Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The (BD)

Special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen and a story by popular science fiction author Ray Bradburry... this was destined to become a sci-fi classic. This was the first, and probably best, in the long line of prehistoric monster movies that followed and became part of sci-fi film history in the process. The plot begins as a nuclear scientist sees his partner killed by a giant, prehistoric creature while monitoring an atomic blast near the north pole. Naturally, nobody believes him until a paleontologist, played by Paula Raymond, helps him link several sea and beach disasters (I particularly enjoyed the attack made by the creature on a lighthouse) to the beast and prove there is a real monster on the loose. Finally, the animal surfaces at the NYC docks near Wall Street, destroying buildings, cars and people in his wake. After more mayhem and the discovery of a mysterious disease the animal carries which won't permit it to be destroyed by conventional weapons, the creature meets it's fate when it's cornered within the old Coney Island rollercoaster. This film is exceptional primarily due to the genius of Ray Harryhausen. His special effects in this film are outstanding, especially when you consider this film was made in 1953 on a budget that wouldn't pay the cost of one days electric bill on most movie shoots these days. The scenes where the creature has been awakened by the arctic atomic test and his (or is it a her?) journey back to it's prehistoric breeding grounds off the mouth of the Hudson River are superb. The intensity of the action never stops and has seldom been equalled. It begins with the opening scenes in the snowy arctic, continues with attacks on several fishing boats, the lighthouse and reaches a highlight when the creature comes ashore in New York City. We're even treated to a live action fight between a shark and an octopus, at least until the beast appears looking for lunch! Also, the acting by the stories human characters is excellent as well. Most of the actors (like Kenneth Tobey) will be recoginzed from other classic horror/sci-fi films of the period. If you're looking for a real blast from the past and a movie considered by many (myself included) to be the best "prehistoric monster on the loose" flick ever made, you can't go wrong with The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

*Ray Harryhausan At His Finest* This is Harryhausens greatest movie. Even though it is an early film in black and white, it has all the elements of design and story telling that made Harryhausen the greatest special effects artist of his era. He inspired all the people who got into Special Effects Cinema after him. Rick Baker, Stan Winston, Industrial Light and Magic, Rob Bottin and even myself.

Great

Great fun one of my favorite monster movies

I remember watching this movie as a little kid on the Saturday Night Dr. Scar show in Tucson. The animation is early Harryhausen work, but you can already see how he's giving the "Rhedosaur" a personality, as he did with all his animated creatures. No simple lumbering monstrosity here. The lighthouse scene was inspired by a short story from Ray Bradbury, a close friend to Harryhausen. The plot has some twists to it. Atomic blasts in the Arctic wake the frozen Rhedosaur which makes its way down the east coast to its old spawning grounds near New York, sinking boats and destroying a lighthouse on the way. The Army attacks and manage to wound the beast - but it turns out that its blood is full of ancient microorganisms. All the soldiers following the creature become ill from exposure to the blood. The hero (who was working on the atomic tests in the beginning the picture) decides that a "bullet" made from a special radioactive isotope, if shot into the creature's wound, will "sterilize" its blood and remove the bio-threat. Then the Rhedosaur can be safely destroyed. Work with me here, folks, it makes sense in the movie. Great carnage ensues, the sniper does his job from the top of a roller coaster (you'll have to watch the film to see why), things burn up, disaster is averted in a rather abrupt ending. A little slow starting out by today's standards, this is nonetheless vintage monster magic. Ray Harryhausen was a genius and I admire all his work.

THIS 1953 SCI FI classic is a MUST HAVE for anyone who loves 1950's SCI FI films!! Stars Kenneth Tobey & the beautiful Faith.Domergue and a killer Giant Octopus that brings down the Golden Gate Bridge!! Non stop action plus for the time solid special effects!! The Blu ray is crystal clear and well worth the $9 I paid for it! Sooo grab some popcorn n this fine film n sit back n enjoy!!!

I saw the 1953 Si-Fi, horror film, “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” when it first came out. My parents dropped me off at a local movie theater to watch it. I was eight years old. That film terrified me and caused me to have nightmares for some time afterwards. Partially, it was the amazing animation of the monster. Partly it was that I lived in New York at the time and the monster destroys part of Manhattan and the film ends in Coney Island—much too close to home! On a lark I bought the Blu-ray version of the film and watched it this evening. I played it on my Amazon Smart TV and used my vintage Yamaha receiver for the audio. The restoration was very good considering the age of the film. The black and white was clean and sharp. There were occasional missing frames and smudge, but that is to be expected given the source material and the age. The audio track, while in mono, had an impressive sound. I wasn’t frightened this time, but I enjoyed the film and appreciated the restoration work.

When I was a kid growing up in New Hampshire the only TV station we could get was WCAX from Burlington VT. They showed movies on Saturday afternoons and one Saturday they showed "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms". I was in heaven! It was the first science fiction movie I'd seen and I was hooked. Back then I never would have imagined that years later I would own a copy of this wonderful movie on a little disc and watch it any time I wanted to! Of course, it probably didn't take much to impress an 8 year old kid from New Hampshire! But I've seen this film many times since and it has always stood the test of time very well. Sure, what were cutting edge special effects in 1953 aren't that impressive now. But one can still see how good they were for the time. And other movies that impressed me as a kid are revealed to be just junk when viewed by this grown up (maybe?) kid years later. For example, the 1957 Japanese film "The Mysterians" scared the hell out of me when I saw it in the theater. But when it showed up on the Science Fiction Channel (I think) a few years ago, it was laughable. Not so the Beast, which retains its charm over the years. By the way, the 1954 Them! is in the same class at the Beast.

Excelente DVD que contiene una película muy interesante perteneciente a la edad dorada de la ciencia ficción USA de la década de los 50.

Excellent film avec les effets de Ray Harryhausen .

The picture quality is excellent and the case arrived undamaged. An old monster classic from 1953. It hasn't been shown on TV for years and is worth owning while saving on subscription costs for streaming services that may never show it or only once in a blue Moon. Lee Van Cleef fires the fatal shot at the end, he was very young then and later went on to do Spaghetti Westerns with Clint Eastwood. A good 50's Monster/Sci-fi film to watch when nothing else is on.

I last saw this movie on TV many years ago when Monster Movies were often shown on New Years Eve. The use of stop-motion to show the movements of the Beast was interesting since there were no "real" computers in the 1950's to simulate prehistoric beasts moving around. The dvd fills a "Monster" movie gap in my collection.

During a nuclear test in the Arctic, a long dormant prehistoric monster is awoken. Whilst the beast gradually makes its way towards New York, a survivor of an encounter with the creature, Professor Tom Nesbitt(Paul Hubschmid) struggles to get the authorities to believe his seemingly outlandish story. His only hop is an elderly Paleontologist Thurgood Elson(Cecil Kelloway) and his assistant Lee(Paula Redmond). Meanwhile the carnivorous Rhedosaurus has reached civilization. This excellent piece of mega monster mayhem does move at quite a leisurely pace, but this does allow for some well rounded characters. The 1950's was the decade of the monster movie, with everything from Giant Ants(Them!), a huge spider(Tarantula), a giant octopus(It Came From Beneath The Sea) or dogs wearing rugs(The Killer Shrews). This film holds the ace card of having one of Ray Harryhausen's finest animated creations on display, the Rhedosaurus is a magnificent achievement. Adapted from a story by Ray Bradbury, the story mixes elements from both science fiction and traditional monster moviedom to great effect. My favourite sequence is probably Professor Elson's descent in the diving bell. Okay, it was probably shot in a fish tank, but that doesn't diminish its impact one jot. There are also some nice touches such as when the blind man is trampled underfoot by the panicking herd. Of course, it's the climatic scenes of the creature flattening New York that are rightly remembered. A iconic creature feature from the 1950's. 5 out of 5