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Summary: A Note about the reviews...
Review: The film's great; no two ways; a classic of the genre for sure. But folks, just as an FYI: To "review" a film means to give your opinion about it and to touch on a scene or two, NOT to reiterate the whole plot, sometimes in tedious detail, and ultimately ruin it for those who haven't seen it. Talk about the film, don't do a scene-for-scene description. Thanks
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Summary: Groundbreaking Fantasy
Review: The first giant rampaging monster of all time is probably the brontosaurus from "Lost World" (1925). Of course, King Kong followed in 1933, and became a massive hit. Over the years, Kong was rereleased many times. In 1952, the studio decided to release Kong one more time before selling it to TV. This '52 release was so popular, that other studios decided to make their own rampaging beast. Producer Jack Dietz was the first to jump on the bandwagon. He independently adapted Bradbury's "Foghorn" into "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms". AT a raw cost of $200,000, "Beast" was made, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen (his first solo project). Warner Brothers bought the film from Dietz, added new music, publicized the hell out of it, and made several million dollars with this low budget monster romp.
The effects are extremely well done considering the year, and Harryhausen was on his way to surpassing stop motion innovator Willis O'Brien in terms of popularity."Beast" was the surprise hit of 1953, and it in turn spawned "Godzilla" and "Them". You could say "Beast" paved the way for the sci-fi boom of the fifties, aided by "Day the Earth Stood Still" and "The Thing".
If you've never seen any of the black and white "ancient" films, give them a try. Due to limited budgets, they often relied on ingenuity and imagination to tell their stories, and you'll be surprised by their quality.
Ray Harryhausen has become a cult figure today, more popular than ever. He still appears at conventions and has a new book out "An Animated Life".
The initiated already have this movie. Let's hope some young people are turned on to the magic of Harryhausen.
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Summary: A fascinating comparison with the modern dinosaur story
Review: The last time I saw this movie was the same day I went to the theater to see the blockbuster "Jurassic Park". The two films represent two eras in American society and its fantasies about what dinosaurs could become in the atomic and nuclear ages, respectively.
You probably know "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" was awakened during an atom bomb test that somehow shocked Antarctica, then made its way from the frozen north to New York, where it dies on a rollercoaster by injection from a poison isotope. The stop action monster also capsizes a ship on the way, bites a New York cop on the head and picks him up, knocks over some tall buildings while inciting mayhem, and generally creates a furor in the scientific community.
All the while, this creature (from the pre-sequel movie days) was viewed as an enemy to be feared and destroyed, never to be seen as a sympathic character out of his time and place. Everyone's goal was to identify the monster, find him and kill him. In the end, mankind was saved by slaying the dragon circa 1953.
Fast forward a half-century to the era of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants and nuclear bombs and "Jurassic Park" and see the difference in the way its beasts were created (by science, mad science perhaps), how they were perceived (as miracles of nature to be feared but never destroyed), and how we dealt with them (a bunch of us got eaten and we only killed them to get off the island in a pre-"Suvivor" test). All told, these are the differences between a matinee about a monster in 1953 and a science fiction flick about dinosaurs pushing the new millennium.
I think the comparison between these films is more appropriately the contrast between the 1950s, when we had the Red Menace as our enemy, and the post-USSR but pre-9/11 era of "Jurassic Park", a time in the optimistic 1990s when we had no enemy to slay. I think if we'd had one when "Jurassic Park" came out, its creatures would have been treated like monsters and slain, too.
For "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" was not really a monster invading New York, it was Communism invading New York, just like it tried to do in another 1953 movie, "Invasion U.S.A." And just as surely as we put the kibosh on that enemy from 120,000 feet below the surface, we would have similarly lowered the boom on Jurassic Park's residents if they'd reared their ugly heads after 9/11.
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Summary: classic monster movie...!
Review: The scene where the beast grabs the cop off the street head first and slurps him down has to be the best 'monster eats foolish human' scene ever in a monster movie! Definitely a classic! Ray Harryhausen is the master...!
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Summary: Atomic age monster with a twist
Review: The transfer quality on this DVD is excellent. Great picture and sound quality. The monster is very well done with the Harryhausen stop motion effects and without spoiling the movie i will just say,this resurected dino has a twist that makes him even more deadly than his obvious size and appetite. One of,if not the first monster spawned from the atom bomb. Great movie.
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Summary: Middling sci-fi adventure
Review: This film is an okay horror entry that packed a wallop in 1953 but is rather tame by today's standards. The special effects of the rhedosaurus are quite good when the beast rampages through lower Manhattan, showing the ferocious prehistoric dinosaur to chilling effect as it lurches through the streets with frightened New Yorkers fleeing for their lives. In one scene, a blind man with a cane is literally trampled by panicked citizens as they race for safety. There isn't much of a story here, just the trite formula of a beast being awakened by an atomic blast after being frozen in the Arctic tundra for ages. The rhedosaurus makes its way down the Northeast coast, destroying fishing vessels and lighthouses until it hits the Bowery. The cast is comprised of veteran character actors who try to corral the monster and destroy it. A good part of the film shows scientist Tom Nesbitt trying to convince people of the dinosaur's existence but nobody believes him until it's too late.
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Summary: Lame Ending Not Enough To Ruin Picture.
Review: This is a movie that misses a five star rating because of wasted opportunities. One such example involves the romance between Paul Christian and Paula Raymond.There is a lot of chemistry between the two actors.The dialogue and admiring looks they give each other are so well executed,its easy to believe they could have had an off-screen romance.But once the Beast begins his assault on New York City the relationship inexplicably goes out the window.Usually,when I do a 50's sci-fi review,I mention the love affair involving the two main characters.Now,I could care less whether theres a romance in these films or not.After all,thats not what these movies are about.But if you're going to include it in the script then FOLLOW THROUGH with it;otherwise your just wasting the viewers time. Another wasted opportunity comes at the end of the film when for some reason the Beast goes to the park and decides to hang out at the roller-coaster while the humans prepare to destroy him.Instead of rampaging like any self-respecting monster would be doing,it just paces back and forth giving the humans ample time to prepare their weapon,ride to the top of the coaster and shoot it in the throat,putting the Beast out of its misery. Despite the time I spent on these two points,these are actually minor quibbles.Because the real star of this film is Ray Harryhausens' spfx. The thing I enjoyed most about this movie was how Ray used darkness to such great effect.He uses it to hide what the creature looks like until the incredibly exciting attack on NYC.(You actually get a pretty good look at the monster towards the beginning,during the blizzard.But I dont think Ray intended the Beast to be that visible.)Then,after the initial attack on the city,the army battles the creature at night near power lines.As the Beast thrashes against the wires the screen begins to flash like a strobe light.It is highly imaginative and is my favorite scene in the film. Ok,I'm done.Buy the movie.
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Summary: A real fun "big monster" thriller.
Review: This is one of the best "giant menace on the loose" films and was, in fact, the first such film since KING KONG, even tho KONG was made 20 years earlier. Compare BEAST with more recent, similar, mega-budget flicks, and it comes out ahead! Cliched in some ways, yes, but this is where most of those cliches started. It is efficiently made, un-pretentious, and even includes some good acting. Cecil Kellaway is especially good as a skeptical scientist who loses his skepticism one minute before the Beast eats him. The Beast, by the way, is a fictional dinosaur species, but is very convincing as it rampages thru the concrete canyons of Manhattan. Once again, Ray Harryhausen proves himself the master of creating great special effects on a low budget. And wouldn't you LOVE to have that drawing via which our hero identifies the Beast?
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Summary: I love this monster!
Review: This is the first movie I remember seeing. I was about 5 or 6 and we went to the drive-in. Seeing the uncovering of the monster in the arctic and the unfolding plot with the monster moving from the arctic down the coast leaving distruction and mayhem and all that wonderful stuff left a love of this type of movie that has lasted for half a century and going strong. The acting wasn't the greatest but the monster was for the period when this was made. If you love the good old grade B monster movies like I do, don't miss this one.
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Summary: Godzilla's Anceaster
Review: This movie is not a very famous movie. The thing is it should be. The story's about a group of scientists that head to the artic to explore the poler icecaps. Suddenly there was an explosian. Two scientists were around the area. Out rose a monster larger than Taro, the sinbad dragon. A moster stong enough to be a powerful Godzilla foe. The beast caused an avelanch, killing one of the sientists and injuring the other. After that he new what he just saw was too terrifying to be real. But there was a humongus problem in his mind, it was. This movie should have been given more credit than it was for without this movie and without Rhedosaurus, we would have no Godzilla.
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