Thing From Another World [DVD] [1951] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This is without doubt the best of the '50's aci-fi movie's that followed the onset of the Cold War.It's a simple story,a monster on the loose in a restricted and restrictive enviroment,in this case a scientific station in the Arctic.An airforce crew are sent to investigate reports of an aircraft crashing nearby,which turns out to be a flying saucer.Nearby,encased in the ice,is the pilot and when he defrosts it turns out he's in a mighty hungry after his long journey.And,unfortunately for some of the residents of the station,on the planet that The Thing is from, evolution has taken a different course to ours and vegetables drink blood.Human and animal.

Sounds pretty formulaic,but what really sets this film apart is the acting,direction and script.A fine ensemble cast bring interest to even the most minor characters and Kenneth Tobey,Margaret Sheridan and Robert Cornthwaite give their best performances along with several others.That's down to the dialogue;often smart and sassy,overlapping like a good Altman movie,and when it gets technical it stays believable.

Nothing stays still for long,something's always happening, but the tension,and the film actually is tense despite being 56 years old,is maintained by largely not showing the monster.We catch glimpses;in the distance in a snowstorm,through a briefly opened door,in the chaos and confusion of a fire.Enough to satisfy us,but not so much we take it for granted.

In the past there have been claims made that Howard Hawks directed it,even so the name on the credits still says Christian Nyby ,but whoever did it did a damned good job.Like Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers this film transcends its genre and that's why it's been remade so much,once officially,by John Carpenter,and several times unofficially in theme and plot.

Carpenter's version is easily as good as this original,albiet a lot gorier and with more special effects,and if you like the plot and atmosphere of one you'll like the other.However,if you're only interested in the blood and guts of Carpenter's version you might as well give this one a miss.For myself I find it an endlessly rewatchable late night movie.Up there with Hichcock's 39 Steps or Bob Hope's version of The Cat And The Canary.

I rate this 5 stars for the film itself and for the commentary by Carpenter (it's about time someone did this!). I would rate the color version at least 4 stars. Although people scream and screech about the colorized version, I find it very interesting. In some ways it's like seeing the film for the first time again. My eyes are drawn to things I never noticed before. It still is rich with atmosphere like the black and white version, and unlike a lot of colorized films, I think the color palette in The Thing is quite effective. Having said that, of course, the black and white original is the standard and the proper way to first see the film. But, come on folks, it's not like the color version is supplanting the B&W, as this release proves. The only thing about the color release is that it's the edited 80 min version, not the complete 87 min. film, hence 4 stars. A 7 minute sequence between Kenneth Tobey and Margaret Sheridan where she expresses her feelings about the meaning of "that thing in the ice" and a following scene where she jokes with him romantically, and she's thinking he's tied to a chair in her office, is missing. This 7 minutes is present on the black and white version, however. On the other hand, in some ways, the film's pace seems to work better without those 7 minutes. Either way, this is a great great science fiction film, likely the most sophisticated of its era, and I don't agree that this release is a rip off.

I am a sucker for old Black and White horror/Sci-Fi. This is one I bought on VHR and then on DVD. I am sure years from now when they have another format, I shall buy it once again. I just enjoy it that much.

The Special Effects are not too much. The great winter scene they filmed when finding the spacecraft was filmed in the desert!! The Thing is Matt Dillon (no, not the actor but Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke - James Arness! Marshall Dillon what wuz you doin' at the North Pole?).

Where this film keeps is high rank and respect, is through taut direction, fast pace and strong performances from character actors such as Kenneth Tobey, Dewey Martin and Robert Cornwaithe. Based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s story "Who Goes There?", it's a handful of Air Force lads against the evil menace battling to the death to save the world. Christian Nyby is credited with directing this, though many swear it was really Howard Hawks (and it has the trademark of many Hawks films).

It's interesting to compare John Carpenter's version done in 1982. Carpenter how did previous take off on Another Hawks' film, and in this one reversed the sense of US against IT, by making his crew doubt each other (more true to Campbell's story).

Both film are interesting on many levels, but the main 'THING', they are great fun!