Rating: 
Summary: It! The Essence of 50's Sci-Fi!
Review: Let's face "It," you either love 50's sci-fi, or you don't! If you are one of the lucky who love it, then this is, unquestionably, another of those movies that you'll surely love. It has everything a 50's sci-fi lover loves: painted outer space backdrops, a rubber-suit monster, subservient female astronauts, and a classic missle-shaped rocketship with a sparkler propulsion system. Yes, it's classic 50's sci-fi, and this is the essence of it's charm. It has all the standard nostalgia that the lover's of it's kind have grown to expect and endear. This is the type of movie that should be forgiven for the limitations of it's time and appreciated for it's story--a story which is actually, on it's own, exceptionally good for any time. Yes, any lover of the genre will appreciate it's originality--the fact that never before had a monster been brought back from an alien planet on a ship. Never before had a monster on a ship picked-off astronauts one by one, as it slipped through air ducts. Yes, this reminds me of another of my all-time favorite films from another time and place. "It" also reminds me that great special effects are only a small part of what makes a movie a classic. So, sit back, turn out the lights, forget what the year is and where you are, and enjoy It!
Rating:
Summary: It! The Essence of 50's Sci-Fi!
Review: Let's face "It," you either love 50's sci-fi, or you don't! If you are one of the lucky who love it, then this is, unquestionably, another of those movies that you'll surely love. It has everything a 50's sci-fi lover loves: painted outer space backdrops, a rubber-suit monster, subservient female astronauts, and a classic missle-shaped rocketship with a sparkler propulsion system. Yes, it's classic 50's sci-fi, and this is the essence of it's charm. It has all the standard nostalgia that the lover's of it's kind have grown to expect and endear. This is the type of movie that should be forgiven for the limitations of it's time and appreciated for it's story--a story which is actually, on it's own, exceptionally good for any time. Yes, any lover of the genre will appreciate it's originality--the fact that never before had a monster been brought back from an alien planet on a ship. Never before had a monster on a ship picked-off astronauts one by one, as it slipped through air ducts. Yes, this reminds me of another of my all-time favorite films from another time and place. "It" also reminds me that great special effects are only a small part of what makes a movie a classic. So, sit back, turn out the lights, forget what the year is and where you are, and enjoy It!
Rating: 
Summary: Attack of the Martian Hitchhikers!
Review: Marshall Thompson is the sole surviving member of the first expedition to Mars (in 1973 - Americans were very optimistic, in 1958), and the second expedition is bringing him back to Earth for court-martial on suspicion of having turned Alfred Packer to survive the harsh Martian clime. Thompson's story is that an unseen Martian animal killed his men. (Pfft - ! Who hasn't heard that one, before?) It isn't too long before the second ship's crew believes him, however, because Thompson's never-glimpsed beastie has hitched a ride back to Earth with them, and is an especially violent killer...This was the inspiration for the much more famous Alien, twenty years later, and surprisingly is almost as good. The production is imminently cheaper, of course, but that hardly matters. The Martian monster (stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan in a fairly convincing zippered rubber suit with especially nasty claws) is pretty ghastly and near-indestructible, and creative use of light and shadow enhance its menace. The cast perform with conviction, and are generally more believable than the standard stock characters usually attached to this sort of thing. The effective soundtrack is lifted straight from the preceding year's almost equally good sci-fi B-flick, Kronos.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie That Started It All
Review: One of the latest additions to my movie collection is the classic movie It! This is a ground breaking film full of all the things that make some of these movies so enjoyable. A rescue mission is sent to Mars to find survivors from a crash. One survivor is found and he is charged with the deaths of the rest of the crew as he has no explanation for their disappearance. But before they leave the surface, something gets into the ship and soon the crew becomes aware that something is not right on the ship. Then the bodies are found and the crew goes on the defensive. Impervious to bullets and grenades and capable of tearing open the hatches, the creature poses an immediate threat to everyone on board. What follows are scenes of the crew trying to stop the creature and remain alive. It! is possibly the first film dealing with an unstoppable monster on a ship. For its age, this film is quite violent. There are hilarious scenes where the female members of the crew are left to clear the tables while the men sit and talk. File cabinets fill the ship. Other low tech equipment abounds. A fun film and a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie That Started It All
Review: One of the latest additions to my movie collection is the classic movie It! This is a ground breaking film full of all the things that make some of these movies so enjoyable. A rescue mission is sent to Mars to find survivors from a crash. One survivor is found and he is charged with the deaths of the rest of the crew as he has no explanation for their disappearance. But before they leave the surface, something gets into the ship and soon the crew becomes aware that something is not right on the ship. Then the bodies are found and the crew goes on the defensive. Impervious to bullets and grenades and capable of tearing open the hatches, the creature poses an immediate threat to everyone on board. What follows are scenes of the crew trying to stop the creature and remain alive. It! is possibly the first film dealing with an unstoppable monster on a ship. For its age, this film is quite violent. There are hilarious scenes where the female members of the crew are left to clear the tables while the men sit and talk. File cabinets fill the ship. Other low tech equipment abounds. A fun film and a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: Before Alien There Was IT!
Review: One of the latest additions to my video collection is the classic movie It! This is a groundbreaking film full of all the things that make some of these movies so enjoyable. A rescue mission is sent to Mars to find survivors from a crash. One survivor is found and he is charged with the deaths of the rest of the crew as he has no explanation for their disappearance. But before they leave the surface, something gets into the ship. The crew becomes aware that something is not right on the ship. Then the bodies are found and the crew goes on the defensive. Impervious to bullets and grenades and capable of tearing open the hatches the creature poses an immediate threat to everyone on board. What follows are scenes of the crew trying to stop the creature and remain alive. It! is possible the first film dealing with the unstoppable monster on a ship. For its age, this film is quite violent. There are hilarious scenes where the female members of the crew are left to clear the tables while the men sit and talk. File cabinets fill the ship. Other low tech equipment abounds. A fun film and a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: Before Alien There Was IT!
Review: One of the latest additions to my video collection is the classic movie It! This is a groundbreaking film full of all the things that make some of these movies so enjoyable. A rescue mission is sent to Mars to find survivors from a crash. One survivor is found and he is charged with the deaths of the rest of the crew as he has no explanation for their disappearance. But before they leave the surface, something gets into the ship. The crew becomes aware that something is not right on the ship. Then the bodies are found and the crew goes on the defensive. Impervious to bullets and grenades and capable of tearing open the hatches the creature poses an immediate threat to everyone on board. What follows are scenes of the crew trying to stop the creature and remain alive. It! is possible the first film dealing with the unstoppable monster on a ship. For its age, this film is quite violent. There are hilarious scenes where the female members of the crew are left to clear the tables while the men sit and talk. File cabinets fill the ship. Other low tech equipment abounds. A fun film and a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: Un-B-lieva-B-ly Scary FUN
Review: Thanks to her 17-year-old son this mother has made acquaintance with Edward L. Cahn, noted director of 50s-era B scifi flicks. And I'm pleased to have done, too! Whatever upper-crusty film society generally opines (or not) of B movies, Cahn's works are more than respectable. They're intelligent, stylish and noteworthy and have proved the inspiration for several other efforts in the scifi genre. As pointed out, IT became the inspiration for ALIEN.
The plot involves a disturbingly unstoppable creature that wanders aboard a spaceship (which is big and shiny and doesn't wobble awful much while cruising the starry depths of space) from off of the planet Mars (the Mars-scape is delightfully arty) and proceeds upon a feeding spree. No one is safe, time is running out for the eight men and two women on board. (The women are a nice touch. They serve coffee smilingly, and when disaster strikes provide blood transfusions and suitably worried expressions.) What, if anything, will successfully halt IT that flinches not at electric currents strong enough to kill 30 men, and nuclear radiation powerful enough to put down 100?
Well. I shan't give away the ending ~ and it's a clever one, too. Cahn's budget might have been miniscule but his efforts and ideas weren't. And incidentally, this movie made big money. In goodly part because of its A+ plot, A+ monster, and nifty B movie fun.
Rating:
Summary: DVD - Not in Color as advertised, but better in B&W
Review: The "Technical Details" says its in "color", and the DVD jewel case says "color", but it is in Black & White. Personally, I prefer it this way, and am happy. This is a top-notch Sci-Fi . The Video is about a 4 out of 5, but the audio is about a 2. I recorded better audio off of an AMC showing of this movie, so there's really no excuse. I bought two of these, so unless the whole batch was made incorrectly, they are NOT in color and the audio is poor, but I still prefer this particluar movie in B&W, so I gave it 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: It. Better than Alien?!
Review: The 50's. Who can explain it? The decade seems more other worldly than the movies. Why do all these movies begin with "It" and "Them" and the "Thing" for example? Some government mind control plot, perhaps? Or maybe Commie propagnda? If you freeze frame "It" on a close up of the creatures face you can definately see Lenin's profile. I saw this movie when I was about 8 and It scared the crap out of me. The monster looked very scary. And the way he could tear through everything, including the steel bulkheads, made him seem unstoppable. Bullets, gas, electricity, fire and grenades. Nothing could stop him! Even his blood contained a deadly bacteria that infected all those he touched. Talk about your "Terror!". There are some wonderfully amateurish cuts and bloopers. Watch as Gino, the first crewman killed, comically tries to spit out the cigarette that sticks to his lip as he sees the creature for the first and last time. They repeat the same soundtrack when they are making noise to distract the creature as 2 crewman sneak outside the ship and below to set up a trap for the creature. The acting is bad enough to be good. I actually cared about these innocent, inept actors. I enjoyed the lack of slickness and computerized special effects. I enjoyed seeing women serve men, even though they've earned the right to fly into space. I enjoyed boldly going where no man has... oops, sorry. There's a great look at the relationship between men and women before all that Men are from Mars crap. Afterall, as we all know the only thing that came from Mars is "It, The Terror From Beyond Space." Maybe "It" is a Freudian metaphor for Man. Primitive and unstoppable in a bad, rubber suit with all the social graces of your Dad. Now that's SCARY!!! In short. Good story. Good monster. Babes to be rescued. What more could you ask for? Hey take away Ridley Scott, multi-million dollar special effects, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skeritt, Harry Dean Stanton, etc. and what do you have? You've got it!
|
