The Shape of Things to Come

[Ralph]

[Ralph]

I ordered a copy of "The Thing from another World" this week - it was released on DVD just a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen it since the 70's so I hope it lives up to expectations as a sc-fi classic

[Ralph]

The 1951 Thing DVD arrived yesterday, just released on Region 2 for the first time, so I eagerly watched it last night. The opening credits are one of the best bits - adapted for use in the 1982 remake.

I guess I was a bit disappointed by a few things. The opening music didn't fit at all - it was some upbeat military style music, I wanted something more akin to the eerie music used in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" made the same year. The story is a bit slow in getting going and very corny as films of that time generally were - I hoped this might be a cut above that.

The atmosphere while melting the block of Ice containing the Thing was good as was the Thing's first appearance bursting through a door. Athough it was disappointing that this giant vegetable that nourishes itself on blood looked so much like a man... not a patch on the Krynoids...

The atmosphere gets spoiled a bit when everyone seems to be jolly again with coffee aplenty for one and all in between attacks. It was especially easy for everyone to move on from the fact that two of their companions had been strung up upside down with their throats cut - we don't see this, just described - amazing what a nice cuppa will do for instant morale! Perhaps they were afraid they might scare audiences too much and so felt it necessary to through in these jolly upbeat moments plus a newspaper reporter for cheerful banter to calm nervous audiences?

In fairness I was about 10 years old last time I saw this and it probably hit the spot for me then but it had achieved greater status in my memory.
The 1982 remake is probably responsible for enhancing the image of this old movie, certainly the remake is a favourite of mine.

All said this film suffers mainly as I expected more of it perhaps like many of us did with "This Island Earth" which similarly failed to live up to a glowing memory.

I would have to give it 5.5/10

[Alex]

The First Men In The Moon.

Warning! Big Spoilers Below!

I used to have really fond memories of this from when I was a kid, but I watched it tonight and it was a really quite different movie from what I was expecting. I'd remembered it as an entertaining romp where three people ended up on the moon thanks to a semi-mad scientist, and who then encounter odd ant like people.

Well, the gist is roughly the same (though the ant people look like a mesh of different insects), but it's a really odd film. I know it's based on an HG Wells novel, but I've never read it so don't know how accurate an adaption it is, but it really is a bit all over the place. It starts off with a new framing device where a United Nations spaceship lands on the moon for the first time in 1964, only to discover a British flag there and a letter dated from 1899. Soon an old man is tracked down, and he tells the story of how he once travelled to the moon.

The next section, which goes on a fair old while, is a very light hearted almost Ealing like comedy where Arnold Bedford is living in a cottage trying but failing to write a play, whilst his girlfriend is trying to persuade him to marry her. They meet their neighbour who turns out to be a semi-mad scientist, Joseph Cavor, and eventually find out he's invented Cavorite, a substance which allows anything to float off in to the air, and that he's planning on launching a sphere covered in it to go to the moon in. As you do.

To cut a long story short (too late, I know!), they end up on the moon, but that's when it suddenly becomes a very different movie. They find an underground cavern, and then the moon creatures, and at times it's bizarrely all over the place. In some part's it's an action flick, with Bedford murdering the creatures left right and centre (despite not having much provocation), much to Cavor's disbelief, and then there's very talky scenes between Cavor and the moon creatures as Cavor attempts to make them understand life on Earth. Bedford suddenly goes all macho on us, and thinks (again without that much reason) that the creatures are planning to kill them, and at the end that Cavor's on trial for the whole of humanity, before he finally escapes with Kate, whilst Cavor chooses to stay behind.

It then cuts back to modern day England (well, 1964 at least), where we see the astronauts find the cavern, and signs of a civilisation, but it begins to collapse and so they escape. And it ends with speculation that some virus might have killed them all, and a very aged Bedford finds it grimly amusing that Cavor (who has a very slight cold which is barely noticable for most of the film) must have been responsible.

I know the above might make it seem like I didn't enjoy it, but I did, it just wasn't the film I was expecting it to be. In a lot of ways it was far more interesting and intriguing a film though, with some pretty great ideas behind it, and thought provoking stuff - if not in the most complex of ways. The downbeat ending was a surprise too, especially as it essentially suggests that Cavor's accidentally committed mass genocide, and also condemns him to a lonely death, when all he'd done was try to see the best in humanity and to learn more about the alien creatures.

I guess the only thing I didn't like about the film really was Bedford's transition from likeable dreamer to macho twit, but bar that I thought it was really good - and that's without even mentioning the stunning effects which make it a joy to look at too. So thanks (again!) to Wayne for lending me this!

[Wayne]

Nice comprenhensive review, Alex.
Glad you enjoyed it overall, though it's not a film i've thought ever so deeply about. Basically, it's one i remember with fondness from my childhood, (particularly the creatures on the moon & all the Ray Harryhausen stop motion stuff) & to me it's just pure escapist fantasy that i just watch to 'switch off' to, if you know what i mean. It's a lovely film though, especially visually, & Lionel Jeffries is fun to watch.

[Ralph]

I'd say "First Men on the Moon" is a great one to watch on a lazy morning - light hearted fun and the effects are surprisingly good.

[Alex]

Glad you enjoyed it overall, though it's not a film i've thought ever so deeply about. Basically, it's one i remember with fondness from my childhood, (particularly the creatures on the moon & all the Ray Harryhausen stop motion stuff) & to me it's just pure escapist fantasy that i just watch to 'switch off' to, if you know what i mean. It's a lovely film though, especially visually, & Lionel Jeffries is fun to watch.

I'd say "First Men on the Moon" is a great one to watch on a lazy morning - light hearted fun and the effects are surprisingly good.

Well that's the thing, I was expecting just a fluffy but fun sci-fi flick, because that's what I remembered it as, but as soon as they discover the moon creatures it really does get darker and more odd, the ending especially so.

I was amazed by the quality of the effects, I love the scene where they're running past those giant liquid filled tubes, and the creatures are really well done too, especially the one in the strange floaty blue thing at the end. And Lionel Jeffries is superb, isn't he, it's just a shame that the other two don't quite match him performance wise.

[Ralph]

Invasion Earth 2150AD (1965)



A great bit of entertainment for a Saturday morning. Peter Cushing and Andrew Keir - not a bad cast and Bernard Cribbins brings some nice comedic touches to it too.

The music is delightfully cheesy and adds tremendously to the feeling of excitement. Full marks on the score it fits perfectly and stamps the 1960s firmly on it.

It's funny seeing Peter Cushing at the height of his stardom appearing as a kindly professor type, the antithesis of his evil possessed Baron Frankenstein character. Peter has more screentime than McGann despite being possibly the forgotten Doctor but of course there's those official cannon rules and all that

I first saw this back during the school holidays back in '73 as an unexpected screening because cricket was cancelled due to poor weather or something suchlike. I remember being so excited to get a chance to see it! I was puzzled by the Doctor who I didn't recognise and it was a rare appearance by the Daleks back then.

I think the first half is the best then it all gets wrapped up fairly quickly. I loved that bit where Bernard Cribbins has to copy his robomen colleagues - nice touch.

I would give it 8/10 as pure sci-fi fun which moves along at a fine pace to maintain interest.

[Dirk Gently]

I loved that bit where Bernard Cribbins has to copy his robomen colleagues - nice touch.

I seem to remember Cribbins saying that the copying was an ad lib on his behalf.

[Ralph]

I seem to remember Cribbins saying that the copying was an ad lib on his behalf.

He does it well - it made me laugh

[Wayne]

Invasion Earth 2150AD (1965)
I would give it 6.5/10 as a bit of sci-fi fun which moves along a good enough pace to maintain interest.

ooh you stingey git! I really like this film, It's much better than Cushing's first Who film. I honestly prefer it to Hartnell's original DIOE! 8/10 from me!

[Dirk Gently]

Cribbins is excellent as the light relief in this, as was Castle in the first one. But between the two I think Cribbins is the better of the two, just.

[Ralph]

@ Wayne

OK if I'm honest from a pure entertainment view I think I can easily stretch the extra 1.5 points!



Actually I enjoyed it more than the vast majority of episodes of the current series

[Wayne]

Actually I enjoyed it more than the vast majority of episodes of the current series

Somehow, that doesn't come as much of a surprise.

[Ralph]

I also love the way a lot of these 60s TV series and films weren't afraid to have exciting incidental music in a bold and forthright manner. Star Trek TOS is a classic for that as is this movie

[Wayne]

I love the look of the film, & the Dalek ship.

[Ralph]

This an intersting article I found on the net:

"It was through his association with Milton Subotsky that Cushing entered the world of Doctor Who, starring in the 1965 film Dr Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 AD a year later. Cushing jumped at the chance to play the Doctor and despite suffering from illness when making the second film, he never lost enthusiasm for the project.

Sadly, the two films were considered failures in the all-important American market so plans for a third Dr Who movie, presumably with Cushing in the lead, were dropped. However, this did not end Cushing's association with the popular TV series. In 1967 Stanmark Productions Ltd promoted a planned series of serialised radio dramas based on popular fictional characters, with 'Doctor Who starring Peter Cushing' being one of the major selling points of the series. Sadly, the project never came to fruition, Cushing's ill-health at the time apparently being a contributing factor.

While Cushing was never to play Dr Who again, he did play another popular cult hero, this time on TV. Following his stand-out portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the 1959 Hammer film adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, he went on to star in a 16-episode Holmes series for BBC TV, his only regular TV role. One of his last film roles before he retired was again as Holmes, in the TV movie The Abbott's Cry (1986), a sequel to his appearance in The Masks of Death (1984), with Sir John Mills as Watson."

I don't really know much about Peter's time as the Doctor, so I found this good to read.

I'd agree Wayne the Dalek ship certainly looks impressive and the production values all round seem not bad at all.

[Wayne]

They're basically 'Amicus' films, Ralph, which was Milton Subotsky's company, but Warner Bros wanted a different name used because of Amicus' horror associations, so they called themselves AARU films, just for these 2 productions.

[Ralph]

I wouldn't have thought the Amicus name wouldn't have caused any harm to the "bums on seats" factor for the movies apart from Mary Whitehouse having a good moan which may only have helped.

[Wayne]

Well that's the 'men in suits' for you.

[Ralph]

I preordered a copy of Forbidden Planet which is due out on 16 June - a special 50th anniversary edition.

I'm looking forward to seeing it again - a sci-fi classic, a pilot for Star Trek and Leslie Neilsen to boot

[Wayne]

I saw it on TV a year or so back, but i was disappointed. I'd class it in with 'This Island Earth'. A bit of iconic imagery, but basically best enjoyed when you're 10 years old.
It's all down to opinion of course, but it's funny how some some films i saw when i was a kid still stand up, - like 'First Men In the Moon' 'The Time Machine', & 'Incredible Shrinking Man', & yet others like 'Forbidden Planet' & 'This Island Earth', don't.

[Ralph]

Well I've always enjoyed it each time I've seen it but it's been a while - the inner child must be satisfied

certainly better than Planet of Evil anyway!

[Ralph]

I watched the new version of War of the Worlds last night that Wayne lent me - more thoughts later.

[Ralph]

King Kong (1976)

Thanks to Wayne I gave this a viewing. I'd only ever seen bits of this on TV having never watched it all the way through.

I think it suffers from the fact that it was an effects movie and these are now looking a bit tatty at the edges. Inevitably movies like this fall down over time where the effects dominate over the acting and storyline - they just can't sustain the test of time. I found myself losing interest at times but a young Jessica Lange helps compensate for the plodding story.

Jaws, another "creature feature" made the year before while having a now somewhat dodgy shark in the closing stages still holds up well as the effects enhance rather than dominate.

It seemed to take a while to get going which I understand is similiar for the 2005 version. I'm not sure how this movie fared on release, I have a suspicion it probably had a tough ride as I don't remember it getting a big premier showing on terrestial TV.

I'd say it's a 5/10.

I'll give it a break before I try the 2005 version and see if it's any better of just a CGI extravaganza.

Just a further thought - KK climbs the World Trade Centre this time... it's strange to see the WTC so majorly featured like this.