The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

George Ritchie: [referring to the A-bomb test] You know every time one of those things goes off, I feel as if I was helping to write the first chapter of a new Genesis.
Professor Tom Nesbitt: Let's hope we don't find ourselves writing the last chapter of the old one.

One morning many years ago as a little boy, I woke up in the wee hours and decided to watch a movie.  At the time I had no idea of the name of the movie but as I sat there and watched in awe (I was well under 10), one part of this movie was imprinted on my mind.  A large lizard type creature was tearing apart a rollercoaster as men tried to bring a stop to the destruction it brought.  Jump forward some…well a lot of years, I finally found out what that movie was called, and here today we have that movie in review.

There has been a whole assortment of monster movies over the decades which all revolve around either a larger than normal creature of some kind or at least a very destructive one, but either way they wreak havoc on towns, cities and of course people.  We have giant/killer octopus, spiders, squid, frogs, rats, bees, gorillas, more spiders, crabs, lizards, fish of various kinds (need I mention sharks separately?), Crocodiles/Alligators (gotta love Lake Placid!), snakes, ants, cockroaches, dinosaurs and O boy does the list go on and on and on.   Needless to say, these type of movies struck a chord in us and, for some reason, became popular.  We like to have dominion over the beasts/birds/fish of the earth and if they try to fight back (eg. The Aussie film Long Weekend) we fight all the more to rule them.  Well that’s the way we like it anyway.  As with all things, they need to start somewhere and when it comes to giant monster movies it all started with a silent film called The Lost World in 1925, then we had that the 1933 King Kong (reviewed here …………….), then a Japanese version of King Kong came out in 1949 called Wasei Kingu Kongu and finally in 1953 we have our film in review being The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.  It is the first movie where a beast was revealed from the effects of a nuclear explosion, so its landmark in that regard.

In the far northern Arctic circle, a nuclear bomb test is conducted which awakens/thaws out a Rhedosaurus from his icy slumber.  One survivor Prof. Tom Nesbitt (Paul Christian aka Paul Hubschmid) see’s the creature briefly before it disappears but gets ridiculed by his peers and doctors as having some kind of hallucination and is essentially palmed off.  But when the monster starts making some sporadic appearances from the Artic down along the North American coast, the curiosity of palaeontologist Thurgood Elson (Cecil Kellaway) and his assistant Lee Hunter (Paula Raymond) is captured and when Tom points out what the beast looked like from various drawings they had, they start making serious queries.  Eventually the beast finds its way to New York and they do all they can to bring a stop to the beast and the trail of destruction it has left behind.

Whilst being a new thing back then in 1953, the idea of a giant monster terrorising a town or city has been used and abused over the years so finding an original story is pretty hard and this is no exception.  The creature is brought to the screen via, you guessed it, stop animation by the then young Ray Harryhausen who would go on to bigger and bolder projects over the coming decade and a half.  A few of Harrryhausen’s later films, namely It Came From Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth and Earth vs the Flying Saucers, have been colourised recently using new techniques which has breathed new life into them however this one missed out on getting the treatment but that does not detract me one but from watching it.  To me, black and white is still a string format whether that be in still photography or video.

It is an impressive film and one that brought back fond memories of that night so long ago (gee that makes me sound old) when I was watching it for the first time in the wee hours of the morning.  It has a realistic feel to it without being over done or excessive and there is that sense of mystery in how the main characters came to discover its existence.  I wouldn't call it the best movie of this genre that’s for sure, but it is a classic and it will no doubt be watch again.  

The Bluray used for the review was imported from the US and is region free.  Considering the age of the source film, the image, in its 1.37:1 aspect ratio, is in great shape with good sharpness and contrast and is no doubt as good or even better than its original screening at the cinema/drive-in.  The audio comes to us via DTS HD Master Audio in the original mono format and sounds good for the movie.  We have also been given the following extras:

• The Rhedosaurus and the Rollercoaster: Making the Beast (documentary)
• Harryhausen & Bradbury: An unfathomable Friendship Armatures (documentary)
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall this is a movie I enjoyed watching and is a solid movie in itself, but I wouldn’t say it is everyone’s cup of tea.  It comes recommended for those interested in old 50’s monster movies or Ray Harryhausen’s animation work, but apart from that you could find better.  It is not Harryhausen’s best work but it is some of his early stuff and it still very well done especially as the beast goes between the city buildings having the shadows cast upon it, which would have taken quite a lot of effort.  

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Road Games (1981)

Patrick 'Pat' Quid: I know you're looking for a little adventure.
Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth: I could go to Disneyland for a little adventure. What I'm looking for is a little excitement.

I will start out and say that this is not to be confused or compared with the 2015 film of the same name.  Ok that’s out of the way.

Hitchcock, one of the most well-known directors, influenced quite a few people not just overseas, but also here in Australia.  The Australian Director Richard Franklin and writer Everett De Roche got inspired to bring the film in review to life after reading the script for Hitchcock’s 1954 hit Rear Window, but instead of being set in a block of units, this one would be from a truckers point of view, from a vehicle and it is quite an effective angle.  Sure it’s not as good as Rear Window, but it is a solid Aussie film that has a Hitchcock feel to it.

The film takes place between Melbourne and Perth along the desolate sections of the Nullabor Plain which is a perfect setting for this type of mystery thriller film as there are no large populated areas along it which just enforces the idea of isolation.  Pat Quid (Stacy Keech) is a truck driver currently in Melbourne who is required to deliver a load of butchered pigs to Perth.  As the drive is long he keeps himself awake and amused by maintaining a conversation with his dog and himself, often in a theatrical way.  During this time there is a killer who preys upon hitchhikers who just so happens to be on a similar route to Quid.  Quid picks up hitchhiker Pamela “Hitch” Rushworth (Jamie Lee Curtis) and together they start playing with the idea of catching this murderer seeing he appears to be on the same route, but as with all games there is a winner and loser.  

I really enjoyed the film and there were moments where there was some nail biting suspense, in a typical Hitchcock manner.  You don’t always see things which supposed to provide suspense but rather it’s in the hearing, lighting and acting that provide the suspense as opposed to seeing someone killed in front of you.  There isn’t really any gore and we have minimal swearing and one scene of concealed nudity (you don’t see anything as the actress is behind a guitar) which is a nice change from other Aussie films of this era where, sadly, it almost seemed like a mandatory addition to a film.  There are some good driving stunts in the film as well which do not overpower the believable story.

To get some publicity, it was decided to bring in American actors as the two leads which was not completely unusual for the time and no doubt contributes to it being the most expensive Australian film to be made at the time ($1.8 million).  It was filmed literally along the Nullabor so as the movie progresses so does the filming locations, though from what I understand the final scene was filmed in Melbourne, not Perth.  Stacy Keech had to learn how to drive a 16 speed truck in order to pull off a convincing job and he does quite well in the film.  Jamie Lee Curtis starred in several horror films prior to this so there was the idea that Road Games was more of a slasher film even though it wasn’t so it didn’t do too well at the American box office most likely because of that.  It also didn’t do too good in Australia at the time but has since grown in popularity and holds up quite well to this day both in terms of filmmaking and acting.  

Though I own the DVD version of the film, I jumped for the Bluray especially upon hearing it was going to be given the 4k restoration treatment.  Is there a difference between the old Umbrella DVD release and the Bluray?  Yes, a massive difference.

This is from the DVD…

And the Bluray…

Not just is the new scan giving us more of the image both top and bottom but more information is revealed on both the left and right.  The increase in resolution, contrast and colour is also striking and is only amplified with today’s larger screens. The image is a bit darker than the DVD but that also suits the modern TV better with its ability to handle greater dynamic range.  The image is shown in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and as indicated above, is superior to the old DVD edition which is now out of print.  The new DVD will also be somewhat better than the old DVD but naturally not as good as the Bluray.  What is a little disappointing is the choice of audio which only comes to us in two flavours but both in a lossy format and not the uncompressed format that is standard with Bluray.  We have a new Dolby Digital 5.1 (448kbs) and the original mono (224kbs) soundtrack to choose from.  Perhaps they thought it would not give too much improvement, however leaving that choice up to the consumer would have been a better move.  Nevertheless, the audio comes across quite good.

The Bluray also contains the following wealth of extras:

• Audio Commentary with Producer/Director Richard Franklin
• Kangaroo Hitchcock: The Making of “Road Games” featurette
• Uncut Not Quite Hollywood interviews with Jamie Lee Curtis, Stacy Keech, Grant Page, Richard Franklin, Everett De Roche, Vincent Monton and Tom Burstall
• Never before seen 1980 lecture on the Making of Road Games from Richard Franklin, Co-Producer Barbi Taylor & Composer Brian May
• 1981 Interview with Richard Franklin
• 2001 Audio Interview with Richard Franklin
• Exclusive New Audio Interview with Stacy Keech
• Exclusive New Audio Interview with Stunt Co-ordinator & Actor Grant Page
• 4K Scan & Restoration featurette by Roar Digital & Interview with Cinematographer Vincent Monton
• Exclusive Essay by Fangoria writer Lee Gambin
• Gallery of Stills, Production Shots, Storyboards, Newspaper Reviews, Promotional & Artwork Materials
• HD Theatrical Trailer

Overall, Road Games is a classic Australian thriller with a Hitchcock flavour that really deserves more attention than it has received.  It stands up well against today’s movies despite the limited budget (comparably) and camera equipment used.  It is acted well and has some great moments of suspense and we also have the great Aussie outback as a setting.  If you like a good thriller or enjoy Hitchcock films, then this comes highly recommended.  Check it out!

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Gun Crazy (1950) [aka Deadly is the Female]

Annie Laurie Starr:  Let's go for a walk on the beach.
Bart:  I just read an article about funerals.

Whilst it’s not a Genre as such, I have really been enjoying Noir films lately.  The quick, witty and sometime odd dialogue along with the style of filming is really appealing, or at least a nice change from the films of today where special effects/CGI is often more important than acting or storyline.  Films that fit the “Noir” flavour were mostly made during the 40’s and 50’s and some attempts have been made to make them in latter days (such as The Long Goodbye, Blade Runner, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential) with more modern themes but trying to retain that Film Noir feel minus the Black & White (apart from the Coen brother’s The Man Who Wasn’t There from 2002).  Anyway, in some of my browsing I stumbled across this older film called “Gun Crazy” which from the title sounds like a silly movie but it did inspire a remake with Drew Barrymore in the 90’s (I haven’t seen that one) so I thought ‘surely it can’t be all that bad’.  There is also a book specifically written about the movie and the behind the scenes stuff which adds to thought that it must be reasonably good to warrant a book about its making.  Sure it has good reviews but sometimes you can’t always rely on that (the recent movies Snowpiercer and Lucy are proof of that….for me anyway!).  

Without giving the story away, the film is about two crack-shot shooters who end up falling in love.   Annie (Peggy Cummins) convinces Bart (John Dall) that they should go on a robbing spree across the country (hence the alternate title – Deadly is the Female).  They take it a bit too far and one person ends up getting killed during one of the robberies and the police then conduct a major hunt for the pair.

It’s similar in a way to the 1967 release of Bonnie and Clyde but about 17 years older.  When it came out it didn’t gain much attention however over time it has become a highly respected classic, and rightfully so.  The chemistry between the two lead roles is fantastic and natural and this reveals itself when you find out that the Bank robbery that takes place (we only see outside the bank) was done in one take where they drive to the scene, improvised their lines, do the robbery and getaway.   The film is brilliantly filmed to keep up the suspense of the chase and I recall one scene where Annie is driving the car in a getaway and is being told by Bart to go faster and you can almost feel her frustration when she can’t get it to go any faster.  The final scene is also simply brilliant with its use of fog and natural surroundings (sorry, no spoilers here!).  The two lead roles do all their own driving in the film (except one scene) which also adds to its authentic feel.

This was initially a B movie with a style of shooting that was new for its day (in particular the robbery scene) which gave the movie a fresh feel and look.  As with many of the “B” movies, the directors had more freedom to experiment with new techniques and they often had to cut down on expensive lighting which also paved the way for the Film Noir we know today with its shadowy look.

The Bluray reviewed here was imported from Spain via www.amazon.com.   The image quality is generally very good, clean and sharp whilst retaining the nice film grain.  What I did notice (I checked on three different players) was that the video image was not completely smooth.  The image would be smooth than jump/skip a frame or two without affecting the sound.  As this is a made on demand (MOD) Bluray as opposed to a pressed disc (like every other bluray available here) I would assume there is a slight issue with the encoding.  The Spanish edition of the Bluray uses  a DTS HD Logo on the rear of the cover however its only Dolby Digital 2 channel at a very slim 192kbps in English and Spanish.  It is an authentic release and is still available at a price which is much much lower than the Warner Bros DVD (see below).  Those points aside the Bluray looks brilliant but there are no extra’s on the Bluray.

The Warner DVD (cover on the left above) is also available however only in the fantastic 5 film boxset “Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 1” (cover shown above on the right).  The boxset has since sold out and is only available second hand, however the DVD in question has a great transfer fo the film though naturally not as sharp but has no encoding issue.  The DVD also has an audio commentary by film noir specialist Glenn Erickson which is a great bonus.

This film comes very highly recommended particularly if you’re interested in Noir film or simply movies from that era.  Either way this is a film that’s certainly worth seeing, it’s just a shame that it doesn’t have a wider release on DVD/Bluray.  The Bluray disc has only been rated 2.5 out of 5 due to no extras and the skipping issue, but the movie and image quality (minus what appears to be an encoding issue) gets 5 out of 5.

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