Stranger from Venus

Starring:Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond, Cyril Luckham, Willoughby Gray, Marigold Russell, Arthur Young, Kenneth Edwards, David Garth, Stanley Van Beers, Nigel Green, Graham Stuart, John Le Mesurier
Director: Burt Balaban
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Providing further evidence that 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still had an immediate and lasting influence, this quiet little gem from 1954 spins off from the earlier film's trendsetting premise, and features a fine role for that classic's costar, Patricia Neal. With those similarities accounted for, it's only fair to assess Stranger from Venus on its own terms. Fashioned more like a respectable B-movie melodrama than a sci-fi thriller, it offers only a few seconds of cheesy special effects (in the form of an ultra-low-budget flying saucer), and instead emphasizes mature dialogue and competent acting to deliver the time-honored theme that humankind has a lot to learn on the intergalactic scale of civilized behavior.

Amazon.com

Providing further evidence that 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still had an immediate and lasting influence, this quiet little gem from 1954 spins off from the earlier film's trendsetting premise, and features a fine role for that classic's costar, Patricia Neal. With those similarities accounted for, it's only fair to assess Stranger from Venus on its own terms. Fashioned more like a respectable B-movie melodrama than a sci-fi thriller, it offers only a few seconds of cheesy special effects (in the form of an ultra-low-budget flying saucer), and instead emphasizes mature dialogue and competent acting to deliver the time-honored theme that humankind has a lot to learn on the intergalactic scale of civilized behavior.

Description

Tonight, first contact will be made! A beautifully-crafted tale of a superior being from Venus who has the power of life and death at his touch. Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Neal's glowing and sensitive performance as a woman caught up in the biggest event in history is complemented by Helmut Dantine's powerful, moving portrayal as the Stranger. Suggested by events in the sci-fi classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still," this film is a touching, humanizing and haunting story of "first contact" with a peaceful and advanced intelligence from another planet coming to Earth with an ultimatum and out-of-this-world powers to back it up.

Customer Reviews:

"I am drunk or you are dead".......2006-06-24

A no-name stranger (Helmut Dantine) comes from Venus with a message. Naturedly the message is too important to trust to any one country. So he arranges to meet with all the representatives of the world in two days. While waiting for this meeting He interacts with a handful of people at a local English inn. There they get to know each other personally. Some such as Susan north (Patricia Neal) very personally. Will they make the meeting or will greed raise its ugly head and try to use this no names stranger for nefarious purposes?

Of course we know what sort of people attract Susan because when Patricia Neal mad the same choice in the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Now days most people equate Patricia Neal with Anacin commercials.

Helmut is no slacker. He has been in several TV programs and who can forget the movie "Guerrilla Girl" (1953).

The music was well done mix of spooky and sci-fi sounds composed by Eric Spear. Eric composed original music for more than 40 movies and programs.

WARNING - DO NOT EXPECT A LOT OF SPECIAL EFFECTS !.......2005-12-24

I don't know I could be wrong, but it seems to me that movies made today require a ton of special effects ( especially in the Sci Fi - Fantasy genre ) to keep an audience interested. Nothing wrong with this though, as I myself enoy a little escapist entertainment as much as the next person. Having said that though I must confess that it is my opinion that good writing and acting will win out over high tech effects almost everytime with few eceptions and nothing is better if you have both. Which brings me to this film, Stranger From Venus. It has very little in the effects department (Plan 9 From Outer Space has more) but the script and acting are a notch above alot of movies in this genre today or in the 1950's when this film was made.The story is not your average alien invasion plot that dominate most film in this category, which to me is a breath of fresh air. In fact,I'd put Stranger From Venus in a category of Sci Fi films that are a bit different from the rest of the crowd like The Man Who Fell To Earth, Man Facing SouthEast and Signs. So,if you are looking for exploding planets,high tech battle cruisers or strange looking creatures, you won't find it here but if you seek a good well written story from a different angle then your patience will be rewarded.

Stranger from Venus.......2005-08-05

I concur with most of the reviews already written.. a "soft" sci-fi story relying on dialogue rather than special effects. Patrica O'Neil definately made this movie.

Funny, in a strange sort of way.......2005-05-10

This movie is the most obvious remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I like both films, but besides the hilarious special effects and the casting of an American actress as English, I prefer this film. The stranger, played by Helmut Dantine, is very believable in the part, maybe just because of his Austrian accent. Also, the slightly romantic departure from the plot of The Day the Earth Stood Still warmed my unscientific heart. The messages are the same: anti-war, and that was very timely in the early 1950's. Perhaps it's still quite timely....

The Day the Earth...Yawned.......2004-04-05

From Image Entertainment and The Wade Williams collection comes the mid 50's British answer to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). But where The Day the Earth Stood Still excels and survives as a classic atomic age science fiction thriller, this film fell into the realm of the anti-thriller, nearly putting me to sleep. Starring Patricia Neal as Susan North and Helmut Dantine as 'The Stranger', the story begins with the landing of a craft, which we never actually see, and the crashing of a car driven by Ms. North. I guess the crash was a fatal one, cause she ain't moving, but what's this? A figure comes to her aid...

Soon we cut to a small hotel in a small English village, and news of Susan's wrecked car and her body missing arrives, along with an odd sort of fellow, who raises a few eyebrows. Oh, he's not all alien looking and such, with hideous tentacles and great, bug eyes, but his mannerisms seem a bit off. He soon reveals himself to be from another planet, but this isn't really taken too seriously, until Susan walks in the door. Apparently the stranger revived her from her slight condition of death, and now she's all better. Proof of the strangers alien status is now here, and yet no one seems to bat an eye at the fact that this is a honest to goodness alien in their midst, one from the planet Venus, as the title of the film tells us. Anyway, the government soon gets involved, and the motive of the stranger's arrival on Earth is soon learned, but they are still suspicious and even envious at his people's achievements. His presence seems a peaceful one, but, as they always do, the government manages to screw things up, and loose out on a potentially wonderful opportunity to advance the human race. Does the alien truly 'come in peace', or does he have ulterior motives? Is he a friendly messenger, or a scout ship leading the way of a horde of brain sucking alien fiends from another planet?

Even with its' low budget, The Stranger from Planet Venus does have small charms, playing more like a soap opera episode than a science fiction movie, as Patricia Neal's character struggles with her feelings for her fiancé vs. those for her new space buddy. The story is very slow moving, but at least the run time, 74 minutes, doesn't outstay its' welcome. What makes this film different from The Day the Earth Stood Still is the makes of this film managed to suck all the life energy out of the story, and present a very dry, boring, and un-climatic tale of first contact with aliens on Earth.

Image Entertainment provides a decent looking picture here with some noticeable flaws, and the audio is a bit soft at times, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend this to the casual viewer. There are no special features, other than chapter stops and a snazzy looking box. I did notice that Image has re-released this film as a double feature with The Cosmic Man (1959), for the same price as this release, so if you are really interested, you should look that up version and save yourself a little money.

Cookieman108

Watch the Skies! (The Cosmic Man / The Flying Saucer / Stranger From Venus)

Average customer rating:

just not that good!!!

Watch the Skies! (The Cosmic Man / The Flying Saucer / Stranger From Venus)
Starring: Watch the Skies
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Horror | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Cult Classics: Earth vs. the Spider/War of the Colossal Beast
Target Earth
This Island Earth
Day the World Ended/She Creature
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster

ASIN: B000C20VNM
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Description

Look up to the stars... for we are not alone! First THE COSMIC MAN arrives in a strange spherical spaceship. Is he here to destroy the world or bring it peace? Humanity stands in the balance in this powerful and engaging sci-fi saga with John Carradine, inspired by The Day the Earth Stood Still. Then a STRANGER FROM VENUS has the power of life and death at his touch, and Academy Award-winner Patricia Neal is a woman caught up in the biggest event in history in this touching and haunting story of "first contact" with a peaceful and advanced intelligence from another planet. Finally, America and Russia race against the clock in a thrill-packed contest to capture THE FLYING SAUCER hidden in the uncharted, avalanche-prone wastelands of Alaska. After experiencing these three fantastic tales of Cold War-era visitors from another world, you'll never look through a telescope the same way again!

Customer Reviews:

just not that good!!!.......2006-06-24

i really wanted to like these movies,i really did,but they are just not very good! the transfersare ok,not great,but ok it's the three movies that just aren't any good.

Average customer rating:

Stranger from Venus/The Cosmic Man
Starring: Image 2pak
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Forbidden Planet (Ultimate Collector's Edition)
This Island Earth
The Day the Earth Caught Fire

ASIN: B0000TAZK6
Release Date: 2003-12-30

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

The Simpsons - The Complete Eighth Season

Miracle Worker

Company: Inigo and His Jesuits (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: The Game

Whitney Houston - The Artists Collection