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Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers  Hot
Reviews DVD Reviews
Written by Dave Anderson   
Friday, 21 January 2005


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Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers

Grade

Content Grade: B+
Sound Grade: B
Extras Grade: A
Picture Grade: B+

Specs

Columbia-Tristar Home Entertainment 1.85:1 Widescreen, enhanced for 19 x 9 TVs English audio mono English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Thai (!) subtitles 83 min., B&W, 1956

Review

"Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" is one of dozens of 50's era sci-fi films depicting an alien invasion, but it is the best of the lot, including the bastardization of H.G. Wells' novel, "War of the Worlds," to which it has been often compared. Where "War of the Worlds", is melodramatic, sometimes corny, and reeking of quasi-religious undertones, and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a barely-disguised allegory for the Red Scare of that era, "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" has no such agenda - the story is simple...aliens are coming to kick our asses. Though teaming with sci-fi cliches of the era, with the aid of stop-motion effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, this little B movie offers more fun than most 50's sci-fi films put together. It is, finally, given a stellar DVD treatment by Columbia.
Newlyweds Russell and Carol Marvin (Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor) are two scientists who end up spending their honeymoon at work - he's designing rockets to be launched into space, and she's...well, she's helping him (a role typical of nearly all female co-stars in genre films of the era). The problem is that these rockets explode shortly after leaving Earth. They soon discover aliens are destroying the rockets, "mistaking" them for acts of aggression. These aliens are actually trying to contact Marvin under the guise of a peaceful meeting. But of course, their true agenda is invasion, and when they arrive in seemingly indestructible flying saucers, the people of Earth are given 60 days to surrender, just enough time for Marvin to develop a way to combat them. Economically directed by Fred F. Sears (who died about a year later), "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" benefits from a tight story, reasonably low-key performances and outstanding special effects by Harryhausen, who outdoes himself here; the destruction of Washington D.C. (and its famous monuments) not only predates "Independence Day" by about 40 years, the visuals are more fun than those in similar films of the era, most notably "War of the Worlds." And, unlike both of those movies, the climax isn't nearly as absurd (though it is still pretty silly).

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Picture and Sound

Presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, the picture is as good as can be expected for a movie nearly 50 years old. There are some noticeable scratches, as well as big difference between the normal and stop-motion effects scenes. The soundtrack has also been restored pretty well, even if the remastering level is fairly low. But, these flaws notwithstanding, Columbia has done a terrific job with this release - it easily outshines any previous VHS or laserdisc version.

Extras

This is definitely a bonanza for fans of Harryhausen. Most of the features focus of the film's influential (often imitation and satirized) special effects. Harryhausen was a master at producing great visuals on a tight budget, and the features included here make one appreciate his work. There's a short featurette, "This is Dynamation" (Harryhausen's brand of effects), as well as a making-of clip. Best of all is an hour-long documentary, hosted by Leonard Nimoy, covering Harryhausen's entire career. Throw in some theatrical trailers , and you've got enough extras sure to please any fan of the genre.

Summary

Like many other classic, groundbreaking genre films, "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" shows what talented people can do with a relatively low budget. It's a meat-and-potatoes movie, trimmed of all its fat to tell a simple, straightforward story, not to mention that it arguably features Harryhausen's most historically influential work as an effects artist. Yeah, it's definitely a product of its time, but it's still a lot of fun.

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