''TunnelVision'' (also known as ''Tunnel Vision'') is a satirical 1976 comedy

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

featuring

Roger Bowen Roger Wendell Bowen (May 25, 1932 – February 16, 1996) was an American comedic actor and novelist, best known for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the 1970 film ''M*A*S*H''. Bowen considered himself a writer who only moonlighted as an ...

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' ser ...

Howard Hesseman Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on ''WKRP in Cincinnati'', and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on ''Head of ...

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...

Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series ''Hill Street Blues''. As of March 2018, Tho ...

Phil Proctor Philip Proctor (born 1940) is an American actor, comedian and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series. Career Of the four members of Firesign Theatre, Proctor has had t ...

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Actor ...

, Tom Davis, and Michael Overly, with appearances by voiceover artists

Ernie Anderson Ernest Earle Anderson (November 12, 1923 – February 6, 1997) was an American radio and television personality, horror host, and announcer. Known for his portrayal of "Ghoulardi", the host of late night horror films on WJW Channel 8 on Cleve ...

and

Danny Dark Danny Dark (December 19, 1938 – June 13, 2004) was an American voice-over artist. For nearly four decades, he embedded pop culture with memorable lines in advertisements for Budweiser ("This Bud's for you"), Raid Ant & Roach Killer ("Raid - Kil ...

. It was directed by

Neal Israel Neal Israel (born July 27, 1945) is an American actor, screenwriter, film and television producer, and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s for films such as ''Police Academy'', ''Real Genius'', and ''Bachelor Party''. Biograp ...

and Bradley R. Swirnoff and produced by

Joe Roth Joseph Emanuel Roth is an American film executive, producer and director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1988 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Disney Studios (1994–200 ...

. Although the title is repeatedly displayed in the film as being spelled "Tunnelvision," it is frequently identified as "Tunnel Vision" in home video reissues.

Plot

In the then-future year of 1985, a new

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

called TunnelVision is entirely free of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

(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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

investigation led by a Senator (Hesseman) who wishes to shut down the channel due to its perceived widespread negative effects on the population. (

, who in real life was later elected to the Senate, appears in one of the segments.) The bulk of the film consists of mostly unconnected bits: commercials,

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...

, and

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trailer ...

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 A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...

throughout the film.

Production

Despite appearances by a raft of future comedy stars (see above), character actor Roger Bowen was the most famous actor at the time of the film's release and was afforded top billing. His portrayal of

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

in this film had become a familiar comic staple industry-wide.

Segments

''TunnelVision'' programming spoofs various popular films and television shows of the day, including: * "Remember When": A

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

where contestants must answer embarrassing personal questions truthfully or receive electric shocks. * "Young Peoples After School Press Conference": Henry Kissinger (Bowen) appears on a children's show and is upstaged by a foul-mouthed puppet. * "Get Head!": An action-adventure drama starring a disembodied head as an undercover cop. * "Secret Camera": A ''

Candid Camera ''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...

'' parody supposedly presented by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

. * ''Ramon and Sonja'': A

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

containing many racial and ethnic stereotypes. * "Police Comic": A cop show starring a comedian who uses his routine to take down a sniper. * "The Pregnant Man": A film trailer. * "The King of TV": The president of a beleaguered network listens to pitches for terrible shows. Various news broadcasts are also seen, as are commercials for bogus products and services. A "criminals wanted" segment fingers the Pep Boys as robbing 85,000 fans at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

during a

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

game in 1981.In reality, the two teams did not play each other that year, and in any event the Rams had moved to Anaheim, then later to St. Louis. But, in 2018, the Rams had returned to the Coliseum, and met and defeated the Vikings, 38-31. One

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

features a nude

Dody Dorn Dody Jane Dorn (born April 20, 1955) is an American film and sound editor. She is best known for working with director Christopher Nolan on several films including '' Memento'' (2000), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.Nesselson, ...

, who later became an award-winning film editor. Another involves ''Vitabrain Capsulised Library'', vitamins containing classic literature. The closing credits contain the following disclaimer: "This film is intended as a comic parody of commercial television programming. The persons and scenes shown are presented only in that spirit and not as a serious reflection of reality."

References

External links

*
Official trailer
*
Tunnel Vision
' on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunnel Vision (Film) 1976 films American anthology films 1976 comedy films American comedy films 1976 directorial debut films Films directed by Neal Israel Films produced by Joe Roth Films set in 1985 Films set in the future Films with screenplays by Neal Israel Cultural depictions of Henry Kissinger Films about television 1970s English-language films 1970s American films