A science-fiction paranoiac classic in which a boy witnesses the arrival of beings from Mars and, later, their control of increasing numbers of the town's denizens.
All-American boy, David MacLean awakens one night and spots an alien space ship outside his window. His parents decide to investigate, but when they return their personalities have changed -- almost as if they've become different people. Frightened, the boy tells the local police what has happened, but he gets little response until a doctor and an astronomer take him seriously. The two scientists fear the Earth has been and that they'd better act fast if humanity is going to be saved.
Image laserdisc #7639 includes a restored print of the film, the original trailer, an alternate versions of the ending and the observatory scene, production photos, press materials, promotional materials, and a jacket essay.
A 3-d version of this film was also made.
Color Eastman Color. Prints by Cinecolor.
Copyright 1953 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
Bonus Footage: U.S. and Alternate British Versions of the Film
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos
Additional Products:
Booklet
Distributor Notes: A young boy is awakened during a storm to witness a flying saucer land in the field behind his home. No one will believe his story as, one by one, the townspeople are captured and put under the control of sinister forces from the planet Mars! Brilliantly created by visionary set designer and director William Cameron Menzies (designer of "Gone with the Wind" and H.G. Wells' "Things to Come") with a haunting musical score by Raoul Kraushaar, this golden age sci-fi classic has lost none of its chilling power. Surreal imagery brought to terrifying life in a Cinecolor world just beyond our nightmares!
Source: Image Entertainment, Inc.
Cinematographer
John F. Seitz: American Diretor of Photography
Production Designer
William Cameron Menzies: Epic director of the Silent Era
Review 1:
"...Packed with eerie backyard scenes that anticipate the early parts of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND..."
Source: USA Today
p.10E 12/06/2002
Review 2:
"[C]reepy."
Source: Uncut
p.141 01/01/2004
Review 3:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith an effective underlying fear of loss of personality, and of the unknown."
Source: Ultimate DVD
p.113 07/01/2006