The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

Starring:Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef, Steve Brodie, Ross Elliott, Jack Pennick, Ray Hyke, Michael Fox, Alvin Greenman, Frank Ferguson, King Donovan, Joe Gray, Vivian Mason, Fred Aldrich, William Woodson, Hugh Prosser, Merv Griffin
Director: Eugène Lourié
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
A matinee programmer with lofty ambitions, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is best appreciated as a vintage showcase for the stop-motion animation of special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen. The hoary plot follows the cold-war formula that dominated science fiction movies of the 1950s: After an atomic bomb test in the northern polar ice cap, a gigantic dinosaur--the fictional "Rhedosaurus"--is awakened from eons of dormancy, plots an undersea course for the Eastern seaboard, and proceeds to wreak havoc on New York City, culminating in a showdown with military marksmen at the Coney Island amusement park. Stock footage and tissue-thin drama make this a by-the-numbers monster flick, further hampered by Eugene Lourie's lackluster direction and a wooden B-movie cast. And yet, Harryhausen's first independent effort retains its atomic-age fascination: Beast marked yet another technical milestone for Harryhausen's impeccable techniques, and its perpetual status as a sci-fi classic is duly acknowledged in the DVD bonus features, including a retrospective featurette and a latter-day reunion of Harryhausen and longtime friend Ray Bradbury, whose short story "The Fog Horn" served as this film's inspiration. --Jeff Shannon
Description
Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This fearsome experiment disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus encased in ice for more than 100-million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a film of firsts. It spawned a new era of atomic-age creature features. It was the first screen adaptation of a work by fantasy fiction titan Ray Bradbury. And it marked the first time Ray Harryhausen had control over special effects. He came up with a fantastic creature (constructed at full scale, all 50 tons of it) that swims down from the north to run amok through New York City before being conquered in a spectacular Coney Island roller coaster finale. Take a classic ride. Unleash The Beast. Year: 1953

DVD Features:
Documentaries:Two commemorative 50th anniversary documentaries - The Rhedosaurus and the Roller Coaster: Making the Beast; Harryhausen & Bradbury: An Unfathomable Friendship
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer:Giant monsters trailer gallery featurnig this film, The Black Scorpion, Clash of the Titans and The Valley of Gwangi

Average customer rating:

classic fifties monsters
Wow, great deal.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms/Them
A classic '50s Sci Fi Double Feature
Ants In Your Pants

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms/Them!
Starring: James Whitmore , Edmund Gwenn , Joan Weldon , James Arness , and Onslow Stevens
Director: Gordon Douglas , and Eugène Lourié
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Release Date: 2006-08-22

Description

Humanity has split the atom, unleashing a new era of science - an era that would also unleash monstrous celluloid rampages. An A-bomb test in the Arctic awakens The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and it makes New York City its stomping ground in the movie (based on a story by Ray Bradbury) that launched a string of Atomic Age creature features. One of the best of those cautionary yarns is Them! Radiation-mutated ants - 12 feet long and capable of lifting tons - become giant problems for James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, James Arness and all of Los Angeles. They're big. They're bad. They've got a serious attitude problem. You won't find a can of bug spray big enough to stop 'em!

Customer Reviews:

classic fifties monsters.......2007-05-26

Two great monster movies for the price of one! Sounds familiar, but in this case, you get what they offer.
Them! is the original "big bug" movie. Atomic fallout causes ants to grow large enough to snack on humans and their nest has to be destroyed. But, here comes the McGuffin. Two of the Queens escape and a world wide hunt is on for Them! before they multiply and destroy the human race. The ants are really huge puppets ten years before Jim Henson.
Of course, we have the obligatory (poorly) hidden warning against nuclear testing. Remember, this was the McCarthey era and open protest against the bomb could get you blacklisted.
Again the bomb gets the blame in The Beast from 20,000 fathoms. (great title, but the beast never actually swims that deep) In this case, nuclear testing in the arctic thaws a dinosaur frozen under the ice. The ice at that time was just stuffed with all sorts of critters. First it froze in time to catch a Deadly Mantis, then it thawed enough to entrap a dinosaur without unfreezing the bug, then, in modern times, a starship crash thawed it enough to trap one of its crewmen, The Thing from Outer Space, then it froze the Blob, but allowed enough of it to thaw to menace the world again in the seventies. God knows what global warming will release in the twenty-teens.
getting back to the Beast, rather than freezing back to a Dino-sicle, this one jumps into the ocean and heads south. In Massachusets, it falls in love with a lighthouse, but when its new love proves frigid, it destroys her. Then it heads for New York city where it it is wounded, but its blood turns out to be contaminated by a mysterious disease, so a way has to be found to kill it without spreading the disease, The finale is really exciting. I missed the theatre showing of this film because I was too young, but when I saw this disk, I thought, "Oh that's Godzilla.". Sure enough, in the commentaries on Gojira, I learned that the writer openly credited the Beast as part of the inspiration for the Japanese movie. However, the two movies are different enough that I am glad to have both in my collection. I also have Gorgo, so now all I need is "the giant Behemoth", "Reptilicus",and "The Valley Of Gwangi" to complete my set.

Wow, great deal........2007-03-25

I recently saw "Them!" for the first time and fell in love with it. So naturally I soon went to the store to find a copy. I looked and I looked, but my store din't have it. Suddenly I saw in the double feature section thiscombination. There it was the movie I was looking for. I was hesitant when I saw the name of the other film. "The Beast fom 20,000 Fathoms" sounded like your stereotypical corny sci-fi movie. I sat there thinking it over and suddenly realized it was cheaper to buy the double feature then buying "Them!" individualy. I quickly payed $10 (that's how much it was at my store) and went home. It's a double sided disk and the DVD's are the same as buying them individualy. Same special feature etc. I decided to watch "the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms to see if I liked it, or not. It was wonderful, not on the same level as "Them!', but still good lots of semilarities to Godzilla. This is a really good deal if you want to save over $10 (The price of buying both individualy is $25).

RAtings:

Them! 5/5 stars: A true clasic that really holds up to today's standards.
The Best from 20,000 Fathoms 4/5 stars: Quite entertaining

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms/Them.......2007-02-20

For anyone who loves the 50's "atomic monster" movies, these two are must-haves. Both still stand up well over the test of time. "The Beast..." features stop-motion animation by legendary special effects man Ray Harryhausen, featuring what I personally think is one of his best looking creations. The movie features plenty of monster-stomping action and a pretty intelligent script for what was pretty much a "quickie" production. "Them" is the classic "atomic radiation has unexpected results" theme that was copied ad nauseum, but rarely done better. The effects are, well, giant puppets, but the photography and sound effects still manage to make them pretty impressive, and the shots of the desert are still genuinely creepy. The fire-fight between the army and the nest of giant ants at the climax of the picture is first rate.

The special features are pretty good. The "archive footage" from the "Them" side is interesting, but a little skimpy. The special features on the "Beast" side give a little more background. Both side's menus are easy to navigate, and the "them" side is set up in an amusing fashion. Overall for anyone who likes 50's science fiction, you'd want to have both these titles anyway. Getting them together is a great deal.

A classic '50s Sci Fi Double Feature.......2007-01-13

Aficionados of 1950's Sci Fi movies will want to rush out and grab this great double feature consisting of "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" and "Them". Both films stand alone as memorable examples of some of the better movies to come from this era. Kudos to Warner Brothers for putting them on the same "double bill"!

Similar in plot line to a degree, both films deal with horrific situations that occur after nuclear testing. (a familar plot line from films of this era.) In "Beast...", it's a pre-historic Rhedosaurus that's awakened in the Arctic from an atomic blast and migrates south to a climactic finish in New York City. In "Them", ants who have been continually exposed to radiation from atomic testing in the New Mexico desert grow to enormous proportions and eventually terrorize Los Angeles.

Both films have memorable special effects in their own right. "Beast..." because of the special effects genius of Ray Harryhausen. This film is Harryhausen's first solo effort and he definitely excels. The "lighthouse" scene is visually stunning for special effects of this era. "Them", on the other hand, is memorable primarily because of its cheesy giant "puppet" ants with their haunting sounds. It's difficult not to retain the sound the ants make in this movie long after you've seen it. Still, you have to give film director, Gordon Douglas, credit for incorporating live action scenes with the ants in this film.

Both movies have solid casts for films of this era. "Beast..." is led by cinematic veterans Paul Christian, familar face Paula Raymond, Kenneth Tobey (from "The Thing") and, in one of his first roles, Lee Van Cleef (from Spaghetti Western fame). "Them" does have a stronger cast which includes strong performances from rock-jawed James Whitmore, James Arness, Edmund Gwenn ("Santa" from "Miracle on 34th St."), and the lovely Joan Weldon. Look closely for quick appearances by Leonard Nimoy and Fess Parker.

All in all, this double feature is simply a great value for collectors and/or lovers of Sci Fi films from this era. In addition to the films, there are a few extras that include a memorable interview with Harryhausen and his great friend, Ray Bradbury and behind-the-scenes looks at the special effects of both films. They are welcome added bonuses and not just filler. The viewer simply can't go wrong with this purchase!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Ants In Your Pants.......2006-12-24

I saw "Them" when it first came out. I was probably about nine years old. My father told my mother it was a nature documentary about insects, so the family, including some aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews all piled into our cars and drove into Manhattan. When we got to the theatre, on the marquee was a totally gigantic ant with a partially clad woman in its mandibles.

The 'girls' went down the street to see National Velvet.

The 'boys' went into see 'Them'. I remember exactly when we walked in (in those days, movie going was a much easier experience. If you wandered in late, you stayed to see what you missed at the next showing). I came into the theatre just after James Whitmore and his partner walked into Gramp's general store. They found his body. Whitmore leaves his partner there while he goes to interview an ant survivor. His partner, alone, hears some chirping.... Given the marquee, as he walked out of the wrecked store, gun drawn, we knew what was going to happen...

'Them!' remains one of my favourite films of that era. It has not been easy to find on DVD, so for many years I made do with a VHS version. Glad I am that I purchased this DVD combo with 'The Beast from Twenty Thousand Fathoms'. The transfer is excellent--sharp enough to cut your eyeballs. The black and white film looks great, just as it did in the theatre. The 'extras' are not all that extra, but it was kind of fun to see very brief clips showing special effects technicians manipulating the giant ant mock-ups.

The charm and brilliance of this film does not lie in the special effects. They're okay, but really just barely. This is not an eye candy film. You rarely see the ants moving much. But they remain convincing because they are in the context of an excellently written, directed and acted film. The movie is 'real' all the way through. No kiddie stuff here, no weak acting.

Look closely and you will see a rather young Leonard Nimoy at a teletype machine. Fess Parker, later to become Davey Crockett for Walt disney, got his big break in this film with a meatier role.

This film is odds-on best of all the giant bug movies of the fifties.

"The Beast" has long been available on Ray Harryhausen DVDs, but it is a definite bonus to have it on this double sided DVD. The transfer is also very good, and there are some nice featurettes. "The Beast" is Harryhausen's first go-it-alone feature after working with his mentor, the great Willis O'Brien, on "Mighty Joe Young."

I remember going to the local theatre in Brooklyn to see this film when it first cdame out. My mom did not want me to go, after seeing the ads on tv, but relented. The theatre was packed. The movie really was the first of its kind for my generation--King Kong was twenty years old then, and I'd seen it on a re-release to an equally packed theatre. The experience of seeing this film was electrifying. Compared to 'Them!', the effects were eye candy, and the real reason for seeing the film. It was well acted and directed, but could not and can not compare with 'Them!' in those departments.

An excellent DVD bargain.

Average customer rating:

The very latest models for 1953
Great 50s Classic
ONE OF RAY'S FINEST CLASSIC MONSTER ON THE LOOSE!
Nice Transfer Of An Early 'Creature Feature'
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
Starring: Paul Hubschmid , Paula Raymond , Cecil Kellaway , Kenneth Tobey , and Donald Woods
Director: Eugène Lourié
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amazon.com

A matinee programmer with lofty ambitions, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is best appreciated as a vintage showcase for the stop-motion animation of special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen. The hoary plot follows the cold-war formula that dominated science fiction movies of the 1950s: After an atomic bomb test in the northern polar ice cap, a gigantic dinosaur--the fictional "Rhedosaurus"--is awakened from eons of dormancy, plots an undersea course for the Eastern seaboard, and proceeds to wreak havoc on New York City, culminating in a showdown with military marksmen at the Coney Island amusement park. Stock footage and tissue-thin drama make this a by-the-numbers monster flick, further hampered by Eugene Lourie's lackluster direction and a wooden B-movie cast. And yet, Harryhausen's first independent effort retains its atomic-age fascination: Beast marked yet another technical milestone for Harryhausen's impeccable techniques, and its perpetual status as a sci-fi classic is duly acknowledged in the DVD bonus features, including a retrospective featurette and a latter-day reunion of Harryhausen and longtime friend Ray Bradbury, whose short story "The Fog Horn" served as this film's inspiration. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This fearsome experiment disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus encased in ice for more than 100-million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a film of firsts. It spawned a new era of atomic-age creature features. It was the first screen adaptation of a work by fantasy fiction titan Ray Bradbury. And it marked the first time Ray Harryhausen had control over special effects. He came up with a fantastic creature (constructed at full scale, all 50 tons of it) that swims down from the north to run amok through New York City before being conquered in a spectacular Coney Island roller coaster finale. Take a classic ride. Unleash The Beast. Year: 1953

Customer Reviews:

The very latest models for 1953.......2007-06-28

It's hard to realize why this early stop-motion animation "beast on the loose" film is so warmly remembered until you actually see it, since it doesn't seem from its description like it should be that special. Its plot of a monster released by atomic radiation attacking a city has been repeated again and again, and owes much to both the 1933 KING KONG and the 1925 THE LOST WORLD (as Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen, who respectively wrote its original story and created its effects, cheerfully admit in the accompaying feature). But in many ways this set the standard for the films of this sort that dominated the sci-fi films of the 50s, and the beast itself is really a marvel. Whereas King Kong was childlike, given to charming bits of curiosity and childish tantrums of rage, and the later (much inferior) Godzilla simply incarnated pure chaos, the Beast here has become much beloved over the decades because it is so ornery. It attacks fishing trawlers, lighthouses, diving bells and the docks of Manhattan for no good reason other than that it's particularly grumpy and ill-tempered, which makes it all the more adorable. (It even looks like a cross between a pit bull and a gila monster.)

As with most 1950s monster films, the stuff that comes in-between the Beast's rampages is pretty forgettable, although the Swiss Paul Hubschmid (here called Paul Christian) is a pretty unusual choice as the hero, and Paula Raymond, as the fretful assistant to a paleontology professor, is for some reason given a hilarious array of the very latest in New Look fashions in every scene she's in. Probably the film's producers figured if they couldn't give us the animated Harryhausen model of the rhedosaurus they'd have to give us something, so there she is sporting others sorts of the very latest models.

Great 50s Classic.......2007-03-10

I remember watching this as a kid on MONA LISA Monster Theatre.Still a great 50s SCI-FI Flick. Harry Harryhausen is the best at his creature animations. This movie ia a must for all SCI-FI fans.

ONE OF RAY'S FINEST CLASSIC MONSTER ON THE LOOSE!.......2007-03-08

This is the one that set off a surge of giant monsters trampling through our cities in the 50's. I know The Lost World and King Kong were first,but there was a lull for quite some time before this Harryhausen classic set the fifties on fire! The DVD has a very nice transfer and some extra material. If you like old monster movies this one is well worth owning. It is a Stop Motion Masterpiece!

Nice Transfer Of An Early 'Creature Feature'.......2007-02-14

It would be a mistake to write off "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" as being too cliché; for to do so would be to forget that most of the clichés that are in the movie originated with this movie. What you have with this movie is undoubtedly one of many movies which are put into the creature feature category. It also uses the Godzilla like premise of an ancient monster being reawakened due to nuclear testing. Throw in the hero who isn't believed by his colleagues, and the woman scientist who is the only one who listens to him, and you have the elements of more 50's science fiction movies than I care to count.

The storyline is simple, atomic testing releases a Rhedosaurus from the arctic ice. When two observers are measuring the results of the test, one is killed while the other, Professor Tom Nesbitt, is injured but manages to survive. His story is attributed to stress and he is shipped back to New York for treatment. As he recovers, stories begin to appear about sea monsters which convince him that what he remembers is true. He gets the aid from Professor Thurgood Elson and his assistant Lee Hunter. Together they finally convince the armed forces, but not until it is too late and the beast has made it too New York City. Panic ensues as the beast destroys sections of the city until the final climactic scene at the Coney Island Rollercoaster.

This was a very low budget movie, costing around $210,000 to make. Not surprisingly it doesn't have any big stars, although you may recognize some character actors from other roles. Paul Hubschmid plays Professor Nesbitt, and Paula Raymond plays Lee Hunter. Two names which do stand out are those of Ray Harryhausen who was responsible for the animation, and Ray Bradbury who wrote the short story "The Fog Horn", on which this film is somewhat based. The film was directed by Eugène Lourié.

Make no mistake, this is not a great film, but it is fun and it has an undeniable place in the history of science fiction and the movies. It was nominated in 2004 for the Retro Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for pieces which debuted in the year 1953. The film is just 79 minutes long, and yet it probably could have been shortened a bit as it does drag at times. The pace does pick up at the end as they fight the beast in the streets of New York.

The transfer of the movie for the most part looks very good. The special features are decent, with a couple of short documentaries. The first is "The Rhedosaurus and the Roller Coaster: Making the Beast" which is just a short feature about the movie. The second is "Harryhausen & Bradbury" which features the two men talking about their long friendship and their love of dinosaurs. There are also four trailers, including one for his movie, and then ones for "The Black Scorpion", The Valley of Gwangi", and "Clash of the Titans".

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.......2007-01-19

I purchased The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms from Paul Hubschmid and I was very happy with the service that I received. It arrived quickly and the service and the price was great. Thank You!

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