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CREEPY CLASSICS presents... |
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SATURDAY'S MOVIE, AUGUST 11, 2012: MOVIE - Science Fiction "TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH" (1957). Some of the best Ray Harryhausen stop-motion ever to grace the silver screens. And, what a cool looking monster. A space ship crashes in the ocean and the crew killed. An egg that they had brought from Venus floats ashore. A young boy finds it and sells it. The Venusian egg hatches a monster before it can be scrambled. The thing grows to epic proportions and wrestles an elephant along the way.Suggested by Quieny "Santitito," Mexico.
It's a classic and my favorite of the Ray Harryhausen 1950s sci-fi films! It's a monster from "Venus?" "The Planet...Venus?" I love those lines from the press meeting in the film. Beautifully filmed and wonderful stop-motion from the master, Ray Harryhausen. Right out of the box, the crash landingof the spaceship into the ocean is just awesome (in the true sense of the word). The monster (although not named in the movie) is known as the Ymir. A reptilian, humanoid beast that is born in a world not his own. A sheer joy of 1950s sci-fi movie making. Plus, Ray oversaw the colorzation process for DVD and Blu-Ray, which is tunning. Don't worry, both formats offer the original Black and White version too...restored. The barn scene lighting and action with the Ymis is both exciting and frightening. Top flight! -Ron Adams, Ligonier, PA
Decent little movie with incredible Ray Harryhausen special effects - Steven Schimming, NH
Hey Bash Synchers! Welcome to a classic, or is it?
It is in comparing Kong and Joe Young to this film that we see what is lacking, what keeps it from being a true classic. Despite the fantastic effects, this film leaves me cold. The human element, the story, is so weak. What did Kong have that this film doesn't? A character's relationship WITH the creature. At no point do any of the characters develop a relationship with Ymir. I think that the little boy Pepe could have been used better here. His story becomes a silly subplot and he has no contact with the beast. If he had hung out with the Doctor, formed a bond, been a defender of the thing, it would have added some heart. I know it sounds corny, but as is, the only emotion generated is "cool" at the skill of the effects, but nothing comes from the heart. I remember Dinosaurus, where the boy befriends the Brontosaurus. The effects in that film are cheesy, but you know what? It made me cry when the brontosaurus died. No such tears here for the Ymir. Just imagine during the rampage, the little boy meeting up with Ymir and having a little dance in the famous Roman Fountain, you know, a combination of La Dolce Vita and Peter Jackson's Kong...I know, I know, that is going too far, but for heaven's sake, do something to generate sympathy. I know Ray went to great lengths to show that he is not brutal unless provoked, but no one in the movie cared. Hopper's character in the barn kind of hinted at some connection, but he ends up shooting Ymir like the rest. I think the old professor character had the potential to add some heart as well, heck, he saw the thing at birth, couldn't he have been more caring during the rest of the movie? For example, after he puts the baby Ymir in the cage, he instantly loses his fascination for the creature and insists that Maricela return to the trailer. Wouldn't a real professor have stayed up all night studying the thing?
Another thing that struck me at this viewing was how subtle the title and opening music are. What the heck does 20 Million Miles to Earth mean anyway, to a kid wanting to see a movie in the 50s? It seems such a strange off putting way to present this cool movie, it couldn't have been a help in its promotion. I guess It Came from Venus would have sounded too much like so many other films, but 20 Million Miles to Earth just doesn't make sense to attract attention to this film. Also note that when the title comes up, instead of the usual da-da-DAAAAA, the music is real laid back. Strange. It seems as if Schneer was purposely trying to distance the movie from all the other monster on the loose films. I don't think this was the best way to differentiate it. It would have been better to use Ray's skill to really generate a heart felt relationship with Ymir, that would have made it different from all the others, and brought it back to the classic territory of Kong.
As a monster memory, I must say that for all of my childhood, THIS was the holy grail of monster movies. Many times the Ymir appeared in Famous Monsters,feeling me with desire, a quest to find this fantastic creature, but it never appeared on my TV set. I recently read a book with a list of all the movies on Creature Features out of Oakland CA, where I got my monsters, and it never aired! I didn't see this film until I was 26, on TNT, which filled it with commercials every 8 minutes it seemed they even cut parts of the movie. Now I own the RH colorized DVD and I love it, despite its critical flaw. See you next week, I hope, for The Shuttered Room! Quieny "Santitito" P.S. - Check out the generals face when the doctor says the corny final line. Classic!!! The final lines should have been: "I guess the bazooka got him." "No, it was his hunger for sulfur that killed the beast."
Hi ron - J50smonstakid Maggio, Kingsman, AZ
This is Ray Harryhausen's final black-and-white movie, and his last with an entirely contemporary setting. Or does it take place in the near future? It's also his last "pure" science fiction film, if there is such a thing. (I consider MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and FIRST MEN IN THE MOON to be fantasy.) This being my umpteenth viewing, what can I say about it? Here are some disjointed notes I made while watching: 1 Minute: The less said about the "Sicilian" dialect, the better. The reason given for studying the creature was to learn how it can survive in the atmosphere of Venus so that humans can also survive there. From the evidence in the film, it doesn't seem that they ever found out what they needed to know.
Mark Ditoro
I watched the Bash movie of the week, 20 Million Miles to Earth and it got -Kevin Slick -Louisville, CO
Probably one of the best and I would say one of the classics of Ray harryhausen movies. Also this movie is the ancestor to all the giant space monsters and the only one that did not come from Mars, it came from Venus. The story from Beginning to end is great. The film is never boring. The Monster Ymir is probably one of the most incredible creatures and really stole the show. The monster was not evil but more misunderstood taken from his home world. He was very sympathetic. Like King Kong he fought to the end in triumphant death atop the Colosseum in Italy like Gladiator of old. This is Ray Harryhausen at his best with his greatest creation. I will never forget the photos I saw of the monster in Famous Monsters of Filmland as my cousin furthered my interest as he had seen the film. Had to wait many years later to finally see it on television. Now with the advent of dvd I can watch it any time and I watch it quite a bit. From, Michael Aguilar, Coolidge, AZ. And p.s. Don't forget that next year is the 50th Anniversary of the Beast from 20'000 Fathoms and that the monster will appear in my next film. I will let you know on the progress of the film. Don't have this one? Get it at Creepy Classics on DVD! For details on the CREEPY CLASSICS' MOVIE NIGHTS, click here.
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First the good part. Ray Harryhausen, His models and effects in this movie are superb. He really pushes the envelope in the dynamation department, with more human contact than ever before, some real powerful scenes, and a LOT of animation. One scene that sticks out to me as being incredibly difficult to pull off is the electric net scene, that must have been a pain to animate! The beginning rocket is also nifty. Ray's attempts at generating sympathy and pathos are good as well, things that he never had the opportunity to do with the Rhedosaur, Octopus and Saucers. He was returning to the roots of Kong and Joe Young. 
3 Minutes: The spaceship sinking into the Mediterranean seems to have inspired a similar shot in PLANET OF THE APES.
56 Minutes: The capture of the creature is clearly inspired by the capture of KING KONG. I toggle between the black-and-white and colorized versions. The Ymir is mottled green in color.
EVFS so much more than this one. They both has the goofy, supposed to be
