It Came from Outer Space

Rating:
Summary: They Came From Outer Space is a bit more accurate
Review: I love old movies. They are an entertaining glimpse into who we thought we were filtered through a fun house history mirror. It Came From Outer Space was a great movie when I was a kid. Like The Day The Earth Stood Still Bradbury's original film treatment focused on character and suspense at the expense of bug eyed monsters. The final film (changed from the original conception of Bradbury and director Jack Arnold) does have the BEMs but, luckily, Universal didn't evisorate the characters and thought provoking plot that drove the film.

Amateur astronomer John Putnam (the reliable and stoic Richard Carlson)witnesses what he believes to be a meteor striking the desolate desert surrounded his small town. It turns out to be -- surprise!--alien's with a major blow out that has incapacitated their space ship. These Xenomorphs begin to kidnap the locals and replacing them so that they can get the materials to repair their ship and keep a lid Carlson's wild story about their arrival.

Jack Arnold's subtle direction works wonders with the budget and the 3-D format. He manages to create a film that has aged exceedingly well. Bradbury's original concept is mostly intact as well. In fact, it sounds like screenwriter Harry Essex may have incorporated dialog from Bradbury's treatment largely intact during a number of important scenes.

It benefits from being create in the wake of The Day The Earth Stood Still and it also benefits from its unusual setting (the Desert). Sadly, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this DVD. Universal has done a great job of restoring this classic film. Unfortunately, they don't offer the option of viewing it in 3-D. That's a pity as Arnold made effective use of the gimmick using a number of subtle tricks (and a couple of dramatic ones as well) to artfully blend the 3-D format with the narrative of the film. Since It is presented on a dual layer disc, I'm surprised that Universal didn't figure out a way to present the film in it's element. Unfortunately, some of the film's most powerful sequences suffer from the flat presentation here. Given the extra effort that went into the restoration and the extras, it's a pity that Universal didn't go the extra mile and present this fine film in the format it worked best in.

The extras including the documentary (The Universe According to Universal)includes interviews with illustrator/collector Vincent Di Fate, film historians and collectors (such as Bob Burns). All discuss the circumstances around the making of the film as well as the impact it had when it was presented in its original format. Additionally, they bring up the little known fact that the creatures were never seen in the original cut that Jack Arnold prepared. Universal executives went back and took reshot a couple of sequences with shots of the aliens. While this doesn't work against the film, it would have been much more powerful with the aliens presence only suggested via Arnold's idea of showing the alien-human encounters from the alien's point of view.

The photograph and poster gallery is interesting but hardly essential and the production notes informative about the cast and Arnold. The documentary will probably show up in a number of variations on other Universal science fiction and horror thrillers coming to DVD. Perhaps This Island Earth (Universal's attempt to make a picture on the scale of MGM's Forbidden Planet)will eventually be re-released to DVD with the same care. A bit of trivia on This Island Earth--Jack Arnold isn't credited but he directed many of the scenes involving the aliens and their world.

Regardless of this reissues shortcomings, It is an impressive package for the most part. It's a pity that Universal missed their opportunity to reissue this minor classic the right way the first time on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, Goober - Could You Pass Me That Lug Wrench?
Review: Ray Bradbury pens passable '50s sci-fi fare, but it's not what everyone cracks it up to be. The movie is more fun than actually good, but definitely worth a watch.

B-movie vet Richard Carlson has his not-quite-love-match with the always wonderful Barbara Rush interrupted by a flaming meteorite, near his gorgeous desert home. Faster than he can light a pipe and don a houndstooth jacket, professorly Carlson goes out to investigate. The thing is too hot to approach - and big, too.

But that's hardly the greatest of his worries. Before long, many of the townsfolk are acting unusually, and Carlson finds his tracks dogged by these zombie doppelgangers of their former selves (including the Professor from Gilligan's Island, Russell Johnson, himself). He figures out that the meteorite was actually a crashing space ship, and eventually manages to meet face-to-face with...well, a pretty horrible 3-D thing, living with its buddies in a nearby abandoned mine shaft. The aliens really aren't all that friendly - they're just not hostile, eager to get their ship repaired with their rented zombie-human space-car mechanics and escape this backward berg. The usual "Earthling, Beware!" zany hijinks ensue.

This is not a great movie. But it is a good one. The cast is good, the script adequate. The special effects aren't great, but they are at least interesting, and the atmosphere is pretty spooky. It's a lot of fun in 3-D, if you ever get a chance to see it in its original format.

Rating:
Summary: It Came, It Saw, It Left...
Review: Richard Carlson (Creature From The Black Lagoon) stars as an intense astronomer who witnessess a "meteor" crash in the desert near his home. Along with Barbara Rush, he investigates the crater left by the impact. In it he finds a hexagonal doorway, that belongs to a now buried spacecraft. In the craft is a being, best described as a giant, hairy, big-toe with an eyeball where the toenail should be. Carlson's character gets out as an avalanche almost crushes him with it's paper-mache boulders! No one believes him (duh) and he is soon regarded as a nut. Two telephone co. linemen (one played by Gilligan's proffessor Russell Johnson) are possessed by the alien presence, and become monotone-speaking zombies. It turns out that rather than an invasion, the extraterrestrials are simply lost. They're just trying to fix their ship before we locate it and destroy them! Can Richard Carlson save them from the angry mob, including a hot-headed sheriff? ICFOS is a classic 50s paranoia gem. Extra points for Barbara Rush in her ... evening-wear! And, check out that blonde in the sheriff's office (whose boyfriend comes up missing). I'd watch her in anything...

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Summary: An early Sci-Fi Gem from the fifties...
Review: The great thing about 1950's sci-fi movies is the way in which they took the psychological fallout from the Soviet-USA Cold War confrontation that dominated the decade (paranoia, McCarthyism and the "Red Scare", fear of the atomic bomb), and turned it into edgy science fiction that's unlike any present-day moviemaking. Some of these relatively low-budget films were awful, but others have stood the test of time to become classics of the genre. One of the best is 1953's "It Came From Outer Space", which features a great plot, solid acting, and is based on a story created by the great Ray Bradbury, one of the best sci-fi writers of his generation. Richard Carlson, who also starred in several other classic sci-fi films of the fifties (such as "Earth vs. The Flying Saucers"), is John Putnam, an amateur astronomer and scientist who lives in the desert outside a small town in Arizona. Even in the town he's regarded as a loner and something of an oddball, but he does enjoy the love of Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), a pretty schoolteacher who thinks that John can do no wrong. John's relationship with Ellen has earned him the ire of the town's sherriff (Charles Drake), a down-to-earth, cowboy-type fellow who can't understand Putnam's interest in "weird" things like science and astronomy and who wants Ellen for himself. One evening both John and Ellen watch as a huge meteor crashes near an old mine outside of town. The next day they investigate the crater, but only John makes it to the bottom, where he sees a large spaceship which is promptly buried in a landslide which nearly engulfs him as well. Ellen believes his story, but others are doubtful and laugh at him, and even the local radio stations make fun of him. However, events soon begin to convince even the skeptical sherriff that something odd is afoot, especially when several townspeople begin to act in bizarre ways, such as speaking and behaving in a zombie-like manner and staring directly at the sun for long periods of time. As it turns out, the "townspeople" are really aliens from the buried spaceship, and the real humans have been abducted by them - including Ellen! Although the sherriff and some others wish to attack the aliens (out of fear and paranoia), Putnam suspects that the aliens are actually peaceful and only want to repair their spaceship and leave. I won't give away anymore of the plot, but the storyline of "It Came From Outer Space" actually is decades ahead of its time, and strongly resembles modern sci-fi such as "Star Trek" in showing that even strange "aliens" are not always hostile and can be peaceful if given a chance. This attitude comes directly from the stories of Ray Bradbury (for example, "The Martian Chronicles"), where aliens aren't always the bad guys and humans aren't always the good guys. It's this moral complexity that makes "It Came From Outer Space" stand out from the other (and often more simplistic) sci-fi films of the decade. As an added bonus, the DVD set of this film will be a delight to all fifties sci-fi movie buffs. It has a short documentary entitled "The Universe According to Universal" showing how "It Came From Outer Space" and other fifties sci-fi movies were made, the theatrical trailer, and a commentary by film historian Tom Weaver. Overall, this DVD set is well worth the money, IMO. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Good sci-fi drama
Review: "It Came From Outer Space" is an enjoyable sci-fi movie. Unfortunately it's not available in 3-D, which is a shame because the 3-D effects for this movie were done extremely well. That's what I've read and heard, anyway. The main characters are all very believable, and the star, Richard Carlson, does his usual fine job. The plot is more mature than your usual 1950's sci-fi alien movie. About the DVD: the picture quality is slightly better than its VHS cousin, and the bonus features are mildly entertaining. Film historian Tom Weaver provides audio commentary during the movie. Weaver is certainly quite knowledgeable, but he talks so fast and gives out so much information it wore me out mentally trying to process everything he said. I would have preferred a more relaxed pace.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good!
Review: When I first saw this film last November, I was expecting your average alien film where people are attacked by hostile aliens. Was I ever wrong! Instead of hostile aliens, you have aliens who landed on earth by mistake and have to shapeshift into human beings so they can get the necessary tools and supplies they need to repair their ship.
The acting is very good although Carlson's acting seems to get a little low at some points. Overall, a great film that is worth at least a look.

Rating:
Summary: Extra Added Attractions
Review: I first saw this film when I was a little kid and it was showing at theaters in 3D! I don't remember much about that, expect that it frightened me a little. I've had the VHS version for a long time and watch it again and again. I bought the DVD because of the extra features. I'm glad I did. There is a documentary about Universal films of that era that I found most interesting. I also enjoyed the narration of the film. Both of these features are packed with interesting information. If you like this film, I'd say that this DVD is a good value for it's price.

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Summary: Xenophobes That Came from Outer Space
Review: 1953's IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is often touted as the first of the 1950s sci-fi films to depict extraterrestrials as intrinsically benevolent, but that distinction actually belongs to 1951's THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Nonetheless, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is still a rarity in that it was one of the few McCarthy-era Hollywood space operas that did not use invading aliens as allegory for the evils of communism. (Alas, the extraterrestrials are still bug-eyed monsters.)

The plot revolves around John Putnam, an amateur astronomer who is eyewitness to what he initially believes to be a meteor crash in the Arizona desert. However, when he and his girlfriend, Ellen Fields, go to investigate, they discover that there is a large extraterrestrial vehicle buried at the bottom of the impact crater. No one from the nearby town will initially believe Putnam or Fields, of course, but when strange events start happening around town and in the surrounding desert, the local sheriff and his posse decide there might actually be something to the spaceship story and head out to confront the aliens (referred to as Xenomorphs). Putnam makes contact with the aliens first, however, and they convince him that their visit to Earth was an accident and all they want to do is repair their vehicle and leave. They explain to Putnam that they are isolationists and do not want to make further contact with the people of Earth, and they therefore ask him to intercept and stave off the approaching posse until the spaceship is ready to depart. But if he is unsuccessful and the posse gets through, Putnam is warned, the future existence of the Earth and its inhabitants will be in jeopardy.

Although the script for IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury--that venerated and prolific American writer whose science-fiction and fantasy stories have been the fodder for innumerable movies and TV shows--it is not quite as literate or as deep as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. But like the other film, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE also has a strong subtextual message, to wit, it is wrong to prejudge or reject others simply because they are physically or culturally different. As mentioned, the film was created and released in the years of McCarthyist paranoia and anti-communist fervor in the U.S., so it was pretty bold at that time to disseminate a message of intercultural or political tolerance. (Then again, science-fiction has a long tradition of using the guise of fantasy to address controversial and disputatious social and political issues without invoking the wrath of the powers that be.)

The movie's director is Jack Arnold--who would the next year direct THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, the eponymous character of which was the last to earn a spot in Universal's classic-monster pantheon--and he does a fantastic job of creating the cold and eerie atmosphere required for the story. The cast is also pretty good. As John Putnam, Richard Carlson--also to later be a part of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON--is not the most dashing of leading men, but he actually fits the role of science nerd quite adequately. The comely Barbara Rush, who plays Ellen Fields, makes a beautiful heroine-in-distress, and buxom Kathleen Hughes is also delight to watch (albeit her acting is marginal and her role a minor one). Ardent fans of classic TV will also get a kick out of seeing Russell Johnson in an early role. Johnson would go on to gain great fame in the 1960s playing the Professor on TV's GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, but here he portrays a telephone lineman whose mind is temporarily taken over by the extraterrestrials.

There have been rumors that the movie was filmed in widescreen, this in spite of the fact that its filmed aspect ratio is 1.37:1 (essentially, the standard 1.33:1). Some rumors address the aspect-ratio question by insisting that, like Orson Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL, the frame layouts were arranged in such a way that the film could later be matted top and bottom and projected as widescreen. Unlike with TOUCH OF EVIL, however, there is no cogent evidence to support this theory.

It is true, though, that IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE was filmed in 3-D, but it has not been released as such for home video. It works very well even without the 3-D effects, so don't let the lack of 3-D deter you from buying the film. If you ever get a chance to see it in 3-D, though, do it! There are lots of entertaining details that play wonderfully in 3-D, and it adds just a bit of flair to the viewing experience.

So overall, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE is a surprisingly entertaining movie that stands out above the typical 1950s space-opera schlock, and it certainly deserves a spot in the collection of any science-fiction fan or lover of classic Hollywood movies. Universal's DVD release offers a few cool extras, not the least of which is an interesting feature commentary by film historian Tom Weaver. Well worth the price of admission.

Rating:
Summary: Not in widescreen?
Review: How could this movie not be presented in widescreen? What a tragedy! I was all prepared to purchase this until I discovered this. Why even put it on DVD if you are going to preserve the movie in the manner in which it was originally presented? I can see if the 3-D components have been lost & this is the only way it can be presented. But not producing the movie in widescreen is inexcusable. As a matter of fact, I just convinced myself to downgrade this version to 1 star. (If this movie was filmed in full format, please disregard this review.)

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Great sci-fi fun. I would have really enjoyed the commentary on the Special Features a lot more if film historian Tom Weaver hadn't exhausted me by talking so fast and giving out more information than was necessary or entertaining.