The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
by Eugène Lourié
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DVD details
Actor: Cecil Kellaway, Donald Woods, Kenneth Tobey, Paul Hubschmid, Paula RaymondDirector: Eugène Lourié
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Eugène Lourié
Producer: Bernard W. Burton
Writer: Daniel James
Writer: Fred Freiberger
Writer: Lou Morheim
Writer: Ray Bradbury
Writer: Robert Smith
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-10-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 27534
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- 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 Ra
DVD Reviews of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
DVD Review: THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER WAY OF CLEANING UP TIMES SQUARE
Summary: 5 Stars
This film holds a special place in my movie-viewing experience as I was first captivated by it as a youth and I have never quite forgotten it. The star of the movie is the beast and its actuator, the gifted and great animator Ray Harryhausen, whose magical work left me spellbound throughout my youth (who can forget the spectacular scene of the Ymir standing atop the Roman Coliseum in 20,000 MILLIONS MILES TO EARTH [1957] or the saucers crashing into the Capitol building and the Washington Monument in EARTH VERSUS THE FLYING SAUCERS [1956] or the amazing scene of the skeletonized dead sprouting from the earth to battle Jason in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS [1963]...and more, whew!). Harryhausens "dynamation" special effects technique used both sounds [who can forget the creaking Talos in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, 1963] and soundtrack [how about BERNARD HERRMANN's awe-inspiring score in MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, 1961] to enhance the animation experience.
This low-budget film is about a fictional prehistoric beast disinterred from its Artic icecap grave by nuclear testing. It is based on a 1951 short story by Harryhausen's lifelong friend, science fiction icon Ray Bradbury. The beast migrates southward in an instinctual trek to the undersea canyons where it once resided wrecking fishing vessels and lighthouses along the way before its epic traipse down the streets of New York. Except for a couple of close-ups of the beast rising from the water where a static model was clearly utilized, the special effects were amazing for its time. Remember that movies like JURASSIC PARK [1993] had the benefit of huge budgets making now-available advanced special effects technology feasible. Harryhausen had only his mind, his models, his magic and lots of patience.
Released at the dawn of the baby-boomer explosion, and only 8 years after the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the film seemed to mirror the unspoken fears of many at the prodigious destructive power of nuclear weapons and what they could uncover both in the minds and memories of men and on their planet. However, when power, especially the power to ablate implicitly and without peer, is acquired prematurely civilized/socialized man often paradoxically regresses to his suppressed primitive self---with reverence, humility and wisdom going out the window. The angry beast in this film---rudely released from its frozen slumber by a destructive man-made device---could easily symbolize a disturbed nuclear opponent, nuclear disarray, nuclear escalation or man's primitive [arrogant and egocentric, imperious and self-deifying, disinhibited and carnal] self, the latter capable of so much disorder and destruction. The plot of this story had much to do with man's chronic anxiety over his tacit lack of preparedness for the potential complications of his foray into the atomic age and incertitude with regard to the long-term effects of his dallying with frequent nuclear testing which are still unknown. The theme of Cold War nerves is also prevalent.
While radioactive power had released the beast it also unleashed a pandora's box as the blood of the wounded predator contained primitive germs to which man was never exposed to and, thus, was not immune to. Man's haphazard attempt to destroy what he does not understand proves costly as the target is now more virulent and deadly. Interesting how nature takes care of things---man, who condensed and distributed this radioactive poison, now being extirpated by the mindless victim of his carelessness and poor judgement---so that it never happens again.
Killing the creature now becomes a problem as physical dissolution of the viremic animal would spread more germs into the air and cause even greater human malady. They must destroy the beast from the inside without putting any more holes on its exterior that would allow more toxic plasma to spill into the environment. Man, as is often the case, goes back to the poison that got him into this mess. They postulate that a concentrated amount of deadly radioactive material shot directly into the creature's open wound would do the trick. Tough task as the perturbed and thrashing-about creature provides an unsteady target. Geez, would not want to be the sharp-shooter in this one: he gets one look, one attempt, has gotta make it, terrible visibility [at night and through goggles] and no more radioisotope as this is the last batch. The 'dead shot' summoned is played by none other than a young Lee Van Cleef of spaghetti Western fame. He arrives cool, cocky and self-assured but it all goes out the window pretty quickly as he is given his one-strike-your-out instructions. This last scene is the memorable amusement park scene [purportedly the landmark Coney Island park in New York but actually another locale] with the marksman and his guide having to ride a rollercoaster up closer to the irritable beast to get a better view of the small gape target.
Will never forget actor Cecil Kellaway's stirring description of the beast after sighting it, while inside a diving bell, swirling around in the underwater canyons. And how about actor Kenneth Tobey, the GREAT "B"-flick character actor with the weather-beaten face, who could make the most incredible scenarios believable and dramatic. A bit of the compulsory corny dialogue thrown in for the youngsters but it mixes well with the bristling drama. Must laud the tremendous and memorable score by David Buttolph imbuing the film with a continual sense of foreboding and sinister dread. This is the type of movie for which black & white filming added to the viewing experience especially in filming the beast's nocturnal maritime and municipal attacks. I have never looked at the waters off the Maine/New England shores the same again.
Always eternally grateful to Mr Harryhusen who, in the midst of the post-KING KONG [1933] special effects drought, was able to bring life to monsters, mythical figures and the dead for the visual, escapist and entertainment pleasure of a lot of computer-less and cable TV-less baby boomers bored with the mostly tepid science fiction of the 50's and 60's. From personal experience, and I'm sure many would agree, Mr Harryhausen's contribution to science fiction had an impact, transcending sociocultural impositions to open doors of awareness and of possibilities and kindling a sense of adventure, of wonder and awe about nature and our planet that would somehow influence the life path and ultimate vocation of many a hungry youngster from those times.
The DVD picture quality is excellent. There are two commemorative 50th anniversary documentaries included: one has Harryhausen providing insightful info regarding the making of this film, and the other an endearing talk between lifelong friends Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury recounting their influences and experiences. A final thanks to Willis H. O'Brien and THE LOST WORLD [1925] for being the major impetus for these two science fiction legends.
Description of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
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: 1953DVD 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
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
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