Ray Harryhausen Creature Double Feature (Blu-ray Review)
Rated: UR/Region A/1:85/1080p/Number of Discs 1
Available from: Mill Creek Entertainment
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
Directed By: Nathan Juran
Starring: William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Thomas Browne Henry
Special effects genius Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans)brings you one of his earliest groundbreaking films, now available for the first time in vibrant color! When an American spaceship crash-lands off the coast of Sicily, a rescue team discovers that the crew has brought back a gelatinous mass that soon hatches and evolves into a strange bi-ped creature which increases in size rapidly. Soon 20-feet tall, the creature rampages through Rome before being destroyed as it seeks refuge in the Colosseum.
I’m not a man that usually digs old black and white films from 1957, but I will happily say I dug this. While it is a dated film, you can’t deny the entertainment value here as we go from being a sci-fi flick to a King Kong/Godzilla clone by the end. In between the movie packs some great stop motion stuff that can hold up to what we’ve seen in the years to follow. The movie has good characters and a plot that builds and builds, making for an extremely fun but cheesy experience. Even if you don’t like older films like this, check this one out. I think it must be one of the better creature features to come out in 1957. The quality of the Blu-ray looks really good here as well. The only questionable scenes are the ones using effects like space shots, clay shots, or water shots that clearly have trickery to their filming.
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
Directed By: Robert Gordon
Starring: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis
After an encounter at sea with an unknown underwater creature, a naval commander works with two scientists to identify it. The creature they are dealing with is a giant, radioactive octopus that has left its normal feeding grounds in search of new sources of replenishment. As the creature attacks San Francisco, the Navy tries to trap it at the Golden Gate Bridge but it manages to enter the Bay area leading to a final confrontation with a submarine.
Here we have one that causes the reaction I usually give older films. The movie here has some of the same cool effects that were fine for their time, but I didn’t think the story was as strong and I didn’t enjoy the characters as much overall. The setting is kind of cool, but I don’t think I enjoy giant octopuses as much as alien creatures that look like reptiles. Still, the effects make it worthy of a watch, but it just isn’t as exciting and feels like the drags to spite the short running time. The film looks probably better than the other film when things outside of effects on screen is going on. No matter if you like this or not, you should at least be happy with how it looks!
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