Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Pepe Le Loco (A) on September 04, 2005 at 00:12:39

In Reply to: "Conquest of Space" posted by rico on September 1, 2005 at 08:33:03:

I think The Time Machine was early 60's.

But lest we forget some other '50s jewels"

Godzilla King of the Monsters- if you havn't seen the original
Japanese sans Raymond Bur, you havn't seen it. Fucking awesome.
Fuck Joseph Campbell and his dopey shit. Star Wars a modern myth?- well my sons, wellcome to the real stuff.

Americana:

Attack of the Crab Monsters- a triumph. Imortalized later by the American poet Lawrence Raab, in his poem by the same name.

The Monster that Challenged the World- with an opening hook and a later autopsy scene that Spielberg stole for Jaws and a finale that Kubrik stole for The Shining.

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms- A fun collaboration by Jean Renoir's art director Eugine Lorrie, and a little kid just starting out, named Ray Harryhousen, who here made a dinosaur pad through the high-con sun-sliced canyons of 50' Manhattan and burn to death in a dark Connie Island roller coaster at the hand of Lee Van Cleef. They were working from a Ray Bradburry short story. Its also one of the inspirations for the Godzilla film above, (aside from other inspirations, like Hiroshima).

The Creature From the Black Lagoon- Jack Arnold in the Amazon. He faired better than Orson Wells in Brazil. The title's a cliche in itself, but there's someting about those scenes with a hottie swimmin' in a swamp with monster a'watching....

Other Oddities- all English for some reason:

The Giant Behomoth- Eugine Lorrie again, trying to score another paycheck. This time with Harryhousen's mentor, Willis O'brien in a shameless English "version" of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Despite even more apparrant budget anemia, its got wonderful moments of amazing atmosphere. One brief scene- a few words between two actors, in front of a window with the sun drencehed Benjiman Brittain-esque sea beyond- are what fifties monster movies are all about- or should have been about.

The Crawling Eye, aka The Trollenberg Terror- Forest Tucker and giant tellepathic tentacled alien puss ball creatures. Can you honestly ask for more? Atmospheric, brilliant, untouchable.

The Creeping Unkown- Trully one of God's films. The Tobe Hooper theft from the late '80s, "Life Force", has no class by comparsion, despite the hotties.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire- saw it so long ago I remember nothing.
Except it was special.