Customer Reviews

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Sci-Fi Adventures (Them! / The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms / World Without End / Satellite in the Sky)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This set contains four sci-fi films from the 50's. With the atomic age upon them, Frankenstein's monster and vampires were just not that scary anymore to the people of the 1950's. Thus filmmakers turned to creatures and environments that were the byproducts of man's nuclear experiments.

Probably the best known of these films is "Them!". In a location in the southwest U.S., at the site of the test of several nuclear weapons, people and sacks of sugar are disappearing in large quantities. Robert Graham (James Arness) represents federal law enforcement in the investigation, and Dr. Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn) represents science. Also, there is a second doctor Medford, the very attractive daughter of Harold Medford.

"The Beast from Twenty Thousand Fathoms" revolves around a dinosaur trapped in the Arctic ice that is thawed and awakened as the result of a nuclear test. The scientist who first sees the creature is not believed. However, he soon has converts when the beast emerges from the deep and starts not only devouring Manhattanites but spreading a deadly disease.

"Satellite in the Sky" is a British effort. A rocket crew carries a powerful new type of bomb into space for a test. However, the bomb becomes attached to the ship's hull and will soon detonate if something is not done. This one is a bit talky, but pretty well done.

"World Without End" was produced by poverty row studio Allied Artists, whose catalog is now owned by Warner Brothers. Four astronauts returning from a mission to Mars wind up on earth 600 years in the future. Atomic war has made the earth a place full of men that have become Neanderthals - literally, insects that have grown to giant proportions and women who seem to be starved for attention from the opposite sex and, in spite of all of the chaos on earth, still have a sense of fashion. If parts of this film look familiar it is because several scenes were edited into "The Queen of Outer Space" in order to be more economical to the budgets of both pictures.

None of these films is in any boxed set although all are already on DVD. This set is highly recommended for lovers of 50's sci-fi. If you are a stickler for top-drawer CGI you might want to look elsewhere, since that is not the point of these films.

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection : Sci-Fi Adventures
4 Classic 1950's Sci-Fi films for $18.99, prior to this collection's release you would have had to pay a lot more in purchasing these movies separately.
Here are the movies listed , in order by my favorite to least liked.

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953):
Another creature being awakened by atomic bomb testing, this time it's a gigantic dinosaur "Rhedosaurus"
Excellent stop-motion effects by the master "Ray Harryhausen". Of course of all places the creature heads to , it has to be New York City. Here we get to see a lot of massive destruction + a lot of stock footage of military personnel and aircraft in attack mode.
Features the classic Coney Island Roller Coaster / Dinosaur scene that was years ahead of its time.
Again another black and white classic that has been transferred to DVD that is exceptional in clarity.
THEM (1954)
One of the more classic "BIG BUG" movies of all time. Again mankind has upset mother nature with atomic radiation.
Great production values and great sets, shot in glorious black and white.
One of the most "chilling" sounds is hearing the strange high-pitched chatter coming from "THEM". Giant-Sized atomic bred ants, who attack mostly in their search for sugar.
Stars James Arness (Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke fame)
Great transfer to DVD. I can still remember seeing this movie for the 1st time when I was young.
WORLD WITHOUT END (1956)
Never have seen this film before, it was quite a surprise.
4 astronauts are returning from earth's 1st mission to Mars, when they enter a mysterious time warp and are thrown into a nuclear ravaged earth some 552 years into the future.( Planet of the Apes ? )
One of the better sci-fi space films that I have seen from this period. High production values, good looking sets.
The special effects are the general fare for this era, except for the incredibly hokey looking giant spiders.
Great story line with some beautiful actresses. Filmed in Cinemascope color.
SATELLITE IN THE SKY (1956)
Also Filmed in Cinemascope color, and looks very sharp on DVD.
Stars a very young and beautiful Lois Maxwell ( Miss Moneypenny from the James Bond films)
1st rocket of its kind, blasts into outerspace,but secretly deploys a highly experimental t-bomb (strongest atomic bomb ever created).
The bomb is to be exploded in the safety of outer space, but of course the crew runs into unexpected problems. Excellent special effects , especially exploiting the massive scale of the ship. Not too special elsewhere ( smoke coming from the ship looked like someone blowing cigarette smoke, a lot of scenes looked like minatures)

You can't go wrong purchasing this nice collection. Excellent value for the money.

These are re-done and better than the released single DVD's. "World Without End" is the widescreen version. If you are a 50's Sci-Fi fan this is worthy of adding to your collection.

It's really two classics, a cliché and a clunker but overall a very worthwhile compilation -- and the price is right.

The quality of the film transfers to DVD is superior so I was more than happy to retire my old VHS tapes.

THEM! ranks as the best of the Bug films made popular in the 1950's. TARANTULA is right behind with THE BLACK SCORPION AND THE DEADLY MANTIS in the middle and BEGINNING OF THE END and EARTH VS. THE SPIDER taking up a rear position.

The opening of THEM!, including the bright red title bursting dramatically to fill the screen, is extremely effective and sets the mood for the mystery to come. The giant ants are ungainly by today's standards but still work their magic and the suspense builds throughout as actions unfold to find and destroy the threat of a multiplying atomic creation.

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS showcases the genius of Ray Harryhausen's pain-staking stop-motion animation technique and should be added to his colorized titles along with EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA. A finely tuned tale with top-notch performances by Cecil Kellaway, Paula Raymond and sci-fi icon Kenneth Tobey

WORLD WITHOUT END has that space/time warp thingy going on that lands explorers on a future Earth devastated by atomic war, with a giant spider and mutants trying to put the hammer down (clubs, actually) on underground survivors that include lovely women in those cute mini-skirt costumes that made the rounds in such other pot-boilers as FLIGHT TO MARS and QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE.

The spaceship in ...END also found a home in several other interplanetary tales such as QUEEN... and IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. All in all, a colorful entertainment with a good message storyline and a competent cast that included Rod Taylor of George Pal's brilliant THE TIME MACHINE that kicked off the 1960's.

As for SATELLITE IN THE SKY, the premise of a super-bomb menacing an orbiting test rocket crew is interesting but scientifically nonsensical and it's also a typically slow-paced British-made talker with minimal action and, thus, pretty boring. The rocket launch sequence is a direct lift from 1951's WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE although it's one of the film's highlights.

While not the lost classic it purports to be, it's still worth a viewing for it's serious take on a provocative issue of the day.

Nicely put together collection, TCM. Crowd goes wild!

I bought this because I love 3 of the 4 films - Them, Beast, and World Without End. This product is listed as disc 1, side A showing Them - "Behind-the-scenes archive footage showing how giant ants operate." WRONG! There is no behind the scenes footage at all. There's a few drawings, but mostly it's trailers. If you buy this for this feature alone, you will be disappointed. Now forget that part. These movies are the best classics. Love them for the movie itself and not the extras - at least in this package.

There is an outstanding commentary with both Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen together talking about Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (amond other things). This is a MUST SEE!

As far as Amazon - This is my 1st purchase and it was flawless. Communication was great - tracking info and all- and the item arrived in a timely manner and was packaged well. No complaints at all.

This DVD is absolutely wonderful with four classic movies from the 50s. I originally ordered this DVD for the movies ("Them!" and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms") and was quite pleased with all four movies. I won't go into detail about the synopsis of the movies as you probably are already familiar with these movies or can read other reviews already written.

Them and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms are Black & White while World Without End and Satellite In The Sky are in color. All four movies come in crisp and sharp transfers.

Note: You might recognize one of the characters, Kenneth Tobey, starring in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms as the leader who saved our planet from "The Thing from Another World".

Highly recommend this set to anyone whose childhood was filled with these type of movies and I still keep repeating the phrase "Make me a Sergeant in charge of the Booze".

the main reason I got this tcm movie pack was because it had two movies that I has not seen in a long time.(world with out end/satelite in the sky)the price was good and the video tranfers were good..most people know that "THEM" was a first class b movie,the beast from 20,000 fathoms a little less.the others are below the first two..but,all four movies in one pack make a true view of the diff. types of s/f b movies..over all a good way to spent a afternoon viewing the past with a little pop-corn..any price under 20.00 is a deal..

I already have a copy of THEM but, I have been trying to find WORLD WITHOUT END and THE BEAST FROM 20,000 Fathoms for a long time. The picture is extremely good for a DVD. Who knows how much better 'they' will IF 'they' come out on Blu-Ray Discs? Pure enjoyment and terror! A must have for classic well acted entertainment...

I do so love the old SciFi movies. I have "Them" on an individual dvd but thought it would be great to have the other movies included also. Turns out I hadn't seen them and do really enjoy them. I am glad to have this set in my collection.

These movies are an excellent reminder of how badly modern-day Hollywood has failed to recapture the idea of what makes a science fiction movie a GREAT movie. These 4 movies dealt with the effects of radiation (a new concept in the fifties) on mankind and the possible outcomes of mankind's choices - good or bad. Sound familiar? I'm sure it does. Modern day film makers do just that but where our contemporaries fail is in making it tasteful, palatable, and fun. The Thing From Another World, War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as well as many others are examples of classics that were turned into unacceptable jokes of a modern day remake. I am thirty years old and I am confident to say that Hollywood has lost that Golden Age magic that it once had back in the 50's. History will be the judge, though.