Split Image [Blu-ray]

This is a great movie. I remember seeing it in the early 80's. Michael O'Keefe was great as Danny. The scenes where he (and others including Peter Fonda) speak in tounges was dead on. To see him get sucked in and wondering the whole time "what does he see in this cult" really draws you into the movie. The desparation from the parents was believable. James Woods as Pratt, the deprogramer kicked it into high gear. Woods defined his grizzled, hard core, come-on-too-strong character that served him so well in his career.A great drama. It should be seen by every parent to help keep them from being lulled into complacency about where their kids are in life (no matter how seemingly perfect the family is) and where their relationships with them are.I was enjoying the movie way back when, and then at the end (I won't give it away) I noticed a street scene in downtown Dallas. I was a Dallas Cop at the time and had no idea it was filmed in their area (a bonus for this Dallas boy, cause not a lot of filming in this area back then, Logan's Run and Robocop to name a couple of others). I had also become a Christian in '78 and attended a church for a bit that had a single leader who decided all the young men should live in a commune relationship in a rented house in East Dallas to separate themselves from non-believers. (Kirklander) I had just moved out on my own at the time and was about 18-19. When I refused to move in with them and didn't come back to the church, I was excommunicated from the (universal) church and told I wasn't a believer (sounds cultish I think). Anyway, they later rescended the excummunication when the leader was told he was wrong by someone he looked up to. (yea, I get to go to heaven after all) Anyway, parts of this film I can relate to on various levels for sure.I've really been looking for it on DVD or Netflix but it's time to break down and get a copy, even if it's VHS.

A rather rare film (or TV film). We thank Kino Lorber for releasing it in such good quality. This story is still scary today. It shows indoctrination techniques that make you smile. But it always works with lost and fragile minds.Brian Dennehy is very convincing in the role of the father believing his son lost, and who must be deprogrammed by the impertinent James Wood.And we must not forget the suave Peter Fonda as a guru, using the beauty of young Karen Allen (already known for her role as Marion Ravenwood a year earlier), to lure young men.Good edition from Kino, but few supplements, even though the subject of the film is really intriguing.

Now anyone who has seen this movie might think I have rated it a little to high. I might have but I don't care. I very small portion of this movie was filmed at my Dads house when It was under construction and that's all I need to give it five stars. A second scene was filmed in my home town of Denton Texas and this one actually is very interesting. The house that Peter Fonda character lived in was actually a Chapel built with ferrocement by the whitehawk construction company. This Chapel was Built as a residence for Ruth Carter Stapleton the sister of President Jimmy Carter. Ruth Carter Stapleton was a Christian evangelist who was fighting cancer by Faith Healing. She sadly did not recover and after her death the Chapel fell into disrepair and last I heard was being used as storage. My dads house on the other hand was built in an intentional community north of Denton. While this community was not a religious cult I do commend Hollywood for finding the place.Other then the above reasons for liking this movie I do find the movie to be quite interesting and well thought out. Towards the end it kind of gets long as they deprogram the kid but without this long fight to bring him around the movie would have felt hollow. The conclusion of this movie wasn't anti commune or anti capitalist it was a balance of the two. A very well thought out balance where they through more punches against greed then they did the brainwashing of a religious cult. In the end the main character was able to enjoy the best of best of both worlds and leave behind all the baggage of the over bearing leaders of each world. Its a story or a boy becoming a man and making his own choices. Unfortunately with this movie not being on DVD you must either Buy the VHS or find it online to enjoy.

Even though this movie came out in 1982 I had to admit it kept my attention and there were times in the movie when I was on the edge of my seat. The only thing I didn't like about the movie was there was no hope. Even at the end it just seemed like the producer put a movie out there but there was no serious thought or plot involved. I know he was telling a story about a cult but still I just wish there could have been a better ending. The ending is not bad at all. But I feel like the producer played with my emotions for an hour then left the movie on pause, leaving me to wonder what have I been watching for the last hour. So it was good but it didn't go anywhere after that. So you will be able to watch this movie through but don't look for a deeper plot other than the producer just telling a story that seems like it was told half-way through and the ending was just left untold.

Great film, great updated release. Typical high quality from Kino Lorber. Also, really cool slipcover. Definitely recommend jumping on this one and adding it to the collection.

My love for this movie is perhaps biased due to the nostalgia is inspires. I grew up watching it on RCA SelectaVision disc & later searched for it, only to find it on VHS from eBay. To my knowledge it has never been transferred to DVD but I am glad to see it finally available to stream. The actors in this film will always be heavily associated to their roles (mainly Michael O'Keefe & James Woods) & the deliveries from all of them is outstanding. Again, this could be a biased opinion, but give Split Image a chance - you might just love it.

Takes you back to the time when the "moonies" were being brainwashed. Woods & Dennehy give a great performance, as usual. It's actually what used to happen back then. Maybe today, but I don't hear of it anymore.