CONQUEST OF SPACE (1955)
Imprint Collection #112
Label: Imprint Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Byron Haskin
Cast: Walter Brooke, Eric Fleming, Mickey Shaughnessy, Phil Foster, William Redfield, William Hopper, Benson Fong, Ross Martin, Vito Scotti, John Dennis, Michael Fox, Joan Shawlee
Produced by five-time Oscar winner George Pal and directed by Byron Haskin, the same team brought us the seminal alien-invader flick The War of the Worlds (1953) comes another slice of science-fiction, this time it's of the more "realistic" variety - mission-to-another-planet. Earth has it's first orbing space station called The Wheel and a new space exploration rocket ship. On it General Merritt (Walter Brooke, The Return of Count Yorga) is in charge of our first extra-planetary mission, an endeavor to the red-planet Mars. Also joining the mission are his son Captain Barney Merritt (Eric Fleming, Queen of Outer Space), Japanese botanist Sgt. Imoto (Benson Fong, Our Man Flint), Irish Sgt. Mahoney (Mickey Shaughnessy, How The West Was Won), scientist Sgt. Andre Fodor (Ross Martin, The Colossus of New York), and the comic-relief, the fast-talking Brooklyn-born electrician Sgt. Jackie Seigel (Phil Foster, TV's Laverne & Shirley).
The trip is fraught with issues, the crew are not exactly simpatico, the radar goes down, a red-hot planetoid nearly impacts them, and Sgt. Fodor is killed by a micrometeoroid while performing repairs during a space-walk. The sergeant's death ways heavily on General Merritt, who throws himself into reading the bible, which combined with his "space fatigue" pushes him over-the-edge, as he starts to question if the mission itself goes against the word of God. He's so demented and consumed by this belief by the time that when arrive at Mars he attempts to scuttle the landing and kill everyone on board. His son manages to overpower him and manage a rough landing, but once they land his pops attempts to dump their water reservoirs and is accidentally killed by his son while trying to stop him. The only witness to the struggle is Sgt. Mahoney, who is weirdly loyal to the General, accusing the Captain of murdering his own father, refusing to see that the General had clearly gone mad.
What ensues is the team exploring the planet and attempting to make due on what limited water resources they have left, until the orbital position of Mars and Earth align properly for the return flight, a year later. Despite Mahoney's objections Captain Merritt becomes the mission leader, with the resentful Irishman constantly reminding him that once they return to Earth he will report the murder of the general and he will be hanged.
This is one of those "realistic" 50's sci-fi entries that was really total horseshit when it comes to the actual science, but let's give them credit, there was a lot we did not know about space and space travel back in the day. I sort of loved how it snows on Mars as the crew celebrate there first Martian Christmas, and are able to use the snow to replenish there water supplies. I wonder if that's were The Flaming Lips got the idea for their Christmas on Mars film/album? I also thought it was a bit odd that the atmosphere of Mars is Earthly sky blue with white fluffy clouds, but at least the sand was red. The stage sets used to realize the Mars are also pretty cool, as do The Wheel and mission spacecraft and matte paintings, they're executed and add a lot of visual flair to the flick. This is one I saw at least once as a kid on TV programs on one of those weekend matinee programs; it captivated me then, and it still was quite entertaining all these years later - even without the benefit of stop-motion creatures or rubber-suited aliens.
Audio/Video: Conquest of Space (1955) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Imprint Films, the deluxe sub-label of Australian distributor Via Vision Entertainment. Advertised as a 1080p high-definition presentation prepared by licensor Paramount Pictures. It's framed at 1.78:1 widescreen and looks very pleasing indeed, originally filmed in 3-strip Technicolor the colors are bold and well-saturated throughout, the shots in space and of The Wheel and the spacecraft look fantastic. Not all the shots are seamless, and the HD presentation draws attention to a few small flubs, but the miniatures, set designs, sound stages and terrific matte paintings by Chesley Bonestell look phenomenal. The source is in great shape, there's some white speckling and debris, and grain appears slightly filtered, but generally detail is quite strong and I thought this looked fantastic. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English PCM 2.0 dual mon with optional English subtitles. The track replicated dialogue, vintage effects, and the score from Van Cleave (Robinson Crusoe on Mars) quite nicely without issues with hiss or distortion.
Per usual Imprint go all-out for the extras, beginning with not one, but two brand new audio commentaries. First up, an Audio commentary by George Pal author Justin Humphreys, and a second Audio commentary by film historians Barry Foreshore & Kim Newman. So far I have only indulged in the Foreshore & Newman track, who also did a commentary on the Imprint Blu-ray of War of the Worlds. It's a terrific track with plenty of candid humor and assessment, they obviously enjoy the film even if Newman suggests it's the least of the Pal/Haskin team-ups, and loves to knit pick aspects of it like the at times hokey science, special effects gaffs, and the admittedly strange religious zealot aspect, and a potential homoerotic relationship. It's an jolly listen, they have a great rapport, and immense love of the genre and a ton of knowledge about the production, cast, and crew. Also new and exclusive are a pair of featurettes; A Fellow Journeyman: Byron Haskin at Paramount and The Conquest of Space: From the Book to the Screen featurette with NASA illustrator Vincent Di Fate.
The single disc release arrives in a clear, oversized keepcase with a two-sided but not reversible sleeve of pop-art illustrated artwork, accompanied by an rather striking limited edition of 2000 units slipcover. I love the large stylized font of the logo on the artworks and it gives the spine some serious shelf appeal, as usual this is a knock-out release from Imprint.
Special Features:
- 1080p high-definition presentation by Paramount Pictures
- NEW Audio commentary by George Pal author Justin Humphreys
- NEW Audio commentary by film historians Barry Foreshore & Kim Newman
- NEW A Fellow Journeyman: Byron Haskin at Paramount – featurette
- NEW The Conquest of Space: From the Book to the Screen featurette with NASA illustrator Vincent Di Fate
- Limited Edition slipcase on the first 2000 Copies
If you're a vintage sci-fi fan this region-free Blu-ray is a must-own, especially if you dig mission-to-other-planets space dramas like Rocketship X-M, Destination Moon and Flight To Mars. Another fantastic release from Imprint Films who continue to impress with not only their deep catalog, but the terrific set of extras that usually accompany them.
