Rating: 
Summary: A Ticket to the Roman Coliseum
Review: A long time ago, in a land far, far away, a young wide-eyed boy attended the local Saturday movie matinee. Here he met Ymir, the towering, bellowing monster from Venus who crash-lands on Earth in "20 Million Miles to Earth". The young boy was me. A routine story-line and a tepid romance do little for 1957's "20 Million Miles to Earth", but the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen has rarely been equaled. Like the early film classics, the monster here is portrayed with compassion and respect. It is one of Harryhausen's most sympathetic creations. Early in the movie, police and villagers chase the monster, evoking the original "Frankenstein". In the finale, the wounded beast clings to the crumbling walls of Rome's Coliseum(shades of 1933's "King Kong"). The references are not random. They're done with reverence. As a wide-eyed boy, Harryhausen first worked on 80% of the animation for "Mighty Joe Young" in 1949. At the end of his career, he was enlisted for Disney's charming remake of "Mighty Joe Young". This time he was an actor. He had come full cycle. 1957's "20 Million Miles to Earth" stars William Hopper(son of Hedda/father of Dennis) as Col. Calder, the astronaut assigned to tame the creature. Just a few years later, Hopper would become immortalized on TV's "Perry Mason". This handsome Columbia TriStar 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is nearly pristine. The generous DVD has 2 trailers, a promo for Harryhausen's "7th Voyage of Sinbad", and a one-hour documentary from 1997: "The Harryhausen Chronicles". It sparkles with clips from every fantasy feature this Academy Award-winning animator has enhanced. It's astounding. "20 Million Miles to Earth" is not a classic. The story creaks here and there. But the special effects resonate back to hand-made, sympathetic creations considered far too expensive in today's world of rote CGI. More than anything, "20 Million" will appeal to young, wide-eyed little boys. No matter how old they are.
Rating:
Summary: Venus Sends Her Love
Review: If you love Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation monster movies, this one certainly won't disappoint. One of the FX-Meister's all-time best beasties - the "Ymir," as it is dubbed - is the star of the show. Actually, he's pretty much the only star of the show, the rest of the cast being composed of dubbed Italian actors.The Ymir starts his life as an adorable little lizard from Venus, who hatches with kittenish mews from the cutest little egg, and prances playfully around the coffee table. But he has a helluva metabolism. Before long, he's able to move the coffee table and half the living room set around all by himself, and then the living room - and the rest of the house - as well. Culturally deprived, the Ymir never saw King Kong, and fails to realize that tangling with circus elephants in public and climbing coliseums never comes to a good end. All in all, a memorable little special effects goodie.
Rating:
Summary: Sexy beast (from Venus)
Review: There is something endearing about 1950's B&W sci-fi...perhaps they are the visual equivalent of "comfort food". "20 Million Miles To Earth" is one of those films. Famed FX-meister Ray Harryhausen's creature (hatched from an egg brought to Earth by returning astronauts) is truly one of the creepiest and most affecting "stop motion" creations in the genre (with physical similarities that cast more than a little suspicion on the "creators" of the monster in the "Alien" films). Much standard "armed forces vs. the creature" mayhem ensues (and we all know that there's only one crowd-pleasing reason a monster scales a high object toward the end of a sci-fi film...thank you Isaac Newton). The mostly Italian cast provides unintentional chuckles in a "MST 3K" fashion, but Harryhausen's magic saves the day. And besides, how many films can you name that feature a WWF-style throwdown between an elephant and a lizard-primate from Venus?
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Great movie with amazing special effects by Ray Harryhausen the world's greatest
Rating: 
Summary: A Must For Harryhausen Fans!
Review: This is easily the best of Ray Harryhausen's earlier films, and although slight the story of a mission to Venus that accidentally returns a dangerous alien to earth serves the star of the film--Harryhausen's special effects--extremely well. Harryhausen is able to wring all sort of emotion from his creation, and you very quickly begin to respond to the YMIR as you would to a living, breathing performer. One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the sympathy it creates for its monster: like King Kong and the Frankenstein Monster, the YMIR never asked to be brought into this world, and although it must be destroyed for the safety of others you can't help but feel sorry for the creature, who clearly wishes that every one would just leave it the heck alone. It's an amazing feat of Harryhausen's art, and a must have for any fan of stop-motion animation.
Rating:
Summary: Ray Harryhausen made this film
Review: I have watched this movie many times and always I am amazed at the genius of Ray Harryhausen. The way the little creature from venus rubs his eyes and moves is incredible, but his screams become more unnerving as time passes. Somehow I tend to feel sorry for the alien creature and think to myself, "welcome to planet earth". Keep in mind however that without the special effects created by Mr. Harryhausen the movie would be real bad based on the existing screenplay.
Rating:
Summary: Harryhausen is an Auteur!
Review: I really enjoyed 20,000,000 Million Miles to Earth...This movie is Harryhausen all the way...his effects so dominate the flm that the rest of the film seems like foundation for Harryhausen's inventiveness...there's an awesome effect at the start, too--the huge futuristic looking USA ship sinking into the water...Harryhausen can even make an elephant seem mythic and alien, as he does in the climactic fight btwn Ymir and this mammal...A pity Herrmann didnt score this one, but it's a treat just the same. Harryhausen's creatures are so absurdly touching that they make you hate the petty humans trying to annihilate them!
Rating:
Summary: Not Quite One Of Benjamin's Favorites
Review: This is a very tight, well made movie. It has a very cool spaceship, a monster, explosions and army guys. Basically everything the little guy looks for, but the big problem here is that this one makes Mommy cry. The monster isn't trying to hurt anyone. It just wants to get along, but people just keep getting in the way. In the end it has to be killed.
Rating:
Summary: Ray Harryhausen's Best
Review: This is classic Harryhausen and one of his best. I saw this movie in a German theater when I was six years old. It made such an impression, that after 43 years of not having seen the movie, I still remember key parts of the story. Old as the movie is, it still has a nostalgic charm that is intensely interesting. It's a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Sulfur unto me
Review: I can not believe that some reviewers do not believe that there is a Ymir of life on Venus. Could be hot enough to drink their sulfur for breakfast. Next thing they are going to say is that the earth is not hollow with a whole in the top. Then there are those that say this is a cheesy story. Don't they know Ray Harryhausens does not use cheese for his effects? My favorite reviews is the one that gives this movie class, with such words as pathos and maudlin. This is just an enjoyable creature movie with some people interaction and a question of what you do with a misplaced Ymir. See William Hopper tackle something a bit bigger in The Deadly Mantis (1957) ASIN: 6302763916
|
