Customer Reviews

Stranger From Venus

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I don't know I could be wrong, but it seems to me that movies made today require a ton of special effects ( especially in the Sci Fi - Fantasy genre ) to keep an audience interested. Nothing wrong with this though, as I myself enoy a little escapist entertainment as much as the next person. Having said that though I must confess that it is my opinion that good writing and acting will win out over high tech effects almost everytime with few eceptions and nothing is better if you have both. Which brings me to this film, Stranger From Venus. It has very little in the effects department (Plan 9 From Outer Space has more) but the script and acting are a notch above alot of movies in this genre today or in the 1950's when this film was made.The story is not your average alien invasion plot that dominate most film in this category, which to me is a breath of fresh air. In fact,I'd put Stranger From Venus in a category of Sci Fi films that are a bit different from the rest of the crowd like The Man Who Fell To Earth, Man Facing SouthEast and Signs. So,if you are looking for exploding planets,high tech battle cruisers or strange looking creatures, you won't find it here but if you seek a good well written story from a different angle then your patience will be rewarded.

Image Entertainment's release of STRANGER FROM VENUS, as part of their Wade Williams DVD Collection, is an interesting little find for old sci-fi film fans. STRANGER FROM VENUS shares many common elements with the all-time classic THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL -- most notably a kind alien who wishes to warn humanity of the consequences of atomic warfare. It also shares a basic plot structure with the infamous 1950s British sci-fi flick DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS: an alien landing in rural England and "hanging out" in and around a local inn/tavern. If you've seen and enjoyed either film, you'll like this one.

STRANGER FROM VENUS has surprisingly strong performances from its lead actors: Patricia Neal and Helmut Dantine. In one well-done sequence, for instance, Dantine demonstrates to a reporter his superior intellect by reading a newspaper article, one paragraph at a time in a different language.

STRANGER FROM VENUS certainly is for genre fans alone. It's very "talky" and, outside of cheap flying saucers at the very end, provides little cheesy special effects to make fun of. The DVD also doesn't have any bonus features, not even a trailer. So you've got to make sure that the price is worth it to you (the transfer is very good however).

I concur with most of the reviews already written.. a "soft" sci-fi story relying on dialogue rather than special effects. Patrica O'Neil definately made this movie.

This film deserves more attention I think because it deals as much with the response of earth establishment types as it does with the possible aliens themselves...

The plot concerns an alien landing in a remote British village... and how this alien relates to earthly preferences and habits... This alien has compassion and vision and is willing to share it with humanity..but of course the establishment types are not ready for this and soon botch thinks up horribly!

It has a strong anti military flavor to it as well as antinuclear testing... The alien warns that continued testing could cause a destabilized earth orbit which could endanger other worlds... among other things...

The special effects are not unusual or even spectacular... but they managed to create an aura of mystery none the less!

This movie is the most obvious remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I like both films, but besides the hilarious special effects and the casting of an American actress as English, I prefer this film. The stranger, played by Helmut Dantine, is very believable in the part, maybe just because of his Austrian accent. Also, the slightly romantic departure from the plot of The Day the Earth Stood Still warmed my unscientific heart. The messages are the same: anti-war, and that was very timely in the early 1950's. Perhaps it's still quite timely....

From prior reviews I naturally assumed this movie would be at last on a par with The Day The Earth Stood Still... perhaps more cerebral... but worth the view. YIKES !! Was I ever disappointed !!! Where do I begin? Badly written script... stilted acting... ridiculous dialog... lame plot. As a serious lover of 50's Sci Fi... I can honestly recommend that you skip this one...

The title of this si-fi is good and you would expect more of the movie. It had almost no action, the story line was weak and it could have been a lot better. The acting was poor and I the movie was disapointing for a si-fi lover.

This 1954 British black/white entry is a low budget, minimal special effects film. Unfortunately, it is compared to The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) which was a marvel of special effects and a great story. Of course, you have Patricia Neal who was in both films as the female lead.

A spaceship from Venus lands in the English countryside and drops off a representative.
He wanders to a scene of a car accident which was caused by his spaceship and finds Susan North badly injured. How she got some of the tears in her dress from the accident is a mystery.

Next we change to the Inn run by a father and daughter. This inn becomes the focal point of the story.

This first contact is greeted by a sense of awe by the local doctor, innkeeper and his daughter. Entering the inn is Susan's fiancé, a government official, who is looking for her.

The Venusian Stranger has no name and talks in a mechanical fashion with no emotion. His mission is clear--he is there to prepare the way for his representatives to confer with the world leaders.

Unfortunately, human nature kicks into play as the machinery of government come full circle. The British are tossing out a welcome mat for the coming representatives, but beneath their welcome mat is something more sinister. Definitely, it is a poor display of diplomacy by the Brits.

As the story develops Susan and the Stranger grow closer. She is fascinated and intrigued by him and shows him her special retreat by the pond where she goes to be alone. He is attracted to her.

The Stranger comes to value the special place. The serenity of the place is very vivid in black and white as the camera pans the surroundings.

This film focuses more on story. Unfortunately, little is said about life on Venus except for a few comments which tie in with the ending.

The 50's were the time of science fiction film exploration. Overall, it is a descent film for the mid-fifties.

I was expecting more excitement and suspense than the film offered but was not disappointed. The film is pertinent to todays viewer, only the clothing and surroundings date it. Dont expect to see over the top special effects, this movie caters to the mind, not the eye..I am glad i have it in my scifi collection.

I'm surprised by the generally negative reviews this one has gotten. I suppose if you're looking for Star Wars or Alien, this movie would disappoint. And if you're looking for badly executed cheese, which a lot of the sci fi of the era undeniably was, you'll be put off by the largely serious tone, careful writing, and the lack of flimsy plot and worse acting. This movie has a solid story, quite good acting, a few light comic touches, a love story... the only serious flaw is the predictable melodrama of the ending. There wasn't even a lot of pseudoscience (although the scientific premise of the movie doesn't actually work, and they probably knew that even in 1953). Bottom line, this is what science fiction is supposed to be - a hard look at what we are as humans, and how we react to discovery. No, we don't get to watch Los Angeles get nuked (Kronos) or have to sit through an Awful Alien Dance Scene (Cat Women of the Moon), but it's just that avoidance of pointless special effects and irritating pseduodrama, that makes this movie a solid piece of storytelling. Recommended if you want a break from the swiss cheese plots of the more typical 50's fare. (Which I do enjoy for a laugh).

I'm not certain you could even make this movie today - propose a science fiction premise and you absolutely have to have either a hot space babe or a superhypermegaweapon, ideally both. It's worth watching this just to muse on just how sci fi has been hijacked in the last 50+ years, and turned into an endless special-effect-o-rama.