newfound device, while being the root of all his newfound problems, may be the only way to save his friends and, in the larger scope of things, the world.
Sure, the plot is a little thick at times, but remember folks, this is a superhero movie based off of a popular (at the time) graphic novel so it is not necessarily supposed to be possible, just plausible. Judging from the respect this film delivers wonderfully.
Bill Campbell serves as a fine hero here, giving Cliff a believable sense of natural charm. He seems like a real person, not some fabled heroic creation. Alan Arkin is delightful as Cliff's mechanic buddy Peevy. He's the trusty sidekick, sure, and his character is cliche ridden, but he owns it. Jennifer Connelly is magnificent here. She has that throwaway stock role of the love interest here, but she makes Jenny lovable and relatable and memorable. She is probably my favorite thing about this movie. Timothy Dalton is every bit dashing as he is sinister; truly a memorable and respectable villainous turn.
`The Rocketeer' is jam packed with action and adventure and is seriously tailor-made for each and every young boy (and all of us `men' who want to embrace our inner `boy'). It's fun and exciting and thrilling and just all around great entertainment. It's a shame that this franchise didn't take off. A `Rocketeer' trilogy would have been amazing (at least to me) and much preferred to some of the films that get made these days. It may not have been embraced at the time, but that doesn't mean we can't embrace it today. This is a classic example of smart and refreshing family entertainment that holds up even today amidst a world of computer generated pirate ships and elf princesses.
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