Science Fiction & Fantasy > 1954 Science Fiction & Fantasy

classic 50's sci-fi

Advantages: classic sci fi film
Disadvantages: shows its age

...watchable film even now. All the Martian "sounds" are pretty much part of the main stay of Science Fiction sound effects today. The film sets The Martians as totally different from humans, creating an "Us & Them" situation mirroring the East Versus West fears of The Cold War in an already paranoid America telling it's people to beware of Reds Under The Bed. Of course the first response is to send in the military to try and suppress the Martians. ...
...already clear that back then the concept of "acceptable losses" had not been formed. The 1st big mistake is the heat ray that the ship fires to kill the first 3 men when the "meteor" hatch unscrews. The EMP(electro magnetic pulse) that seems to stop watches. Back in 1953 most if not all watches would be clockwork, EMP would NOT effect clockwork). The reaction to "blast them right off the Earth", is a typical macho attitude of the time with America ...

atytyut2434 14.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The War Of The Worlds (DVD)

THEM! (1954)

Advantages: dramatically sound sci fi,excellent quality,very well shot and directed,
Disadvantages: obviously not up to todays special FX standards which may be a disadvantage to some viewers

...drains beneath Los Angeles " THEM " comes across as genuine and really scary of what we could unleash on our world if we carry on testing atomic bombs. Over 50 years on and "THEM" is as powerful today as it was then.The images portrayed still frighten and the sense of mystery and tthreat still pack a punch. In less capable hands "THEM" would have been a failure but Director Gordon Douglas turns this into a classic. No really notable actors, except ...
...and white. " THEM " is definitely a film you should see and a high quality DVD transfer plus original artwork is very well worth having. No extras here though except the original trailer. Incidentally although the film is in black and white you'll notice the title is in color, which was done to make more of an impact , as was the whole film which was originally to have been shot in 3D , but as there were some technical problems whch prevented this ...

zeroid 17.09.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Them (DVD)

ROAHR! Its the original rubber suited monster!

Advantages: pure B movie fun, oddly thought provoking
Disadvantages: not many, gotta love the cheesy effects! Subtitles may distract

...Will true love prevail? Can Godzilla be killed,and is he the only one of his kind? Will this catastrophe bring the evil of the atomic age with the desruction of civilisation? Watch, and find out! ~~~Cast~~~ This is very much an ensemble piece of a film. Seemingly small parts all serve to move the story forawrd, with no truly unimportant parts with speaking lines. The cast are: • Takashi Shimura ................. Dr Kyōhei Yamane • Momoko Kouchi ...
...a pleasure boat • Godzilla ................ Katsumi Tezuka and Haruo Nakajima Note that Godzilla has two names next to him. This is because in 1954, there of course no CGI effects available and miniature models were ineffective in scenes with live people. Therefore, a rubber suit was used in several scenes. The acting appears to be fairly good quality for a B movie, but the monster is what the film is about, and he is by far the most memorable. ...

Shroud 17.05.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Godzilla (Subtitled) (DVD)

You Look Like a Radioactive Tampon

Advantages: Great Direction and Acting
Disadvantages: Too Slow for some

Moon reminds me a lot of those big weighty Sci-fi films of the seventies where it was all about atmosphere, storyline and your imagination rather than riotous special effects and wise cracking aliens. This film is utterly beguiling, its tense but strangely relaxing, all of these is down to two men, the director Duncan Jones and the star Sam Rockwell. This is Jones' first feature film and its an incredibly impressive debut, he eschewed using his father ...
...it is a really fantastic film which is a credit to him. Starring Sam Rockwell as Sam, the only worker on an automated lunar mining complex. He has been working on his own for nearly three years and nearing the end of his term in space he feels lonely, isolated and confused....as anyone would, I imagine. With only a droid, Gerty (Voiced by Kevin Spacey) for company, Sam is alone and starts to feel a world apart from Earth, he feels he is alone but ...

paulie1975 29.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Moon (DVD)

Sometimes, Ignorance is bliss

Advantages: clever thriller, good story, well acted
Disadvantages: bit depressing?

Dont misunderstand my review title, this is a cracking film. You can nearly always say that about Nicolas Cage films, but this one really is! The premise is simple. There are many disasters happening on earth, for some reason, aliens decide to warn mankind about the upcoming disasters by "whispering" them to a little girl in the 1950's. Unfortuneately, that girl does nothing with the information other than write it down on a bit of paper and allow ...
...capsule. The capsule is dug up in the current day and discovered by Nicolas Cage's character. He soon discovers the code in the series of numbers written on the page and works out that the code tells of impending disasters, when they will happen, how many will die and the location. The story continues on along this path, with a worrying fortelling of the end of days. We don't know what will happen right until the end. I wont ruin it for you either, ...

AgeUK 28.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Knowing (Blu-ray)