Battle of the Worlds

Starring:Claude Rains, Bill Carter, Umberto Orsini, Maya Brent, Jacqueline Derval, Renzo Palmer, Carlo D'Angelo, Carol Danell, Jim Dolen, Joe Pollini, John Stacy, Aldo D'Ambrosio, Massimo Righi, Giuliano Gemma
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Voices of a Distant Star Rules!
up to Miyazaki's standerd? no. good on its own? definetly.
Short and sweet
A touching reminder of just how good anime can be
Poignent Voices, - A Love Story

Voices of a Distant Star
Starring: Donna Burke , Adam Conlon , Cynthia Martinez (II) , Sumi Mutoh , and Mika Shinohara
Director: Steven Foster
Manufacturer: Adv Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Millennium Actress
Tokyo Godfathers
Now and Then, Here and There (Complete Collector's Boxed Set)
Perfect Blue

ASIN: B00008G8QC
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Amazon.com

Although it looks like a studio work, Voices of a Distant Star is a personal film, made almost entirely by a single artist, Makoto Shinkai. Mikako and Noboru are separated at the beginning of high school in 2046. She's accepted into the training program for mecha pilots to fight the aliens who attacked human settlements on Mars. As she moves across the miles and, ultimately, light years, she sends messages that the forlorn Noboru patiently awaits. The animation is largely restricted to camera moves over still artwork and CG objects, but Shinkai is a skillful enough director to tell this melancholy sci-fi romance through the strong music and vocal tracks. Voices of a Distant Star packs more of an emotional punch than many elaborate studio films. (Rated 13 and older, but suitable for viewers 2 years younger: minor violence) --Charles Solomon

Description

When a mysterious alien force begins their annihilation of the human race, a young pilot feels called to join the resistance. But the danger of an interstellar battle is not Mikako's greatest concern. For she has left behind the one young man she loves. And as Mikako flies further into deep space, her only way to connect with Noboru is by cell-phone text messages. While Mikako risks her life to save mankind, Noboru waits. At first days, then months, then years for each new message that will let him know whether Mikako is still alive. And while she barely grows older in the timelessness of space, Noboru ages.

How can the love of two young people, torn apart by war, survive?

To what distance would you go...for your one, true love?

Customer Reviews:

Voices of a Distant Star Rules!.......2007-05-28

This Anime amazed me! I was shocked when I watched the interview with the director and he said that he did it all by himself over the course of seven months!

This was before ADV Films recorded the English Dub of course!

Cudos to the Director!

What an awesome film!

up to Miyazaki's standerd? no. good on its own? definetly........2007-05-05

Okay, first I would like to put to rest the lie that this movie is of the same standard as Miyazaki's films. It is not. It's a start for an upcoming director, but still not up to Miyazaki's greatness. This is not Miyazaki, so don't expect a Miyazaki type film.

The film itself is great. A young female joins the UN army to help fight off an alien race that has attacked a colony on mars, leaving behind her childhood friend and love. As her fleet moves farther and farther away from earth the time it takes for her messages to get to him take longer and lounger. First its six months, then a year, and then eight. Can their friendship and love survive as he gets older but she remains 15? Will she survive? Will they see each other again?

This isn't so much of a movie than one long dialoged with both characters reminiscing on how they miss each other and how they miss each other. They are they only two characters in this whole movie, a movie that is only 23 minutes long, and their dialogue is mostly them thinking to themselves. This isn't much of a problem however because the movie is so short and doesn't need secondary characters to help the flow of the story.

THE GOOD: first of all the artwork is really, REALLY good. For a guy that made this movie on his Mac, by himself, in his basement, this looks amazing. Whatever you have to say about this anime, good or bad, you have to admit that the animation is top notch. Another great part of the story is the fact that the characters are so well done. Even my none anime sister felt very sorry for the main characters in this film. They might not be as good as some characters in other amines I've seen, but I blame that on the fact that this movie is only 23 minutes long. Also the music is great. I love the music for Miyazaki's movies and I have to say that this music is almost as good.

THE BAD: well let's start with the obvious. It's too short. 23 minutes is not nearly enough time to make a great movie. If only it were lounger this could have been a truly great film, as is it's just a really good short. That's really the only complaint I have, everything else is top notch.

One bit of advice though. watch this movie in English and then watch the original Japanese version with subtitles. The reason for this is that the subtitles go so fast that it's hard to read them and watch the screen at the same time. if you watch it in English than you will know what the story is and then read the differences in the Japanese version. I think its better in Japanese, the dialog is more real and the text messages make the two characters seem more like long time friends, but i had a devil of a time keeping up and kept missing parts.

Overall this is a very good film that deserves to be watched but not up to Miyazaki's greatness. Maybe his nest film, The Place Promised in our Early Days will be a five star movie, but not this one.

Short and sweet.......2007-04-08

This anime has top notch animation and a great story. I found it to be really moving, in a Romeo and Juliet kind of way as one other reviewer put it. My sole complaint is the abrupt ending. It was like listening to a beautiful song, only to have the ending cut off.

A touching reminder of just how good anime can be.......2007-03-04

This short film is astounding, it touches you deeply and makes you really care about the characters' struggles and feelings. A must see for any anime fan, and even for those who don't like anime, this may just be the title to capture your interest.

Poignent Voices, - A Love Story.......2007-02-26

I have the English / Japanese version.. Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star). I first rented this from a video shop, I watched it rather bemused the first time, but I was interested. I let it rest a day or two and watched it again, following the story easier the second time, also had the subtitles on and they helped "fill in the gaps".

I came to appreciate it was not a fun or action movie, more of a study in love and relationships, and on a concept that cant yet exist, but in the future could. Love over time and space and the paradoxs this could bring.
Its only a half hour movie and that is all it needs as a short story.

They a young couple, but space war sees them separated, they communicate via text messages.
He Noboru, on earth, time moves normally,
She Mikako, a mecha pilot, travels into space, first a few minutes separate their messages. Then she space warps away and comunications take a month, The she again space warps - 8 light years away and of course messages take 8 years to travel one way!.
By the time Noboru gets the last message he is 25 years old.. Things have happened in space.. Things have happened on earth, They have one final message to each other transending space and time..

An interesting movie.. a movie to move the heart. I did not feel it was depressing as one reviewer put it, more a Romeo & Juliet type compassion and sadness for this couple. Some could shed a tear...
The animation and music are fine, but not all that important, its the story that get you, its really a dialog between two people, the sole characters are the couple, and thats it! no one else!

Probably not for every one, so try it before you buy it.. but dont be suprised however if you actualy do go and buy it! Its like that.

Average customer rating:

where's the SEX !?!
Unrated version.....

Beach Babes 2 - Cave Girl Island
Starring: Sara Bellomo , and Rodrigo Botero
Director: Ellen Cabot
Manufacturer: FULL MOON
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Femalien
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ASIN: B000228SHS
Release Date: 2004-12-07

Customer Reviews:

where's the SEX !?!.......2006-09-22

They cut the sex scenes out and used (repetitively) the same scenes of the girls dancing , clothed, to fill the spots where the sex scenes would be. What the hell? Why can they show movies like this on cable unedited but when they re-release it... they screw it up with cheesy editing. THAT IS THE ONLY REASON FOR BUYING THIS MOVIE AND IT'S NOT THERE IN THIS VERSION... DO NOT BUY.

Unrated version............2005-11-17

It's ok because finally they release the dvd after all these years...............but it's the unrated version! Many of the best scenes were cut so you miss a lot.........(Ex: Banana scene, you know what i'm talking about). I'm dissapointed for this

Sci-Fi Classics: The Astral Factor/The Galaxy Invader/Battle of the Worlds/Unknown World

Average customer rating:

Day of the Return of the Revenge of the Son of the Invisible Man
Pass The Cheese, Please
Science Fiction Schlock

Sci-Fi Classics: The Astral Factor/The Galaxy Invader/Battle of the Worlds/Unknown World
Starring: Sci-Fi Classics 4pak
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Sci-Fi Classics: Assignment Outer Space; Laser Mission; Blood Tide; Brain Machine [4-Movie Pack]
Sci-Fi Classics 4-Movie Pack (Horrors of Spider Island; The Wasp Woman; Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet; Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women)
This Island Earth
Sci-Fi Classics: King of Kong Island/Bride of the Gorilla/Attack of the Monsters/Gammera the Invinc
Classics from Outer Space

ASIN: B000BBOUI6
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Customer Reviews:

Day of the Return of the Revenge of the Son of the Invisible Man.......2006-07-11

...Disclaimer: This review is soley for "The Astral Factor". My comments on the other films can be found elsewhere on Amazon. Short and sweet, don't waste your time with them..

Celebrity strangler with a mommy complex masters the paranormal, tuns invisible, and simply walks out of prison. There's witnesses that testfied against him to strangle, dontchaknow! Nothing doing there from a cell. Couple of cops who don't get along set out to stop him. The Darth Vader breathing and heartbeats during the invisibility sequences get old fast, but this isn't such a bad film, with a great late 70s SoCal feel that I love. We get treated to a boat chase, a satyr play, and one of the actresses singing Leadbelly's "In The Pines" as if she was Nico in between the murders. The theme song sounds like someone trying to translate a bluesy jazz piece into Krautrock. Certainly unique. Mildy recommended, but again, avoid the other three films included here, particularly the turgid "Galaxy Invader".

Pass The Cheese, Please.......2006-05-12

I must really hand it to marketers: I can't imagine finding a single DVD with four less entertaining sci-fi films on it, yet people still buy this disk. Each of these films is offensively poor, but one is nearly impossible to sit through.

"The Astral Factor" is laughably silly as an insane but brilliant convict uses ESP to harken back to his mother's death while being pursued by perhaps the least likeable police detective in movie history. This one is a real eye-roller, but is mostly just silly and boring. It is also the best film on the DVD.

"The Galaxy Invader" is a tale of drunken rednecks in "Harleyville" (really) attempting to capture and exploit a sleestak-like green alien with a hairdryer-like laser pistol. There are subplots about disgusting drunken romance, a professor (who is the worst actor I have ever seen in my life) and his protege who free the "green man" from a high security garage, and spousal vengeance involving a cliff and puppet. This is truly onerous, but is not the worst film on the DVD.

"Battle of the Worlds" is by far the worst movie on the DVD. Many will disagree as it stars Claude Rains (at an all-time career low) as a scientist. It concerns a marauding planetoid that orbits and attacks the Earth, and the annoying people who defend our fine planet. This is a sure cure for insomnia. I hated this movie.

"Unknown World" gives "Battle of the Worlds" a fine competition in the contest to determine which is the least enjoyable film. I liked "Unknown World" much more as it features disagreeable characters, but has some hilarious "scientific" dialogue and ponderous cold war overtones, not to mention the silliest mode of transportation in movie history, the "cyclotram" which is basically a giant mechanical platypus used to tunnel to the Earth's core.

The quality of the films is quite poor, and the color transfer (especially on "Battle of the Worlds") is very bad. There are no extras, and each film is only divided into four scenes, so navigating around the movies is difficult. Still, you do get four movies at a very low price, so if you are into bad sci-fi and you want a bargain, this disk may be for you. Try watching them all back to back. I dare you.

Science Fiction Schlock.......2006-03-03

"Invisible Strangler"

I do not know how many movies have been made about invisible people. However, most of them have been a waste of time. This 1976 movie falls into that category, though it does feature a stellar cast.

Roger Sands (Frank Ashmore) is a convicted killer sitting in prison. Roger has developed his mental powers so that he can do miraculous things, like turning mattresses upside down, knocking a gun from a person's hand, and turning invisible. Turning invisible is a good talent to have in prison.

We see Elke Sommer, Queenie Smith ("Foul Play" and numerous other roles), Robert Hoy and numerous other well-known character actors in this movie. The movie is filled with experienced acting talent. Unfortunately, the acting talent struggles to make anything of this movie. The acting is frequently overdone, and often reminds me of a comedy I once saw where the actors were supposed to "emote."

The only bright spot in this movie was Stefanie Powers. She stole every scene she was in, and laid the groundwork for her role in "Hart to Hart" and other shows. I would watch this movie again just to watch her.

"The Galaxy Invader"

This movie is just plain awful. The acting is horrible, the plot is dumb, and the special effects are beyond cheesy. In the pantheon of bad movies, this one has to be near the bottom.

An alien lands on earth for reasons that the movie never discusses. Unfortunately for this alien, he has landed in the middle of red-neck hell, the capital of which seems to be Harleyville, Maryland.

There are a few moments in the movie where there are almost moments of tension, but I was groaning so much that I failed to be tense. Scenes of the alien skulking in someone's basement I found puzzling. The fight scenes where everyone was moving slowly enough to make sure they really did not hit each other was like something from an awful Kung Fu movie. The stupidity of the majority of the actors in combination with the terrible acting turned this whole movie into a joke.

There is a class of movies that are mediocre, but worth watching. Then there is a class of movies that are so bad that they become a kind of classic, such as Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Between these two classes of movies is a class of just plain awful movies that should be allowed to disintegrate into fertilizer; this movie fits into this category.

"Battle of the Worlds"

I thought that a movie with Claude Rains, who starred in such classics as "The Invisible Man," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Casablanca," and "Notorious," might have some redeeming characteristics. This movie did have some redeeming characteristics, but they were almost exclusively those of Mr. Rains.

Professor Benson (Rains) is a middle-aged genius who hangs out with his flowers and hot babes. When a planet enters our solar system from another galaxy, Professor Benson always seems to know what to do, though nearly always just a little late to be truly effective. The planetoid causes a near catastrophe with one of our spaceships, and then mysteriously goes into an orbit about earth.

Flying saucers that spout animated beams of light attack spaceships sent to investigate the planetoid. The earth plans to blow the planetoid up until Benson convinces them that doing so would be a disaster. Benson travels to the planetoid so that he can ferret out the secret hidden in the planetoid. Once on the planetoid, our intrepid voyagers discover that the interior of the planet is full of surprises. I will leave the rest for you to discover.

Much of this movie is boring. I grew tired of waiting for something to happen. It was only after the saucers attacked that the pace picked up. I did like Rains' curmudgeonly character. Unfortunately, Rains' character is insufficient to make this movie worth watching. I am unable to recommend this movie except for fans of awful Italian science fiction movies.

"Unknown World"

This movie is similar to the classic "Journey to the Center of the Earth" filmed in 1959, eight years after this film. However, while that movie is enjoyable because it combines the acceptable naivety of Jules Verne's era with straightforward story-telling, this movie ignores everything known in the 1950s about the interior of our planet.

Dr. Jeremiah Morley has decided that nuclear war will eventually doom mankind. His solution is to find man a home inside the planet, safe from nuclear war. Dr. Morley builds his vehicle, looking much like a spaceship with tail fins. Unfortunately, the vehicle's drill was only about half the diameter of the vehicle itself. On the plus side, the vehicle did have a self-contained air supply, water and concentrated food. On the negative side, the vehicle appeared to have no accommodation for sleeping.

Once in the underground utopia, our explorers anticipate the birth of baby bunnies because that will tell our explorers how suitable man will find this environment. Unfortunately, the baby bunnies are born dead because, here is a GREAT scientific conclusion, mammals are sterile under ground! Huh? I had to wonder what genius came up with sterility as being a cause of death.

This movie was okay for a one-time watch. I doubt I will spend the time to watch it again because I struggled with the scientific stupidity. If you have to watch every movie made about journeys deep into the earth, you have to get this one. If you want to get a movie that you have plenty of opportunity to pan, this one is good for that. If you are looking for a good fantasy about exploring the center of the earth (assuming no molten core), then get 1959's "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

Average customer rating:

CHEEZY FLICKS VERSION - STAY AWAY FROM... BUY ALPHA'S
Battle to stay awake...
Is It Color? Is It Black And White? You Be The Judge.
"We must prepare a report for the high command and transmit to Earth its death sentence."
Battle of Staying Awake

Battle of the Worlds
Starring: Claude Rains , Bill Carter , Umberto Orsini , Maya Brent , and Jacqueline Derval
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006G8F6
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Customer Reviews:

CHEEZY FLICKS VERSION - STAY AWAY FROM... BUY ALPHA'S.......2007-04-14

"Battle of the Worlds" is not the best 'B' movie and probably can be rated as a 'Z' movie, but it is still a cult classic. Cheezy Flicks prided themselves on owning thousands of titles so where are they? And if they think so much about getting them out on disc, why is this version absolutely un-watchable? The print looks like it was dragged behind a car and the colors are washed out and as usual, they have cut off the film company credits and replaced it with their own. So far the best version for print quality and color is the one Alpha has though it is not properly framed.

I guess we will never know because Cheezy Flicks has been cited releasing bootleg versions of films that are not in the public domain and don't have the rights to release. They haven't released anything new since 2005 and will not answer e-mail. Too bad as other companies like Dark Sky Films are doing what Cheezy Flicks should have and the follow-up film entitled "War Between The Planets" on their label is stunning! Maybe they will pick up Battle as well? One can hope but stay away from Cheezy Flicks version by all costs.

It is sad that Alpha has taken this title out of its current catalog. Their version is the best copy out there. Not full of lumps and bumps, scratches or blemishes and colors "are" colors. The framing is a bit off (over scaled).

Don't bother with the Cheezy Flicks version at all... a total waste of money! There are several budget versions out there but Alpha's is the best I have seen thus far. If you like this movie and have an opportunity to find one in bargain bins or offered as a used copy, buy Alpha's.

Eric

Battle to stay awake..........2006-06-13

Boring Italian flick dubbed into English starring the great Claude Rains as an eccentric scientist charged with saving the Earth from the mysterious "Outsider", a rogue planet full of flying saucers on a collision course with our own. Rains does his best to carry the picture, but he doesn't have much help. You would think such material wouldn't lend itself to boredom. Until the final scenes within the alien world, somehow the director and cast pull it off. Some accomplishment. The effects are fairly laughable, even by 1961 standards. For those wishing to see an Italian science fiction movie from this era with an engaing story and good acting, look no further than "Assignment: Outer Space". It's available in the same Tree Line Sci-Fi Classics package as BOTW, along with truly great schlock like Teenagers From Outer Space, Mesa of Lost Women and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Is It Color? Is It Black And White? You Be The Judge........2006-05-11

I am in a less than generous mood after watching "Battle of the Worlds," not so much because it's bad, but because it's boring. I have seen many (many!) very badly made movies, and this one ranks among the most boring of all time. This was made in Italy and stars Claude Rains as the absolutely insufferable Professor Benson, a brilliant scientist who predicts that another planet will collide with Earth during the incredibly brief periods of time when he isn't insulting everyone in sight. This movie is like poison ivy: relentlessly irritating, almost to the point of being unwatchable.

The film is ostensibly in "color" (sepia and very pale aqua are colors, after all), but giant chunks are in black and white. Here is the premise (or as close a facsimile thereof as I could figure out during the movie-induced narcolepsy I was suffering while attempting to view this): There are two young people, deeply in love who are in the space corps and they fly around in some hilarious spaceship models and talk about marriage and having kids between being yelled at by Rains. Meanwhile, Rains and his schnauzer detect the alien planet approaching Earth. When it goes into orbit around the Earth (after some ponderous calculus done on a chalkboard explaining it all...those of you familiar with orbital mechanics will be required to enter a state of extreme denial at this point) the humans go exploring and a giant space war erupts for what seems like about a year and a half of screen time (it's really just a couple of minutes of the same models-on-strings seen numerous times), then the Earth undergoes a plague of stock footage which seems to concern volcanoes, hurricanes, and forest fires (this is in black and white to, no doubt, underscore the haunting angst of the protagonists, or maybe because that's what was available cheaply.) There is a lot of very bad acting and it all come to a head with this prophetic line "Most things happen unexpectedly, even the apocalypse." (Ponder.) Throughout this Professor Benson smokes cigars (this is apparently some kind of joke that made sense in Italy), sleeps in a hammock, and glowers a lot. In the end Rains gets into a snug spacesuit and somehow saves civilization while blathering in a scream about music and harmonics and physics, while the soundtrack assaults the audience with what sounds like something written by John Cage and performed by Nigel Tufnel.

You get the idea. I could never sit through this film again unless my life depended on it. I have seen worse movies, but very few that have tested my stamina like this one: the 84 minutes of this movie make the Iditarod look like a picnic.

Beware.

"We must prepare a report for the high command and transmit to Earth its death sentence.".......2006-03-31

About the only positive thing I could say about the movie Battle of the Worlds (1963), originally released as Il Pianeta degli uomini spenti (1961), is that it wasn't actor Claude Rains', who passed away in 1967, last feature film (that would be 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told), as no one should have to be remembered for appearing in this dreadful Italian made sci-fi schlock. Written by Ennio De Concini (Black Sunday, Colossus and the Amazon Queen) and directed by Antonio Margheriti (Horror Castle, Mondo Inferno, Hercules vs. King Fu), the film features, as I've mentioned, Claude Rains (The Invisible Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Notorious), along with Bill Carter (Angels Hard as They Come), Umberto Orsini (Don't Tempt the Devil), Maya Brent, and Jacqueline Derval (Duel of Champions).

As the movie begins we find ourselves on an island whose main structure is an observatory, and we meet a young couple in Dr. Fred Steele (Orsini) and Eve Barnett (Margheriti), both of whom work at the facility. We learn that the pair are not only engaged, but are soon to leave the island to `live among the normal people', as Fred puts it...anyway, after about a ten minute sequence involving some sort of astounding discovery found in space, precipitated by a less than thrilling sequence involving a convoy of Mars bound spaceships in peril (does two ships constitute a convoy?), we're finally let in on the fact that there's a rogue planet crusing through our solar system, headed on a collision course for Earth. While this is news to everyone else, the facility head, a cantankerous, crotchety curmudgeon named Professor Benson (Rains) has known about it for quite a while, due to his supreme calculus skills, and has since named the celestial object `the outsider'. Given this global threat, Eve decides to stay on, which irks Fred some, but it doesn't really matter as all transfers have been canceled. This aspect actually has little bearing on the story, but, at the time of its presentation, it seemed of some importance. Eventually the mystery planet arrives and goes into orbit around Earth, and Benson argues with the `bigwigs' (this is how he constantly, and subsequently annoyingly, refers to those in the high command) about a course of action. Benson believes the planet should be destroyed immediately (for reasons he doesn't bother to share), while those in charge feel more investigation is needed, to which an exploration party is sent, only to meet with a disastrous fate, allowing for Benson to go into `I told you so' mode (he's a real sour grapes kinda guy). Eventually Benson begins sharing his hypothesis with regards to the planet (he thinks there may be intelligent life within), and those in charge decide to mount a full-scale attack to neutralize the threat. Anyway, some stuff happens, Benson sits in a hammock, Fred is angry with Eve, Benson's secretary Mrs. Collins creeps everyone out (what the hell was her deal?), an alien saucer is recovered, all culminating in Benson, accompanied by a small group of scientists, actually visiting the planet prior to the military's operation, leading to some sort of interesting revelations.

The main problem I had with this feature seems to be one shared by others in the fact that it's just so very boring...and when I say boring, I don't just mean boring, but mind numbingly tedious. I can forgive a lot of things like the cheap, bargain basement special effects, insipid characters, inane dialog scattered with meaningless techno babble, and rotten, illogical science, as these are often commonalities with shoddy, cheaply made science fiction features, but at least in those other films there was a modicum of entertainment value, which wasn't the case here. The only real spark of life in this feature is Rains' (who looks an awful lot like the late, great Cubs baseball announcer Harry Carey), and that's only because he hams up every scene he's in...and I have to say, his character was quite the a-hole. He constantly claims to know about events and circumstances well before they become known to his colleagues, but keeps said information to himself until it becomes common knowledge (you know, it's real easy to claim prior knowledge of an event after it's already occurred). Perhaps a little heads up would be appropriate in terms of a rogue planet heading towards Earth, possibly signaling our ultimate destruction. And he also seems to take great satisfaction, especially when it results in the loss of human life, when things go wrong after the `bigwigs' decide on a course of action that differs from what he thinks should be done. His character is an obnoxious, odious, hermit who lives in a shack with a ton of plants and a mangy mutt, does ridiculously complicated calculus equations on the planters with chalk, sleeps in a hammock, chews on a cigar, and belittles anyone within range with his smarmy, superior, egotistical, condescending comments if only to continually show how much smarter he is than everyone else. I'm surprised none of those working (I should say suffering) under his leadership hadn't visited him in the middle of the night and clubbed the life out of him with a blunt object. And get this, we don't even learn Rains' character's name until a half hour into the film because his underlings only refer to him as the `old man'. As far as the rest of the characters, they were all worthless, often presented as being of some importance only to disappear from the movie for extended periods of time, reappearing at some later point if only to say, "Hey, I'm still here!". The story, which is essentially a few plot threads mashed together, crawls along, picking up only slightly near the end when an expedition is mounted to visit the mystery planet. There are some interesting visuals and revelations as a result, but hardly enough to warrant anyone sitting through this miserable dreck to get to that point. As I mentioned, the special effects are pretty rotten, which I can let slide, but why did all the Earth ships look like phallic pleasure aids with bits of plastic glued on? And then there's the musical score...some of it was standard stuff, but the other bits were comprised of an irritating cacophony of sound effects including various bloops, bleeps, and blorts. Just because someone can edit a bunch of obnoxious, `spacey' sound effects together doesn't mean said concoction should be used to score a science fiction film.

The fullscreen picture on this Cheezy Flicks DVD release looks rotten, pure and simple. I don't know what source material was used for the transfer, but it was well worn, as not only were the colors washed out, but there's lines, specks, and other signs of wear, tear, and age damage present throughout the entire feature. The audio was slightly better, but not by much. The information on the back of the DVD case claims the film was "remastered", which I take, in this case, to mean slapping whatever shoddy element available onto DVD. As far as special features, there's not much except for a video montage of other Cheezy Flicks DVD releases, along with a few vintage intermission clips.

Cookieman108

By the way, there seemed to be an attempt at comedy in the film in terms of a running gag as whenever Benson would pull out a cigar, about ten of his ash-kissing lackeys would shove lit lighters in his face. I'm not entirely sure why this was supposed to be funny, but maybe it's an Italian thing...

Battle of Staying Awake.......2006-02-24

I thought that a movie with Claude Rains, who starred in such classics as "The Invisible Man," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Casablanca," and "Notorious," might have some redeeming characteristics. This movie did have some redeeming characteristics, but they were almost exclusively those of Mr. Rains.

Professor Benson (Rains) is a middle-aged genius who hangs out with his flowers and hot babes. When a planet enters our solar system from another galaxy, Professor Benson is in the driver's seat as he seems to know what to do with respect to the planetoid, though nearly always just a little late to be truly effective. The planetoid causes a near catastrophe with one of our spaceships, and then mysteriously goes from being on a collision course with earth to an orbit about earth.

Flying saucers that spout animated beams of light attack spaceships sent to investigate the planetoid. The earth plans to blow the planetoid up until Benson convinces them that doing so would be a disaster. Eventually Benson convinces the "bigwigs," as he calls them, to allow him to travel to the planetoid so that he can ferret out the secret hidden in the planetoid.

Once on the planetoid, our intrepid voyagers discover that the interior of the planet is full of surprises. I will leave the rest for you to discover.

Much of this movie is boring. I grew tired of waiting for something to happen for much of the first portion of the movie. It was only after the saucers attacked that the pace picked up. I did like Rains' curmudgeonly character, who sparked each of his scenes. Unfortunately, Rains' character is insufficient to make this movie worth watching. If you are a big fan of Rains', this movie may be worth watching. However, I am unable to recommend this movie except for fans of awful Italian science fiction movies.

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Battle of the Worlds
Starring: Maya Brent , Billy Carter , Carol Denell , Jacqueline Derval , and Giuliano Gemma
Director: Anthony M. Dawson
Manufacturer: Cheezy Flicks Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000AYELGA
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Description

A stray planet on a collision course with Earth instead takes orbit around our blue marble. An offbeat scientist Professor Benson (Claud Rains) works around the clock with his team to try to save the earth. After careful examination and near fatal accidents in space, what seems like a dead planet suddenly launches a fleet of flying attack saucers. Professor Benson and his team along with the space fleet destroy the invaders. In the end Professor Benson sacrifices himself to save our little planet.

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Battle of the Worlds
Starring: CLAUDE RAINS
Manufacturer: Front Row Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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CHEEZY FLICKS VERSION - STAY AWAY FROM... BUY ALPHA'S
Battle to stay awake...
Is It Color? Is It Black And White? You Be The Judge.
"We must prepare a report for the high command and transmit to Earth its death sentence."
Battle of Staying Awake

Battle of the Worlds
Starring: Claude Rains , Bill Carter , Umberto Orsini , Maya Brent , and Jacqueline Derval
Director: Claude Rains , and Antonio Margheriti
Manufacturer: Cheezy Flicks
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000B0JJ0
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Description

A stray planet, on a collision course with Earth, instead slows and takes orbit around our blue marble. An offbeat scientist, Professor Benson (Claude Rains), works around the clock with his team of scientists to try to save the earth from an imminent crash into the new planet. After careful examination - and a few near-fatal accidents in space - what seems like a dead planet suddenly launches a fleet of flying attack saucers. Professor Benson and his team, along with the space fleet, must figure out how to destroy the invaders. In the end, the frustrated Professor is forced to weigh the sacrifices that are required to save the citizens of Earth from certain doom.

Customer Reviews:

CHEEZY FLICKS VERSION - STAY AWAY FROM... BUY ALPHA'S.......2007-04-14

Battle to stay awake..........2006-06-13

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Battle of The Worlds

Manufacturer: Synergy Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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A stray planet on a collision course with Earth instead takes orbit around our blue marble. What seems like a dead planet suddenly launches a fleet of flying saucers which attack our space fleets.

Sci-Fi Movie Marathon Volume 6: 8 Movie Pack

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Sci-Fi Movie Marathon Volume 6: 8 Movie Pack

Manufacturer: RightNow Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

BONUS: Each movie comes with a portable-media friendly version that can be downloaded to your Apple iPod!
Eight feature films on four DVDs
Invasion of the Bee Girls,Queen of the Amazons,The Atomic Brain,Hercules Against the Moonmen,Battle of the Worlds,The Phantom Planet,Evil Brain from Outer Space,Sound of Horror

ASIN: B000GTDREQ

Product Description

The legends of Science Fiction are gathered here for you in this definitive DVD collection of some of the greatest Sci-Fi classics to ever come out of Hollywood. This 8 DVD collection is sure to provide you with countless hours of entertainment. Volume 6 includes: Invasion of the Bee Girls directed by Denis Sanders and starring Anitra Ford; Queen of the Amazons directed by Edward Finney and starring Patricia Morison; The Atomic Brain directed by Joseph Mascelli and starring Marjorie Eaton; Hercules Against the Moonmen directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and starring Alan Steel; Battle of the Worlds directed by Antonio Marghereti and starring Claude Rains; The Phantom Planet directed by William Marshall and starring Dean Fredericks; Evil Brain from Outer Space directed by Koreyoshi Akasaka and starring Ken Utsui; Sound of Horror directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde and starring James Philbrook

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