The 1950s are considered the “Golden Age” of science fiction cinema, and that’s not just hyperbole. By many accounts, more than 200 sci-fi movies were released during that decade. And while the film industry had sporadically produced quality sci-fi in the years before—ranging from Aelita (1924) to Metropolis (1927), to The Invisible Man (1933)—it wasn’t until the 1950s that classic after classic began to arrive like riches from a long-lost hidden treasure.
And when we say classic, we mean films that essentially created the template for all science fiction movies that followed. Just look at this list. The first half of the decade brought us The Thing from Another World, When Worlds Collide, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, and Them!, while the second half ushered in This Island Earth, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Blob, The Fly,...
And when we say classic, we mean films that essentially created the template for all science fiction movies that followed. Just look at this list. The first half of the decade brought us The Thing from Another World, When Worlds Collide, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, and Them!, while the second half ushered in This Island Earth, Forbidden Planet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Blob, The Fly,...
- 9/29/2023
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Anyone who has heard director Sam Raimi speak knows that shooting the 1981 low-budget horror movie "The Evil Dead" was a grueling experience. Raimi has gone on record repeatedly, describing the horrors of working in a remote cabin in freezing cold weather, trying to finish the movie in four weeks, but ultimately taking eight. Bill Warren's indispensable volume "The Evil Dead Companion" lays out every possible detail a Raimi aficionado might desire, and Raimi has described his process in multiple interviews.
"The Evil Dead," for the uninitiated, is a horror movie that took place in a remote cabin in the woods where a cadre of college students find a mysterious book bound in human flesh. The book was called the Necronomicon after an oblique spell book featured in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. The kids play a tape recording of someone reading the Necronomicon, and it awakens an army of...
"The Evil Dead," for the uninitiated, is a horror movie that took place in a remote cabin in the woods where a cadre of college students find a mysterious book bound in human flesh. The book was called the Necronomicon after an oblique spell book featured in the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. The kids play a tape recording of someone reading the Necronomicon, and it awakens an army of...
- 10/8/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
If you think two independent, ultra-gory, unrated horror movies getting a big(ger) budget third sequel made by a major Hollywood studio sounds unlikely, then let me remind you of a little movie called "Army of Darkness?" Strange but true — the follow-up to "The Evil Dead" and "Evil Dead 2" (subtitled "Dead By Dawn" if ya nasty) is a lightly-r-rated affair that sees hapless hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) thrust into a fantasized version of the Middle Ages, one that tones down the gushing blood and bodily dismemberment of the prior films before replacing them with rampaging skeletons and exploding catapults ... and it was made by Universal Pictures.
It's a sequel that is equal parts expensive as it is expansive, especially for a franchise that began as the quintessential "cabin in the woods" horror film. In addition to Universal footing the bills for the movie, they were also in charge of distributing and marketing it.
It's a sequel that is equal parts expensive as it is expansive, especially for a franchise that began as the quintessential "cabin in the woods" horror film. In addition to Universal footing the bills for the movie, they were also in charge of distributing and marketing it.
- 9/7/2022
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Madman Entertainment in Australia is going to be releasing The War of the Worlds (1953) on Blu-ray on 5/27. The 4K restoration was available on itunes for a time, but this marks the film's first physical release in 4k.
The limited edition (just 1500 units) is mastered from the new 4K restoration of the original camera negative and will include exclusive audio commentary by film critics Barry Forshaw & Kim Newman, audio commentary by actor Gene Barry and actress Ann Robinson, audio commentary by Joe Dante, Bob Burns, and Bill Warren.
Additional features include "The Sky is Falling: Making The War of the Worlds documentary", the "H.G. Wells: The Father of Science Fiction" featurette, The Mercury Theatre on the Air Presents: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast from 1938, and t...
The limited edition (just 1500 units) is mastered from the new 4K restoration of the original camera negative and will include exclusive audio commentary by film critics Barry Forshaw & Kim Newman, audio commentary by actor Gene Barry and actress Ann Robinson, audio commentary by Joe Dante, Bob Burns, and Bill Warren.
Additional features include "The Sky is Falling: Making The War of the Worlds documentary", the "H.G. Wells: The Father of Science Fiction" featurette, The Mercury Theatre on the Air Presents: The War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast from 1938, and t...
- 2/25/2020
- QuietEarth.us
What ought to be appreciated as one of the most prescient of 1950s suspense films holds a place among the best science fiction movies ever — and it formed a style template for a thousand paranoid spy thrillers to follow. Val Guest pares Nigel Kneale’s fantastic storyline down to its essentials, making his scientist-hero the perfect secret agent to confront a sinister techno-political conspiracy… from outer space.
Quatermass 2
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Brian Donlevy, John Longdon, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn, Vera Day, Charles Lloyd Pack, Tom Chatto, John Van Eyssen, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper, John Rae, Michael Balfour.
Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs
Film Editor: James Needs
Makeup: Philip Leakey
Art Direction: Bernard Robinson
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Val Guest, Nigel Kneale from his teleplay
Produced by Anthony Hinds
Directed by Val Guest
Here’s yet another fine 2019 Blu-ray release...
Quatermass 2
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Brian Donlevy, John Longdon, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn, Vera Day, Charles Lloyd Pack, Tom Chatto, John Van Eyssen, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper, John Rae, Michael Balfour.
Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs
Film Editor: James Needs
Makeup: Philip Leakey
Art Direction: Bernard Robinson
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Val Guest, Nigel Kneale from his teleplay
Produced by Anthony Hinds
Directed by Val Guest
Here’s yet another fine 2019 Blu-ray release...
- 8/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“I hate her! I hate dat qveen!” Despite being one of the most maladroit sci-fiers of the ’50s, color and ‘scope and Zsa Za Gabor’s hilarious accent make this Allied Artists offering a must-see head scratcher. Bad taste! Tacky art direction! Infantile sexist humor! The word on the street is that the Me Too movement has this embarrassing howler on their kill list.
Queen of Outer Space
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Laurie Mitchell, Dave Willock, Paul Birch, Lisa Davis, Patrick Waltz, Barbara Darrow, Joi Lansing, Marilyn Buferd, Mary Ford, Marya Stevens, Laura Mason, Lynn Cartwright, Kathy Marlowe, Coleen Drake, Tania Velia, Norma Young, Marjorie Durant, Gerry Gaylor, Brandy Bryan, Ruth Lewis, June McCall.
Cinematography: William P. Whitley
Film Editor: William Austin
Sam Gordon and Ted Mossman: Props
Visual Effects: Jack Cosgrove...
Queen of Outer Space
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Laurie Mitchell, Dave Willock, Paul Birch, Lisa Davis, Patrick Waltz, Barbara Darrow, Joi Lansing, Marilyn Buferd, Mary Ford, Marya Stevens, Laura Mason, Lynn Cartwright, Kathy Marlowe, Coleen Drake, Tania Velia, Norma Young, Marjorie Durant, Gerry Gaylor, Brandy Bryan, Ruth Lewis, June McCall.
Cinematography: William P. Whitley
Film Editor: William Austin
Sam Gordon and Ted Mossman: Props
Visual Effects: Jack Cosgrove...
- 9/11/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Don Kaye Feb 19, 2019
Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness concluded the Evil Dead trilogy on a very different note.
With Army of Darkness, the concluding (at the time!) installment in what became known as the Evil Dead trilogy, Sam Raimi completed a series that swerved from nasty yet funny horror into full-blown slapstick comedy – with mixed results. The first Evil Dead – an instant cult classic upon its arrival in 1981 – was a lunatic mix of outright horror, black comedy and sight gags, a movie that gave you the creeps and made you laugh out loud at the same time while also introducing Raimi’s energetic, wildly creative visual style. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, issued in 1987, amped up the gore and gags at the expense of the horror, but was still outrageously entertaining.
By the time Raimi got around to Army of Darkness five years later – having made his major...
Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness concluded the Evil Dead trilogy on a very different note.
With Army of Darkness, the concluding (at the time!) installment in what became known as the Evil Dead trilogy, Sam Raimi completed a series that swerved from nasty yet funny horror into full-blown slapstick comedy – with mixed results. The first Evil Dead – an instant cult classic upon its arrival in 1981 – was a lunatic mix of outright horror, black comedy and sight gags, a movie that gave you the creeps and made you laugh out loud at the same time while also introducing Raimi’s energetic, wildly creative visual style. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, issued in 1987, amped up the gore and gags at the expense of the horror, but was still outrageously entertaining.
By the time Raimi got around to Army of Darkness five years later – having made his major...
- 10/29/2015
- Den of Geek
We're exactly two months away from the second annual Monsterpalooza, which is returning to the Marriott Burbank Convention Center April 9-11, 2010. To help get people fired up for the event, which features special effects artists from the horror industry along with their many works, the promoters have revealed the expanded guest list along with a slew of presentations and demos that will be taking place over the weekend.
Confirmed guests so far include:
Verne Langdon - Monster Of Ceremonies
Michael Westmore - Academy Award Winning Makeup Artist - Mask, Star Trek, Raging Bull
Tom Burman - Award Winning Makeup Artist - Island Of Dr. Moreau, The Goonies, Nip/Tuck
Barney Burman - Proteus F/X - Dawn Of The Dead, Matrix Reloaded, Star Trek 09
Rob Burman - The Fly, The Thing, Star Trek 09
Amalgamated Dynamics - Academy Award Winners Tom Woodruff & Alec Gillis - Starship Troopers, Avp
Knb - Academy...
Confirmed guests so far include:
Verne Langdon - Monster Of Ceremonies
Michael Westmore - Academy Award Winning Makeup Artist - Mask, Star Trek, Raging Bull
Tom Burman - Award Winning Makeup Artist - Island Of Dr. Moreau, The Goonies, Nip/Tuck
Barney Burman - Proteus F/X - Dawn Of The Dead, Matrix Reloaded, Star Trek 09
Rob Burman - The Fly, The Thing, Star Trek 09
Amalgamated Dynamics - Academy Award Winners Tom Woodruff & Alec Gillis - Starship Troopers, Avp
Knb - Academy...
- 2/10/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
(Note: This story will be "stickied" at the top of our headlines for the day. Being able to host it is an honor beyond words.)
It was a Blood-Red-letter day for fandom as pros and fans alike gathered to bid a reluctant “Forry-well” to the late great genre-icon Forrest J. Ackerman! Hollywood’s historic Egyptian Theatre served as a temple for the filled-to-capacity ritual sponsored by the American Cinematheque, Profiles in History auction house and the Ackerman estate.
Guests began waiting on line at around 1:00Pm for the scheduled 3:00Pm reception. By 2:30 over 200 bodies had congregated at the doors of the theater. Inside, staff was scrambling. Pieces of Forry’s collection were being displayed (A first edition of Dracula signed by Bram Stoker and almost everyone who ever played the famous Vampire on screen, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape and Forry’s fave prop: the “Robotrix” from...
It was a Blood-Red-letter day for fandom as pros and fans alike gathered to bid a reluctant “Forry-well” to the late great genre-icon Forrest J. Ackerman! Hollywood’s historic Egyptian Theatre served as a temple for the filled-to-capacity ritual sponsored by the American Cinematheque, Profiles in History auction house and the Ackerman estate.
Guests began waiting on line at around 1:00Pm for the scheduled 3:00Pm reception. By 2:30 over 200 bodies had congregated at the doors of the theater. Inside, staff was scrambling. Pieces of Forry’s collection were being displayed (A first edition of Dracula signed by Bram Stoker and almost everyone who ever played the famous Vampire on screen, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape and Forry’s fave prop: the “Robotrix” from...
- 3/16/2009
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
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