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This Island Earth [VHS] [1955]
 
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This Island Earth [VHS] [1955]

VHS ~ Jeff Morrow
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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16 used from £2.91 1 collectible from £21.50

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

A mysterious, pilotless plane carries scientist Rex Reason to a colony of America's best and brightest minds. They have been kidnapped by a dying alien race, the Metalunians, to repair their defence shield before their enemies destroy their world completely, and are to be found toiling under their spying eyes and futuristic security cameras (two-way TVs that dominate every room). Jeff Morrow, under a raised forehead, bronze tan, and snow-white hair, philosophises as Exeter, the thoughtful Metalunian torn between his duty and his morals as he forces the plucky humans to labour in his race's defence. The moody mystery of the first half turns to pure pulp adventure when the humans are transported across the galaxy to the battle-scarred world of Metaluna, under the threatening watch of a monstrous bug-eyed monster with a giant brain for a head and massive claws for hands. There is a genuine sense of wonder to Joseph Newman's intergalactic adventure, one of the most ambitious science fiction films of the 1950s. The story is simple space opera, but the futuristic designs of glass and metal, the marvellous alien makeup, and grand-standing special effects invest the film with a Technicolor splendour. Faith Domergue co-stars as a nuclear physicist and Gilligan's Island's Russell Johnson makes his first professorial appearance as a scientist. Science-fiction auteur Jack Arnold was an unbilled co-director. --Sean Axmaker


Synopsis

In a desperate attempt to save their civilisation, benevolent aliens kidnap an Earth scientist and enlist his help. When they reach their embattled planet they discover that they have arrived too late, and set about making plans to colonise Earth.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a memory of many years and movies ago, 27 Feb 2006
By maurizio sellini (Rome , Italy) - See all my reviews
This review is from: This Island Earth [DVD] [1955] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
I was 9 years old when I saw this film in a little cinema of Rome, with a little screen and a sound that was...something near to a sound, but I was astonished the same.The emotional impact is really great, some scenes like the green-lighted UFO that captures the aeroplane are worth of a cinema anthology. I am sorry that this film is not available in zone 2 DVD and don't understand the reason, because it is a little masterpiece !
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An super early sci-fi film., 23 Aug 2000
By A Customer
THIS ISLAND EARTH

reviewed by NEVILLE HURT

A weirdly wonderful green ray rescues scientist Jeff Morrow's plane from crashing. And after building, and using some "crazy-mixed up plumbing" - an interrossiter, we go on an atomspheric ride on a plane with no pilot, that landed in a spooky foggy field. The best ride of all is on a flying saucer to the alien's home planet.

This is what made this film special in it's day. All the other 50's films were solely earth based. I really loved to see where the aliens lived, and what the inside of their flying saucer was like.

The film can be a little creaky, but it doesn't spoil the fun. It's well acted and the aliens look quite good. The mutant monster on their home planet can look a little "just a man dressed up" but the whole film is a nice series of special trips and adventures!

We know from John Donne that "no man is an island" but now we know that "this planet is just an island in a vast inhabited universe."

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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The planet Metaluna needs help from Earth scientists..., 28 Jul 2004
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
The best part of Franklin Coen and Edward G. O'Callaghan's screenplay for "This Island Earth" comes from Raymond F. Jone's story "The Alien Machine." Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) and his colleagues are given a catalog offering such fun items as an Iterociter incorporating planetary generator. Unable to resist the challenge, the eggheads order some parts and go at it. The alien machine turns out to be a communication device that allows the scientists to communicate with the inhabitants of the planet Metaluna and their leader, Exeter (Jeff Morrow), who need help saving their dying planet (it was a test!). Of course, you are wondering why they would come to us, but stroking the egos of the Earth scientists is but another part of the equation.

"This Island Earth" has a good set up but the payoff is nothing special, especially when the film's "monster" shows up. Visually the film does seem to do its best to incorporate elements from every science fiction magazine pulp cover for the preceding two decades, but that is actually one of the endearing aspects of the film. The acting is rather wooden, with Morrow, Reason, Faith Domergue and the rest of the cast trying to think deep thoughts worthy of interstellar communication. Most people get excited when they recognize Russell Johnson ("Gilligan's Island") as the manly Steve Carlson, but I like seeing Douglas Spencer (from "The Thing From Another World!") as the Monitor of Metaluna. A disappointing film, yes, but it has some interesting elements and if you are a student of science fiction films then you need to check this one out at least once.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good God....its the Metaluna Mutant!!!!
Thisn Island Earth has to have the greatest alien creature of the whole 50's sci-fi era, which is....the Metaluna Mutant! Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. K. Richardson

5.0 out of 5 stars See That Glow
One of my favourite sci-fi classics. Rex Reason is brilliant in this. I first watched this when I was 7 or 8 and have loved it ever since. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Coincidence Vs Fate

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Sci-Fi films ever made
This is a great movie as it captures your immagination on every turn. Like Forbidden Planet it has a very good story ashamed it is not available in PAL standard. Read more
Published on 12 Jul 2004 by John Ringshaug

4.0 out of 5 stars 2.5 years in the making 86 minutes in the telling
It goes great with popcorn. It keeps cooking from the time the jet plane is saved from crashing on burn out, to the mysterious metal-paged catalog. Right up to the end. Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2001 by bernie

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