IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA ($20) is another one of those great classic
Ray Harryhausen movies that I am absolutely delighted to have on DVD.
Harryhausen was the out and out master of stop motion special effects, not
only because his work was technically proficient, but because he imbued
each of his creations with a sense of personality that made them so much
fun to watch. The creature in IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA is no
exception to this rule; in fact, it is probably one of Harryhausen’s
most entertaining because it is cloaked in mystery for a good portion of
the film, which is enhanced by a slow reveal of the monster in its
entirety.
IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA stars Kenneth Tobey as Pete Mathews the
commander of a nuclear submarine that has the film’s first encounter
with the creature. After the submarine barely escapes the deadly grasp of
something from the murky depths, the vessel is forced to put in for
repairs, which allows a scientific team time to investigate the evidence
of the encounter that remained attached to the sub. Scientists Lesley
Joyce (Faith Domergue) and John Carter (Donald Curtis) eventually identify
the mysterious sea creature as a giant octopus that has been driven from
the bottom of the ocean by nuclear testing, which has forced it to seek
new prey closer to the surface- in man’s domain. As with many other
Harryhausen movies, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA climaxes at
recognizable landmark- in this case, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA
available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. This is actually a great little
transfer of a vintage 1950’s sci-fi movie. The black and white film
element is in very good shape, with very few age related blemishes on the
film proper, although the stock footage looks a bit beaten up, which is
probably how it always looked. There are a number of sequences that
utilize rear screen projection, and while the actors and foreground
objects look fine, the projected backgrounds do appear a bit soft. The
rest of the time the image appears relatively sharp and rather nicely
defined. Blacks appear inky; whites are clean and stable, while the
contrast displays a bit of occasional harshness that solidifies the image.
There is a noticeable grain structure throughout the course of movie, but
it is rather mild and hardly bothersome. Digital compression artifacts
remain completely out of sight during the presentation.
IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA comes with a good quality Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. It would appear that the track has been given a
digital cleaning, which has removed almost all traces of background hiss
and surface noise. The sound is generally pleasant and free from
distortion at average listening levels. Dialogue is always precisely
rendered and completely understandable. Fidelity is limited by mid-fifties
recording technology, which is exemplified by the occasionally
unconvincing sound effect, or the slightly reedy quality of the music. No
other language tracks have been included on the DVD, although English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Thai subtitles are present.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few
supplements. Once again Columbia has trotted out the This Is
Dynamation featurette and the Ray Harryhausen Chronicles.
This Is Dynamation runs about three and a half minutes and
explains the special photographic process Harryhausen used to create his
stop motion special effects. TheHarryhausen
Chronicles is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard Nimoy, which
details Ray Harryhausen’ s life and career in cinema. Also included on
the DVD are theatrical trailers for IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, and CLOSE
ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.
As
I stated above, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA is anther terrific Ray
Harryhausen classic that has found its way to DVD- much to the joy of his
innumerable fans. Columbia’s DVD looks and sounds great for a vintage
sci-fi flick, so I’m sure that the anointed will definitely want to add IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA to their Harryhausen collections.
Recommended.
IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA ($20) is another one of those great classic
Ray Harryhausen movies that I am absolutely delighted to have on DVD.
Harryhausen was the out and out master of stop motion special effects, not
only because his work was technically proficient, but because he imbued
each of his creations with a sense of personality that made them so much
fun to watch. The creature in IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA is no
exception to this rule; in fact, it is probably one of Harryhausen’s
most entertaining because it is cloaked in mystery for a good portion of
the film, which is enhanced by a slow reveal of the monster in its
entirety.
IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA stars Kenneth Tobey as Pete Mathews the
commander of a nuclear submarine that has the film’s first encounter
with the creature. After the submarine barely escapes the deadly grasp of
something from the murky depths, the vessel is forced to put in for
repairs, which allows a scientific team time to investigate the evidence
of the encounter that remained attached to the sub. Scientists Lesley
Joyce (Faith Domergue) and John Carter (Donald Curtis) eventually identify
the mysterious sea creature as a giant octopus that has been driven from
the bottom of the ocean by nuclear testing, which has forced it to seek
new prey closer to the surface- in man’s domain. As with many other
Harryhausen movies, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA climaxes at
recognizable landmark- in this case, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA
available on DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. This is actually a great little
transfer of a vintage 1950’s sci-fi movie. The black and white film
element is in very good shape, with very few age related blemishes on the
film proper, although the stock footage looks a bit beaten up, which is
probably how it always looked. There are a number of sequences that
utilize rear screen projection, and while the actors and foreground
objects look fine, the projected backgrounds do appear a bit soft. The
rest of the time the image appears relatively sharp and rather nicely
defined. Blacks appear inky; whites are clean and stable, while the
contrast displays a bit of occasional harshness that solidifies the image.
There is a noticeable grain structure throughout the course of movie, but
it is rather mild and hardly bothersome. Digital compression artifacts
remain completely out of sight during the presentation.
IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA comes with a good quality Dolby Digital
monaural soundtrack. It would appear that the track has been given a
digital cleaning, which has removed almost all traces of background hiss
and surface noise. The sound is generally pleasant and free from
distortion at average listening levels. Dialogue is always precisely
rendered and completely understandable. Fidelity is limited by mid-fifties
recording technology, which is exemplified by the occasionally
unconvincing sound effect, or the slightly reedy quality of the music. No
other language tracks have been included on the DVD, although English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Thai subtitles are present.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few
supplements. Once again Columbia has trotted out the This Is
Dynamation featurette and the Ray Harryhausen Chronicles.
This Is Dynamation runs about three and a half minutes and
explains the special photographic process Harryhausen used to create his
stop motion special effects. The Harryhausen
Chronicles is an hour-long program hosted by Leonard Nimoy, which
details Ray Harryhausen’ s life and career in cinema. Also included on
the DVD are theatrical trailers for IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA 20
MILLION MILES TO EARTH, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, and CLOSE
ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.
As
I stated above, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA is anther terrific Ray
Harryhausen classic that has found its way to DVD- much to the joy of his
innumerable fans. Columbia’s DVD looks and sounds great for a vintage
sci-fi flick, so I’m sure that the anointed will definitely want to add IT
CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA to their Harryhausen collections.
Recommended.
