Two nuclear fission experts are spirited away to the mysterious planet Exeter to aid in its defense.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 08/22/06
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: SleeveA mysterious, pilotless plane carries scientist Rex Reason to a colony of America’s best and brightest minds. They’ve been kidnapped by a dying alien race, the Metalunians, to repair their defense shield before their enemies destroy their world completely, toiling under their spying eyes and futuristic security cameras (two-way TVs that dominate every room). Jeff Morrow, under a raised forehead, bronze tan, and snow-white hair, philosophizes as Exeter, the thoughtful Metalunian torn between his duty and his morals as he forces the plucky humans to labor in his race’s defense. The moody mystery of the first half turns to pure pulp adventure when the humans are transported across the galaxy to the battle-scarred world of Metaluna, under the threatening watch of a monstrous bug-eyed monster with a giant brain for a head and massive claws for hands. There’s a genuine sense of wonder to Joseph Newman’s intergalactic adventure, one of the most ambitious science fiction films of the 1950s. The story is simple space opera, but the futuristic designs of glass and metal, the marvelous alien makeup, and grandstanding special effects invest the film with a Technicolor splendor. Faith Domergue co-stars as a nuclear physicist and Gilligan’s Island‘s Russell Johnson makes his first professorial appearance as a scientist. Science fiction auteur Jack Arnold was an unbilled codirector. –Sean Axmaker
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April 1, 2010
#1
This is an example of how far sci-fi movies have come over the years. It was so cheesy I couldn’t help laughing at it. I’ve discovered I like it much better when I watch it with a friend and some robot companions, Crow and Tom Servo. Watch Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, and you’ll have much more fun.
April 1, 2010
#2
For those who haven’t seen this movie before, just get a copy of “MST3K the Movie” and you can watch it. Otherwise spend your hard earned dollars on this film and watch it half-asleep without the comments of some hecklers. Personally I think the hecklers are a nice touch and keep the sanity of the room grounded. But alas, it’s your choice.
April 1, 2010
#3
Oh boy hunk of cheese here,here’s the lowdown
Plot:Scientific guy and his assistant(do they have a gay thing going on?)discover a machine that is reminiscent of a cheese,where they are contacted by a white man with a big forehead and tells him to go tro yada yada yada,he then takes the plane(there’s goes an stubborn stubborn man)and take him to the office where everybody suspects they are aliens(maybe it has to do with the foreheads and there’s a potrait of a hamburger hanging on the wall)after that they drive away(im a good driver)and are blown up except for the 2 main characters,they are taken by the aliens to their home planet(quiet kids,baywatch is on)to use the nuclear energy to save the planet,sadly the world designed by Dr Seuss bursts into flames(but cooler by the lake)and they return home with the alien,who decides to stay on hsi ship and crash(I always loved you Brack!)So,don’t see this alone,it’s cheese that did not age well,better see the MST3K version
April 1, 2010
#4
This film is forgotten amongst 1950′s pseudo-intellectual sci-fi movies for good reason: it fails to deliver any type of philosophical moral to the story, (as the few, best of the 1950′s fantasy/sci-fi films did), and the monster scenes are way too brief (as most 1950′s monster movies at least got that much right)! THIS ISLAND EARTH is a two-time loser in my opinion.
It starts out very promising and good, but by the middle of the film all you have seen in the way of “monsters” are people with large foreheads. They finally get to the monster part of the movie in the last 10 minutes, but it is way too little, too late, to be worthwhile. There is also no redeeming sci-fi moral to the story, ala’ THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.
The brief monster sighting at the end could have been much better. They have a GREAT looking monster costume, which looks to have been a major influence on the very famous MARS ATTACKS! trading cards classic series, but THIS ISLAND EARTH does very little with the only cool-looking monster in the film.
One interesting role is played by the future Professor on GILLIGAN’S ISLAND, which is probably the most memorable movie trivia item of this film.
This DVD was a waste of time and money, in my opinion. STAY AWAY!
April 1, 2010
#5
For a good laugh I recommend the Mystery Science-fiction theater 3000 version of this movie. Other than that I would never watch the original version.
Yeah I know, it’s so “mtv generation”.