There
is no denying it; I am a big Ray Harryhausen fan. There is something very
special about the movies in which he produced the special effects because
there is genuine magic in Harryhausen’s stop motion animation. Because
Harryhausen obviously loves his painstaking work, every creature that
he has animated over the course of his career has had a distinct personality
and a memorable design. Picking my own favorite Harryhausen film or creature
would be difficult, since every movie becomes my favorite while watching
it and every creature becomes a favorite the moment it shows up on the
screen. However, I will acknowledge FIRST MEN IN THE MOON ($25)
as unique amongst Ray Harryhausen’s film, because this particular movie
was his only foray into ‘scope filmmaking. With FIRST MEN IN THE MOON,
Harryhausen utilized the Panavision 2.35:1 canvas as adeptly as he did
in the 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 aspect ratios. However, the anamorphic Panavision
lenses had to have added another layer of complications to the work, which
is probably why all of Harryhausen’s films after FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
were photographed with spherical lenses.
Based
upon the novel by H.G. Wells, FIRST MEN IN THE MOON tells the story
of a United Nations moon landing that discovers evidence that a previous
lunar expedition from 1899. Using the only scrap of evidence at their
disposal, United Nations investigators trace the Victorian Era lunar landing
to a very elderly Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd), who is living in a nursing
home in the British countryside. In flashback, Bedford recounts his tale
of how a moon landing was possible in 1899, and gives the United Nations
team a dire warning about the creatures that he and his party encountered
beneath the lunar surface.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON also stars Lionel
Jeffries (in a delightful scene stealing performance) as Joseph Cavor,
a scientist who invents a compound that is capable of disrupting the force
of gravity. Utilizing his compound, Cavor is able to launch a specially
designed sphere on a long planned trip to the moon. Through various circumstances,
Cavor’s neighbor Bedford and Bedford’s fiancée Katherine Callender (Martha
Hyer) end up accompanying the scientist on his lunar expedition. The cast
of FIRST MEN IN THE MOON also includes Hugh McDermott, Betty McDowall,
Erik Chitty, Laurence Herder, Gladys Henson, Miles Malleson and an uncredited
Peter Finch.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made FIRST MEN IN THE MOON available
on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
16:9 displays. Although nearly forty years old, Columbia has provided
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON with a very nice transfer that makes the
film seem a lot newer. The image is generally crisp and provides a very
good level of detail. There are some shots that appear a little softer
than others, but nothing too serious. The film element used for the transfer
is in very good shape, displaying very few blemished or much appreciable
grain. Some of the special effects shots show bits of debris, but they
would appear to be printed into the opticals, and not a flaw in the actual
film element used for the transfer. Colors are very nicely saturated,
plus the picture produces very appealing flesh tones. Neither chroma noise
nor smearing are a concern amongst the most vibrant hues. Blacks are accurately
rendered, contrast is good and shadow detail is on par with other motion
pictures of the era. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts
from becoming noticeable.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON is presented with a Dolby Digital 4.0 channel sound
mix. Although there are certain sonic limitations in recordings from this
era, this remains a very pleasing soundtrack. There are some nice channel
separations in the forward soundstage and the surround channels engage
effectively at the right moments to provide ambient sounds and musical
fill. Dialogue is crisply rendered with full intelligibility. I am quite
fond of Laurie Johnson’s rousing orchestral score for FIRST MEN IN
THE MOON and it sounds pleasant enough in this presentation. Subtitles
have been provided on the DVD in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese,
Chinese, Korean, and Thai.
A
bit of Laurie Johnson’s music underscores the basic interactive menus,
which allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few supplements. Coming from previous 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 Ray
Harryhausen Chronicles is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard
Nimoy, which details Harryhausen’s life and career in film. Also included
on the DVD is a short photo gallery and trailers for FIRST MEN IN THE
MOON, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and THE 7TH VOYAGE OF
SINBAD.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON is a genuine delight, as are all of Ray Harryhausen’s
other films. The story is a genuine charmer, as is actor Lionel Jeffries,
who gives a wonderfully winning comic tinged performance as the eccentric
scientist. Columbia TriStar’s presentation of FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
is quite excellent, making this a must have DVD for all Harryhausen and
genre fans.
There
is no denying it; I am a big Ray Harryhausen fan. There is something very
special about the movies in which he produced the special effects because
there is genuine magic in Harryhausen’s stop motion animation. Because
Harryhausen obviously loves his painstaking work, every creature that
he has animated over the course of his career has had a distinct personality
and a memorable design. Picking my own favorite Harryhausen film or creature
would be difficult, since every movie becomes my favorite while watching
it and every creature becomes a favorite the moment it shows up on the
screen. However, I will acknowledge FIRST MEN IN THE MOON ($25)
as unique amongst Ray Harryhausen’s film, because this particular movie
was his only foray into ‘scope filmmaking. With FIRST MEN IN THE MOON,
Harryhausen utilized the Panavision 2.35:1 canvas as adeptly as he did
in the 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 aspect ratios. However, the anamorphic Panavision
lenses had to have added another layer of complications to the work, which
is probably why all of Harryhausen’s films after FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
were photographed with spherical lenses.
Based
upon the novel by H.G. Wells, FIRST MEN IN THE MOON tells the story
of a United Nations moon landing that discovers evidence that a previous
lunar expedition from 1899. Using the only scrap of evidence at their
disposal, United Nations investigators trace the Victorian Era lunar landing
to a very elderly Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd), who is living in a nursing
home in the British countryside. In flashback, Bedford recounts his tale
of how a moon landing was possible in 1899, and gives the United Nations
team a dire warning about the creatures that he and his party encountered
beneath the lunar surface.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON also stars Lionel
Jeffries (in a delightful scene stealing performance) as Joseph Cavor,
a scientist who invents a compound that is capable of disrupting the force
of gravity. Utilizing his compound, Cavor is able to launch a specially
designed sphere on a long planned trip to the moon. Through various circumstances,
Cavor’s neighbor Bedford and Bedford’s fiancée Katherine Callender (Martha
Hyer) end up accompanying the scientist on his lunar expedition. The cast
of FIRST MEN IN THE MOON also includes Hugh McDermott, Betty McDowall,
Erik Chitty, Laurence Herder, Gladys Henson, Miles Malleson and an uncredited
Peter Finch.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made FIRST MEN IN THE MOON available
on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
16:9 displays. Although nearly forty years old, Columbia has provided
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON with a very nice transfer that makes the
film seem a lot newer. The image is generally crisp and provides a very
good level of detail. There are some shots that appear a little softer
than others, but nothing too serious. The film element used for the transfer
is in very good shape, displaying very few blemished or much appreciable
grain. Some of the special effects shots show bits of debris, but they
would appear to be printed into the opticals, and not a flaw in the actual
film element used for the transfer. Colors are very nicely saturated,
plus the picture produces very appealing flesh tones. Neither chroma noise
nor smearing are a concern amongst the most vibrant hues. Blacks are accurately
rendered, contrast is good and shadow detail is on par with other motion
pictures of the era. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression artifacts
from becoming noticeable.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON is presented with a Dolby Digital 4.0 channel sound
mix. Although there are certain sonic limitations in recordings from this
era, this remains a very pleasing soundtrack. There are some nice channel
separations in the forward soundstage and the surround channels engage
effectively at the right moments to provide ambient sounds and musical
fill. Dialogue is crisply rendered with full intelligibility. I am quite
fond of Laurie Johnson’s rousing orchestral score for FIRST MEN IN
THE MOON and it sounds pleasant enough in this presentation. Subtitles
have been provided on the DVD in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese,
Chinese, Korean, and Thai.
A
bit of Laurie Johnson’s music underscores the basic interactive menus,
which allow one access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few supplements. Coming from previous 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 Ray
Harryhausen Chronicles is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard
Nimoy, which details Harryhausen’s life and career in film. Also included
on the DVD is a short photo gallery and trailers for FIRST MEN IN THE
MOON, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and THE 7TH VOYAGE OF
SINBAD.
FIRST
MEN IN THE MOON is a genuine delight, as are all of Ray Harryhausen’s
other films. The story is a genuine charmer, as is actor Lionel Jeffries,
who gives a wonderfully winning comic tinged performance as the eccentric
scientist. Columbia TriStar’s presentation of FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
is quite excellent, making this a must have DVD for all Harryhausen and
genre fans.
