Sound of Horror

Starring:James Philbrook, Arturo FernÃ¡ndez, Soledad Miranda, JosÃ© BÃ³dalo, Antonio Casas, Ingrid Pitt, Lola Gaos, Francisco Piquer
Director: JosÃ© Antonio Nieves Conde
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Surprisingly good!
Ruined My Favorite Sci-Fi Short Story
This IS a science fiction film
Not bad but not an underrated classic either
If this were 1989

A Sound of Thunder (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Armin Rohde , Heike Makatsch , Jemima Rooper , David Oyelowo , and Wilfried Hochholdinger
Director: Peter Hyams
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000CZ0PNK
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Description

Suspense Thriller based on the famous short story by master of fiction Ray Bradbury. In the year 2055, a technology has been invented that enables people to go back in time to hunt dinosaurs. When one such expedition to the Prehistoric past unwittingly makes a fatal mistake it dramatically impacts the course of evolution, setting off waves of destruction that ripple toward the modern world and unleashing an army of fearsome creatures that never should have existed. Two scientists race against time to fix the catastrophic error while their world collapses around them and every minute brings the human race closer to extinction.

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly good!.......2007-05-15

This movie was based on a short science fiction story and it was surprisingly good. It just makes you wonder how the present and the future could change dramatically if one thing no matter how small were changed in the past!

Ruined My Favorite Sci-Fi Short Story.......2007-05-07

I am a Sci-Fi fan going back 4 decades. I first read "A Sound of Thunder" in 1974 at age 15, and it remains one of my absolute favorite Sci-Fi short story. This movie sucks; it is a perversion of Bradbury's great story. It just goes to show that Hollywood cannot make a good or great movie from an excellent Sci-Fi short story.

This IS a science fiction film.......2007-04-29

This is a true science fiction movie, and there are few being made these days. Unfortunately, those that are made, such as this one, rarely do well at the box office. If you read the reviews on IMDB, you will understand why. Contmmporary viewers attend to the quality of the special effects (surface aspects only). I'm sorry. It is the quality of the concept - and its execution, that is relevant to the creation of a true science fiction film. Leave all of the devolved contemporary Star Wars episodes behind. If you are a science fiction fan (and not a CGI or action fan) you will enjoy this movie. We rented this one, and after watching it, I have purchased it for our permanent collection.

Not bad but not an underrated classic either.......2007-04-02

I heard horrible things about this movie and preparing myself for the worst, blind-bought it. I figured with the low price I paid on it, if it was bad, it wouldn't be much of a loss. To my surprise, it's actually pretty decent with some deservedly bad spots mixed in.

That said, let me get the bad things out of the way. The script, believe it or not, is the weakest link out of this film. The screenplay was adapted from Ray Bradbury's short story, but the ending is significantly altered to make for a happy ending. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, the screenplay is plagued with plot holes, inconsistencies and the like. Not to mention that the script has some howlingly bad lines of dialogue that give contenders such as "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" and the way how the tourists accidentally alter time just had me shaking my head in disbelief. The special effects are merely routine and border on the quality of the TV movies Sci Fi produces these days, it is only the CGI creature animation that is awful (such as the tyrannosaurus, the giant bats, the aquatic eel and the baboon-lizards) in terms of the way they stand out. I'm surprised that when Warner Brothers agreed to complete and finish the film (after the production company financing the film ran out of money during post production), they didn't put enough money into good special effects houses and not letting second-rate European companies handle the duties. Had the visual effects been done by Industrial Light & Magic, WETA Digital or even Sony Pictures Imageworks, the effects wouldn't even be close to laughable. And even the editing is questionable at times, seeming jumpy in places (Sylvie Landra was probably pressed into whipping the film together in a short amount of time after post-production resumed) but adequate for the most part.

Now the good. Peter Hyams has corraled a fine cast, particularly the likes of Catherine McCormack (who is far too good in this movie and deserves better projects than this), Edward Burns (he's okay, but someone else would've been better), and Ben Kingsley (who prefers to ham it up as Charles Hatton). All three of them do much better than the script requires them, and they're one of the highlights of this film. Peter Hyams, also the cinematographer, gives the movie a high-budgeted feel even though the special effects betray their low-budget origins (even though the budget of this film was reportedly $53 million). And since the film was adapted from a Bradbury short story, the central premise is still intriguing, like how one small thing done in the past can dramatically alter the future. But the film is a passable time-waster and if expectations are sufficiently lowered to that of a Sci Fi original movie, you may be pleasantly surprised by "A Sound of Thunder".

As the film bombed spectacularly in theaters (thanks in no part to Warner Brothers giving this film a semi-wide release in 800 theaters), Warner Brothers has given this film a bare-bones release. The film is available in widescreen only, so for those hoping for a pan-n-scan release of the movie, you're out of luck. The film is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen and given that it was shelved for a year before being released in theaters, the video transfer is above average. Colors are well-defined for the most part, yet flesh tones have a somewhat orange tone to them in most scenes. Black levels are fine, as well as overall compression and detail. The CGI is presented in all of its awful glory. Save for the orange-toned flesh colors and an occasional bit of dirt, the video is capably produced.

The audio is only a single Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, and like any other big-budgeted (well, in this case, not so big-budgeted) film, the sound is awesome. The dynamic range is exceptionally wide, and the surrounds are employed effectively during the action sequences. The subwoofer delivers some deep low-end, and dialogue is clear for the most part. No alternate French or Spanish dubs are provided for the film, but there are optional English, French or Spanish subtitles available. The only extras available are two theatrical trailers, presented in anamorphic video with stereo audio. The film is divided into 27 chapters, and all the menus are still, with only a segment of Nick Glennie-Smith's score playing over the main menu only. The disc is packaged in a regular Amaray case, and the gorgeous one-sheet poster art is also used for the DVD front art at the same time.

If you love lackluster sci-fi movies, then you owe it to yourself to check out "A Sound of Thunder", either on television or rent it. If you love it, then I undoubtedly recommend it as it presents the film in high quality video and sound for a low price but with hardly any extras. I doubt that the WB will re-release this film with a larger selection of extras, though, so this movie is the only option available.

If this were 1989.......2007-03-07

Not really a "good" movie but the premise is pretty interesting. It raises some questions about mankind doing too much with technology. Scientists develop a time machine, and one man uses it to take rich guys back in time for an adventure. Of course something goes wrong and the rest of the movie is spent trying to fix it. Not too bad but nothing to rush to see. If this were 1989 i would say the graphics looked awesome, but since it isn't....... well you get the picture.

Average customer rating:

Scary as hell!
Great Movie With Ingrid Pitt Looking Good
The monster's invisible, but - luckily - Soledad Miranda is not
It's been a long time
Something shrieky this way comes...

Sound of Horror
Starring: James Philbrook , Arturo Fernández , Soledad Miranda , José Bódalo , and Antonio Casas
Director: José Antonio Nieves Conde
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000098ZTD
Release Date: 2003-06-24

Customer Reviews:

Scary as hell!.......2006-12-06

This is an underated movie...mostly because the cinematography is poor..
But it is a very scary premise; what's scarier than a man eating dinosaur come back to life? An INVISIBLE man eating dinosaur...(well it doesn't really eat them, but it may as well have!)

The scream this thing makes will make a chill go down your spine....if that doesn't, the deceptively happy sounding bells that chime when the monster is coming....or the shuffling sound of it's footsteps as it approaches....will.

One important note; you will need an imagination for it!

Great Movie With Ingrid Pitt Looking Good.......2006-03-29

This is a really cool movie. It involves a prehistoric monster which remains invisible through most of the movie.

The monster gives off a really cool sound.

Ingridd Pitt and this other gal do some really great dancing. This alone is worth buying the movie.

This is reminiscent of the famous Johnny Quest episode 'The Invisible Monster' (Johnny Quest and Spiderman 1967 original series are out on dvd now).

Catch Ingrid in 'The Vampire Lovers' and the world war 2 adventure 'Where Eagles Dare' with Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton.

Jeff Marzano

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The monster's invisible, but - luckily - Soledad Miranda is not.......2005-11-30

So what have we learned here? Well, if you're going to go spelunking for treasure, you might want to bring along several huge bags of flour, destroy anything that even looks like a calcified dinosaur egg, and - for heaven's sake - come packing some guns and ammo. And, while bringing along a gorgeous young woman is of course optional, I would highly recommend it.

It's true that Sound of Horror is a really cheesy horror film, riddled with many little things it is easy to ridicule (I guarantee you'll laugh at one point during the climactic moments), yet it's well worth watching. This is a Spanish film from 1965, but the English dubbing is really quite good. It seems there's a treasure of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts buried in a cave in Greece, and only our little group of treasure hunters have the map detailing its location. The first guys on the scene find an egg-shaped rock and an ancient mummy, and that only goes to fuel the local housekeeper's talk of the curse on that particular cave. Eventually, after the rest of the fellows arrive, they think they've found the spot of the treasure - and that's when the deaths begin. There is a deadly monster lurking within the caves - an invisible monster with a heavy limp and a high-pitched ululating voice that sends shivers down these brave men's spines. It's hard to get too excited about an invisible monster, but it's certainly more effective than trotting out some guy in a rubber suit. (I should note that, for reasons I can't explain, the filmmakers do superimpose - for just a quick second - a monster image onto the screen on a couple of occasions, but this hardly counts and actually does more harm than good.) As characters start getting picked off one by one, things get more intense until the remaining survivors finally figure out a way to go on the offense against something they can't see. Their plan leads to one unforgettably campy scene you won't want to miss.

Perhaps the biggest reason to see this film, though, is the presence of the legendary Soledad Miranda in one of her earlier roles. Her Greek dancing is not exactly a must-see, but she's a beautiful actress who died much too young (at the age of 27), right when she was on the verge of becoming an international star. Miranda is best known for her starring roles in a number of Jess Franco classics (including Count Dracula and Vampyros Lesbos) - I think she can justifiably be looked upon as the queen of Spanish horror during the 1960s.

It's been a long time.......2005-08-12

Well, let me begin telling that I saw that movie when I was barely 8/10 years old. I saw it in spanish in a spanish small village's cinema. I did it with my brothers and it scared the hell out of us. Now 35 years later I've been triyng to find this movie until today. I bought it a few days ago in Amazon. I thought that it would be in spanish with english subtitle but it's not. Tell me it it does exist in spanish, please. I would like to show it to my children and they still don't understand english as well as I do.

Well. It was scary then, and now I don't get surprised and scared as I was in the sixties. Anyway something moved in my stomach and my mind, probably the memories of that kind of movies you see as child and you never forget.

Something shrieky this way comes..........2005-07-05

So you're making a cheapie monster movie and you don't actually have the dough for a real monster...what to do? Easy, just make the monster invisible...and that's exactly what the makers of Sound of Horror (1964) aka El Sonido prehistórico, did...and somewhat effectively, I might add. This Spanish production was co-written and directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde (Captain Blackjack), and features James Philbrook (I Do Not Forgive... I Kill!), Arturo Fernández (The Incredible Invasion), Soledad Miranda (Eugénie, Vampyros lesbos), José Bódalo (Captain Apache), Antonio Casas (Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang), Lola Gaos (Pancho Villa), and horror flick junkie favorite Ingrid Pitt (The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula).

The story is set on a Greek isle, and opens with three people, two men and a woman, inside a cave, getting ready to make use of some DYN-O-MITE (that one's for you, J.J., wherever you are). There's Professor Andre (Fernández), his niece Maria (Miranda), and the Professor's assistant Stravos (Casas). Maria, new the archeology biz, makes some comment about the hardships of mucking about in caves with TNT to which Stravos replies, "You'd better get accustomed to the smoke, as well...it's the most uncomfortable part of these explosions." Really? I would have thought the explosions to be the most uncomfortable part of the explosions, but then I'm no archeologist, so what the hell do I know? Anyway, the blast seems to have turned up squat, except for some petrified eggs, one of which they take back to the house, another which hatches in the cave after everyone leaves, spewing out a muddy globule that soon disappears. About this time we meet the housekeeper Calliope (Gaos), a local woman who speaks about all the bad mojo surrounding the mountain (get used to this, as she harps on this aspect through most of the film). Soon afterwards four more people show up in Dr. Asilov (Philbrook), his girlfriend Sofia (Pitt), Dorman (Bódalo), and their driver/guide Andre (Casas), presenting quite a group of potential victims...er, I mean quite a group of characters. Turns out Professor Andre, Asilov, and Dorman have been working together for some time trying to locate a legendary treasure, and their finally completed map (which looks like it was drawn with a crayon) has lead them to this mountain...only thing is, treasure isn't the only thing to be found, as the Professor's earlier blast has awakened a prehistoric beastie invisible to the eye, thirsty for blood and a penchant for slashing...

I enjoyed this film somewhat, but it got mired down as a number of characters spent a lot of time getting all philosophical after the creature claimed a couple of victims, going on and on about how they may have ultimately wasted their lives in search of a treasure only to have found death. Also they compare their unintentional find and their subsequent fear to the threat of nuclear annihilation a few times, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but whatever...it was these overly talkative aspects that slowed the film down, dragging it out to an hour and a half, illustrated by the fact that by the end of the first hour of the film, there had only been two victims...well, two and a half as one person got injured when something clawed his leg, and had to gimp around for the rest of the film. The performances were okay, but the writing was such as there really wasn't one character I would have considered to be the lead. At the outset a lot of time is spent focusing on the men and their lust for treasure, hiding under the pretense of being archeologists, so that later we can see all these scenes were they feel remorseful about their behavior, possibly hoping to elicit sympathy from the audience, but it didn't really work out that way (for me, at least). The women were nice to look at, Miranda being sort of the mousy, sheltered type contrast against Pitt's worldly, experienced character, highlighted during their short dance sequences (watch the men eyeball Pitt as she shakes her moneymaker...it's kinda creepy). As far as the monster goes, its not completely invisible as it appears briefly a couple of times, looking much like a toy dinosaur super imposed on the screen, giving the feel of it being about six feet tall. From what I did see, it was for the best that they went the invisible route for most of the film, as the beast could be heard through its shuffle walk and its constant shrieking. One aspect that was really decent was the make up effects in terms of the bloody tears victims received after the creature attacked. They looked realistic and fairly horrific. In the last third of the film the survivors are trapped in the house, trying to come up with a means to fight the creature...my thoughts were to throw some paint or powdery substance at the beast, taking away its chameleon-like camouflage, but they went a different route, one that was temporary and dependant on specific circumstances...not the way I would have gone, but whatever...there were a few scary scenes (half being of the fake scare type) and tense moments, like the extended scene with Calliope going to the well in the middle of the night, but it didn't feel like enough to carry the film all the way through given its length. I will say the ending was quite good, and made up for a lot of minor misgivings I had about the rest of the film, but not all. In closing, this is decent little low budget film that just ran a little too long (if they cut about twenty minutes off, preferably in the talky sections, it would have been better).

The picture quality on this Alpha DVD release, presented in fullscreen, is pretty standard for Alpha, meaning its lousy through and through...the picture is murky, fuzzy, and shows signs of wear throughout. It is obvious the film isn't presented in its original aspect ratio as in the beginning, while the credits are rolling, many of the names are cut off. The audio fares slightly better than the picture as it's fairly clear, but a far cry from being sharp. Perhaps I complain too much, especially given the low cost of the DVD, but I don't necessarily mind paying a little more for better quality...sometimes it seems with these Alpha releases they go out of their way to find the worst possible source material and slap it on a DVD, but then that's just my opinion. As far as extras, there is a rough trailer for the film, and listing of other Alpha releases.

Cookieman108

Average customer rating:

Trick or Treat
Starring: Various Artists
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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A Sound of Thunder/Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God

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A Sound of Thunder/Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God
Starring: Sound of Thunder , and Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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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

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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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