I’ve always loved the movies of effects creator Ray
Harryhausen. While his name was associated with a number of films that featured
his amazing stop motion work he wasn’t the director of those films. And yet
when you talk about a Harryhausen feature it is rare the director’s name comes
up and his name does. That was due to the fact that most of the movie focused
on those effects, deservedly so. Kids today are probably less enthused watching
his films due to the amount of CGI effects used in today’s films. And yet the
new effects don’t possess the charm or magic as seen in his films.
Now Twilight Time has issued one of his most fun films on
blu-ray, FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. Based on the novel by Jules Verne it is a movie
that while lacking in most of the science we’ve learned about the moon and
space travel, it offered a number of things that have come to pass, no air on
the moon’s surface for example. But while watching the movie these things are
the furthest thing from your mind.
Edward Judd plays Arnold Bedford, an Englishman down on his
luck, hopefully soon to wed and seeking a way to turn around his fortunes. As
he hems and haws around what he will do with his soon to be bride Kate
Callendar (Martha Hyer), going so far as to involve her unknowingly in one of
his schemes, he discovers that his eccentric neighbor may have the solution to
his problems. Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) has been experimenting with a
substance that will allow the forces of gravity to be non-existent when exposed
to light. His goal is to coat a sphere he has made with the substance and fly
it to the moon.
Through a series of missteps the duo begin to launch only to
have to include Kate on their trip. The sphere launches and off to the moon
they go. Once they land, with only 2 deep sea diving suits to use while walking
on the surface, the men head out leaving Kate behind. After planting a British
flag and leaving a note declaring the moon for her majesty (seen in the opening
sequence of the film when a real spacecraft from the current time that lands on
the moon discovers it), the walk off to find a doorway into a world beneath the
moon’s surface. It is here that they find a race of creatures inhabiting the
planet (some done with full size costumes, others with Harryhausen’s stop motion
animation).
The response of the two men shows the difference in them.
While Arnold wants to face off against them and views them as a threat, Cavor
wants to communicate with them and hopes to learn from them. After finding the
sphere has been taken inside and Kate is being questioned by the moon men,
Arnold moves forward to face off against what he perceives as a threat while
Cavor continues to try and talk to them. In the end finding their way back to
the sphere, trying to get it to work once more and tackling the confrontation
with the moon men may be too much for our heroes…or will it?
The movie is an action packed adventure yarn that is filled
with touches of humor and romance all at the same time. Sure there are plenty
of scientific facts that don’t make sense with what we know today (and what
they knew when it was made but not written), but that’s not what we’re looking
for here. We’re looking for a movie that entertains and captures our hearts and
minds to take us somewhere where we’ve never been and where at the time no man
had ever been as well. And the movie does just that, showing us a view of space
and the moon unseen at that time.
The acting by all involved is old school acting meaning that
each performer plays the part he or she was given without all the deeply
involved depths of method actors and the like. They turn themselves into their
characters and make them believable. Even as eccentric as Cavor comes off, you
still don’t see Lionel Jeffries in the role, you believe that he is indeed Cavor.
More than anything the movie doesn’t take what could have
been a boring story and brings it to life. Verne had a style that reads dry but
in the end offers fascinating and adventurous stories that make science fiction
fun that makes it all feel real. The movie does just the same, making it
entertaining and thrilling while at the same time offering some of
Harryhausen’s best use of stop motion animation yet.
As with all Twilight Time features there will be a limited
release on this title so if you want one for your collection I suggest
purchasing it soon. Included as extras on this release are an isolated score
track, a short film about the making of the movie, the original theatrical
trailer, audio commentary by Harryhausen himself along with FX artist Randall
William Cook and a booklet that offers several pieces of artwork from the
original release of the film. This is an item that not only needs to be seen
again but added to your collection as well.
Click here to order.
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