Phantom Planet

Rating:
Summary: Yes, it's awful, but..
Review: it is so awful it could fall into that gray zone reserved for those pictures not bad enough to be called 'cult classics' but better than some. I saw the MST3K version and was able to come up with almost the same quips as the hosts did. I am not sorry I watched the picture but then Francis X. Bushman was my Great Uncle,(he played the leader of the little people on the Phantom Planet) and I felt I had a duty.

Rating:
Summary: SF camp classic looks terrific on DVD
Review: Phantom Planet is a generally-overlooked but thoroughly enjoyable slice of early-60s SF cheese. Not really good enough to be a "good movie," not really bad enough to achieve Trash status; but I could watch this one every six months without getting tired of it. Dean Fredericks in the lead makes a quite unappealing, unsympathetic 'hero,' lending a strange atmosphere to the movie right off the bat. Francis X. Bushman (the silent Ben Hur) and Anthony Dexter (fallen far from 1951's Valentino) lend kitsch appeal, and Coleen Gray and Dolores Faith, as the 'mute girl,' provide potential love interest for drippy Fredericks. If you watch this with the mindset of a 10-year-old there's lots of fun and clever ideas and effects: the shrinking thing, passable outer space/rocketship sequences, the disintegrator floor panels and duel of death, the flaming Solarite death ships, etc. And the sad sack monster, played by clumsy giant-for-hire Richard Kiel ('Jaws'), has to be one of the most lovably moth-eaten, pathetically unthreatening creations to grace any B-flick; kind of Paul Blaisdell-meets-Harry Thomas at the thrift store. You could probably suspend your disbelief and really enjoy this movie on a comic book level, or have a few friends over and laugh yourselves silly. Highly recommended.
For long-time fans of this movie, Image's DVD delivers a fine print of the film: sharp and detailed, great tonal scale, virtually spotless save for some very light speckling and a rare blemished frame. You'll never need to worry about upgrading from this one. It blows my VHS TV prints right off the map. Unfortunately, there is no trailer for the feature, and the only other 'extra' is the chapter stops. There are five trailers included in an 'easter egg,' but they're the same ones as on every other Image release. Considering all the movies in their catalog, they could dish out a few new ones already! A minor gripe though, and if you love this movie you'll want this disc anyway.

Rating:
Summary: SCHLOCK MEETS CAMP
Review: The plot involves something about astronaut Dean Fredericks landing on an asteroid where he's shrunk down to miniature size by a race of miniature people who ... Oh, forget it. This minor curiosity from the early 60's combines the schlocky production values of Grade-Z sci-fi films from the 50's with a bit of the campy excess found in the Saturday-matinee serials of the 1930's. The result is watchable but not especially fun.

Dean Fredericks (better known for his short-lived "Steve Canyon" series on TV) is stiff and humorless as the astronaut but he has the right looks and he gets the opportunity to do an extended bare-chest scene. (If you can't act, flex.)

An old, tired, and almost-pathetic Francis X. Bushman pops up in a small part. It's sad to see "Messala" wearing such a tatty costume in such a low-budget movie.

Rating:
Summary: Phantom Planet
Review: This film is no classic but it is a fun one i remember as a kid. I saw it late night of course and enjoyed it then and i have seen it since and realize that you should take it as it is and not look for extreme quality acting but if you are a sci fi fan and enjoy old flicks then you will have fun with this one. Break out the popcorn and gather the kids for a good viewing.

Rating:
Summary: Written By Mrs. Johnson's Third Grade Class...
Review: This is what one would consider a "crappy sci-fi movie". It seems like half of it was made as they went along, and the "planets" look like they came from KFC. Half the time the actors don't even look like they know what they're doing.

I mean, everything is so stupidly explained. The reason Paul Chapman (the star) shrinks is because he "inhaled [the planet]'s oxygen" and "became in proportion with everything else" on the planet. Also, if he inhaled Earth's oxygen, he'd grow back to his normal size. As for how the whole language thing was described, the airwaves carried out sound waves and translated them to a language the lsitener could understand. Also, in a scene where Paul and his navigator had to repair the ship, they simply walked outside and started to repair it. In the words of Mike Nelson "good thing there's so much gravity out in space". Anyway, if you want to watch it, you're much better off watching the MST3K version so you can at least laugh at it.

Rating:
Summary: Written By Mrs. Johnson's Third Grade Class...
Review: This is what one would consider a "crappy sci-fi movie". It seems like half of it was made as they went along, and the "planets" look like they came from KFC. Half the time the actors don't even look like they know what they're doing.

I mean, everything is so stupidly explained. The reason Paul Chapman (the star) shrinks is because he "inhaled [the planet]'s oxygen" and "became in proportion with everything else" on the planet. Also, if he inhaled Earth's oxygen, he'd grow back to his normal size. As for how the whole language thing was described, the airwaves carried out sound waves and translated them to a language the lsitener could understand. Also, in a scene where Paul and his navigator had to repair the ship, they simply walked outside and started to repair it. In the words of Mike Nelson "good thing there's so much gravity out in space". Anyway, if you want to watch it, you're much better off watching the MST3K version so you can at least laugh at it.

Rating:
Summary: Really great Bad Sci-Fi
Review: This movie is an all-time classic. It is one of those movies that are so bad they hysterical. Watch for "The Prisoner" who is in a cage in the basement. He is the prototype for "Gromet" in the Wallace and Gromet movies - something never before discovered and a great trivia question.

Rating:
Summary: Really great Bad Sci-Fi
Review: This movie is an all-time classic. It is one of those movies that are so bad they hysterical. Watch for "The Prisoner" who is in a cage in the basement. He is the prototype for "Gromet" in the Wallace and Gromet movies - something never before discovered and a great trivia question.