Customer Reviews

Destination Moon/Rocketship X-M

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I got this two-pack for about a buck, when some store was closing and liquidating its stock. It was the best buck I've spent in a while, giving two wonderful Eisenhower-era views of space travel. Of course that meant traveling somewhere, and of course that meant the moon.

"Destination Moon" is just a little hard to take straight-facedly today. There's a long interlude early on explaining how a rocket works, in the form of a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. The reverential attitude towards American Industry (you can even heard the capital letters when the phrase is spoken) died long before Ernon and the rest defiled its corpse. The guys bounding around on the moon look pretty naive by the standard of The Matrix's wire-work. Even the stereotypes, like the little wise-cracking guy with the Bronxoid accent, have passed away. Still, George Pal's direction and Robert Heinlein's script push this one ahead of the pack.

In particular, ahead of "Rocketship X-M." In this one, the moon travellers make a wrong turn and end up on Mars. (The two were so close to each other, y'know, it was a natural mistake.) If you can go along with that much, you might enjoy this artifact of the 1950s. It's not so much a movie as a series of stereotypes strung together. The rocket's instrument panel would be familiar to anyone who had seen cockpit panels in WWII movies, right down to the artificial horizon (relative to what?) and airspeed indicator, despite lack of air. There are a few zero-G scenes, but weightlessness seems to apply only to objects and not to people. Mars itself is a lot like Earth, but with a Theremin and an orange filter. And that poor leading lady - she could be a woman or a scientist, but not both at once.

Whatever their flaws, these are still good popcorn movies. They capture the era in which they were made, including an glowing optimistic sense that's since been painted over with many coats of cynicism. And, if you have kids, you might appreciate the fact that people watch their language, keep their clothes on, and don't get into bloody fights. (The end of X-M might be a bit much for a sensitive kid, though - use your judgement.)

//wiredweird

"Destination Moon" and "Rocketship XM" both came out the same year -- but that is where the similarity ends. I consider "Destination Moon" the father of the modern science-fiction film. The quality of the production and the gorgeous Technicolor® give this film a quality few later '50's sci-fi films would achieve. What helps this flm is the fact that there are no real stars in it -- but very competent and very recognizable actors at the least. "Rocketship XM" on the other hand was a hurry-up film made to beat "...Moon" to the theaters. The B/W print quality is gorgeous, having been restored to its original sharp quality. Lloyd Bridges stars. The special effects for "XM" were decent for their time, but the effects for "...Moon" were ahead of their time. If I were grading these films, I would give "..Moon" a B+, and "XM" a C+. Both films are enjoyable, and make nice companion pieces.

I was home with a bad back when I ordered this: it came within days, way early. Condition NEW or like new. What a great thing to help pass the time and forget getting old: watching movies I loved as a ten year old that were still very entertaining. I remember the cheesy coloring of "Angry Red Plante", but not in "Rocketship X-M", only afterwards did it read it was done retro by Dennis Murin. What a guy! And my soon-to-be-favorite filmaker assembling a team including my favorite sci-fi writer and space artist to make the hyper-realistic "Destination Moon" was the cake under the icing.

I enjoyed these when I was a youngster and still do. Destination Moon is a more serious, and somewhat accurate, look at a trip to the moon though with the inevitable Hollywood crisis. Rocketship XM is a bit silly (like a press conference at T-17 minutes, entering the rocket at T-5 minutes and stopping to take a look at the engines) but still kind of fun and with a bit of a moral. (I understand that it was created in a hurry to get it out before Destination Moon.)

This is a great deal on two "out of this world" 50's sci-fi classics.

The films are great fun for any lover of 50's science fiction.

The DVD of "Rocketship X-M" looks great but beware - the print of "Destination Moon" is not very good. Lots of scratches and splice jumps. You will see a better copy of "Destination Moon" on the late late late show.

Image usually does a much better job of finding good sources to make their DVD's from and for a "50th Anniversary" edition of "Destination Moon" I was disappointed in the quality.

Although I wasn't thrilled in the print of "Destination Moon" the DVD is still watchable and this two pack is a great deal.

Excellant Movies for older people like me who grew up on the early 50's Sci-Fi. We can still appreciate that, although not on a par with Star Wars or Jurassic Park etc., they were masterpieces of their time.