Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A longtime "dream" project of production designer-turned-director Eugene Lourie, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms sees the titular beast unleashed on the world via nuclear testing. Making its way from the Arctic Circle, the monster-a carnivorous "rhedosaurus"-begins advancing towards New York. It stomps its way around Wall Street, pausing to have a policeman for lunch. By the time it has reached Coney Island, the rhedosaurus is more of a danger than ever because of the deadly bacteria it carries within its system. It's up to researcher Paul Christian and sharpshooter Lee Van Cleef to try to liquidate the beast with a grenade chock full of radioactive isotopes. Beast From 20,000 Fathoms represented effects artist Ray Harryhausen's first solo effort, after assisting Willis O'Brien on Mighty Joe Young (1949). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
• Features:
  • • cc Two commemorative 50th-anniversary documentaries: "The Rhedosaurus and The Roller Coaster: Making the Beast" and "Harryhausen & Bradbury: An Unfathomable Friendship"
    • Giant monsters trailer gallery featuring this film, The Black Scorpion, Clash of the Titans, and The Valley of Gwangi
    • Production notes

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Eugène Lourié

• Producer:

  Jack Dietz

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Smith, Fred Freiberger, Eugène Lourié, Lou Morheim

• Cinematographer:

  Jack Russell, John L. Russell

• Composer (Music Score):

  David Buttolph

• Editor:

  Bernard W. Burton

• Production Designer:

  Eugène Lourié

• Co-producer:

  Bernard W. Burton, Hal E. Chester

• Set Designer:

  Edward Boyle

• Special Effects:

  Ray Harryhausen, Willis Cook

• First Assistant Director:

  Horace Hough

• Short Story Author:

  Ray Bradbury

REVIEW:

• The first of the "atomic monster" flicks (which reached their apex of popularity with the globally successful Godzilla), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms lays the groundwork for many of the films that followed in its wake. There's the hero with an incredible story that finds few takers, the atomic explosion that causes a gigantic mutation, the wanton destruction of a significant portion of a city and, of course, the female laboratory assistant that ends up as the hero's true love. It's been done countless times, and so Beast isn't as fresh as it was in 1953; but the film still has an air of simplicity and innocence about its plotting that is rather beguiling. It's all nonsense, of course, but it good clean fun nonsense, and it still is quite engaging. The legendary Ray Harryhausen cut his solo teeth on Beast and while audience used to computer-generated special effects will find them a bit less than realistic, they still make an impact. They also are surprisingly dramatic, one of Harryhausen's strong points: his monsters may lumber, but they lumber in individual ways, with twitches or pauses or small twists that give them a sense of genuine behavior and character. As the hero, Paul Christian is fine, if unspectacular, and the same can be said of Paula Raymond as his paramour. But Kenneth Tobey is solid, and Lee Van Cleef and, especially, Cecil Kellaway, quite good. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi