20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH ($25) is another of the great Ray Harryhausen
classics finding their way to DVD, thanks to the folks at Columbia TriStar
Home Entertainment. The plot of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH concerns
an American spacecraft returning from a mission to the planet Venus, that
crashes into the ocean off the coast of Sicily. A couple of local fishermen
are able to rescue two members of the crew, before the spacecraft sinks
into the sea. Also aboard the ship is a tiny animal specimen from Venus,
which washes up on the shoreline. A young boy finds the creature from
Venus, and he sells it to a vacationing zoologist from Rome. Of course,
the American Air Force wants their specimen back, especially after it
begins growing at an unprecedented rate and becomes dangerous. Eventually,
the military finds their lost specimen and take it to Rome for study.
As you might expect, the now huge creature breaks free and goes on a rampage
through Rome.
While
the plot of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH is kind of predictable, the
movie greatly benefits from the foreign locations and Ray Harryhausen’s
incredible stop motion special effects. Harryhausen imbues the Venusian
creature with a personality and he turns it into a sympathetic character,
one that didn’t ask to be brought to Earth to be poked and prodded by
scientists. Of course, what would any good Harryhausen monster movie be
without the creature getting to topple a very recognizable landmark? 20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH allows Harryhausen’s creation to run amok on
top of the coliseum in Rome, which provides a very cool climax for the
movie. The cast of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH
features William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia, John Zaremba and Thomas
Browne Henry.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH available
in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. A full screen presentation is also available on a separate
layer, which can be chosen from the DVD's menu system. The black and white
transfer is very good for a modestly budgeted film from 1957. Sure, there
are some signs of age on the film element, but a few blemishes will not
detract from anyone’s enjoyment of this Ray Harryhausen classic. The image
on the DVD is generally crisp and offers a good level of definition. The
rear screen projection work in the film is rather obvious, but Harryhausen’s
own stop motion work holds up much better. There is some graininess in
the picture throughout the course of the movie, but it is never objectionable.
Blacks appear accurate and whites are generally stable. Contrast is good
almost all of the time, but there were a couple of shots where it looked
a little hot. Digital compression artifacts are usually well contained,
with only a couple of instances where they became noticeable.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is somewhat fidelity challenged, but
what would you expect from a movie three years shy of its fiftieth anniversary?
Overall, the sound is clean and crisp, with no overt signs of background
hiss or distortion. Even with a fair amount amplification, the soundtrack
still manages to sound pretty good. Additionally, dialogue is well reproduced,
and one can even make out what some of the actors are saying through thick
Italian accents. Subtitles have been provided on the DVD in English and
French.
The
basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few supplements. Coming again from previous
Ray Harryhausen DVD releases are This Is Dynamation and
the Ray Harryhausen Chronicles. Running about three and
a half minutes, This Is Dynamation is a promotional featurette
that explains the special photographic process Harryhausen used to create
his stop motion special effects. TheHarryhausen Chronicles
is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard Nimoy, which details Ray Harryhausen’s
life and career in cinema. Also included on the DVD are theatrical trailers
for 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER.
20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH is another Ray Harryhausen classic that has
been given a fine presentation on DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
If you are a Harryhausen fan, then picking up this DVD will be a no brainer.
20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH ($25) is another of the great Ray Harryhausen
classics finding their way to DVD, thanks to the folks at Columbia TriStar
Home Entertainment. The plot of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH concerns
an American spacecraft returning from a mission to the planet Venus, that
crashes into the ocean off the coast of Sicily. A couple of local fishermen
are able to rescue two members of the crew, before the spacecraft sinks
into the sea. Also aboard the ship is a tiny animal specimen from Venus,
which washes up on the shoreline. A young boy finds the creature from
Venus, and he sells it to a vacationing zoologist from Rome. Of course,
the American Air Force wants their specimen back, especially after it
begins growing at an unprecedented rate and becomes dangerous. Eventually,
the military finds their lost specimen and take it to Rome for study.
As you might expect, the now huge creature breaks free and goes on a rampage
through Rome.
While
the plot of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH is kind of predictable, the
movie greatly benefits from the foreign locations and Ray Harryhausen’s
incredible stop motion special effects. Harryhausen imbues the Venusian
creature with a personality and he turns it into a sympathetic character,
one that didn’t ask to be brought to Earth to be poked and prodded by
scientists. Of course, what would any good Harryhausen monster movie be
without the creature getting to topple a very recognizable landmark? 20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH allows Harryhausen’s creation to run amok on
top of the coliseum in Rome, which provides a very cool climax for the
movie. The cast of 
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH available
in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. A full screen presentation is also available on a separate
layer, which can be chosen from the DVD's menu system. The black and white
transfer is very good for a modestly budgeted film from 1957. Sure, there
are some signs of age on the film element, but a few blemishes will not
detract from anyone’s enjoyment of this Ray Harryhausen classic. The image
on the DVD is generally crisp and offers a good level of definition. The
rear screen projection work in the film is rather obvious, but Harryhausen’s
own stop motion work holds up much better. There is some graininess in
the picture throughout the course of the movie, but it is never objectionable.
Blacks appear accurate and whites are generally stable. Contrast is good
almost all of the time, but there were a couple of shots where it looked
a little hot. Digital compression artifacts are usually well contained,
with only a couple of instances where they became noticeable.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is somewhat fidelity challenged, but
what would you expect from a movie three years shy of its fiftieth anniversary?
Overall, the sound is clean and crisp, with no overt signs of background
hiss or distortion. Even with a fair amount amplification, the soundtrack
still manages to sound pretty good. Additionally, dialogue is well reproduced,
and one can even make out what some of the actors are saying through thick
Italian accents. Subtitles have been provided on the DVD in English and
French.
The
basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few supplements. Coming again from previous
Ray Harryhausen DVD releases are This Is Dynamation and
the Ray Harryhausen Chronicles. Running about three and
a half minutes, This Is Dynamation is a promotional featurette
that explains the special photographic process Harryhausen used to create
his stop motion special effects. The Harryhausen Chronicles
is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard Nimoy, which details Ray Harryhausen’s
life and career in cinema. Also included on the DVD are theatrical trailers
for 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER.
20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH is another Ray Harryhausen classic that has
been given a fine presentation on DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
If you are a Harryhausen fan, then picking up this DVD will be a no brainer.
