Product Description: The Monster That Challenged the WorldCreeping dread! Crawling terror! Oozing fear! The local beaches go from fun-filled swim-fest to horrifying slugfest when a horde of gargantuan vampire snails ooze their way into the water supply and threaten to suck the life out of mankind! Packed with nerve-jangling suspense and excitement (Variety) this slimy sci-fi thriller delivers superior monster action (VideoHound s Movie Guide) that ll pull the most hardened sci-fi cynic right out of his shell!Running Time 69 MinIt! The Terror from Beyond SpaceToo terrifying to even have a name It is a seemingly invincible monster that is hellbent on killing everybody on a mission to Mars. A Martian by birth and Frankenstein by instinct (Variety) this life-devouring alien brushes aside bullets and even nuclear blasts making it the deadliest Cold War-style invader ever to hit the silver screen.Running Time 74 MinSystem Requirements: Running Time 143 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: NR UPC: 027616910851 Manufacturer No: 1006944
Two of My Very Favorite Sci Fi Films These two are among my very favorite science fiction films of the 1950's. Excellent acting and direction; and I find the quality very good. Thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend this series, in general, and this dvd, in particular, to anyone who enjoys good science fiction.
TWO GOOD 50'S SCI-FI FILMS! ON ONE DVD! GIANT SNAILS VS ALIEN I have reviewed both these two films on their OOP individual releases. This is a no brainer for fans of these old sci-fi films from the 50's 'The Monster That Challenged The World' is the better of the two films on this disc, but they are both "must have flicks" for old sci-fi horror fans! 'It! The Terror From Beyond Space' is the original idea for 'Alien'. The DVD transfer is very good, assuming that it is, at least on par with the original individual releases of these. It's the same company, so I would bet on it. Not much in the way of extras, a trailer for "It".
Cool, but less so than I'd remembered I'll never forget seeing IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE at age 8. It made a lasting impression on me, especially the shots of the cast shadow of the creature thrashing the rocket's crew members and the scene where it breaks through the final panel separating it from the remaining crew. Exciting stuff for a child!
I also saw THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD around the same time and it impressed me less. I remember wondering just how a giant mollusk restricted to an inland sea was challenging the world. I did like (and still do) the 50s de rigeur educational film part: the jr. high science class clips on snails... But, I think much more highly of this film now. The people seem real and I empathise with them in their extraordinary situation. Also, the musical score by Heinz Roemheld, not so well-known now, is exceptionally good.
So, back to IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. (By the way, just what does that mean?) What a difference 45 years make! Sorry, but this film lacks mystery big time. We're SHOWN the creature entering the craft within the FIRST FEW MINUTES! Whose decision was that? If for most of the film's running time, the rescuing crew believe that this sole survivor on a Mars expedition (the captain) had killed his crew, it may have helped a bit if WE were allowed to at least suspect the same thing! Also, there's too much questionable science/logical inconsistency and the acting is noncommittal and awkward; the crew members don't really know who they are - they're just bodies within the confined space of the ship. Even the music (by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter, who also did THE FLY) is a little weak, although the short theremin cues which accompany the shots of the rocket traveling through space are very effective.
All that acknowledged though, I like this DVD. It's a good complementary pairing of 50s B films which I'll likely revisit frequently. These particular films, although not as well crafted as 1953's WAR OF THE WORLDS and INVADERS FROM MARS or 1955's TARANTULA and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, did play a significant part in setting the parameters of my youthful imagination.
I recommend the disc, but wide-screen fans beware! BOTH of these films are "formatted" pan-and-scan.
Mommyyyy!!!!! Helllllp meeeee!!!!!........... I'm not sure if I have seen "It - The Terror..." before but....."The Monster That Challenged the World" is AWESOME!!! I first saw it at a friend's house somewhere between when I was 11 and 13 years old - and almost pooped 45 bricks. It was scary almost to the point of being sickening. It was GREAT!!! In fact...it did kind of sicken me. It was awesome. And keep in mind that even as an 11 year old back in the early 60's - I had a Keen and Extremely discriminating eye for "fakey looking crap" - in Any sort of movie. And there was a Lot of that in many of those old 50's science fiction movies - even in the some of the ones that were considered "good". No such tawdry nonsense here. Even today it gives me the creeps a bit. It's a good flick.
Two great B's The Midnight Movie DVD's always serve up nice double-feature discs, but this one is special because BOTH movies are quintesential 50's flicks. MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD features one of the best on-set created monsters of the decade (the ending is a classic), with some nice support work by Hans Conried and Phillip Coolidge, underwater scenes with giant snails and a great shot of the monster getting its eye poked out. IT! is a 50's perenial, that was (arguably) the basis for ALIEN. Solid Jerome Bixby script, and decent, atmosphereic direction from old hand Edward L. Cahn. Add nice photography, solid work by Marshall Thompson, Dabbs Greer and Ann Doran (all great 50's thesps) and one of Paul Blaisdell's best monster suits, and you have a great monster-on-the-spaceship flick. The transfers here are beauitful, so this disc is a great bargain for the sci-fi geek in all of us.
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