What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Special Features
English
Region 0
Region 0
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Rocketship X-M was really one of the first good science fiction films of the 1950s, and its influence can be seen in the slew of space movies released throughout that decade. In some ways, it is the quintessential science fiction film of the era; it sends a crew of four men and one woman into space for the first time, and these characters actually get a chance to express their own personalities during the journey. While the science of the film misses the mark in a number of ways, the filmmakers did not rely on alien "monsters" to help the story along. The movie has a message, and its plausibility and rather unhappy conclusion bring that message home to viewers. The film also reflects to some degree the culture of the time in terms of gender, sporting a number of chauvinistic lines sure to rankle many modern viewers.
Our intrepid crew for this secret first manned spaceship launch consists of ship designer Dr. Exum (John Emery), navigator Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), engineer Major William Corrigan (Noah "Rockford's Dad" Beery, Jr.), some less important guy played by Hugh O'Brian, and brilliant female chemist Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen). When Floyd isn't navigating, he's putting the moves on the cold and aloof Lisa. Things go swimmingly at first (with the ship, not with Lloyd's advances), but then a problem with the fuel mixture (sure – blame the woman) causes the engines to die. When Dr. Van Horn defends her computations, she is treated to a few chauvinistic remarks about acting like a woman; the great and mighty men figure things out on their own, and before you know it everyone is knocked unconscious and the Rocketship X-M (which was supposed to land on the moon) finds itself flung out into deep space. As luck would have it, though, they wake up to find themselves within reach of Mars and take advantage of the opportunity to land there. This is a Lippert film, so you knew there would have to be many scenes of people climbing hills and mountains somewhere in it. Well, the crew members make a few discoveries about the state of past and current life on the red planet and try to make it back home to spread the word to the people of earth – it's your basic nuclear was is bad kind of advice. The ending is not a happy one by any means, but it does serve to further man's (or at least science fiction script writers') determination to explore outer space.
There's nothing fancy at all about this movie, yet it really does deliver the type of message a science fiction film should carry. Along with the science, weak as it turned out to be in places, and a "scientific moral" to the story, we actually get to see characterization come to life before our very eyes (especially in terms of Floyd and Lisa). I think this 1950 film deserves to be called a classic in its field, and it still has much to offer all fans of science fiction.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
For over fifteen years i had always believed that George Pal's sc-fi epic Destination Moon made in colour in 1950 was the first serious space movie,but i was to be proved wrong. Actually filmed in B&W in 1949 by the Lippert Studios and released in 1950 (thus pipping Destination Moon to the post) Rocketship X-M was to be the first of the serious space adventures. Having never seen this film before on tv i assumed that it was low grade B-movie entertainment similar to Queen of Outer Space
or Robot Monster and not worthy of being shown to the masses, but i was pleasantly surprised. This film ranks amongst the best of the 50's sci-fi classics and certainly started the genre, ok so it may lack special effects (shots of the ship in space flight would have helped) but once they reach mars the effects increase to produce a wonderful pinkish view of the surrounding terrain (which was actually filmed in california's Death Valley in sepia color). Good stiff upper lip performances from it's stars (look out for a young hugh o'brien)an eerie music score from Ferde Graffe and a good storyline make this one a science-fiction classic and a must have for every serious sci-fi movie collector.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the very first of the genera and even though it was cheaply made it is still very fascinating to watch. The technology is very simple and perhaps the plot becomes a bit unbelievable, nonethless it is excellect because all the actors seem like real people and the ending is very unusual indeed and very sad. I am looking forward to the new DVD version which is coming in a few years. Hopefully it will be a cleaner looking copy of a true classic.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Daft yet prophetic
This is a little film which, seen with the hindsight of time elapsed since it was made, seems, like most SF films from that era, to be almost risibly daft. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J. Rottweiller Swinburne
now this is a classic of the genre, brilliant
now this is a classic, its a really good cross over to dvd, picture quality is excellent and ths sound is just as good, i love these early naive sci fi films and have always had... Read more
Published 20 months ago by P. barton
Sci-Fi Trip (wish I could go)
Well if you like sci-fi you mite like this one of the early years, If you have not seen it its worth a look see.
Published 21 months ago by Avidday
A powerful message with a twist ending
Jut before the sci-fi craze of the 50's, this little one is a gem. You've a team of astronauts that is using a new rocket using a new fuel to go all the way to the Moon and back. Read more
Published on 19 April 2005 by Raul Leite
Expedition: Moon
Yep this movie is as fun and forward looking as they say. What I found fascination from the beginning was the equipment. The short-wave radio barely reached to space. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2004 by bernie
Expedition: Moon
Yep this movie is as fun and forward looking as they say. What I found fascination from the beginning was the equipment. The short-wave radio barely reached to space. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2002 by bernie
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
