Customer Reviews

Destination Moon [VHS]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

George Pal's "Destination Moon" is a CLASSIC Science Fiction Movie of the 1950's. I recommend it to everyone. HOWEVER be aware that the DVD edition is made from an EXTREMELY POOR QUALITY print. Its scratchy, its noisy in places and scenes are shortened by a few seconds where broken film has been joined etc. etc. etc. (Its painful to watch sometimes). Come on the guys at IMAGE Entertainment; if your going to put out a DVD of a movie like this; (especially for its 50th Anniversary); at least get a GOOD QUALITY print!!!! Perhaps even get a NEW one made from the original negatives IF possible. I pulled my 15 year old BETAMAX video; (yes it still works!); from the archives and it looks 100% BETTER then the DVD version you have supplied!!!!! So be warned fans of this George Pal Movie; its a GREAT film, but Image Entertainment have decided to supply you, the customer, with an inferior quality product. This DVD version is extremely disapointing to people like me who who loved the film and who where looking forward to something BETTER. If you can't find a better QUALITY version on VHS, buy this DVD, otherwise FORGET IT. The film gets 4 stars; for the quality of the print it gets -1. The sleeve notes are good however at the end of the day I feel like I have wasted my money. Jay R. Eneberg.

Destination Moon was the first major technicolor motion picture produced in the United States dealing with a trip to the moon, and the first serious, big budget science fiction film. Robert A. Heinlein (author of Starship Troopers, The Puppet Masters, Stranger in A Strange Land, and Space Cadet) co-wrote the screenplay very loosely from his 1947 novel Rocketship Galileo, although about all that remains unchanged in the film is the name Dr. Cargraves. In the book there is a veiled threat from unknown enemies that turn out to be Nazis (this was the first thing Heinlein wrote after the war) - in the film there's just a veiled reference to a communist threat. I suspect the film also draws from Heinlein's more sophisticated treatment from the same period, The Man Who Sold The Moon. The film's suspenseful and scientifically accurate plot depicts man's first voyage to and landing on the Moon, and the dangers of outer space travel. A Woody Woodpecker cartoon is included to demonstrate the principles of rocketry.
George Pal's first science fiction film (earlier he had done Puppetoons and The Great Rupert), Destination Moon earned an Academy Award for Special Effects. Later Mr. Pal would produce more science fiction classics including When World's Collide, War Of The Worlds, and The Time Machine. Photographed in Technicolor with an original musical score by Leith Stevens and stunning artwork by Chesley Bonestell, Destination Moon is a milestone in special effects and a classic in the science fiction genre.
It is said that this film was shown to President Eisenhower to persuade him to support the pre-NASA space programs. On 6 October 1988, after the Robert Heinlein's death, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded him the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal:
"In recognition of his meritorious service to the Nation and mankind in advocating and promoting the exploration of space. Through dozens of superbly written novels and essays and his epoch-making movie Destination Moon, he helped inspire the Nation to take its first step into space and onto the Moon. Even after his death, his books live on as testimony to a man of purpose and vision, a man dedicated to encouraging others to dream, explore and achieve." -- James C. Fletcher, Administrator, NASA

Image's DVD release of DESTINATION MOON is one of the company's better ones. The 50th Anniversary Edition features a short essay by Tom Weaver in its fold-out cover, and it also includes the original theatrical trailer. While the print perhaps could be better, I didn't find it particularly distracting in any manner.

As for the movie itself, this one's a classic, if not for any other reason than its historical importance. This is one of the first "serious" science fiction films of the 1950s and was written by the great sf author Robert Heinlein. The story revolves around four astronauts, their trip to the moon, and the difficulties they encounter preparing for the return trip to Earth. While certain details are inaccurate, the movie is still enjoyable, overall, for today's audience. The lunar landscape is still impressive. DESTINATION MOON, by the way, won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Special Effects.

The DVD of DESTINATION MOON runs 91 minutes. I'd certainly recommend it to science fiction fans. As an extra "bonus," a Woody Woodpecker cartoon about basic physics is embedded in the movie.

I enjoyed the movie, and am glad that I bought it.

However, the quality of this as a DVD is pretty poor.

I realize this movie is 53 years old, but no effort was made to clean up the print for the supposed "50th Anniversary Edition", as it says on the box. This was apparently transfered from a VHS copy, or even an old set of reels.

Every time there is a reel change, you get those obnoxious reel change dots in the upper right corner. There is static, a lot of pops, a few jumps in scenes, the funniest being a scene where the captain says "let's get into our bunks", they get half-way there, and BOOM they're in their bunks, finishing off a sentence. Also, after each reel change, the film is scratched for the next few seconds.

The only "special feature" is the theatrical trailer at the very end of the movie.

Since demand for this movie will probably not force a better version, this will probably be your only chance to get this classic movie on DVD.

I do recommend the movie, but be aware of the quality before you buy it.

Looking at this film today, you might not believe this, but when it first came out, "Destination Moon" was at the cutting edge of both special effects and believability. In 1950, very few people believed space travel was possible, much less a trip to the moon. That was kids' stuff, fantasy nonsense that couldn't possibly work. Yet this movie got almost all of the scientific details right, thanks to the influence and supervision of screenwriter Robert Heinlein, then in the prime of his life and writing ability. Heinlein was even then the most respected science fiction writer on the planet (with the possible exception of H.G. Wells); in the last fifty years, that hasn't changed. "Destination Moon" is based VERY loosely on his classic juvenile "Rocket Ship Galileo," but between the two of them, a generation of young men and women were inspired to believe that going to the moon could be the greatest adventure of them all! This film is going to be attractive primarily to Heinlein and early science fiction movie fans; today, the plot and dialogue is a trifle corny, and we've seen the real thing. But think how bad it could have been: the producers wanted to turn the thing into a musical, and have the astronauts meet dancing and singing girls on the moon! Don't laugh too much: there is reportedly an existing screenplay to that effect in Heinlein's archives! Overall, a great slice of science fiction history, and a must-have video for all Heinlein fans.

Another reviewer has already put up a review entitled "Great Film - Lousy Print".

That pretty much nails it.

Destination Moon is a true classic. Although not as widely known today as "The Day The Earth Stood Still" or "Forbidden Planet", it easily stands up beside them as representing the absolute best that 1950's science fiction cinema had to offer.

Destination Moon is also a seminal film in that it represents "hard" science fiction. That is, it is a serious attempt to project into the future based on real science as known at the time of its creation. It's not a fantastical romp with gloss of pseudoscience applied for flavor. Nor is this a movie that spends much time exploring human relationships or emotions. This is pure science fiction for science fiction's sake.

Looking back from the vantage point of the early 21st century, its projections may not all have hit the mark. But even its misses are still thought provoking. In a contemporary context I'd encourage anyone to consider this movie in the light of the writings of astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin, or the actual hardware being built by Burt Rutan. Or the original Project Orion - America's real nuclear rocket program.

Destination Moon is a remarkable film and I highly recommend it.

As for the quality of the print... Well, it's watchable, but it is a disappointment. Especially given that one of the best things about this movie is the lunar landscape backdrop painted by famed illustrator Chesley Bonestell. Even today this work is still eerie and incredible to look upon. Destination Moon is no camp B-grade frolic where the crackles and scratches of aging celluloid are almost part of the charm. This movie deserves better.

Hidden away in one of the comments to the original "Great Film - Lousy Print" review is the information that a company called "Force Entertainment" in Australia is also putting out a DVD of this movie. Being in Australia myself I decided to chase it up. Unfortunately, judging by this review:

(I did give a web address in the previously submitted version of this review but Amazon decided to censor it)

...the Force Entertainment version doesn't sound like it's any better.

You'll notice I gave this product four stars. I took a star off simply because of the poor quality of the print. Ignoring the print and focusing purely on on the movie, Destination Moon easily deserves five.

Theo.

The 1950 film Destination Moon, written by Rip Van Ronkel and Robert Heinlein, is incredible for it's accuracy of what was to come 19 years later. To show rocket physics in simple terms a Woody Woodpecker cartoon is used. Unlike some of the sci-fi films of the era (Ed Wood comes to mind), there is very little cheesy about this (unless you believe what they say about the moon). A small group of scientists have decided to get private US companies to finance the building of the rocketship to the moon. I'm sure they had McCarthy breathing down their necks enough to use this line: "Whoever gets to the moon first will be able to hit anywhere militarily on Earth and rule the world." In spite of the meglomaniacal military mentality of this, the rest of the film stays off of this track.

It's interesting to compare this with the actual Apollo missions. First they show the weightlessness pretty accurately with decent weightless FXs, and when they walk on the spacecraft and someone drifts away they utilize something the first Galileo spacewalkers didn't even think of; using an oxygen tank as a jet to maneuver (after the first spacewalkers found it too difficult without them the spacewalk jets were later used). They ate bananas and coffee (as opposed to tang and baby food), and they never showed how they used the bathroom (in Apollo it was with great difficulty).

And the idea to land the rocket whole on the moon was the original concept of Apollo until the main designer found it was much easier to create a Lunar Module. The FX of Earth from space was pretty accurate even if the colors weren't quite right, and most striking was how the moon looked in this film. Check it against the Apollo footage and you'll know they were accurate. I mean in 1950 they did have telescopes powerful enough to see the lunar surface up close and they utilized this. And most impressive is the science, being accurate with the airlocks, 1/6th gravity, and even the crisis where they must lower the payload.

And compare the words of what the 2 astronauts who first step onto the lunar surface tell the world via radio: "First impression is one of utter barrenness and desolation...most intensely brilliant stars anyone ever dreamed of". Buzz Aldrin said "Magnificent desolation." And "I claim possession for the United States for the benefit of all mankind." Neil Armstrong planted the American flag and said the mankind bit.

Remember this was all theoretical and a decade before anyone had even entered space. The stars I guess is what turns people off here, as they are too bright and looked more like lightbulbs. I guess the technology wasn't good enough back then to use actual star footage, but even on the Star Trek TOS intro they use fake stars.

And considering all the B films about space travel since (the one with James Caan in '68, The Stowaway in '74, Capricorn One '79, Mission to Mars '99), this stands out for it's being dead on in many ways, even using 4 astronauts (opposed to 3). I'm wondering if the Apollo planners took some cues from this film.

No, it's no 2001: Space Odyssey, but it's great for 1950. And one other point: they even predict the Space Shuttle, as the rocket is designed to "glide to a landing". I'm wondering when mankind will once again venture to the Moon, establish a moonbase, then onto Mars and beyond. We have the technology now, so let's do it!

This is a significant movie in the history of science fiction cinema, but it's hit and miss as a movie. The special effects, especially the matte paintings by Chesley Bonestell, are outstanding, but the story is pretty thin and the characters are strictly two dimensional. It was one of the first movies to treat space travel scientifically and that was both a good and bad thing. It created a sense of reality in the story that is fairly effective, but at the same time some of the exposition is pretty dry (even Woody Woodpecker can only do so much with it) and the big crisis at the end of the movie doesn't involve us as much as it should.

The DVD is also hit and miss. When it's good, the video is pretty impressive for a 50 year old movie, but there are a lot of frames marred by scratches. The color is true and the picture is sharp but the scratches become distracting at times. The audio also displays a surprising amount of noise for a DVD transfer. It's a shame this movie hasn't been restored to better condition. There are no extras except for an interesting printed history of the film on the despised snap case.

Despite my caveats, I do think this is a must for any serious collector of sci-fi film. As others have commented, Destination Moon made space travel believable to the public and paved the way for the real space program. And it is especially desirable for any Heinlein fan. Even with its faults, this is certainly the best treatment his work has had on film so far.

One of the greatest joys of DVD for me is not watching your latest block-buster, but seeing older films restored to their former glory. Two of the best are "Now Voyager" and "The Time Machine", but this film "Destination Moon" has to be the worst transfer I have ever seen and basically renders the film unwatchable. I didn't even get past the first ten minutes before it was back in it's box and is now being advertised for sale on eBay. Ghastly.

The movie is probably one of the best of its kind, especially remembering that it was started only 4 years after the end of WWII. Heinlein's hand can be seen throughout this movie. Considering this was made 20 years prior to the 1st real moon landing they got a lot right. The effects are good (exceptional for its day) and although the acting is nothing to write home about, it is servicable. Follow the crew on their first trip, and find out who gets left behind when they discover they don't have enough fuel to get everyone home. If you want a classic Sci-Fi from the golden age then this (along with Forbidden Planet and Them) are for you. The video quality it fair, but it does not distract from the overall feel of the movie (you almost feel that there needs to be some scratches on it just to prove it is a classic).