20 Million Miles to Earth

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Summary: 20 Million Miles to Earth
Review: This Harryhausen classic is a must and should be a part of any monster movie genre collection. There are many human interest stories besides the memorable fight scenes. The love connection between the scientists' daughter and the male lead, the Italian fishing village, the young boy who wants to be like the American space travelers, and the Ymir who was monster-napped and is just trying to protect himself. My personal favorite, besides the elephant fight scene, is the clay figure of the farmer battling the Ymir in the barn with the pitchfork. Each time I watch this film, I remember how much Ray Harryhausens' creativity has influenced my life.

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Summary: HARRYHAUSEN'S MAGIC TOUCH
Review: Ray Harryhausen's genius as an artist, sculptor and animator is shown off to great effect in the classic but nearly forgotten 1957 black and white monster movie "20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH" available for the first time in a digitally mastered DVD.

The story may be trite and the screenplay not particularly noteworthy, but the illusion of life given the Ymir, a reptilian biped creature brought unwillingly from Venus to earth as an egg, is truly astonishing, and sometimes grotesquely beautiful. Even more amazingly, we respond to the Ymir as a living, breathing creature. Just knowing it's not an actor in a monster suit nor a drawn cartoon adds immeasurably to the effect. After it hatches, the small gestures as it rubs its eyes and reacts to light in the increasingly hostile earthly environment make it particularly endearing. In fact, we are inclined to root for this alien beast as it fights to survive while traveling from a tiny Sicilian fishing village to Rome where, of course, it wreaks havoc as a now understandably angry behemoth with very destructive proclivities. The black and white photography, no doubt a result of budget concerns, is especially dynamic and appropriately moody with scenes richly shadowed. This new edition includes nice wide and full screen transfers as well as trailers and featurettes.

Ray Harryhausen's life was inexorably changed when, as a teen, he saw "King Kong" (1933) at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood. The life-like puppet animation of the great ape by Willis O'Brien so captured his fancy that Ray went home and immediately attempted to duplicate the effects, making dinosuar models and animating them -- at 24 moves for every second of finished film -- within his own detailed miniature sets and hand-painted backgrounds.

His early efforts were quite good and his parents encouraged Ray to continue with his hobby which, in fact, was becoming more of an obsession. He even cut up one of his mother's fur coats to make a lifelike pelt for one of his creations -- and was not reprimanded. In 1938, at a science fiction club, he met another teen named Ray -- Ray Bradbury -- who had similar interests. They encouraged each other and became life-long friends. Harryhausen went to art school near Los Angeles. The quality of his designs and miniatures greatly improved and soon he was invited by his idol, Willis O'Brien, to work on the stop-motion ape movie "Mighty Joe Young."

In the age of eye-popping, super photorealistic computer generated animation, there's still something uniquely enthralling about seeing the interaction of fantastical three dimensional creatures with human actors. Maybe it's the hands-on-touch of these clay, fur and metal-armatured creations that gives them the illusion of life in a way that CGI can never achieve. Even the tiny flaws and mistakes -- like the uneven movement of fur and sometimes even the fleeting fingerprints of the animators -- add an element of emotional realism that is hard to describe in words alone. The mind knows the puppet is not alive but the eye and heart appreciate the art to such a degree that one is filled with astonishment and affection at this hand-crafted art. This is something much more than merely the willing suspension of disbelief that all the story-telling arts demand. And no man did it better than Ray Harryhausen. He has referred to the craft as "playing God by molding life from clay." And maybe that's the truer subtext of the metaphor to which we respond with such delight and wonder.

Columbia/Tristar also distributes on DVD Harryhausen's "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger," "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jason and the Argonauts" the latter with the incredible fighting skeletons, perhaps Harryhausen's most widely praised sequence.

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Summary: Definately One of the Best!
Review: Really only one word can describe this film: awesome! Everything about this movie is awesome! And this is no ordinary monster movie from the 50s. Harryhausen and the film crew took very special care in making this film. While it is a B movie, it doesn't seem like it. The story is well written and the Ymir is a monster that you will love and sympathize for rather than hating him. The only complaint I have about the film is that the Ymir didn't get as much screen time as he should have. But the ending of the film is worth it since he is in just about every scene within the last ten or so minutes.
The acting is decent but nothing worth applauding about. A little Italian kid gets annoying during the first half of the movie.
Overall, it's a classic monster film that will really appeal more to die-hard fans of the genre, little kids, and people who grew up watching these movies.

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Summary: Great Monster Fun, 50s-Style
Review: There's really not much to this one. Earth sends a spacecraft to Venus, it comes back with an alien life form that starts out at six inches high then grows into a 20-foot beast that wreaks havoc on the city, etc., etc. Character depth? Why bother, this monster has a lot of character on its own. Plot intricacies? What the heck for, the monster is on a rampage and has to be stopped, what more do you want?

That's 50s sci-fi for you. No frills storytelling, and it's darn good fun. But what makes this entry especially enjoyable is, you guessed it, the monster itself. The Ymir (curiously, that name is never mentioned in the film) is another in the long list of stop-motion wizard Ray Harryhausen's creations. Unlke many of the mythology-based creatures in his other films, this one was entirely his own design, and let me say this, it looks really great. It's a neat mix of reptilian features reminiscent of the dinosaurs and humanoid form with fully-developed and functional arms (a decidedly non-dinosaur feature). Now that's cool.

I mentioned earlier that the monster has a lot of character. It really does. This isn't your basic carnivorous beast that devours any living thing in its path. It feeds on sulphur (!), and is actually non-aggressive. In one unforgettable scene, the Ymir stops and growls at a grazing sheep, then walks right by, leaving the sheep unharmed. (The growl probably translates roughly as, "excuse me, do you know where I can find some sulphur? You don't? Ok, thank you.")

The problems start when the humans, in their typical fear of what they don't know or understand, set out to destroy the creature. Naturally, it becomes violent. What the humans don't know is, the big guy is really just an unfortunate victim of circumstances that wants to be left alone. But then again, how do you leave a 20-foot Ymir alone?

Speaking of leaving things alone, this was Harryhausen's last black-and-white film. Nobody better even think about releasing a computer-colored version. That would take away so much of the nostalgic enjoyment we classic sci-fi fans get from watching films like this.

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Summary: Don't Overlook This Little Miracle.
Review: My review is aimed primarily at viewers who have not seen this film and who are serious Harryhausen fans ( I mean viewers who realize that Harryhausen is a genuine artist and not just a Hollywood entertainer) and who are willing to make the effort to deepen their understanding and appreciation of his work.
Let me begin by noting that 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH has, unfortunately, some of those characteristics that make so many 50's sci-fi/monster films very stimulating and very frustrating at once: it wastes so much precious time on all that typical tiresome tripe instead of feeding and building those essential sparks that alone make it worthwhile into the real and gratifying fire it could be. By the time it gets around to what matters the film is basically over.
This is one of those films.
BUT, BUT, dear reader, I am not contradicting myself in saying that this is one of Harryhausen's really important films because in spite of the mediocre work that other people bring to it, this is the film in which Harryhausen's genius fully breaks through into clear visibility. It is with the creation of the 'Ymir', the alien creature that is the CENTRAL CHARACTER of this film, that we first fully see Harryhausen's essential gift and vision. The Ymir is one of Harryhausen's finest and most sensitive creations. And ironically it is because of the mediocrity of the rest of this film that one can get a particularly focused look at the creature: It is like an eruption of deep, intense color and form against a bland gray background that is haunting and unforgettable. Don't buy this film because it is a great genre film, it isn't. Buy it because it is a fabulous introduction to the genius of Ray Harryhausen. Don't buy it for what it should have been: a classic of its type. Buy it for what it is: an unexpected little miracle in the midst of banality.
I can only laugh when people refer to Harryhausen's creations as 'dated'. The Ymir is alive, is en-souled, as no computer generated creature ever has been or probably ever will be.
Long live Ray Harryhausen!

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Summary: The best of Harryhausen's early work
Review: Released in June 1957, "20 Million Miles to Earth" is an important film in the canon of visual effects genius Ray Harryhausen. It was the last of the black and white science-fiction films he worked on during the 50s. It was also the first film based on one of his own ideas. It set the stage for his color fantasy films triumphs that would follow.

Harryhausen had originally developed a story about the frost giant Ymir from Norse mythology. He then changed the creature to a cyclops-satyr mix from another planet who rampages on modern Earth, but still kept the name Ymir. (The Cyclops-satyr would later show up in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.") When the film finally went before the cameras, the Ymir had become a humanoid-reptilian beast from Venus. Brought to Earth in a crashed rocket, the Ymir emerges as only a few inches high, but starts growing rapidly in the Earth's atmosphere. Originally peaceful, the Ymir is provoked into violence by frightened humans. The movie climaxes in Rome when the captive Ymir bursts loose and starts smashing famous monuments in the Eternal City.

The parallels to King Kong are obvious, and Harryhausen intended the Ymir to also be a sympathetic, misunderstood creature. He succeeded grandly: "20 Millions Miles to Earth" is Harryhausen's best early film. The direction from Nathan Juran and the human actors are perfunctory and clichéd, but the effects are still stunning today, and the Ymir is a superb actor. Designed along human lines, but with dinosaur features, the Ymir elicits strong emotions and exudes tremendous personality. The scene of it hatching from its 'pod' (made of gelatin) and exploring the strange world around it for the first time is one of the high points of Harryhausen's career, and a sequence of which he rightly feels great pride. The scene of the full-sized, fifteen-foot Ymir wrestling an elephant (also animated) is also a stunning piece of work.

(Harryhausen's love of the Ymir extended to late in his career. In his last film, "The Clash of the Titans," he used the Ymir as the basis for the design of the multiple-armed monster the Kraken -- the heads and bodies are almost the same.)

The DVD presents the film in widescreen format for the first time since its theatrical release. The image is crystal clear and lets Harryhausen's work shine. There are a few extras. "The Harryhausen Chronicles," a lengthy documentary, does an excellent overview of the man's career. This same documentary appears on most of Columbia's Harryhausen DVDs, so if you're a fan of the animator you've probably seen this before. Also included is a vintage featurette about the animation process, called "This is Dynamation." It was made for the release of "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad," so it actually has nothing to do with "20 Million Miles to Earth."

This is a must-have DVD for any Harryhausen fan and any admirer of 50s science fiction. It's one of the highlights of giant monster cinema.

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Summary: WHEN IN ROME
Review: This 1957 sci-fi thriller is most notable because of the continuing genius of Ray Harryhausen and the remarkable creature he gives us. William Hopper (of Perry Mason fame) is the sole survivor of a Venus expedition which has brough back with it a gellified glob that contains this remarkable creature. The monster is accidentally sold to a visiting scientist by a little boy (Bart Braverman in his first role). Lovely daughter Joan Taylor (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers) happens to be a medical student. The monster hatches, a cute little thing remarkable in its dexterity and in Harryhausens amazing muscular definition. Of course it grows, is captured by the army and sedated in Rome. An electrical malfunction occurs and the now gigantic creature is let loose on Rome. It fights a huge elephant and then meets its end in the Colosseum. Hopper is awful in his role, more artificial than the monster. But it's a fun ride, and what makes this DVD so special is the addition of "The Harryhausen Chronicles" which gives us a blow by blow glance at some of Harryhausen's magnificent creations: the horrifying Medusa in "Clash of the Titans"; the metal colossus in "Jason and the Argonauts"; the crab and bee on "Mysterious Island" and countless others.
Harryhausen was a genius, working pretty much on his own. In today's CGI special effects, it's hard to think of only one person being able to create such marvelous fx.
RECOMMENDED.

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Summary: Harryhausen's Best B&W Film
Review: After the success of "It Came from Beneath the Sea" and "Earth vs the Flying Saucers", Charles Schneer (producer) and Ray Harryhausen (effects) kept the ball rolling with this top notch sci-fi thriller. A Venus probe returns to earth with an alien egg. Once it hatches, the earth's atmosphere causes the alien to grow to gigantic proportions. Harryhausen's last B&W film contains his best effects up to 1957. The creature is believable and scary, especially in the barn sequence. The combination of animated monster and real backgrounds is impressive, especially when you consider when this movie was made.
Today teams of men and dozens of computers create effects. Back in 1957, Harryhausen alone created amazingly lifelike creatures. When you see one of his films, you'll want to see them all.

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Summary: A good example of the 50's Science Fiction Films
Review: This is a good genre film and cult movie. Don't expect something as fancy or artistic as Murnau's Nosferatu. This a B movie. However, it has some attractive of its own.
The Ymir was really well animated for its time (OK, for today's standards, the "stop motion" technique might seem a little bit crude), but you can't help but notice that, although the creature looks fake, it "feels" real. Once again, Harryhausen shows his mastery.

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Summary: Film has not aged well at all.....
Review: In the mid-1950's, Colombia Pictures did more then their fair share of creature features. But not a lot of them were any good. Case in point is this disapointment from 1955. Made alongside It Came From Beneath The Sea, it also suffers from a low budget, terrible script, and bad casting. The Ymir really looks like a "creature test" that Ray was doing in order to create the more realistic effects work of the Cyclops in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad", as that movie was done in a much more creative/entertaining/and style way which is really lacking in this film.