pre - 1979 sci fi films and shows

[Ulysses]

I have recently been reading a book which covers scifi from its early days with the likes of HG wells etc etc to the modern day, and one thing that has struck me is the lack of chat on the forums for the older films like the following which are greats for there time.

 

This Island Earth

The Day the earth stood still

(Orginal) War Of The Worlds

Forbidden Planet (great film for its time)

 

 

This is just four of the top of my head, so what I am gonna do is post a single film/show each time and ask for your thoughts on it, they will be always pre-star wars lol...[br]Posted on: July 29, 2007, 11:39:12 AM

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THE FORBIDDEN PLANET

 

This 1956 pop adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest is one of the best, most influential science fiction movies ever made. Its space explorers are the models for the crew of Star Trek's Enterprise, and the film's robot is clearly the prototype for Robby in Lost in Space. Walter Pidgeon is the Prospero figure, presiding over a paradisiacal world with his lovely young daughter and their servile droid. When the crew of a spaceship lands on the planet, they become aware of a sinister invisible force that threatens to destroy them. Great special effects and a bizarre electronic score help make Forbidden Planet as fresh, imaginative and fun as it was when first released.

 

Synopsis

In the year 2257, a distant star has three inhabitants. Professor Morbius, his bewitching daughter, and Robby the Robot. When a space cruiser from Earth lands on the planet, the story develops into an adventure fantasy with romance. Special Edition pack with original cinema trailer and a set of illustrated cards.

 

For me I thought this was one of the all time great sci-fi films deffo on of my favs

[Megalith]

Hell yeah, Forbidden Planet IS the greatest sci-fi film ever made. the music score was made almost exclusively using Theramins (a musical instrument that is played without touching it using the capacitance field surrounding it... a personnel fav instrument of mine lol) the ID monster is so scary, when i first watched this (about 10 years old i was scared to the bone when it was inside the saucer and left indents in the steps)

 

The underground city and the mind machine are amazing, the humour involving one particular crewman and robby the robot is hysterical, wish i had a robot like that lol.

 

Basically i cant rate this film highly enough in marks out of 10 i give it infinity. If theres anybody here that hasn't seen this then shame on you lol you need to be educated immediately.

[Amnot Borg]

short skirts, big robots, outer space, what's not to love?

[Ulysses]

The story in the film was truely amazing, the actual thought that a human could actually be that powerful with using alien technology (the krel learning machines).

 

If there was any old film that should of been re-made its this one (far better than the likes of war of the worlds etc etc) but saying that the orginal was so well made I dont actually think it should be re-made.

 

Its such a shame that old films like this dont get much viewing or mention theses days as it has to be in the top five of all time great scifi films, I would actually say its even better than the likes of star wars or even star trek but saying that it was a completely different type of sci fi.

[Ulysses]

 

Classic shot of Dr Morbeus and Robbie the robot!

[Rara Avis]

Some little known trivia facts about Forbidden Planet:

 

1. Apart from the electronic tonalities composed by the Barrons, the music score known to many as "Forbidden Planet Fanfare - Parts 1 & 2" on the original 1956 theatrical trailer was composed by André Previn, and pieced together seamlessly by an MGM music editor. The music was originally written by Previn for the MGM films Scene of the Crime (1949) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). David Rose, composer of light orchestral music such as "Holiday For Strings", was originally hired to write the score. He was relieved of his contract by producer Dore Schary in December 1955 when Schary discovered avant-garde electronic music creators Louis and Bebe Barron in a nightclub in Greenwich Village, New York, and hired them on the spot. The only confirmed piece of music which still remains from Rose's discarded original score is his Main Title Theme, which he released as a single on MGM Records in 1956.

 

2. The Spaceship C57D, models and full size prop was actually used in seven episodes of the Twilight Zone. The list is as follows by season, Third from the Sun, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, The Invaders, To Serve Man, Hocus-Pocus and Frisby, Death Ship and On Thursday We Leave for Home. Robbys vehicle does appear in one episode. In "THE RIP VAN WINKLE CAPER", at the end when the final surviving gold thief is dying, a futuristic car stops and he begs for water. This is Robby's vehicle. The crews outfits were used in a number of episodes, not to mention also in The Time Machine along with some props.The flickering forcefield fence posts appeared in Atlantis the Lost Continent and where last seen being placed at the bottom of the ocean in Around the World Under the Sea.

 

3. When the film was first released theatre goers were given special paper glasses with red lenses. The glasses were to be used during certain scenes involving the invisible monster ("Monster from the ID"). You were alerted that it was time to put on your special glasses by flashes on the screen. When you put on the special glasses the invisible monster was revealed.

 

4. "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry has been quoted as saying "Forbidden Planet" was a major inspiration for his series. Perhaps not coincidentally, 'Warren Stevens' , who plays "Doc" here, would later be a guest-star in the 1968 episode, "By Any Other Name," where the true shape of the alien Kelvans, like the Krell in this movie, was implied to be extremely non-humanoid but never shown. The time aboard the C57D is stated as being 17:01 hours when the ship enters orbit around Altair IV. Curiously, Gene Roddenberry will later use 1701 as the naval construction contract number of the Starship Enterprise.

 

Some goofs:

 

1. As the tiger passes Altaira on the patio, first a portion of the tiger's face, and then a portion of the tiger's hind leg vanish in the split-screen effect.

 

2. During the landing scene, the shadow of the ship (or a supporting structure of the suspended model) is visible briefly moving across one of the smaller mountains at the right side of the screen.

 

3. When Robby uses the blaster on the plant in the garden, an unidentifiable shadow suddenly appears on the green V support directly behind Commander Adams.

 

4. The Krell was a non-humanoid race, a point alluded to in the shape of their doors. However, Robby the robot, one of their designs which Morbius constructed, inconsistently had humanoid form.

 

5. In several wide shots of the crew members outside the ship, there is a faint vertical shadow visible on the painted backdrop behind the ship. It appears to be either a fold in a piece of fabric or the corner of the sound stage wall.

 

More can be found on www.imdb.com and other scifi web sites.

 

One of my personal all times favorites.

[Ulysses]

Nice one Rara Avis, was quite interesting to see gene based star trek on this actually, never knew that.[br]Posted on: July 30, 2007, 09:28:07 AM

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THIS ISLAND EARTH

 

Dr. Cal Meacham, a noted scientist, receives an unusual substitute for electronic condensers that he ordered. They are un-Earthly in their ability to carry overloads of electricity; he sends a letter to the company that supplied the parts, and receives a package which appears to be a catalog. He begins ordering parts from it, and eventually is given a kit to build a very complex communication device called an interocitor. When finished, Meacham receives a message on it: A mysterious man named Exeter tells him he has passed the test he was given. His ability to build the interocitor demonstrates that he is gifted enough to be part of the special research project Exeter is running.

Intrigued, Meacham accepts an invitation to visit Exeter's facility, and finds an international group of top-flight scientists already present--including an old flame, Dr. Ruth Adams. But Cal is almost immediately suspicious of the odd-looking group of men leading the mission.

Cal and Ruth decide to slip away from the facility, but as they take off in a small plane, they watch as the facility and all its inhabitants are incinerated, and their plane is drawn up inside a flying saucer.

It is then that Cal and Ruth learn that Exeter and his band are aliens from the planet Metaluna, come to Earth seeking scientists to help them defend their planet in the war against the evil Zagons. Though they protest, Exeter informs them that he is taking them back to his war-torn planet, in the hope that they can do something to aid it.

After a mind-bending journey, they arrive to find the planet under full bombardment and falling quickly to the enemy. Metalunan society is breaking down and there is little hope. The Monitor (Exeter's leader) reveals that the Metalunans intend to relocate to Earth and insists that Meacham and Adams be subjected to the Thought Transference Chamber in order to subjugate their free will when they object to this plan. Exeter believes this to be immoral and also wrong since it sets up unconscious barriers in the minds of the subjects and thus constrains their ability to help the Metalunans. Exeter decides to help Meacham and Adams escape, thus revolting against his own kind, before they enter the brain-reprogramming facility.

Cal overpowers the mutant creature accompanying them (but not before it wounds Exeter) and the three make their escape and journey back to Earth. As they enter Earth's atmosphere, Exeter sends the two on their way in their small plane, but as he himself is too wounded to continue and his ship is nearly depleted of energy, he allows the saucer to crash into the sea. Cal and Ruth return home.

 

Many critics cite the strongest point in This Island Earth being its special effects, which were ground breaking for their time and are considered by many film buffs to be comparable to modern special effects.

 

[yt=425,350]hR7e3StbXoU[/yt]

[br]Posted on: July 30, 2007, 10:15:39 AM

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http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7e3StbXoU

[Megalith]

yep another truly incredible film, the parts for the elaborate machine look like precursors to IC's. Years ahead of its time in many respects and an amazing story of alien IQ tests and potential brainwashing, again this is in my top 5 films of all time as indeed is 'The day the earth stood still' i need to watch this island earth again, i can remember it had a huge impact on me the first time i seen it and its been over a decade since i had the honour of seeing this one (could never remember the title for one thing ;))

[Amnot Borg]

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

 

Scientists, led by Dr Cole Hendron (Larry Keating), warn the United Nations about an impending collision between the Earth and a marauding star (Bellus) approaching the solar system with a planet (Zyra) in tow, but are not believed. They set about building an "ark" privately, financed by wealthy, wheelchair-bound industrialist Sidney Stanton (John Hoyt) in exchange for taking him along. The ark, a rocket designed to land like a glider, is intended to give a few selected individuals a chance to escape to Zyra in the faint hope of saving the human race. When Worlds Collide (2008 film) The ship's construction is a race against time as doomsday approaches. Groups in other nations also begin building ships. As time begins running out, formerly-skeptical scientists admit that Hendron's group was right about doomsday, and governments prepare for the inevitable.

 

Zyra passes by first, its gravity disrupting the Earth's surface. As the appointed day of annihilation draws closer, the ship is loaded with food, microfiche copies of books, equipment, animals and approximately fifty individuals selected by lottery. The cynical Stanton, having bought weapons to defend the base, becomes more anxious as time passes.

 

His fears prove accurate. First, his much-abused lackey, Ferris (Frank Cady), desperately tries to get himself included in the crew at gunpoint. Then, in the final hour, many of the lottery losers riot, taking up arms to try and force their way aboard the ship.

 

Hendron stays behind at the last moment, forcibly keeping the crippled Stanton from boarding as well in order to lighten the spaceship. His sacrifice proves to be crucial as the fuel runs out too soon and the ship barely manages to glide to a rough landing on Zyra. The passengers debark and find the new planet to be (miraculously) hospitable.

 

Believe it or not, this is one of the earliest things I remember seeing on tv. It was playing one afternoon while my older brother carried me around on his shoulders. We walked by the set and I saw the spaceship land on the new planet. At 3, I didn't know the name of that movie but I never could forget it. I finally figured it out about 25 years later. By then, I'd read the novel. I just didn't know the movie was based on it until I read up on classic scifi films. See, Star Trek wasn't my only early inspiration. ;)

[Tierkreis]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain_%28film%29

 

I have it on VHS, I bought it from the dollar movie section at the library . . . I remember the first time I watched it, late on a Saturday night, scared to death that blood-clotting bacteria were going to get me for some reason. XD

[Ulysses]

it is actually suprising how many well written films where released before we got the really big sci-fi films such as star wars and the likes of alien(s).

 

I was quite suprised that many of theses are so well written for there time, and most worth while watching if you have not seen them before (especially our younger memebers) and for us oldie worth watching again!

[Rara Avis]

Ah. THIS ISLAND EARTH. Another classic gem. It's in my collection. OK. Here's some goofs:

 

1. When Faith Domergue and Rex Reason first enter their new lab and see the orange cat, Faith tells Rex that the cat is named "Neutron" because "he's so positive". Any scientist, especially a nuclear fission expert, should know that a neutron has no charge, and that it is the proton that is positive.

 

2. When Cal flies back from Washington D.C. the numerals on the airplane are backwards. The film has been flipped (no doubt to save on production costs).

 

3. When Cal and Ruth are on the ship, some of the aliens are leaving the compression tubes in preparation for Metaluna's atmosphere. Cal and Ruth then go into the tubes to undergo the same process. But, if Cal and Ruth were not yet compressed, and the aliens were, they should not logically be able to be in the same room at the same time, as the pressure would not be hospitable to one group or the other.

 

That's just a few. All in all though, I really still enjoy this flick. Especially that wiged out space-do the alien scientists wear. Very Greenwich Village!  :p

 

http://www.rexreason.com/  -  web site for actor Rex Reason.

 

[bones2097]

wow excellent thread.. how this slipped by i don't know.... gona make an effort to see these movies... sweet.............

 

*hangs head in shame..* yeah i ain't seen forbidden planet..

[Ulysses]

lol bones, I still think forbidden planet was one of the all time greats of any sci-fi film ...maybe even better than Star wars!

[bones2097]

duuuuuuuude!

[Amnot Borg]

yay, I found a double feature dvd at Walmart. War Of the Worlds/When Worlds Collide.

 

for less than 10 bucks.  nary a Tom Cruise in them. hehehe ;)

[slug]

Soylent Green has my vote, along with the Planet of the Apes cycle.

 

Great films made in edgy wartime climate. Much like TV now.

[glensl]

I had many of these old gems video and now replaced with DVD.

I have a question regarding  my copies of This Island Earth.  I've owned the VHS and now 2  DVD releases.  All seem to have a colour problem about 3/4 the way through.  It's as is one of the primary colours is missing.  Is this the same for anyone else or have I been unlucky in my purchases?

 

[Amnot Borg]

not owning a copy, I did a research on google and found that there are several comments on amazon.com about bad dvd-transfers of the film, This Island Earth, out there. probably most copies available now are made from a single damaged copy. let's hope someone finds an original in good shape one day.

[glensl]

I suspected as much myself.  Fortunately the colour glitch does not last long.

With computer technology of today it can but fixed but I suppose the copyright owners see no financial advantage to having it done.