Lost In Space was and still is one of my favourite television series of the sixties. I remember coming home from school trying to watch these at tea time on a channel that was never very clear. Having now this DVD collection of the entire first series and with such excellent quality video to disc transfer is a real treat.
Created by Irwin Allen, who's series included 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', 'The Time Tunnel' and 'Land of the Giants' Lost In Space was very similar in some ways to 'Roddenberrys' 'Star Trek' which incidentally was rejected at the time by CBS in favour of the aforesaid series.
Filmed in black & white the first season was much more serious in tone than the latter ones, which tended to be more camp because of the competition of Batman which was being aired around the same time. The series revolved around the adventures of the space family 'Robinson' and the evil stowaway 'Dr Smith ' ( Jonathan Harris ) who beacame , along with Bill Mummy and the robot the runaway stars of the show. In fact after watching again today Dr Smith comes across as even more evil as i had remembered him and his antics at trying every devious method in the book to return to earth even more entertaining and comical, as are his constant ranting and ravings to the robot.Seems like he spent ages coming up with new phrases such as ' My mechanical Friend' ' Bumbling Bucket of Bolts' 'Bubbleheaded Booby' and ' Bellicose Bumpkin' to name but a few.
Lost In Space can be enjoyed by anyone of any age which is probably it's main appeal.Although predictable and the settings restrictive it was probably Irwin Allens finest series.The 'Jupiter' spaceship looks particularly nice too by the way! Favourite episode probably has to be ' Wish Upon A Star' where the brainless Dr Smith stumbles across a derelict spaceship on the castaways planet and in it finds a helmet which apparently has the power to grant anyones wishes.Conjuring up a wealth of luxuries smith gets more than he bargains for when the owner of the helmet turns out to be a terrifying graoaning alien bent on destruction. An excellent episode this one, as is ' The Keeper ' the only two parter in the series starring 'Michael Rennie 'which unfortunately is somewaht let down by the ridicoulous looking monsters!
Having excellent ratings at the time Lost In Space went on for 3 seasons before being canceled.
A splendid eight disc box set beautifully packaged with a booklet and an added bonus of the unaired pilot episode.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Universals ' This Island Earth ' is a very good example of Sci Fi in the 50's. Directed by ''Joseph Newman ' it is a very energetic , colourfull film which begins in familiar enough territory but journeys much farther out into interstellar travel and interplanetary war. The star of the film ' Rex Reason ' is unfortunately stolidly innapropriate in the part of the young physicist.Faith Domergue fares little better either......being rather flat. But what makes this film so stand out is the special effects , colourfull photography and the ethereal looking settings , which are all splendidly realised.
Cal Meachams (Rex Reason ) jet is mysteriously encapsulated in green light, after his plane malfunctions and is mysteriously landed for him . Arriving in his laboratory next day an electronics catalogue offers him instructions on how to build an ' Interocitor ' Provided with the necessary parts he finally finishes the project. The result looking dissapointingly like a colour TV set with an inverted triangular screen. The face that appears congratulates him on having passed the test and later asks him to join some strange company called Unit 16. After the machineis destroy
Although a year later the film was completely overshadowed by ' Fobidden Planet ' this is still a very enjoyable film.......dated yes ..but nicely so. This is much more than just a variation of the monster movie.....yes there is a bug eyed one.....Cleverly presented and produced by ' William Alland' he knew what the accent should be on and that was special effects.Alland who also worked on films with the great ' Jack Arnold ' definitely brought a lot of his unique imagination to bear.Seen from space the Shattered surface of ' Metaluma ' is splendid , as is the planet itself, wrapped in a shroud of gases as meteors collide and explode.The interior of the saucer too is nicely designed. This Island Earth also has it's fair share of gadgetry. All of this rather compensates for the laclustre characters. Even with it's shortcomings though' This Island Earth ' is most definitely worth a watch.......personally i would much rather see this than a lot of todays Sci Fi films.
Credits :
Director : Joseph Newman
Screenplay : Franklin Coen
Edward O'Callaghan
Novel by : Raymond F. Jones
Photography : Clifford Stine
Designers Alexander Golitzen
R. H Riedel
Producer : William Alland
GOOD EGG
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Robinson Crusoe On Mars
( 1964 )
Robinson Crusoe on mars is a very sadly underrated Sci Fi film gem which takes Daniel Defoes island castaway story out into outer space.Unbelievably the whole thing works splendidly ( don't let the title put you off! ) thanks to director Byron Haskin keeping true to the original story while improving the script and making everything scientifically plausable.The death Valley locations are substituted for Mars and makefor an excellent backdrop to the whole film.
Mars Gravity Probe One is diverted en mission to orbit Mars when they are forced to change course due to a massive meteor obstructing their flight path. Manned by Naval Commander Kit Draper ( Paul Mantee ) ; Colonel Dan Macready ( Adam West of Batman fame! ) and Mona the ( experimental) Monkey, both men eject in separate pods to land on Mars. Draper and Mona survive but unfortunately Macready is found dead in his pod.
Much like the Defoe story Draper has to find shelter , water, food and most importantly in this case, oxygen to stay alive. After almost dying of suffocation in a cave Draper stumbles across the secret of the rocks which when burned like coal, emit bursts of oxygen. With some ingenuity Draper manages to replenish his oxygen tanks, find water and food.He continues to survive. Eventually loneliness takes a hold of Draper and almost drives him crazy,until o
Robinson Crusoe On Mars is a Wonderfull Sci Fi film and definitely one of my favourites of all time. A decidedly intelligent film for the sixties with very appealing and believable performances.Some of the content may seem a little dated today and the monkey scenes a tad silly but on the whole this is a very fine and sadly neglected Sci Fi film. Worth checking out if you get the chance but is as yet unavailable on DVD i think!
CRYSTAL EGG
Sunday, December 10, 2006
This really is one of the best science fiction films from the 50's. Excellent special effects for the day and a precursor of Star Trek.....Leslie Nielsens Commander Adams was almost certainly a forerunner of ' Captain james T Kirk '...' Gene Rodenberry must surely count this film as one of his major influences.....anyway...'Nielsen ' makes a fair starship commander sent to discover the fate of the ' Bellarophon ' spaceship which crashlanded on the planet Altair 5 .Incidentally typical of 50's style everything is given numbers - the year is 2200, the relief spaceshipis C57D and the crew have been sent out to re-establish contact with a colony that dissapeared 25 years ago.
Borrowing some plot and characters from Shakespeares The Tempest ,' Walter Pidgeon plays ' Dr morbius ' the sole survivor of the ship Bellaraphon ' who discovers a fantastic alien race ,the 'Krell ' ...... creatures which ruled the planet and eventuallly destoyed themselves by there own intellect.....lots of Wonderfull scenes here of the underground ' Krell ' laboratories with marvellous imagery!!! Smacking a little of some Dr Frankenstein.
'Altaira' the daughter of ' Mobious ' is played by the beautifull ' Anne Francis ' ......who could forget her!!!!Nicely adding some spice and romance into the proceedings.
Adams gradually falls in love with her.
After there camp is almost destroyed, and several men killed by some unseen monster Adams and his companion get Morbius to show them the entire underground Krell laboratories.Terrific sets and imagery here once again as Morbius finally comes to accept it is his own ID which is responsible for all the death and destruction which has somehow reactivated the Krells laboratories.
NOTES OF INTEREST
Robby the Robot went on later to appear in ' Lost in space ( TV series ) and The Invisible Boy '. He became one of the screens most lovable metal men.
The music was i believe the first all electronic soundtrack.
Director ' Fred Mcleod wilcox ' was only known really as making ' Lassie ' films.
This really is an eye popper of a film and certainly comes very highly recommended!!!!
CRYSTAL EGG
Wages Of Fear [1953]
Quite simply one of the best adventure movies ever made .This film creates unbearable tension as two truckloads carrying nitro journey along 300 miles of rough latin american terrain in order to put out an oilfield fire.It's a fantastic study of courage and endurance and really takes off when the lorrys set off on there trip...we really become involved with the four main characters along the route of there dangerous journey.
All performances are excellent and made ' Yves Montand' an international star. Particularly outstanding too is ' Charles Varnel ' who incidentally appeared in over 200 films i understand. I won't give away much else except to say the ending is completely ironic if a little predictable.
Winning top prizes at both Cannes and Berlin this really is a must see. Expertly Directed by ' Henri- George's Clouzot '...definitely his best film alongsde ' les Diaboliques ' . Excellent DVD transfer in Black & White.....no extra's apart from the original trailer....but who needs them really when you get a film as great as this!
In English and French with subtitles Direction Henri Georges Clouzot Screenplay Clouzot / Jerome Geronimi Starring Yves Montand Charles Varnel Jo Vera Clouzot Folco Lulli Peter Van Eyck
CRYSTAL EGG
Although ' Tarkovsky ' is better known for his ' Solaris ' film ( which incidentally he cited as his least favourite ) ' Stalker ' is a fascinatingly resonant film on many levels.If your one for plot you will not find much in that direction here. This is esoteric filmaking at it's best with a mix of stunning black & white/ color sequences which will linger long in the mind after the first viewing. Many may find this film difficult viewing with the very formalized compositions , detached cerebral quality ; two dimensional characters and stilted dialogue , but one cannot deny the metaphysical power evoked. There are some really masterfull moments , like the journey itself into the forbidden zone and a really fascinating long camera pan along some brackish water .
An odyssey of three men ' Stalker ' , writer and scientist , who journey out into the desolate forbidden zone in search of a room, where supposedly ones prayers are answered.
All in all a very overextended allegory on the difficulty of faith and the need for humility. It's nevertheless an highly acclaimed Russian film which is definitely worth a viewing. Of note also is the excellent soundtrack music by ' Eduard Artemiev '
Excellent DVD transfer with quite a few extra's on the double disc.
Directed by
Andrei Tarkovsky
Writing credits
Arkadi Strugatsky (novel) &
Boris Strugatsky (novel) ...
Cast:
Aleksandr Kajdanovsky .... Stalker
Alisa Frejndlikh .... Stalker's Wife
Anatoli Solonitsyn .... Writer
Nikolai Grinko .... Scientist
Natasha Abramova .... Martha, Stalker's daughter
GOOD EGG
The original and widely cosidered the best adaption of ' H G Wells ' short story. Although the film does not stay true to ' Wells's ' story this is nevertheless a very entertaining and well made film with some very nice special effects, which in there day were quite innovative and unlike todays CGI ( Computer Animated Images ) do not have that horribly digitized and lifeless look . The painstaking stop motion photography being used here to great effect. Rod Taylor plays the part of our time traveller. Opening with a wonderfull section, which by the way is the only part that stays true to the story. Returning from the distant future back to his mid victorian house he tells his friends , who have been waiting impatiently for him , of his fantastic journeys into the future, much to their almost total disbelief .Even though days earlier he demonstrated a working scaled down model of the time machine which upon being activated by one of his friends, dissapeared before there very eyes and was instantly sent into the future......which rather obviously they thought was a mere conjurers trick or something. The only remnant he brings back from the future is a flower which he gives to his friend 'Filby' . 'I bet you won't find that species anywhere' , he says , offering some small proof of his story. Travelling in time through three world wars , the third one inexplicably in 1966 , the time traveller moves on to the year 802701. Here he meets the ' Eloi ' . A gentle peacefull people who rather oddly still remember the wars some 326 years earlier. He saves ' Weena ' from drowning upon his arrival and forms a very close relationship with her. Astonished at the ' Eloi's ' lack of compassion to there fellow man and almost complete unfruitfull existence, he soon discovers the ' Moorlocks '. A subhuman race with glowing eyes , green skin and a mop of white hair who live underground beneath a giant sphinx like structure who cannot bear the sight of bright light. This is the darker side of man turned cannibal who feed on the Eloi . Stealing his time machine and 'Weena' from him our hero finally confronts the 'Moorlocks ' in there underground chambers. Setting everything ablaze and freeing ' Weena ' and her people , he escapes there clutches only to find himself seperated behind the large iron door of the Sphinx. At this point which he returns to his home and friends to tell them his tale. I won't give the end away here! In ' Wells's ' story the time traveller travels to the very distant future and witnesses some very strange creatures , giant cockroaches and strange landscapes. He also travels to the past.......all this though is missing in this adaptation as are other sections. But it's still a most entertaining film though as i say and far far superior to the recent remake. Of particular note are the special FX especially when moving forward in time in his laboratory. We see a mannequin in a shop window change her style of clothes over the passing years as fashions come and go. A candle burn down and flowers open in seconds and the sun and moon race dizzyingly across the night sky with the passing of time. Also the time machine itself which is a wonderfully realized piece of victoriana , very plushly and intricately designed. Very high quality widescreen DVD transfer here. Beautifully detailed colors and photography. The extras one gets are nice too. A 48 minute documentary entitled ' The Journey Back ' is absolutely fascinating which tells of the story behind the actual ' Time Machine ' prop which was used in the film. How it was created and ended up in an ' Acme ' store with several parts missing until it was spotted and eventually lovingly restored to it's former glory . Hosted by ' Rod Taylor ' this is an excellent extra and we even get a little dramatic episode where he meets up with his old friend 'Filby'. It also has some very interesting information on the special effects by Gene Warren and Paul Barr .Other usual extras are story boards and a trailer . Definitely worth buying this DVD if your a fan of this film........even if your not! Thoroughly recommended!
CRYSTAL EGG
Thursday, December 07, 2006
'The General ' is widely considered Buster Keatons finest film . The story is based on reminiscences of the Civil War, William Pittengers ' 'The Great Locomotive Chase' in which the author, a northern soldier, recalls a daring raid which he had taken part in. in 1862. The story obviously had great attraction to Keaton;of a band of soldiers disguised as southerners making there way from Tenessee into Atlanta to sieze a train while it's passengers were still at breakfast.The object being to run the train to Chattanooga where they would join forces with the union troops.along the way burning bridges and severing communications en-route,but despite delays, were overtaken , upon almost reaching there destination, by another borrowed locomotive which forced them to give up there prize.The men being apprehended and some, later, being eventually executed. Keaton was once asked why his film looked more authentic than ' Gone With The Wind ' to which he replied after a little thought ' Well' they went to the novel for there story....we went to History'.
The only major change to the original story Keaton made was to see the the story from the point of view of the Southern pursuers. Keaton plays ' Jhonnie Gray ' an engineer of the western and Atlantic Flyer's locomotive.Only two things matter to him , his train and his girlfriend ' Annabell Lee '.He becomes the first to enlist but is refused on the grounds that he is an engineer and much more usefull to the Southern cause.Unknown to Annabell and her family for his rejection she unwittingly thinks him a coward.Some time later she travels aboard Jhonnies train to visit her father who has been wounded. She still will not speak to Jhonnie. When reaching ' Big Shanty ' the train is hi'jacked by Northern spies with Anabell still on board.Jhonnie goes off in hot pursuit of his two most cherished loves....his train and the girl.Eventually reaching the house by various means of travel...a manual rail trolley , penny farthing and borrowed train....he enters the house and overhears the enemies plans to launch an attack next morning.After rescuing Annabel from there clutches Jhonnie re- captures ' The General '. Now the chase being reversed.After various escapades of thwarting the enemy....Jhonnie literally does come marching home victoriously with girl and train as he quite by accident blows up a dam which washes away the Union forces. A really wonderfull silent film with too many hilarious moments to mention. Favourites though has to be the one when he takes to the rails on the manual trolley and falls of his Penny Farthing while in pursuit of the enemy.The canon on the train is also great and timed to perfection.
There's a lot of very clever and funny moments in ' The General ' which are typical of Keaton and there all brilliantly realized throughout this film. Authenticity of the period really could not be bettered either . Attention paid to detail is quite staggering which was always Keatons forte.The sequence on the bridge by the way , when it collapses and the train plunges into thirty feet of water , is all real....no special effects here....in fact even to this day that train still lies there......somewhere in ' Oregon ' i think ,where most of ' The General ' was filmed. Buster Keaton Johnnie Gray Marion Mack Annabelle Lee Glen Cavender Cpt Anderson
CRYSTAL EGG
Monday, November 27, 2006
Leave Her To Heaven ( 1945 )
Made in 1945 by 20th Century Fox, this is most definitely one of Gene Tierney's most impressive womens pictures who incidentally has been described by some as the most beautifull of hollywood actresses. I certainly will not disagree on that score!.
Very lushly photographed in color by Leon Shamroy , some might say chocolate box , ' Leave Her To Heaven ' 'is one of the stand out womens pictures of the 40's.
Gene plays ' Ellen ' who possessed of her fanatical desire for her husband , played by Cornel Wilde , is driven to commit murder because of her jealousy.Becoming frustrated by wildes addiction to the typewriter and his unobtrusive family ,she drowns his younger brother in a lake which eventually leads to her having a miscarriage and finally in her madness resorts to killing herself with poison.
Standout scenes are Ellen riding along a mountain top and scattering her fathers ashes from an urn ; the scene on the lake wearing evil - looking dark glasses while her crippled brother-in-law tries to swim across the lake , his cries growing fainter and fainter as Ellen lets him drown ; When ellen's husband discovers the awfull truth leading to his brothers death while ellen shows little remorse.
Visually ' Leave Her to Heaven ' is a feast for the eyes and the smooth direction of John m Stahl is great. Although somewhat expressionless throughout ' Tierney ' conveys a wonderfull sense of underlying evil beauty with her icy stare and strangely flat persona. The settings are really splendid too ranging from the New Mexico deserts to the icy lakes and fir forests of the American North.
To sum up. a very glossy and entertaining melodrama which i guarantee will hold your attention throughout and Gene Tierny never looked so lovely!!
Although the disc contains minimal extras this is a staggeringly good transfer and the soundtrack has been remastered in mono which is quite excellent!There is also a nice stills gallery, two Movietone News segments – about the premiere and the Oscars presentation – and a delightfully fascinating restoration comparison. Also included are five theatrical trailers – one for Leave Her To Heaven and previews for In Old Chicago, The Snake Pit, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Three Faces of Eve.
A very highly recommended film then, especially on thisa DVD. A truly irresistably wicked film witjh a fine central performance!
NOTE ; In Martin Scorsese’s superb documentary A Personal Journey Through American Movies, he included Leave Her To Heaven, showing clips which demonstrated the beautiful cinematography.
CRYSTAL EGG
