Earth vs. the Flying Saucers

Above-average sci-fi which I had missed on its solitary TV broadcast years ago and one that I had been eyeing as a possible DVD purchase for what seems like forever; I'm overjoyed, therefore, that I managed to get my hands on it at long last.

The film is basically an amalgam of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) – with Hugh Marlowe convincingly making the leap from despicable villain to intelligent hero here – and WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953): even if its outlook is a naïve one (while also displaying something of an obsession with technology) and the plot rather contrived, it is nonetheless generally absorbing and tremendously entertaining along the way. The special effects (by Ray Harryhausen) must have looked spectacular back then but come off as pretty shaky nowadays; still, this takes nothing away from his achievement and doesn't affect one's enjoyment – or involvement – in the film in any way (the design of the aliens' metallic suits and the briefly glimpsed creatures themselves is also quite impressive).

This is actually the first black-and-white Harryhausen film I've watched, and also the only one which doesn't have to do with prehistoric or mythological monsters of some kind; as such, it's not as juvenile as his other work and makes me look forward to the effects wizard's other sci-fi outings – IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955), TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957) and FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1964). The Columbia DVD includes, among other things, an engaging 9-minute featurette on the making of EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS where Harryhausen is interviewed by genre enthusiast Joe Dante (who recalls first watching the film on a double-bill with the obscure THE 27TH DAY [1956]).