20 Million Miles to Earth

Rating:
Summary: Dosent Age Well, but good for the kids or first time viewers
Review: When first seeing this movie as child I was enthralled by the Ymir and his short and tormented sojourn here on earth. But as I viewed it as an adult, I realized that this is more like a short story you could read in the length of time it takes to watch the movie.

No real plot except to showcase the wonderfull Harryhausen stop motion effects. Creatures comes to earth, wreaks havoc, killed by the army. No grand mythology here as in the Sinbad movies and none of the heavy scifi stuff we got in the "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" but glad that he did it anyways. So if you or your family havent seen it, please do check it out. But dont expect to be replaying it over and over like you might other Harryhausen pics.

P.S. It is my understanding that Ray Harryhausen stripped the Ymir model to use the skeleton for building the Cyclops for Seventh Voyage of Sindbad and now only a plaster cast model remains in his home.

RIP Ymir

Rating:
Summary: Ray Harryhausen's classic Sci-Fi Creature Creation
Review: "Twenty Million Miles to Earth" is a superb example of 1950's sci-fi story telling and special effects at their very best. The film has so many different things to offer a sci-fi buff like myself, top notch work by genius Ray Harryhausen, wonderful on-location photography in the beautiful Eternal City Rome, and one of the best monster creations of the entire 1950's decade in the famed "Ymir" from Venus. Indeed "monster" is not really an appropiate title in this case for this visitor from beyond the stars is a creature very much in the "King Kong" mode of being a sympathetic victim of man's lack of care and understanding in bringing him out of his own environment into a strange new world he does not understand.

"Twenty Million Miles to Earth" tells the tale of the return to Earth of the first exploration spaceship to reach the planet Venus. Unfortunately the ship crash lands into the sea just off the coast of Sicily killing all crew members with the exception of Col. Robert Calder (William Hopper). Just prior to it sinking the local Italian fishermen manage to save the Colonel and one of the local boys Pepe (Bart Braverman in an endearing performance)finds a strange capsule washed up on the coast after the ship sinks. Unaware of its strange contents which in actual fact is a baby creature found on Venus by the crew and preserved in a liquid, it is sold off to Dr. Leonardo (Frank Puglia) who decides to take the strange creature to Rome. However what is soon discovered is that the creature begins to grow at an alarming rate until it is twenty feet tall and then breaks loose and roams the countryside looking for food and protection. Many memorable moments occur as the creature tries to cope in its new world from the unforgettable attack in the farmers barn to its eventual capture under an electric net by the army. Once taken to Rome where it is housed in Rome's Zoo the creature revives and goes on a frantic rampage throughout the city destroying famous sites in the eternal city along the way. The climax of the story in shades of "King Kong", takes place atop the Colosseum where after a stirring fight the poor creature is shot down by the army.

Ray Harryhausen excelled himself with his creation for this film. The Ymir from Venus, despite its scaley appearance and threatening reptilian manner takes on a whole character of its own and in the scenes of it going on a rampage you can almost feel its frustration and panic as it is cornered and pursued by soldiers and shot at. It certainly is one of Harryhausen's greatest creations and a real joy for Sci-Fi buffs and there numerous wonderful stop motion scenes created for this classic story. Memorable are the creatures rampage through the old Roman Forum, his battle with the elephant in the streets of Rome and all the scenes that take place at the climax within the Colosseum. Actors and storyline really take second place to the action particulary in the second half of the film but William Hooper and romantic female lead Joan Taylor do well in their respective roles which may not be too challenging but are delivered with a certain degree of conviction.

For all lovers of 1950's science fiction "Twenty Million Miles to Earth" is one of the very best examples of movie making in this genre. Long before computer generated special effects removed any real artistry from monster construction, efforts like this showed the brilliance of earlier film makers who worked for months often to create their special effects that have a charm and vivacity all their own. This is a classic "monster on the rampage" story but it is one with a fascinating "Lead Monster" who will definately get you on side. Enjoy classic 1950's Sci-Fi adventure with the Ymir from Venus in "Twenty Million Miles to Earth".

Rating:
Summary: Not that bad. Actually very exciting and good!
Review: This typical nice 50's scince fiction thriller is about this spacecraft crashing in Italy from Venus that uncovers only 1 human survivor, and a growing organism brought back from the planet. The survivor meets a girl in a hospital and falls in love with her. Then, the otganism starts growing, and finally gets in the stage of a human sized monster. In one of my favorite scenes, after the monster had killed a farmer stabbing him in the back with a pitchfork, the scientist and his men go by the torn up body of the dog and the farmer without even flinching!!! Ha ha! I like the later parts in the film when the monster as big as King Kong throws stone bricks on soldiers, crushing the life out of them!!! Finally, foreign gasfire overcomes the monster, and the scientist marries the girl. No more info needed, so enjoy this little campy sci fi flick with popcorn and Root Beer...

Rating:
Summary: 20 Million Miles: Still Packs a Wallop
Review: There is a handful of horror/big bug movies from the 50s that the astute viewer can usually spot right away. A large and dangerous creature is either brought to earth from outer space or is roused from a long state of suspended animation to wreak havoc on a densely populated city. Army units are trucked in to battle the creature and soldiers carrying M1 rifles leap out to face a monster that is given face and form by the master of slow motion animatronics, Ray Harryhausen. In 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, the obvious dating of the film does not detract from the audience's enjoyment of a creature that curiously enough brings in a number of cinematic subtexts. The first is the punishment that humanity invariably incurs when it dares to Learn Things Man Was Not Meant To Uncover. In this case, a seventeen crewman rocket ship returns from Venus to crash into the sea off Sicily. A tiny reptile/human hybrid survives the crash only to grow every day to outsized proportions. The havoc the reptile dumps on Rome is a not so subtle reminder of the dangers that Prometheus faced when he too tried to steal fire and thunder from the gods. A second subtext is the constant clashing between scientists who wish to study a dangerous creature and the military who wish to kill it for the same reason. Remember in THE THING when scientist Robert Cornthwaite dashed up to the marauding plantman to shout, 'You are wiser than we. They (pointing to the miliary types) wish to kill you.' In 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, director Nathan Juran tries a clever reverse by having a US Army colonel played by William Hopper take on the politically myopic scientist role who begs the Italian mayor to spare the creature in the name of science. Then finally there is the eternal Hollywood custom of subordinating the educated and lovely female scientist (Joan Taylor) to the two-fisted uniformed manly male (Hopper) so that a romance blossoms even as the creature romps in their very midst.

I had not seen this movie for nearly twenty years until I bought it on VC, and I was astonished at how well I remembered the plot. The special effects by Ray Harryhausen are still second to none. In fact, Harryhausen's genius brought in a final subtext. His ability to make the creature bounce and move gave it a personality that I immediately connected to King Kong. Both were creatures that ruled their respective home planets. Both were neither evil nor amoral. They simply acted in accordance to a nature that humanity refused to acknowledge. And both sought higher ground at the end with each trumpeting out a final roar of defiance before overwhelming military might. The emotions that well up in the one's heart as he sees what happens when strong and independent animals clash against man and his infinitely confusing artificial laws leave one with the unsettling notion that perhaps there really are Things Man Is Not Supposed to Know. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH says this as well as any film can.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful sci-fi
Review: This is one of the better done "creature features" of the golden age. The creature has a realistic look and the direction of Juran is very good. The creature is mostly harmless until the human race decides to "study" him with the help of bullets, a pitchfork and electric shock. Torturing a creature that grows two or three feet a day is not wise. This they learn as the movie moves along. One of best of the genre.

Rating:
Summary: "A strange animal. Like nothing you're ever seen before..."
Review: "20 Million Miles to Earth" offers a pair of interesting oddities when it comes to the realm of Fifties science fiction films. First, the monster comes from Venus, which, you have to admit, is pretty unusual. Usually Venus produces beautiful blondes, not reptilian bipeds. Second, the monster runs amuck in Rome, whereas we tend to expect the creature from another planet to wreck havoc on New York (or Tokyo if it is a terrestrial monster). This is a rather low-keyed story, where the chief pleasures are derived from Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion special effects. As our thrilling story begins an American spaceship returns from Venus and crashes off the shore of Sicily. Only one astronaut, Colonel Robert Caulder (William Hopper) survives, to be tended by Marisa Leonardo (Joan Taylor) an almost doctor, who feels no need to feign an Italian accent, unlike others in the cast, although most of the accents sound more Spanish than anything else to my ear (as does some of the ethnic music). Even more amazing, it takes a while for anybody from the government, local or American, to show up for the spaceship's crew (at which point the locals are confused by the idea of visiting Venus rather than Venice, which makes me somewhat surprised the climatic battle is not in the city of canals).

Meanwhile, Pepe, a boy from the local fishing village who drams of earning 200 lire to buy a cowboy hat, discovers a strange egg, which he promptly sells to Dr. Leonardo (Frank Puglia). The small creature grows rapidly and eventually attains a heigh of 20 feet as it starts cutting a path of destruction through the streets of the Eternal City. Fortunately Colonel Caulder is around to offer helpful exposition (apparently the crew discovered you cannot breathe on Venus, but only after many of them stopped dropping dead), but the film comes down to Harryhausen's special effects with the Ymir and the pathos he creates for the creatures who is stranded on a planet millions and millions of miles from home (think King Kong with scales). This is mainly because every time the action focuses on the humans the dumb dialogue really starts to get to you. Still, it is nice to go back to those good old days when a couple of American military officers could throw around a bunch of lire and do what they want in a foreign country where everybody apparently understands English if they are not actually speaking the language. "20 Million Miles to Earth" is pure B-movie entertainment, owing all of its success entirely to Harryhausen's stop motion animation with the Ymir, because you will end up rolling your eyes at just about everything else in this 1957 film (unless, of course, you have yet to hit puberty and are inclined to giggle at the insipid romance between the astronaut and the almost doctor).

Finally, boys and girls, let us consider the scientific validity of the title. Is Venus 20 million miles from earth? Well, Venus is 67 million miles from the sun and the Earth is 93 million miles from the sun. So that is a difference of 26 million miles, BUT that assumes the two planets are on the same side of the sun and on the same plane and all sorts of other fun things. At any given moment the planets could be anywhere from 26 million to 160 million miles away from each other. But would a title "26 to 160 Million Miles From Earth" really work? I think not.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie.....but widescreen?????
Review: I've really liked this movie since I was a kid. I'll spare you my analysis of it...enough people have done that already in their reviews. My comments are directed to the so-called "widescreen" version. This DVD has both full-screen and widescreen.....but they're both the same. The widescreen version is simply the full-screen with black bars superimposed. It is so obvious. The studio is ripping you off. I have found several other DVDs that are like this. Somebody needs to raise a red flag.

Rating:
Summary: Better than ever on DVD!
Review: Wow! This is just no comparing this pristine transfer to ANY previously-available format. If you're a fan of black & white movies, you'll appreciate the job Columbia has done with this one. As for the movie, it's somewhat less fanciful than much of Harryhausen's work. A terrific Italian setting, possibly THE best stop-motion creation from the Master (love those mouth movements!), and a lean script make for 83 fun-filled minutes.

Note: If you've got the Sinbad movies or some of the other Harryhausen DVD's, you've already got all the extras here. If not, THE HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES, hosted by Leonard Nimoy, will be a real treat for you. In fact, I only held back one star in the rating because of the complete lack of new supplemental materials.

Rating:
Summary: 20 Million Miles To Earth
Review: Comparing this release to any other format you might have seen is
like the clearing of a fog! Anyone who is too young to have seen
this film in it's original 35mm theatrical release will be delighted with the spectacular detail and clearity of one of Ray Harryhausen's most original creations. Most 50s sci fi suffers when the viewer gets a closer look. But Harryhausen only gets better! This is a must have DVD!!!

Rating:
Summary: REIGN OF A REAL MONSTER!
Review: Since we're being constantly disappointed with Hollywood's monster movies, so-called, of today....check out the classics like this one, stop-motion genius, Ray Harryhausen's, 20 Million Miles to Earth! Boasting a cool alien, the "Ymir" with a King-Kong-type complex going on...a unique setting, Italy, and classic B&W photography and you've got a great time on your hands...