Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
World Without End. The First Science-Fiction film in CinemaScope!, August 31, 2008
Warner Home Video sneaked out this superb DVD as only available exclusively to BestBuy stores in the U.S., who don't ship items outside the U.S. Luckily for myself and many others in the UK, amazon market place sellers in the U.S. know when they're on to a good thing and bought up a lot of copies of this DVD from BestBuy and I was able to obtain mine from a seller in New York.
I was aged nine and three quarters when I went to the cinema on Monday, January 7th, 1957, to see WORLD WITHOUT END. It was an "A" certificate film (children not allowed in to see it unless accompanied by an adult), so I asked a man to take me in and I was totally enthalled by it. In fact, nothing at that time captured my boyhood imagination like WORLD WITHOUT END.
The premise of the film is excellent (I won't go into the plotline, as Prof D has already done that in his review) and the acting, music and photography are also salutory. Although the special effects seemed marvellous when I first went to see it, they do seem pretty ropey now, but the rest of the film more than makes up for this. If the plot seems a little familiar, it bears more than a passing resemblance to H.G. Wells The Time Machine, which itself was made into a successful film four years later in 1960 and, oddly enough, it also starred Rod Taylor, playing a similar role to that which he played in WORLD WITHOUT END...that of a time traveller.
I have had the pan and scan VHS video of the film for many years, but this wonderful DVD release, with it's superb picture and sound quality, has given me the opportunity to see the film in it's original CinemaScope wide screen ratio for the first time in nearly fifty-two years and I am delighted with it. The Technicolor is also very beautiful. If only modern films looked as good as this.
As for SATELLITE IN THE SKY, I never went to see that and my viewing of it on this disc marks the first time I've seen it. The transfer is equally as good as WORLD WITHOUT END and the film is more than adequate, but, of course, it doesn't hold the same importance for me as WORLD WITHOUT END, which was so much a part of my childhood of long, long ago.
The DVD has only the two films on it. There are no scene selections and no extras of any kind, not even a trailer for either film. Perhaps, with this release selling so well, Warners with give it a proper release with scene selections and extras. Although most of the cast and crew of WORLD WITHOUT END are no longer with us (after all, it was filmed in 1955 and released in 1956), Rod Taylor is, as far as I know, still around. So maybe they could ask him to do a commentary on the film. Anyway, I wholly recommend this DVD and give it five stars!
David Rayner in Stoke on Trent, England, UK.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kudos for World Without End !!!, August 27, 2008
I FINALLY found the 1956 Sci-Fi classic, "World Without End" on dvd through Amazon.com's "other dealers". Why it was never released and shown on Amazon's "New Releases" list is beyond me. However, the dvd version is GREAT...it's in Cinemascope and the master from which it was created is perfect...and terrific-looking on widescreen tvs! Apparently Warner Brothers had the rights to this Allied Artist production and released this movie with another -- "Satellite in the Sky". I haven't watched the other movie yet; who cares anyway? To get a "virgin" copy of "World Without End" in its original format and without flaws in the master copy is INCREDIBLE!!!
For those of you who are not aware of this classic, "World Without End" follows the exploits of four space explorers (among which are Hugh Marlowe, Rod Taylor and Christopher Dark) in 1957 as they traverse an "exponential time displacement" while orbiting Mars and wind up in the year 2508. The earth has be devastated by an atomic war (in the year 2188) and these four explorers have to cope with everything from giant spiders to mutant humans and evil people as well. It's good escapist fun for the whole family and, though the special effects are limited, entertains throughout.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, August 9, 2008
I have been looking for ever for World Without End.
I don't know anything about Satellite in the Sky, Yet.
I picked up a copy at BestBuy Canada yesterday for 16.99.
Unfortunately you won't be able to find it on the BestBuy Canada website for some reason the search doesn't find it. You maybe able to call bestbuy and get the webid to order. This might help Canadian's looking for these movies.
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