Customer Reviews

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Science Fiction (2001 A Space Odyssey / Soylent Green / Forbidden Planet / The Time Machine 1960)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was a bit hesitant to buy this collection because it was listed as having an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. However, it was also listed as being Widescreen..... so I took a chance and ordered it.

When it arrived I was happy to find that all 4 movies are presented in what appears to be their original theatrical widescreen aspect ratios, although the actual numbers aren't listed on the DVDs or the box.

What it does say on the back of the box is that both The Time Machine and 2001 are presented in the widescreen format preserving the original theatrical aspect ratio..... enhanced for widescreen TVs.

The transfers look clean and the audio is crystal clear (listed as Dolby 5.1). As has been noted these are pretty much bare bones presentations, but you get 4 excellent movies on 2 double sided DVDs for a good price. Works for me.

Warner's TCM GREATEST CLASSIC FILMS COLLECTION is a series of over two dozen twin packs. The four titles in each set are dubbed one per side on two flip discs. Only some movies include bonus features. Transfer quality of these well-preserved ever-popular films is top-notch.

The four in this pack are any Boomer's delight, from our childhood friend Robbie the Robot ("Forbidden Planet"), to a primetime NBC-TV fave ("Time Machine"), to trippy late 60s Drive-In movie fare ("2001"), to a more sobering experience ("Soylent Green"). For any who missed these in first run, they remain prime examples of superior vintage science fiction-- deftly combining fine casts, nicely-crafted scripts, skilled cinematography and quirky (by today's standards) yet often engaging special effects.

SYNOPSES--

FORBIDDEN PLANET

An Earth colony on a planet 17 light years from home is nearly wiped out, so an expedition is sent to investigate. Curiously, the only two survivors don't seem to want any help from Commander Abrams and his men, but Abrahms won't leave until he gets some answers.

SOYLENT GREEN

In the (now not too) distant future, an overpopulated Earth broils from the greenhouse effect. Many plants and animals are extinct, so the hungry billions are nourished with color-coded foodstuffs from the Soylent company. There's yellow and red, but their very best is Soylent Green. When the company's president is murdered, a detective's investigation uncovers a horrible secret.

TIME MACHINE

Directed by pioneer special effects wizard George Pal, this adaptation makes author H.G. Wells the main character. After watching the rapid forward passage of time via changing fashions in a nearby ladies dress shop window, Wells rides his machine to a distant future where society is divided into meek surface dwellers and underground cannibals who prey on them.

2001

Episodic, gently paced story encompasses the cosmically assisted rise of humankind from hairy cave dweller to space-traveling modern man to our ultimate pre-planned destiny. Along the way we thrice encounter a mysterious ebony-hued monolith, experience artificial gravity, grapple with a powerful cyber-mechanism gone haywire and watch a man in his prime age, die and undergo embyronic transformation (perhaps into a higher life form?).

Also recommended:

Warner's TCM HORROR set includes "Freaks" (1932), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), "House of Wax" (1953) and "The Haunting" (1963).

Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(7.8) Forbidden Planet (1956) - Walter Pidgeon/Anne Francis/Leslie Nielsen/Warren Stevens/Jack Kelly/Richard Anderson/James Drury

(7.0) Soylent Green (1973) - Charlton Heston/Leigh Taylor-Young/Chuck Connors/Joseph Cotten/Brock Peters/Edward G. Robinson/Dick Van Patten

(7.6) The Time Machine (1960) - Rod Taylor/Alan Young/Yvette Mimieux/Sebastian Cabot/Whit Bissell

(8.4) 2001: A Space Odyssey (UK/USA-1968) - Keir Dullea/Gary Lockwood/William Sylvester/Douglas Rain

as noted elsewhere , these films are presented in their proper aspect ratios and are all fun classics . with todays' heavy reliance on CGI in sci-fi filmaking , these films are more than desirable , they're essential . all films have english subtitles .

Received the item on time and was happy to see the quality of the DVD's. There are 2 DVDs with 2 movies each. Read side A as side B has no titles. I thought I would get 4 DVDs but after reading side A I was happy to be able to save storage space by having them this way. I am very happy with the movies and service! It is wonderful being able to buy my favorites like this and have ordered more classics as well. If you like older movies and want to get good quality and save money then these are the packages for you!

TCM's Sci-Fi collection is truly great collection of four films.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" is one of the all-time great films. A very interesting film about a flight to the Saturn system, the discovery of a simple black slab on the moon and the insanity of a computer! You have to watch this film to appreciate it. No words can explain it.

"Soylent Green" is food. A very unusual film. Quite distrubing for it's time and now.

"The Time Machine" another H.G. Wells novel come to life. Very good special effects and story. Interesting concept and characters.

"Forbidden Planet" is one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made. It's very advanced for the time (1954) and the story is terrific. The characters are really good and the cast is excellent. See if you recognize anything abpout this film in relation to other films and TV shows which came after.

Every review I've ever read about this film always mentioned Shakespear's "The Tempest". Well I'm only mentioning it because all the other reviews did too. I've never read "The Tempest" nor seen an adaptation of it so I have no idea if it resembles that play. I just took the film by itself.

Buy this collection. You won't be disappointed.

This is a good sci-fi collection. Personally,I think "2001" is overrated like many of Kubrick's films but there is no denying its influence. Both " Forbidden Planet" and "Time Machine" are classics,offering good storylines,memorable characterizations and the feminine charms of Anne Francis and Yvette Mimieux,respectively.While I think "The Day The Earth Stood Still","The Thing From Another Planet","Invasion of the Body Snatchers","Them" or the later "Close Encounters" would have been more worthy candidates for inclusion,"Soylent Green" is not without its merits,though the modern viewer will figure things out fairly early on, I suspect.All in all,pretty darn good and ,at this price,a good value ,too.

A fantastic value and 3 out of the 4 movies are 5 star features. I don't think "soylent green" is in the same league as the other 3 great films.

Please note that the "beaming" scene in this version of "Forbidden Planet" is digitally-edited (censored?) for content!

The crew is shown in quite a startling and graphic manner in the orignal "polarization-beam" which is not shown here. Their skeleton, organs, and circulatory systems were quite vividly portrayed. Here it is replaced with a mild green beam-ray effect and looks more like the "beaming-up" on Star Trek.

Otherwise, the best copy of Forbidden Planet I have ever seen; as are 2001 and The Time Machine. A great value if it is on sale, and movies quite worth owning.

In their continuing release of movie packages,Turner Classic movies releases this compilation of four famous Sci Fi films:001-a Space Odyssey(released April/68),Forbidden Planet(released April/56),Soylant Green(released April/73)and The Time Machine(released Aug/60).

2001 -A Space Odyssey is the reigning classic in this group.The now familiar story involves the famous opening of a mysterious but intelligent monolith of extraterrestrial origin influencing the endeavours of early ape-man.When the time fast forwards ahead to 2001,the same or another monolith is found embedded on the moons surface.A signal is sent out from it to Jupiter and a ship is dispatched to check out something strange orbiting the planet there.Along the way the ships computer goes awry and starts to kill its' crew members.It almost succeeds except for one who manages to carry out the mission but at the same time finds himself enveloped in an incredible experience.This version is the more popular 148 minute release;the original came in around over 10 minutes more.The print is clear and crisp and is in its original widescreen a/r.Extras include just commentary by stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.This film is the most accurate to its book that I have ever seen.With its' completely logical and detailed technology driven look,its' a winner all the way.Five stars.

Backing 2001 is Soylent Green,starring Charlton Heston and Edward G.Robinson.It's story involves a future earth where everything including the basic necessities like food is in short supply.Most edibles are doled out to lines and lines of a dejected populace in the form of different coloured "soylants";green being the most coveted.Heston is a cop who has grown up in this crazy world and Robinson is his elderly roommate who remembers when things were different.Heston's duties drag him into a murder involving a man with controlling interest in the soylant trade.This in turn leads Heston to uncover the startling truth behind what soylant green actually is.This film has been transferred well and while showing its' age it is generally a good print.Extras include:commentary,a featurette on the film ,a look at an MGM tribute to Edward G's 101st film and the trailer.It's in its original widescreen a/r.3 1/2-four stars.

On the other two sided disc we find first The Time Machine.This beloved film stars Rod Taylor as a turn of the century inventor(1899)who has invented a time machine.He travels backward then most importantly forward;hundreds of thousands of years forward.He comes upon a race of young and innocent people on the surface while below ground lives a race which feeds regularly on them,like cattle.The inventor with his own ideals interrupts this terrible cycle so the surface race can gets its life back.He returns briefly home to meet colleagues and quickly goes back to the future to presumably live out his life.A wonderful film directed by the venerable George Pal.Extras include cast and crew bios,the trailer,awards and a wonderful /93 featurette narrated by Taylor which looks back at the film,its' famous prop the time machine itself and an acting reunion between stars Taylor and Young.They re-create a what-if scenario where Taylor comes back to see his old friend and take him with him.Precious.The film has been transferred wonderfully and is in its original widescreen a/r.Four solid stars.

The other side contains what many consider a Sci Fi classic,Forbidden Planet.The story involves a rescue mission to a planet in the Altair system.The ship is in the classic shape of a saucer and when the crew lands they are greeted by a huge robot.They are taken to a house where a scientist and his daughter live.They warn of a mysterious creature that has been attacking of late and soon the ship itself is under attack.However a deep underground facility with strange machinery used millenia ago by a now extinct race they find is the real culprit behind the roaming monster and its attacks.It is the way the scientist has utilized the equipment,which now threatens all their safety.Filled with still nice s/FX the movie's plot is a ponderous beast in itself and the set up takes far,far too long for this reviewer.The best things to come out of this movie for me was the interesting cause of the "monster" that threatened them all and Robbie the Robot.Extras include:deleted scenes,lost footage(actually found footage!),2 clips from the MGM TV Parade series w/Walter Pidgeon,the trailer and a Feb/58 ep of the Thin Man TV show.The print is clear and crisp and is in its' original widescreen a/r.Three stars.

This release of four wonderful Sci-Fi movies and all in one place makes a very appealing addition to ones collection.All the prints are wonderfully clear and in their widescreen a/r's.The drawback is that they are on two double sided discs which makes for dicey handling;not my favourite way of getting movies by a long shot.Turner was also remiss in excluding the fact they were all widescreen movies on the outside cover of this set.I hesitated for ages before I bought it because of that alone.

Recommended viewing.

A great way to add the top classic sci fi movies to your sci fi collection. It has been years since I have seen these movies, and I rushed to open it and start watching!

I would encourage you to also buy "Silent Running", "Logans Run", "Day the Earth Stood Still", and "War of the Worlds", among many others.

Other movies to consider are all the remakes of the old classic sci fi movies. "Time Machine ("Time after Time")", "War of the Worlds", "Day the Earth Stood Still", and of course the legendary "KING KONG".

ENJOY!

You get all four movies: Soylent Green, The Time Machine, Forbidden Planet, and 2001 for one great price! All have been beautifully restored and include some features. Stop thinking about it and just buy it!