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Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) DVD Review
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) DVD Credits:
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Directed by:
Fred F. Sears
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Written by:
Not available at this time
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Cast:
Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) DVD Release Date:
15th January 2008
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Synopsis:

Dr. Russell Marvin heads up Operation Skyhook, which is tasked with sending rockets into the upper atmosphere to probe for future space flights. Unfortunately, all the rockets are somehow disappearing. While investigating this strange occurrence, Russell and his new assistant/wife Carol Marvin are abducted by a flying saucer, where the aliens demand to meet with certain people in order to negotiate. But it was a trick; the aliens only wanted to kill them. The invasion has begun and if Russell and Carol can't find a way to get past their defenses and stop these creatures, it may be the end of the human race.

Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) DVD Review:

Although I am not personally a fan of colorized films, I can understand the appeal, and it is quite fitting for science fiction films. The grainy color added to the black-and-white print makes the film look almost like a comic, which is fitting considering one of the special features on disc two is a digital sneak peek of Flying Saucer vs. The Earth comic book. Even though I still prefer the black-and white version, and find the color version somewhat obnoxious, I can understand the appeal of having both versions on the DVD release, but the way they are presented intrudes on the viewing experience, regardless of which version is chosen.

The DVD proudly gives the option of toggling between color and black-and-white with the ChromaChoice option way of viewing the film. This is also a considerate option considering one might be curious to see what the colors look like, but the way the DVDs were formatted was not thought through. All through the film there is a small icon on the screen, letting the viewer know that they have the option to toggle. Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of this obnoxious icon even if you only want to watch the film in one version.

Aside from this largely obnoxious flaw the film is still entertaining and fun. The campy qualities are half the fun, but surprisingly the stop-animation effects used for the flying saucers. The technical effects are what make the film so significant, created by mastermind Ray Harryhausen. The first disc of the DVD has an audio commentary with Harryhausen, who is getting older and helped along with visual effects artists Jeffrey Okun and Ken Ralston along with Arnold Kunert. The younger artists admire and ask questions while Ray does his best to keep up.

Tim Burton has both used stop motion in his filmmaking career, and also made an alien-attack film as well, but it is his passion for these campy old science fiction films that makes him the perfect choice for a featurette that has Burton sit down to talk with fellow filmmaker Ray Harryhausen. There is also a featurette about Bernard Gordon, who was blacklisted and removed from the credits until this release. There is an interview with star Joan Taylor, again with the help of Ken Ralston. There are many other special features on disc two, including some great ad artwork and a look at the colorization process.

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Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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