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THE BEAST FROM 20,000
FATHOMS
Although
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS ($20) was the first film in which Ray
Harryhausen was solely responsible for the stop motion animation special
effects, his signature style was already properly in place, thus making it
the archetype for many of the legendary fantasy films upon which his
reputation was built. In THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS we already
see Harryhausen’s penchant for rampaging monsters amongst recognizable
landmarks taking shape. Based upon a Ray Bradbury story, the plot of THE
BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS is concerned with a nuclear test explosion
in the arctic that awakens a dinosaur that has been hibernating in the ice
for a hundred million years. Of course, the creature begins wreaking havoc
as it makes its way down the eastern seaboard- towards its old stomping
grounds, which now happens to be New York. Sure, it all sounds a bit
silly, but Harryhausen’s superior stop-motion work makes it totally
enjoyable. The cast of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS features Paul
Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey and Lee Van Cleef.
Warner
Home Video has made THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS available on DVD
in a truly fine looking black and white transfer that frames the film in
its proper 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio. There are some variations in
the quality of the film elements, with the stock footage being in rough
shape compared to the principal photography and Harryhausen’s effects
work. Also, some of the location footage appears a bit grainy, as do some
of the process shots. For the most part, the image appears rather crisp
and nicely defined. Everything but the stock footage appears very clean,
as though a bit of work went into sprucing up the film for DVD. The blacks
are inky, whites are stable and the picture produces a very nice grayscale
and fine contrast. Digital compression artifacts are nicely camouflaged.
THE
BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS comes
with a pretty good Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Sure, one will find
the expected age related limitations in the track’s fidelity; however
the sound is pretty strong, giving the impression that most of the
background noise and other audible anomalies have been cleaned up in the
mastering process. Sound effects are reasonably convincing, which says a
lot for a film that is half a century old, plus the film’s music is
rendered without any really noticeable signs of distortion. Dialogue is
crisp and is always completely understandable. A French language track is
also included, plus subtitles have been provided on the DVD in English,
French and Spanish.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as some nice extras.
The Rhedosaurus And The Roller Coaster: Making The Beast is
a six-minute program that features Ray Harryhausen, who talks about the
projects origins as a Ray Bradbury short story, its adaptation to film and
his stop-motion effects work. Harryhausen & Bradbury: An
Unfathomable Friendship runs sixteen minutes and features a recent
live appearance, in which both men discuss their friendship and working
together on this film. Also included on the DVD are trailers for THE
BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, THE BLACK SCORPION and CLASH OF
THE TITANS.
THE
BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS is a fun
Harryhausen outing that will appeal to his countless fans. Additionally,
Warner has done a very good job with the DVD, so none of them will be
disappointed in that area. If you count yourself amongst the anointed,
then you’ll want to pick up a copy of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS
on DVD.
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This DVD review
is brought to you by
THE CINEMA LASER
{ 
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
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