This Island Earth

Great, imaginative 50s sci-fi at last reaches Blu-ray in this delightful release. We kids of the 50s loved this one with its interesting premise and wonderful (for the era) special effects (AND a great "monster.") Though "Forbidden Planet"'s Cinemascope release a year later would eclipse "This Island Earth," it remains a favorite for many. The disc includes two aspect ratio versions, the 1.85-1 "widescreen" with "Spectrascope" 3-channel sound and restored mono, a 1.37-1 "standard" with the same mono, a plethora of extras and a couple of commentary tracks. The only thing missing is a separate rendering of the atmospheric soundtrack music. And even then star Faith Domergue would hardly have needed so much "help" from co-star Rex Reason were she not always in cocktail party attire and high heels (my neighbor Carol Jean would have kicked that monster just where....). The always reliable Jeff Morrow introduces a thoughtful, intelligent "alien" in the Michael Rennie "Day the Earth Stood Still" vein. Picture quality is excellent in both ratios, though I prefer the 1.37-1 open-matte and grain-haters should beware as the film is (mercifully) NOT lathered into pastiness as were many early Blu-ray releases. This one is for 50s teens and lovers of movie history! Five Stars from me--- more if possible.

I first saw this movie when I was a young man and it really impressed me. The color was so vivid. The cold hearted aliens desperate for nuclear fuel. Bugs genetically modified to provide security and labor. A trip across the universe in a flying saucer. Wowie zowie. This film was one of the greats from the 1950's along with When the Worlds Collide, Forbidden Planet, Day of the Triffids and the Time Machine. A bluray copy of this film is not available domestically. I've been waiting for years for them to get around to remastering this film. Still waiting. When I saw this French multi-region Bluray version I said what the heck. I bought it. And was I pleased. For starters there are two copies of the film. One Bluray and one HD. And the copy is pristine. It looks as good as when I saw it in the theater. Its a doozie! So, if you are a hard core science fiction buff, you will be pleased with this one.

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'This Island Earth' released by Kino Lorber on July 9, 2019Most people who are ordering this release are probably more interested in the quality of the picture and/or the extra's. If that's the case, just look right below under 'BLU-RAY' and 'EXTRA'S'.BLU-RAY: The picture is a 4K scan made from the original film elements. The movie is shown in both 1.37:1 and 1.85:1 widescreen versions. You can only listen to the additional audio tracks with the movie when it is shown in 1.85:1. The original Perspecta Sterophonic sound has be restored by 3-D Film Archive. The picture is nice but it isn't what I'd call perfect (then again, what is?). Overall, I'm happy with the picture. The colors are vivid and bright. These very bright colors are part of the reason that this movie is fondly remembered (Of course, dubiously, this is also probably part of the reason why it was picked for 'Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie). However, the picture is a bit soft at times. The audio is in 2.0 and 3.0 formats. This movie was one of the last movies shot with the original Technicolor 3-Strip process.EXTRA'S:-Poster Art on the inside sleeve - There is some nice art on the inside. There is a poster that covers 3/4 of the inside sleeve. The other 1/2 has pictures of 3 other posters including a foreign poster.-Audio Commentary with author and visual effects artist Robert Skotak - Skotak says that he knew the director, Joseph F. Newman well. Therefore, he has some first hand knowledge of 'This Island Earth'.-(Audio Commentary) Interview with film historian David Shecter - Shecter discusses the score for 'This Island Earth' and the people involved as you watch the movie. He literally goes through the entire movie. I listened to this as I was doing house chores.-Interview with filmmaker Luigi Cozzi - Cozzi is the Italian filmmaker who made the movie 'Starcrash'. This interview is about 21 minutes long and has film clips along with some stills. Cozzi talks about his opinions of 'This Island Earth'. He compares the format of the movie to 'Dracula'. He discusses color science fiction films and the reasons that studio's were reluctant to use color after 'Forbidden Planet'. He also discusses the influence that 'This Island Earth' had on his production of 'Starcrash'.-Trailers from Hell by Joe Dante - This was made in 2013 and Joe Dante does his usual good job of discussing the trailer as it runs.-"Two and A Half Years in the Making: The Extended Documentary" - The Making of 'This Island Earth' - This is an excellent, 48 minute long documentary on the production of 'This Island Earth'. It is filled with movie clips, movie posters and other photographs. It features many film experts such as Joe Dante, Ted Newsom, David Shecter, Tom Weaver, Robert Skotak, Bill Burns and others. It discusses the entire 2 1/2 year production of the movie and goes over every aspect of the movie.-War of the Planets, 8 mm and 16mm films - 'War of the Planets' is the shortened version of 'This Island Earth' that was made for home projectors that was sold to the public through magazine advertisements such as 'Famous Monsters in Filmland'. The 8mm version is only about 2 1/2 minutes long and has very poor picture quality. The 16mm version is a step up in quality from the 8mm and is about 8 minutes long.-Facts About Perspecta Stereophonic Sound by Bob Furmek - This is simply a bunch of photographs of numerous articles about this sound system.-Theatrical trailer-Behind the Scenes Gallery-Publicity Stills Gallery-Poster and Lobby Card Gallery-Subtitles in English*****WARNING - THERE ARE LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW*****PLOT/SUMMARY: Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason) is flying to his laboratory when his Air Force jet's engines fail. The plane is surrounded by a green glow and the plane is brought down safely. Once Meacham is in his lab, he finds an electronic condenser that is unlike what he ordered. It is far smaller. At first, he thinks it's just a mistake but his lab partner, Joe Wilson, tells him this is not the case. The condenser's prove to be far superior to anything they have ever seen. Meacham then finds instructions for a device called an 'interocitor'. Together, they build the device. Once it is complete, a person named Exeter (Jeff Morrow) appears on the screen of the interocitor. He tells Meacham that he has passed a test and invites him to join him. He tells him that he will be picked up at a designated time and if Meacham wants to join him then he should be there. Meacham shows up and is picked up by a plane with no pilot or windows. The plane takes off and lands in Georgia.Once in Georgia, Meacham is picked up by Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue). Meacham recognizes her as a girl he had a fling with years agon but Adams acts as if he is mistaken. Once inside, Exter shows Meacham to his lab. Exeter and his assistant, Brack, both have an unusual appearance. Meacham is introduced to another scientist named Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson, of Gilligan's Island fame). When the trio are alone, Adams reveals that she was pretending to not know Meacham. There is some strange stuff going on and they all want to leave the facility. The three take off. Back at the facility, Brack uses a laser weapon to attack them. Carlson tells Meacham and Adams to run away and he will distract Brack. Carlson is incinerated. Meacham and Adams get to an airplane and take off. The facility is completely destroyed as they take off.Once in the air, the airplane is brought into a flying saucer by a tractor beam. Exeter tells the couple that he is from a planet named Metaluna. Metaluna is being attacked by another race called the Zagons. Metaluna has an energy shield that is supported by uranium, however the Metalunans are running out of the mineral. Exeter had come to Earth to find scientist's to help them develop a way to change lead into uranium. They have run out of time and Exeter was forced to return to Metaluna. Once on Metaluna, they are brought to Monitor, Metaluna's leader. He tells the couple that they will have their will subjugated so that the Metalunan's can take over Earth. Exeter disagree's with Monitor and helps the couple escape. While escaping, Exeter is injured by a mutant servant. Exeter, Meacham and Adams get on board the flying saucer and take off. The shield on Metaluna has been eliminated and the Zagons destroy Metaluna. Once back at Earth, Exeter tells the couple to get in their plane and fly home. Exeter is dying and remains in the the flying saucer as it flies into the ocean and explodes.PRODUCTION: This movie was released by Universal in 1955.-The movie was released as part of a double feature with 'Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'.-The director, Joseph M. Newman, purchased the rights to the book based on this film. He planned on making an independent movie but ultimately couldn't raise the money. He sold the rights to Universal with the condition that he would direct the movie.-The house used for the Metalunan's headquarters was the same house that was used in 'Tarantula' and 'The Creature Walks Among Us'.-Jeff Morrow, who plays Exeter, was responsible for the character being sympathetic to humans. He didn't want to play a heartless character and asked that the script be changed to give his character morals.-Most of the equipment that you see in the first part of the movie is re-used in the basement lab of the Metalunan's mansion. The production team repainted and rearranged most of it.-All of the scenes in this movie were shot in California. There are no scenes actually shot in Georgia.-The actor who plays 'The Monitor', Douglas Spencer, was the reporter, Scotty, in 'The Thing'.-The transport vehicle on Metaluna was made from a prop built for 'Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'. WHY IS THE MOVIE CALLED 'THIS ISLAND EARTH'? WHAT'S EARTH GOT TO DO WITH ISLAND'S?: The answer to this question is answered by the author, Raymond F. Jones. Jones said that he got the idea from U.S. strategy used in World War II. The U.S. hired natives in the South Pacific to build warehouses and landing strips for them on these islands. They were oblivious to what was going on in the world. In this movie, humans on Earth take the place of the natives in the South Pacific islands. The Metalunans were at war and they hired humans to help them with the defense of their world, while the Earthlings were oblivious to what they were doing.-There have been other reasons put forth. It has been said that Earth is just an insignificant island in the middle of space among many other far superior intelligent races.-It should also be pointed out that a comma is missing from the title. Really it should be 'This Island, Earth'. DID JACK ARNOLD DIRECT THIS FILM?: It's been said that Jack Arnold was called in to film some scenes after Universal executives viewed footage of the movie and were not happy with it. This has not been proven. Robert Skotak says in the audio commentary that Jack Arnold did not direct any of the scenes. He says that he actually asked him. Bill Warren, the definitive expert on 50's science fiction films stated in his book 'Keep Watching the Skies' that he thought that Arnold did indeed direct some of the scenes on Metaluna. The truth will probably never be known. THE STORY SEEMS DISJOINTED, WHAT IS IT BASED ON?: The story seems disjointed because it is. It basically has three distinct parts. The book that this movie is based upon, 'This Island Earth' by Raymond F. Jones, is a story that takes three short stories (or novelettes) from Pulp Fiction magazines and combines them into a novel length story. The three stories were originally published in 'Thrilling Wonder Stories' magazine. The three stories are:'The Alien Machine' (June, 1949)'The Shroud of Secrecy' (December, 1949)'The Greater Conflict' (February, 1950)The three stories were then published as a novel in 1952 under the same title as the movie, 'This Island Earth'.-The movie follows the book closely up until the mansion is destroyed. From the point onward, the movie deviates quite a bit from the book. Most of the novel takes place on Earth.-There is no romance between Cal and Ruth in the novel. THE METALUNA MUTANT IS UNUSUAL AND IT DOESN'T DO A WHOLE LOT. WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR IT COME FROM? The Metaluna Mutant was put into the movie for the simple reason that the movie needed a monster. If not for a monster, the movie would be viewed as an adult film and kids wouldn't want to go see it. The idea for the monster itself came from a rejected design for the alien creature in 'It Came From Outer Space'. The costume caused all kinds of problems and it was modified. It wasn't supposed to have pants! Ultimately, the mutant doesn't do a whole lot because it was basically 'shoehorned' into the movie. I should point out that there is some dispute as to whether or not the Mutant was included in the script from the start.-The producer, William Alland, hated the Mutant. He disparaged it throughout his life.-For the record, Rex Reason did not like the Mutant either, though Faith Domergue did. I LIKE FAITH DOMERGUE. SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. WHAT OTHER SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES IS SHE IN?:Well you aren't the only person that has the 'hots' for Ms. Domergue. Howard Hughes is the person who 'discovered' her. The two dated on and off for awhile and Domergue wrote a book about their relationship called 'My Life with Howard Hughes' (1972). Domergue died of cancer in 1999 at the age of 74.-Domergue starred in a bunch of movies but if it's science fiction/horror you are looking for, she had quite a prolific year in 1955. In addition to 'This Island Earth' she also starred in...'Cult of the Cobra' (1955)'It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)'Timeslip' or 'The Atomic Man' (1955)-Domergue's career came to an end in 1974 when she starred in the low budged horror movie, 'The House of Seven Corpses'. REX REASON HAD A LEADING MAN LOOK AND A TERRIFIC VOICE...WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? Rex Reason lived a long life and actually just died a few years ago in 2015. Unfortunately, he never acted again after 1963. He starred in another 50's science fiction classic, 'The Creature Walks Among Us', but then went on to television. He was up for the leading role in 'The Manchurian Candidate' and walked out on his studio contract. He left Hollywood for whatever the reason. He went into real estate design and also recorded some Christian Albums.-As a side note, the director, Joseph M. Newman, had unrealistically hoped to get William Holden for the starring role played by Reason in 'This Island Earth'.COMMENTS: MARS NEEDS WOMEN: All right, not really, but the Metalunans need humans to help them. Why? They spent a lot of time and resources recruiting humans to help them. This makes no sense. They are obviously far more intelligent than humans. Why not just use their own people to do research? They could have brought them to Earth if necessary. ONCE AGAIN, WHY NOT JUST ASK? I feel like I've written a lot of reviews asking this same question. Why don't the aliens just ask if they can come to Earth. I'm sure mankind would welcome their technology and give them all the land they needed to settle in. There is no reason for them to 'reprogram' the human mind. DOES THIS MOVIE REALLY DESERVE TO BE ON MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000? It is my opinion that the answer is a resounding 'No'. What really angers me is that this movie was used as the movie in the feature film. As a result, this movie has gained a reputation for a movie that deserves ridicule. In reality, in my opinion, this is one of the better 1950's science fiction movies. In fact, Bill Warren, author of the definitive book on 1950's science fiction, 'Keep Watching the Skies' calls it the best science fiction film of the 50's. THERMAL BARRIER IN OUTER SPACE?: A thermal barrier in space does seem like quite a far fetched plot device, doesn't it? There being no air and what have you... This was put into the movie as a cost cutting measure. The idea derived from the theory that on the outskirts of our solar system, there is some sort of electrical activity. For budgetary reasons, they changed this idea to thermal activity. OTHER COMMENTS:-I don't understand why it was so important for Brack to kill the humans. For what reason would he do this? They Metalunans were leaving Earth to head back to their planet anyway. Why even bother to blow up their headquarters? If they were planning on returning, why would they do this? If they weren't going to return, then why would it matter if Earthlings found their plans?-This is pretty much the first movie in which humans travel to an alien world.-I forgot to check into why everyone was so blue during the sequence on Metaluna. I don't know the reason for this.-Why was the Spanish speaking fellow in the movie? Who was he? He shows up speaking Spanish and is just vaporized. I wonder if this was due to a script change or a scene being deleted.CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: If you are a fan of 1950's science fiction then this release is a must have. You get a good picture, a good audio commentary and an excellent documentary along with a bunch of other extra's.My personal opinion of the movie is that it is a good movie for it's day but not excellent. There are other 50's science fiction movies that I like better. Even though the structure of the movie has been criticized, I like the unusual nature of it. Anything that is different is always worth something. The beautiful color adds quite a bit to the movie and the science fiction fan gets it worst look at an alien world in full color. I think the plot is interesting and keeps you engaged. The Metaluna Mutant is one of the most famous movie monsters even if it doesn't do a whole lot.RATINGS:Picture: 7/10 - This movie always had a reputation for having very nice colors but the I feel like the transfer could have been better.Plot: 8/10 or 4 stars - Not in the excellent category, but very good.SFX: 9/10 - The effects were excellent for the era.Extra's: 9/10 - Lots of good stuff here.Overall: 5 stars

A quintessential essential if you have a 50's Sci-Fi collection. Great story. Superb color. Great long length. A fan favorite for over 60 years. First exposed to this as a young man in the 70's reading Monster Magazines and the newspaper...'The Monster Times'. Back then you had to wait forever and pray your nearest big city (Detroit) had it in their inventory. Then, you had to be lucky enough to catch it. Finally I was able to watch it by ordering it off Amazon. The 'alien/monsters' are featured in almost every tome about Science Fiction Movies. Never dreamt as a kid I'd have a perfect copy years later to watch over and over. Great G/PG rated fun that you can watch w your nieces and nephews and not scare them to death. You have to judge for yourself if it's for you, but you're reading the reviews, so it must be on your purchasing radar. Buy it. 👽

The advantages of this blu-ray are a larger and more clear image. That's about all. The larger image comes at the expense of cropping at the top and the bottom, so the full original image is not on display. (Sometimes, characters have the tops of their heads distractedly cut off.) Also, the colors are noticeably, but not extremely, softened compared to the DVD, and there are slightly visible vertical scratches running through large sections of the film. Skin tones are pale and lack subtle gradations. The visible film grain makes it apparent that this was not from an early-generation film. Therefore, in spite of the "smaller" image, I prefer the Universal DVD for a presentation that is closer to the original. I can discern no audible difference between the two versions.

This Island Earth isn't a stone-cold classic of the 1950s technicolour sci-fi era but it was a solid entry and is fondly remembered. The only blu-ray until now has been a slightly shabby bare bones affair so this disc, from a 4K scan of a new interpositive, should be great. The extras package certainly is -- a 45 minute documentary, two commentaries and a slightly baffling interview with Luigi "Star Crash" Cozzi.And then you put the film on and -- it's cropped from full-frame to widescreen! You know, like it wasn't on release or on previous DVDs. Like it isn't anywhere in the accompanying features. It's left the picture a little grainy and the shots composed a bit awkwardly in places and, frankly, had I known this I wouldn't have bought it. Other reviews mention the original composition as a setup choice but that's not on this disc.I'm just plain angry that such a lot of love and care should go into mastering and assembling this disc but then it's sloppily matted to widescreen. Let's face it, if you're buying this film on blu-ray, you probably care about this stuff. So I feel grumpy and, more than that, conned. It's like buying a restored, rescanned version of The Maltese Falcon and finding the only version on the disc is colourised.It's still the same film (2-3 stars for plot, acting etc) and the extras are good so I'll give this three stars, one for the film and two for that extras package. But it could have been 4 or even 5 if they'd just respected the film enough to do it right -- after all that original 4K presentation does exist somewhere...

Great old sci-fi classic that was truly deserving of a bluray release, but this probably ISN'T the release you've been waiting for. The old DVD version may actually be better.This German bluray release has been butchered into fake widescreen format by zooming in and cutting off the top/bottom of the print. Passable ... but the result is that some shots appear strange and improperly framed since its inconsistent with the original filming. Zooming the image has also resulted in the film grain being stronger than it should ... especially in the stock footage and foggy airport scenes. The overall effect is a soft image that's not particularly crisp as other reviewers have suggested. Video encoding looks to be very low bitrate.Although not restored, the print used for the transfer is relatively clean with just a few occasional dust specks. This bluray is fine if you're a fan of the film - but its pretty disappointing. I would have preferred a crisper full frame version or a choice between the two. Although there is a full frame version available on the disk, its SD and has German-only audio.My purchase, via Nagiry, took almost five weeks to arrive here in Australia ... which is far too long. About a week to post, and then four weeks to deliver. It was beaten (by a week) by other items I ordered from Amazon.co.uk a fortnight later. Nagiry may want to re-evaluate their shipping provider or bump up to the next service tier.UPDATE: After a little more Internet research (at Gary Tooze's DVD Beaver website) its seems that the widescreen format is valid - with This Island Earth having been filmed to work in both widescreen and full screens formats. It seems that cinemas were in transition at the time - with a matt applied to adapt the image to the screen size. That being said, the transfer is still really just okay - and it would be nice to see a restoration of this under-appreciated flick. This is enjoyable enough in the meantime, and still recommended on the basis that its a great classic of 1950s sci-fi.

Over many years ever since childhood I have watched this film many times in several formats. It's a piece of classic fifties Sci Fi and on blu ray it looks great. Although this is a German release it plays in English with no problem. Picture quality is very good given the age of the movie & the choice of disc cover artwork is a fun idea. It's the version of this movie I've been waiting for and I'm so glad to have been able to find it. If you're a fan of fifties science fiction it's a must.

I have seen this film numerous times and it gets better on each viewing. Up until very recently, this was a rarely available film. Made in 1955 and based on the novel of the Mormon science fiction writer Raymond F. Jones, this is a classic, cold war science fiction treat. The picture quality is good, but not pristine. You can still see the odd blotch or two on the film print, but nothing too distracting. The sound quality is clean and crystal clear. The script is intelligent and imaginative.The effects and space creatures are astounding for 1955, who can forget the giant mutant bug with the oversized brain! The ginger cat in the film "Neutron" was a famous Hollywood leading cat actor called "Orangey" whose other aliases included "Jimmy" and "Rhubarb". Although he had a reputation in Hollywood for being "artistically temperamental" he was a real old trouper and had an extensive film and television career. He won two Patsy Awards (the animal equivalent of Oscars). He played the cat in Rhubarb (1951); This Island Earth (1955); The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957); The Diary of Anne Frank (1959); Gigot (1962); The Comedy of Terrors(1964); and; Village of the Giants (1965). His most famous role was as the lead cat in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961).

The following items are on the US release of the disk but not the UK version:1. NEW Facts About Perspecta Stereophonic Sound By Bob Furmanek2. WAR OF THE PLANETS: 1958 Castle Films Release For The Home Market Including Both The 50-Foot Silent Headline Edition And The 200-Foot Sound Complete Editionbut most importantly:3. NEW 4K Scan Of The Inter-Positive – Two Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1 And 1.37:1only the 1:85:1 version, zoomed in and cropping the top and bottom is included