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It Came From Outer Space [DVD] [1953] starring: Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake

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Publisher: Universal Pictures UK
Release date: 6th February, 2006
Media: DVD

Format

• Black & White
• PAL

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Average rating - (more reviews)

Rating: - Great Memories of scary film

Great 50`s Sci Fi ,Have not seen since a child, Bug eyed monster scared me to death in the sixties, my 6 year old watched it with me and thought monster was really funny ! all these films need to be appreceated for their own era and not compared to modern films with all their hi tech special effects.A much better time !

Rating: - No suspense

A meteorite crashes into the desert and John (Richard Carlson) and
Ellen (Barbara Rush) along with friend Pete are first on the scene.
John goes deep into the crash site and sees a spaceship buried in the
rubble before things start crumbling around him and he heads back up to
safety. The scene is now covered with rubble and no-one believes his
story. Furthermore, he believes that some alien life-forms have escaped
from the spaceship. They have. And they can take human form which they
do. They take up residence in a disused mine-shaft before the
finale....

The problem with the film is that there is no suspense. It is never
really very exciting. There is a good confrontation at the end between
John and Ellen, who is really an alien, in the mine-shaft but that is
the only real stand-out part of the film. The aliens are laughably bad
when we see them.

Its a film with silly creatures that's OK. It runs its course and
that's that - not very interesting really.

Rating: - Classic Sci-Fi

This 1950's Sci-fi classic is well worth getting. It influenced a number of films that followed it and stands up well, even now, over 50 years later.

Really its only obvious weakness is the alien spacecraft in flight, which special effect wise is very poor. However, in most other areas this is a great film. The acting is pretty good, the other special effects are well done and best of all is the sense of paranoia that runs throughout the film. Seeing this film at the Cinema in the 1950's must have been some experience for the audience as there is a sense of foreboding which must have been very unusual in its day.

In the end of course this being 'Hollywood' we know everything will be alright in the end, but this film keeps you guessing right to the very end.

Rating: - Much superior to other sci-fi of the era

I originally saw this movie "It Came from Outer Space" aka "Strangers from Outer Space" on a 14" black and whit TV as a child. And believe me I was seeing eyes all over the place for several nights.

John Putnam (Richard Carlson of "Creature from the Black Lagoon" fame) an amateur astronomer was watching the desert sky with his girl, Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush) a local school teacher, when a strange meteor came down near buy. John, first to reach it swore he saw a door shut. We see it and believe him. However no one else does. What will happen next? Watch and find out.

You can spot a Jack Arnold film by the pacing and initial dialog. This one gave me nightmares as a kid. However now when I watch this film now, I can enjoy the DOWN TO EARTH portrayal of misplaced aliens. You get the alien view from its innards. I was disappointed to find that this is not a 3-D film. I also have the children's book of this with still shots. Your next film to view is "OUT THERE" (1995) an HBO film staring Bill Campbell and Wendy Schaal. It shows real alien interaction with people and accordions.

There is always hope that a 3D version has survived and will surface in the form of a DVD.

Rating: - The DVD Falls Just Short of Meteoric

This is a wonderful movie, even in the flat 2-D we are offered on this DVD. I've actually never seen this movie in its original 3-D splendor, but I've been told it was stunning.

The story is, by today's standards, typical for the 1950's science fiction film. Handsome, rugged scientist (Richard Carlson of Creature From The Black Lagoon fame) and beautiful girlfriend (Barbara Rush) witness a meteor crashing to ground in the Arizona desert, only to learn it is a spacecraft from another world. No one believes them until people begin to disappear, and later return as almost robotic zombies. But this story was based on a Ray Bradburry short story, and that story, combined with wonderful script writing, takes this from a bland sci-fi popcorn muncher to a thinking man's (at least on the B-grade movie level) story of paranoia and terror that ultimately shows the weaknesses, and the strenths, in humankind.

What most young people today don't realize is that this film was a first of many kinds. It was the first science fiction movie to portray aliens as anything but blood thirsty. It was the first of the desert sci-fi films. It was one of the first films to use the theremin for the eerie, wavering, electronic music we all associate with science fiction films from that era. It's the first time a movie used the perspective of the "monster", by letting us see through its cyclopian eye.

The lonely desert landscapes are almost alien in themselves, sweeping and harsh, and seen many times in the long shadows and gray light of dusk. The soundtrack is mono that has been encoded to stereo, which sound wonderful on a home stereo system. The acting is top notch, and the special effects, though dated, have that comic book Buck Roger's feel that was bigger than life in the 1950's.

The extras here are nice, as well. There's a really nice documentary about the movie and a few other films in the same genre. There's a audio commentary with film historian Tom Weaver. There also a nice photograph and poster gallery, as well as the theatrical trailer, production notes, and a brief cast and filmakers section.

The only reason I don't give this DVD five STARS is because they didn't include a 3-D version of the movie. Maybe that's asking too much for the ... price tag, but darnit, Univeral has been so commited to releasing wonderful horror and sci-fi gems to DVD in wonderfully restored condition, that I can't help but wonder why it was decided not to offer this rare and exciting way of viewing the movie. Especially after the glowing way it is described in the docummentary included on the DVD. What a missed opportunity for Univeral and for the fans of this wonderful movie. That aside, this is a lovely package and a wonderful edition to any science fiction film fans collection.

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