THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955)
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 86 Minutes
Audio: English 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA, English 3.0 DTS-HD MA Original Perspecta Stereophonic Sound with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) & (1.37:1) Full Frame
Director: Joseph M. Newman
Cast: Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason, Lance Fuller, Russell Johnson
This vintage slice of 50's sci-fi concerns a group of Earth scientists, lead by atomic scientist Dr. Meacham (Rex Reason, The Creature Walks Among Us), who are discreetly contacted by alien race the Metalunas through means of a device known as the "interocitor". The alien race is represented by the bulbous-brained Exeter (Jeff Morrow, Octaman), who transports the science guys (and gal Dr. Ruth Adams, played by Faith Domergue, The House of Seven Corpses) to his faraway planet Metaluna via flying saucer. There he enlists the scientist help in turning lead into uranium to power a depleted energy shield the Metalunans use to shield their planet from meteoric-powered attack from their enemy the Zagons.
However, when the Metalunans leader the Monitor (Douglas Spencer) reveals that his plan is to vacate their dying planets and invade Earth, and subjugating the human population through mind control. Obviously this doesn't sit well with the humans scientist, who with the help of a sympathetic Exeter attempt to thwart the invasion plans.
This was a film I'd watched several times while still in the single-digits on TV, it didn't scare me with creepy alien paranoia the way that Invaders From Mars did around the same time, seeming a bit more thoughtful than frightful, but it absolutely left it mark on me for sure. I can never quite understand why the film was lumped in with other more hokey 50's sci-fi films, but while watching it again as soon as "mutant" with it's bulbous veiny brain, oversized eyes and pincer claws shows up it became clear again, that's what people remember about this film, that lumbering rubber-suited menace. The film is more than 50's schlock, as Joe Dante says in one of the extras, this movie was "the Star Wars of out time", also noting that it has one of the more poetic sci-fi titles in all of movie history, agreed.
The special effects are seen here are a bit novel by modern standards but the as vintage sci-fi FX from the 50's I found the flying saucers, starfields, images of space and futuristic tech to be quite special all things considered, like stop-motion films of Harryhausen I find these vintage FX quite nostalgic, and here we get meteor impacts, the surface of an alien planet and some wonderful retro tech-of-the-future, the sort of stuff that made my once young mind explode with possibility of science fiction, and it still taps right into that sweet spot today.
Audio/Video: This Island Earth (1955) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory with a new 4K scan from the interpositive, framed in both
the 1.85:1 widescreen and the original open-matte 1.37:1 formats, and both look absolutely stunning. The grain is well-managed, coming to the forefront is a few scenes more than others, and colors have that vintage technicolor-like vibrancy you remember these films for, the whole thing looks terrific, right from the beginning with that cool-looking starfield.
Audio comes by way of both English 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA plus a DTS-HD MA 3.0 Original Perspecta Stereophonic Sound with Optional English Subtitles. I went with the Perspecta mix and it's a real zinger with some fun wide-panning stereo separation, and it gets surprisingly loud at times. Dialogue is crisp and free of distortion, and the magnificent score with contributions from legends Henry Mancini (Lifeforce), Hans J. Salter (The Incredible Shrinking Man) and Herman Stein(It Came From Outer Space) sounds fantastic.
Scream Factory have really packed this vintage sci-fi classic with some supersonic extras, beginning with a pair of brand new audio commentaries from Visual Effects Artist Robert Skotak, and Film Historian David Schecter. There's also a 48-min Ballyhoo Motion Pictures produced documentary about the making of the film with talking heads Joe Dante (Gremlins), C. Courtney Joyner, Bob Burns, Ted Newson, Tom Weaver, Robert Skotak and David Schecter. A solid and super-informative mini-doc with loads of vintage images and clips from the film.
Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash) shows up for a 21-min appreciation of the film, describing seeing the film in Italy when he was nine years-old, going in-depth with a dissection of the film and what he loves about it.
A very cool inclusion are both the 8mm and 16mm black and white home movie versions of the film which were released in 1958, running 11-min. We also get a 3-min Trailers From Hell commentary from Joe Dante.
The disc is buttoned-up with a slideshow describing the technical aspect of the Perspecta Stereophonic Sound, a 2-min trailer plus galleries of Poster And Lobby Cards, Publicity Stills and And Behind-The-Scenes Photos.
The single-disc release comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring the original movie poster artwork, on the reverse side there are four more vintage movie posters to look at, it's not a reversible sleeve but the included extra artworks are appreciated.
Special Features:
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Inter-Positive – Two Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1 And 1.37:1
- NEW The Original Perspecta Stereophonic Sound Restored By 3-D Film Archive
- NEW Audio Commentary With Author And Academy Award Winning Visual Effects Artist Robert Skotak
- NEW Audio Interview With Film Historian David Schecter On The Music Of This Island Earth
- NEW Alien Ideas – An Interview With Filmmaker Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash) (21 min) HD
- NEW Facts About Perspecta Stereophonic Sound By Bob Furmanek (10 min) HD
- This Island Earth – Two And A Half Years In The Making: The Extended Documentary – A Look At The Making Of This Island Earth (48 min) HD
- WAR OF THE PLANETS: 1958 Castle Films Release For The Home Market Including Both The 50-Foot Silent Headline Edition And The 200-Foot Sound Complete Edition (11 min) HD
- Trailers From Hell – This Island Earth With Commentary By Filmmaker Joe Dante (3 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD
- Still Galleries: Poster And Lobby Cards & min) HD, Publicity Stills (7 min), And Behind-The-Scenes Photos (3 min) HD
Scream Factory's Blu-ray of sci-fi classic This Island Earth (1955) looks and sounds terrific with multiple viewing and audio options, and a wealth of solid extras that are sure to please fans of vintage sci-fi.
