TunnelVision | |
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One of the VHS covers for TunnelVision.
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Directed by |
Neal Israel Bradley R. Swirnoff |
Produced by | Joe Roth |
Written by |
Neal Israel Michael Mislove |
Starring |
Roger Bowen Chevy Chase John Candy Howard Hesseman Joe Flaherty Laraine Newman Betty Thomas Phil Proctor Al Franken Ron Silver Tom Davis |
Music by |
Dennis Lambert Brian Potter |
Distributed by | World Wide Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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70 min. |
Language | English |
TunnelVision (also known as Tunnel Vision) is a satirical 1976 comedy anthology film featuring Roger Bowen, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Howard Hesseman, Joe Flaherty, Laraine Newman, Betty Thomas, Phil Proctor, Al Franken, Ron Silver, Tom Davis, and Michael Overly, with appearances by noted voiceover artists Ernie Anderson and Danny Dark. It was directed by Neal Israel and Bradley R. Swirnoff and produced by Joe Roth.
Although the title is repeatedly displayed in the film as being spelled "TunnelVision," it is frequently identified as "Tunnel Vision" in home video reissues and critical reviews.
In the (then-future) year of 1985, a new television network called TunnelVision is entirely free of censorship (aided by a new Bill of Rights, written in 1983), and has thus become the most-watched channel in history. The president of TunnelVision (Proctor) is under Senate investigation led by a Senator (Hesseman) who wishes to shut down the channel due to its perceived widespread negative effects on the population. (Ironically, a genuine future U.S. Senator, Al Franken, appears in one of the segments.) The bulk of the film consists of mostly unconnected bits: commercials, shorts, and trailers for fictional movies, shown during a Congressional Oversight Committee hearing as a representative day of TunnelVision programming. At the end of the film, the committee finds in favor of TunnelVision, but the network president is shot and killed by a crazed French chef who had been a running gag throughout the movie.