20 Million Miles To Earth (50th Anniversary Edition)
by Nathan Juran
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Frank Puglia, Joan Taylor, John Zaremba, Thomas Browne Henry, William HopperDirector: Nathan Juran
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 165 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-31
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of 20 Million Miles To Earth (50th Anniversary Edition)
Movie Review: Harryhausen makes the most from the least
Summary: 3 Stars
20 Million Miles To Earth is visual effects wizard Ray Harryhausen's 1957 black and white interplanetary King Kong remake, as well as a tribute to his stop motion photography mentor Willis O'Brien. No, it's not a direct analogy, but there are so many scene for scene knockoffs from Kong that one must believe that only Harryhausen could have gotten away with so much theft (read that as `homage') from his mentor without facing a lawsuit. Yes, technically, the film was directed by noted B film maven Nathan Juran (The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad), but it's a very standard film, wholly carried into the memory by Harryhausen's skills.
That stated, it's also a very enjoyable film....The film also features a classic 1950s era opening narrative about `SCIENCE!': `Great scientific advances are often times sudden accomplished facts before most of us are dimly aware of them. Breathtakingly unexpected, for example, was the searing flash that announced the atomic age. Equally unexpected was the next gigantic stride, when man moved out of his very orbit to a point more than 20 Million Miles To Earth!' Cue the start of the film! And the end is just as priceless. Didacticism is always good for a guffaw in sci fi films.
But, 20 Million Miles To Earth offers more than a few condescending chuckles; it offers a glimpse into a not too long ago time when wonder was still enough to propel a film. Nowadays, too many people ruin films by asking questions that the films acknowledge as givens, and need far too many special effects, as they are too lazy to imbue, and actively participate in art. Ray Harryhausen and Nathan Juran's film does more with less than many films that came later, and even if that sentiment is trite, it's also true. And 20 Million Miles To Earth is a highly enjoyable film, no matter how cookie cutter it is. After all, what determines the success of a cookie is not its shape, but its taste, and that comes from its ingredients, not its mold. What Harryhausen had in his best films was a good recipe, and alot of talent, to fit into some very old and familiar molds. Thus why they are still savored to this day, no matter how many times the hand has held such before.
Summary of 20 Million Miles To Earth (50th Anniversary Edition)
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.System Requirements:Running Time: 82 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating:?NR UPC:?043396191693 Manufacturer No:?19169Special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion talents and "Dynamation" (rear-projection) process are the highlights of the '50s-era creature feature 20 Million Miles to Earth. An American spaceship returns to Earth after a mission to Venus and crashes into the sea near Sicily. A sole survivor (William Hopper) is rescued, along with a specimen that quickly grows into a reptilian biped called the Ymir. The being eventually grows to 20 feet high and escapes its confines, whereupon it rampages through Rome before a showdown with the military. Despite lacking much of a personality, the Ymir is a marvelous showcase for Harryhausen's skills. Unfortunately, the rest of the film does not match his level of excellence; direction by Nathan Juran is perfunctory (his later collaborations with Harryhausen, including The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, are more lively), and performances and scripting are flat. Still, Harryhausen fans should enjoy this opportunity to see this phase of his career before he created his most enduring works. --Paul Gaita
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