Le Monstre des temps perdus

"The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" is one of many "nuclear explosion thaws out the pre-historic monster" movies popular in the 1950's. What sets this film apart from other similarly themed films, are the superior special effects created by the legendary Ray Harryhausen.

His dinosaur is as good as you will see in any sci-fi movie. It moves without that jerky motion common in so many stop-motion monsters (i.e. King Kong). The "monster destroys the city" sequence is outstanding. There is also an excellent fight between an octopus and a shark that is very exciting. The best sequence takes place at the end of the film when the monster is cornered in an amusement park.

As in all such movies, the human actors are incidental to the plot. The German/Swiss actor Paul Christian (aka Hubschmid) plays the requisite scientist, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway are the "dinosaur experts" and Kenneth Tobey and Donald Woods play the sceptical military types. There are also a number of recognizable "B" movie faces from the period such as Lee Van Cleef, Steve Brodie, Jack Pennick and James Best.

One of the best atomic monster movies from the 50s.

This is the movie that introduced me to monster-on-the-loose pictures. Warner Brothers did not pioneer the genre; RKO started it off in 1951 with THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. But it WAS Warner Brothers who began both the "radiation releases monster" and "radiation creates mutant monster" genre's with this film and THEM! two years later. I had never heard of Ray Harryhausen when I saw this for the first time at the tender age of 7 but I knew a scary monster when I saw it and this movie became an instant fave. Later I discovered Godzilla and could not figure out why that film had so much destruction and this one had so little. Later I learned about stop motion vs man-in-suit special effects. I also learned that Inoshiro Honda was using this film as a blueprint. Fantastic film! The first glimpse of the Beast is terrific! The destruction of the first ship is spellbinding! (That is Jack Pennick from many John Ford westerns as the shocked helmsman.) and the rampaging of The Beast through the streets of New York panicked me as a child. The only scene I did not (and still don't) care for is where the helpless blind man is knocked down and trampled by the fear crazed mob. The climax at Coney Island was amazing. I later found out the marksman in the end scenes is Lee Van Cleef who starred in so many spaghetti westerns. He actually saves the world in this movie. Well, maybe not the world, but New York anyway. I still watch this movie whenever I get a chance. When the film was new they tinted the underwater scenes where Cecil Kellaway is in the diving bell green. They did not restore the tinting to the video print and I think that was a mistake. Maybe when the movie gets to DVD they will do so. Don't miss your chance to discover this film. You will enjoy it.

When I was a kid,I would cry every time I saw the ending of this movie.I couldn't help feeling sorry for the monster,dying alone in a world he never knew. Ray Harryhausen was at his best when he designed the Rhedosaurus. This was a monster with a personality,and dare I say it,charm? Every little movement of the beast almost made you think you were watching an actual living creature,and not some stop motion puppet,like the awful Giant Behemoth. My favorites: the beast sniffing at the lighthouse before he knocks it down;the way he playfully bats at the wrecked car he stepped on,when he turns his back and lashes his tail at the shotgun toting cops,even the way it squints its eyes in the sun.The death scene was well done,and the music,as the flaming roller coaster collapses behind the beast's dead body,still sends a chill up my spine. The worst part of the movie was the casting,especially the male and female leads. Paul Christian's accent is almost impossible to understand at times,and his acting is wooden.Paula Raymond may seem pretty by '50's standards,but I think she has a pronounced overbite and adenoids,the way her mouth is always hanging open! Her acting was also pretty limp.Cecil Kelloway was a delight,as usual,and Ken Tobey was unusually restrained,not trying to hit on Raymond,as he seemed to do in most of his movies. The funniest line in the movie was Kelloway asking Tobey:"What makes you think there are no flying saucers?"(A dig at Tobey's role in The Thing.)Still in all,this is timeless sci-fi classic that holds up well,even today.

Nuclear testing out in the arctic rouses a prehistoric Rhedosaurs from its icy incarcerated sleep. It promptly lays waste to everything that gets in its path, and its next stop is New York City.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms stands as one of the most important of the 50s sci-fi/creature feature films that filled the screens during that particular decade. Notable for being the first picture where Ray Harryhausen had total control over the effects {and thus setting his career on an upward route}, it is also one of two pictures from 1953 that would be the first adaptations of the gifted writings of Ray Bradbury (the other being It Came from Outer Space).

Watching it now you can see just what a template movie it was to be for the genre, the perils of nuclear testing a vivid jolt of paranoia, the rugged alpha male, the svelt sexy strong lady, and of course the creature to terrify all who come into contact with it, yep it's safe to say that this picture has all the trademarks. The Rhedosaurus {completely made up name} is a wonderful creation from Harryhausen, a giant stalking lizard who sinks ships for fun, pulls down lighthouses, and has no problems about feasting on local police officers, it's safe to say that since being woken from his sleep he is in a very bad mood!. The ending is wonderful, as the giant beast finds himself cloaked in a roller-coaster with mankind fighting the good fight, a perfect finish to a hugely enjoyable picture. 8/10

Influential in many ways. Seminal to say the least. This is the first Monster to be unleashed by the awakening awesomeness of the Atomic Bomb. This is Ray Harryhausen's first solo outing (he was Willis O'Brien's (King Kong) assistant on Mighty Joe Young (1949).

It has a crisp Black and White look and is a sharply defined matte of Monster and surroundings. From the early sets on the frozen tundra, to the depths of the Ocean, to the New York City Streets, to the Amusement Park finale, this is a beautiful low-budget Film.

There are some stiff Performances and some that are lively. It pulls few punches in its depressing display of Radioactive Paranoia. Some unforgettable Highlights include the eerie Lighthouse encounter, the viciously impressive looking Dinosaur wreaking havoc between Skyscrapers, and the Roller Coaster imprisonment and execution.

Note: Will all Godzilla and Toho fans please nod, bow, and applaud.