Avis des utilisateurs

BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER is a British version of the classic GODZILLA story, although it's more closely linked to THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS with whom it shares a director in the Russian-born Frenchman, Eugene Lourie. A youthful Douglas Hickox (THEATRE OF BLOOD) is also credited as co-director in British prints.

I always find British monster movies to be a lot of fun and this one is no exception; the cast is full of decent, stiff upper lipped types who instantly band together to tackle whatever great menace is coming their way. And BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER tells a very typical storyline for its era, following a specific template that sees a slow and gradual build-up in the first half lead into some all-out monster action in the second.

The film features a likable imported American star in Gene Evans, backed up by some heavyweight British talent in the form of a tough Andre Morell and the likes of Jack MacGowran. Film fans will be delighted to see some brief snippets of stop motion effects contributed by the one and only Willis O'Brien at the tail-end of his career, although a cheesy model also bolsters the action. And I enjoyed the way the action plays out in a particularly grim fashion, with the monster readily offing men, women, and children thanks to that radioactive death ray.

There were many "giant-monster" films from the 50's . Some were terrible. Most were good, including this one. Yeah, if one were picky they could say the stop-motion effects (from King Kong effects man Willis O'Brien) are not as well done as Ray Harryhausen's or the pacing is a bit slow at times. For the most part, the actors do a credible job although Gene Evans (Dr. Karnes) overplays his part a bit. There is enough action to sustain interest and the story is pretty good (if not original). This monster just isn't in a talking mood! It's not only radioactive but has an electric charge that sends out the radiation. There is some decent stock footage as well. If you're a fan of 1950's sci-fi films, give this one a try.

This film was made before the days of cgi and therefore must seem painfully dated to younger viewers but to us who grew up in the atomic monster age it is both scary and charming. We do not look with judgment on the film but rather on the times in which it was produced. Fond memories of drive-in theaters and Saturday night scarfests with friends. Carefree times of youth and adolescence. That said "Behemoth" is ultimately more entertaining with it's challenging fx than many of our modern day films which completely lack any charm. Simply filling a film with eye catching Cgi does not a movie make. Willis O'Brian's painstaking stop-motion effects and Eugene Lourie's talent with a minuscule budget unite to make a scary premise very entertaining and certainly fondly remembered.

Essentially a remake of THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS with the dinosaur emitting radiation instead of a deadly disease this is still a good film. Originally the monster was supposed to be invisible (hence the scene where it does not show up on radar) but the producers said that would never do and a monster must be seen by the audience! So Willis O'Brien and Pete Peterson were brought in late in the game to do some effective stop motion effects. The low budget shows. Notice how the monster steps on the same car 3 times and seems to take forever to walk up a single street. When the Behemoth attacks the ferry watch carefully and you will see the wooden base the rubber head is attached to come out of the water! Other scenes are very good though, like the beast "attacking" the high tension wires and when he strolls by the houses of Parliament you almost cannot tell the old British landmark is just a blown up photograph! B-Western stalwart Gene Evans is pretty good as the hero and Andre Morrell, a one time Dr. Watson opposite Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes, is good too. Not much time is wasted on a romantic subplot . . .thank goodness! Allegedly when director Eugene Lourie's young daughter saw this film she chided her father "Daddy, you're bad! You killed the beastie." her comment stayed with Lourie and a few years later when he directed GORGO he . . .well . . .that's another story for another review. See you then.

Now, let me tell you I could be a little biased here with my scoring. For this film lit the light of remembrance and melancholy within me. As it took me back to my childhood. There was a time when the good old BBC would play these movies on a Saturday afternoon: On BBC2 while BBC1 had Grandstand. I remember watching these Sci-Fi monster flicks with my Nan on cold and wet winter days, usually in front of a warm gas fire. Those were good days. So, I thank the makers of the film for giving me this memory.

What you have is a pretty bog-standard tale of nuclear radiation mutation... as was par for the course in the fifties. Here though, not only does it mutate a creature to an enormous size, but apparently resurrects a long-dead dinosaur. This then goes on the rampage through London. Though what makes this a little better than the average film in this genre is the extra details. We don't start in London but in a little fishing village in Cornwall where strange things have been occurring; a man being burned with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns, shoals of dead fish washing up on the beach, and strange lights under the surface of the sea. This pulls the viewer in with the mystery. There's also the brilliant usage of the radiation because if you get too close to the creature then you burn. When we arrive at the rampage, the director uses parts of London not fully rebuilt after the war to create an atmosphere that works well. Also, the large amount of extra's running from the monster is just right - not one or two people, but a hole streets worth of men and women.

The director is very good at his work. He sets the pace of this film perfectly. There's a small crescendo at the beginning when Marine Biologist Steve Karnes' is warning the government about the possible side effects of radiation on the oceans and their populace. Then drops to a steadier pace with the mysterious happenings. Building up slowly to the rampage at the climax. Spot on perfect.

The special effects, for their time, are not quite as good as others. However, they are passable. It's nice the puppeteer changed out to a fully automated Behemoth for the later scenes as the fixed mouth version that attacked the ferry looked a little silly. I have to admit I really loved the part where the Behemoth walks through the dockyards. The part where he wrecks one crane by tearing it apart with his teeth and the other by simply walking through it is one of the better stop animation sequences I've seen. I liked the fact the director filmed it from the position of the pavement, which had the effect of giving size to the creature.

This was a very enjoyable flick, to say the least. The story and the filming were solid as too was the acting. Everybody put their skills into making this a very watchable movie. Not remembering the movie fully, I thought that the two main characters in the fishing village section Jean (Madison) and John (Turner) would be in the whole show, their acting is that good. However, when we leave the village we never see them again.

If you've never caught a '50's sci-fi monster flick then this one would be a nice place to start. And if you are a fan of the genre, then find a copy and watch this once more, it's worth it.

This is one of the last films on which Willis O'Brien worked. If his name isn't familiar, he's the guy who brought King Kong to life through the miracle of stop-motion cinematography. His work led to the likes of Ray Harryhausen and it's quite enjoyable to watch his creatures come to life. However, I must point out that technically speaking, this is far from O'Brien's best work. In fact, I think the story is far better than the stop-motion special effects.

The story is about a giant marine dinosaur that seems to have been created through the typical menace in 50s films--nuclear radiation. At first, the monster appears in an isolated fishing village and its radioactivity kills or maims. Some (especially Evans) take this very seriously. Everyone does after it attacks London! Will the Brits be okay or are they all destined to be gobbled up like a stack of freshly baked scones?!

This film stars a rather unlikely actor--Gene Evans. Evans was hardly the handsome leading man type and is probably most famous for his gritty sergeant character from Sam Fuller's "Steel Helmet" as well as appearing in Fuller's "Shock Corridor". So, seeing him playing the intellectual scientist was a bit odd but it worked well enough. In fact, the acting all around was very good--no complaints. However, the special effects, at times, looked pretty bad--such as when the creatures is swimming underwater.

By the way, the ending was rather clever. Make sure not to miss it.

Yes, yes, yes, it's a pallid remake of Beast From 20,000 Fathoms with a mixed bag of effects, but the commentary by special effects masters Dennis Murren and Phil Tippett is condescending in the extreme. Granted their focus was on the special effects - which in many cases are poor due to a low budget - but their absolute ignorance about some of the cast members was shocking. Most particularly they were sarcastically dismissive of the great Jack McGowan who's credits include "The Quiet Man" and "Lord Jim" to name just a few. They didn't even realize that he was in "The Exorcist" and in fact died while making that film. In future, Warner Brothers might be better served by including commentaries by film makers (or even fans) who are not so narrowly focused and who might contribute to one's enjoyment of the film rather than detract from it.

Let me quickly begin by putting to rest once and for all a terrible error that is popping up everywhere concerning this film: THE GIANT BEHEMOTH was not, repeat NOT, "co-directed" by Mr Douglas Hickox. He was not an "uncredited" contributor to the film. Period. End of discussion. It was solely directed from start to finish by Eugene Lourie, a director (and production designer) of taste and imagination. How this rumor about Mr Hickox ever got started is beyond me.

If I accomplish nothing else but put this falsehood to rest I will be quite happy.

Now, on to the film. I recommend it highly. It is well-written, well-acted, nicely photographed and edited, and well-scored by Edwin Astley. It is a good example of what can be done on an extremely low budget. The producers were merciless in their budget-cutting which was very hard on master animators Willis O'Brien and Pete Peterson but it is a testament to their skill and integrity that they managed as well as they did. Their animation of the giant creature is of a very high order and is, of course, vastly superior to the work of a second special effects crew which was brought in to do the ferry boat sequence. The less said about that work the better, though the scene played well due to the fine editing and music scoring.

I greatly admire what was accomplished here by these talented people having almost no money to work with. That should be an inspiration to many an aspiring movie-maker.

So the title itself is redundant... the definition of "Behemoth" is something of giant size, so the Giant was really un-necessary. a horror flick from Allied Artists stars Gene Evans and André Morell. those durn nuclear tests have caused disturbances which woke the sleeping monster. first a man is found dead on the beach. and now it's attacking the large cities. How can they stop it before it destroys everything?? and should the scientists really be touching the radio-active fish without SOME kind of protective gloves?? this production seems to be a mix of British and US actors. and there seems to have been some conflict over the directors, as well as the actual writers. I was hoping this would have either Lon Chaney or Boris Karloff. but no. and the science and instruments they use are pretty shady. it's okay. some interesting scenery from all over England. and honestly, for 1959, the stop motion action is actually pretty good. including when Behemoth pulls down the transmission line towers.

Excellent ultra low budget 50's monster flick from a British-American viewpoint that cashes in on the Japanese and American giant monster movie industries despite it being from late in the cycle and clearly made very cheap.

'Behemoth' is slow and deliberate for it's first two acts, introducing it's characters and giving them a bit of time to interact together whilst keeping the beast off screen and operating on proceedings solely through hints and the consequences of it's rampage.

The final third uses smashing stop motion special effects for the arrival of the Behemoth in London and a cheap and convenient method to resolve it.

Overall the direction works well as the tension and jeopardy is developed gradually and the leading pair play well off each other in playing clearly defined characterisations.

The films sound effects and score are complementary and I really recommend to any vintage monster madness film fans who haven't yet seen this film.

I rate a satisfied 5/10 for a minimum production effort that packs a fair amount of punch but always, by necessity, on a minimal scale.

Director Eugene (Gene) Lourie made three similarly-themed giant monster flicks, beginning with 1953's 'Beast From 20,000 Fathoms' to 1961's 'Gorgo', with 'Behemoth' sandwiched in between. The story line is much like a myriad of other films of the era (and very much like 'Beast...") but this one is a cut above. This time, the irradiated creature (weren't they all during the 50s?) turns up in British waters. Unlike 'Beast' and 'Gorgo' (as well as Godzilla and the others), this Behemoth not only was a huge creature, but also had the ability to project 'electrified fields of radiation', causing people to literally burn to death. Scenes with Behemoth climbing out of the Thames, destroying buildings and burning people to death (even kids aren't spared) is pretty exciting. While close-ups of Behemoth are not realistic (compared to Ray Harryhausen's work in 'Beast'), the full-body scenes done by Willis O'Brien are very effective. The acting, untypical of these films, is actually pretty well done. Character actor Gene Evans and Hammer Films regular Andre Morell do splendid jobs, and the supporting cast is fine too. One can quibble over which of these films is the best, but I agree with an observation made in Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film that The Giant Behemoth was "the scariest giant monster-on-the-loose film ever made." At least up to that point, anyway. Well worth having if you're a fan of old sci-fi & horror films.

This is a bit talkie but overall it fulfills the Cold War fear of radiation and its implications. The monster here seems determined to destroy. Animals, generally have two things on their minds, food and reproduction. This big lizard apparently has a third thing: it enjoys rampaging. Why it feels the need to crush cars and chase people down the street seems to imply motivations that are more punitive. It also seems to have the ability to disperse radiation when it wants to, frying people who confront it. The film is strongest in the action leading to the discovery of the creature. The science is valid and interesting. Some say it's a rip off of "The Best from 20,000 Fathoms." I guess in many ways it is, but it has a good story to tell and leaves us guessing at the end.

When I hear the word "Behemoth" I immediately think of brilliant black metal from Poland. Of course, long before this band saw the light of day (or, in their case, the dark of night) there was this tacky 50s movie from England. For those interested: the Behemoth is a biblical monster, open for interpretation on what it looks like, and the creature in this flick is definitely an "ordinary" dinosaur. The first casualty gets the honor of naming the monster, and as his last words he mumbles "Behemoth".

In short, "The Giant Behemoth" is a rehash of the director's own previous (and superior) movie "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". He - Eugene Lourié - would later repeat his success formula one more time with "Gorgo". In between "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "The Giant Behemoth", the Japanese released what is probably the decade's ultimate giant monster movie with "Godzilla", hence "The Giant Behemoth" also borrows many elements of that classic. Does everyone still follow?

The plot opens very traditionally, with an auditorium full of egg-headed scientists skeptically listening to marine biologist Steve Karnes' stern warnings that our world leaders are gradually turning the oceans radioactive with all their reckless atomic testing and the dumping of radioactive waste. Karnes' premonition turns into reality even quicker than he feared himself, as millions of dead fish and other strange phenomena are reported in from Cornwall. Humanity's carelessness brought a massive radioactive dinosaur to life, and it's heading for London!

Monster flicks from the 50s are usually worth seeking out for their stop-motion special effects, and for the one or two campy scenes of mass-hysteria when the titular creature overshadows and ravages the city. Although "The Giant Behemoth" features both trademarks, they surprisingly aren't the highlights. The radioactive critter remains out of sight for 2/3 of the film, and the city-in-panic footage is mediocre at best (with shots of the same toy car getting crushed three times). The attack on a sightseeing vessel is good entertainment, but the best and most atmospheric moments take place in Cornwall at the beginning of the film. It even feels weird how the plot totally abandons the characters of fisherman's daughter Jean and her lover John as soon as the behemoth decides to take a city trip to London.

Interesting in an historical sense because of Willis O'Brien and Eugene Lourie, both contributors to the "monster on the loose" genre that is with us to this day.

That said, both of those artist best work can be found elsewhere. This low budget restraint is not worthy of their talent but they did complete it and did the best they could with the limited time and resources.

The movie is quite professional looking and really is a lot better because of those involved in spite of its restrictions. The formula for the genre is by the numbers but executed with some suspense and realism. It has an effectively ominous musical score and when TGB arrives it has a nasty look and disposition.

The ending of the atomic anomaly (or is it an anomaly?) is rather rushed and anti-climatic, but so is the life of the aforementioned format that would come to a halt in the following year with Gorgo (1960) also directed by Lourie.

Russian-born French director Eugene Lourie only directed four feature-length movies in his career. He only seems to be memorable because three of those four pictures involved seemingly indestructible sea monsters running amok in the midst of a big city of shrieking civilians. His first one, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" was and still is, in a small way, a classic. His last one, "Gorgo" has gone on to become a cult favorite and understandably so. However, the one in-between, titled "The Giant Behemoth" (a.k.a. "Behemoth the Sea Monster," the title that actually makes grammatical sense) is less than special. It only reminded me just how much better the other two movies are.

Its premise is promising and simple enough. Atomic tests awaken and mutate a serpentine monster which eventually, in the film's climax (the only energized moment in the picture) begins a lengthy assault on London. However, the filmmakers throw the final product together rather sloppily. From the zest-deprived screenplay, to the almost universally lifeless performances, to the quirky and uncharacteristically stilted visual effects helmed by Willis H. O'Brien of all people makes the fact that it was a rushed, passionless product stick out like a sore thumb.

The core fault lies in the screenplay written by director Lourie and Daniel James. The movie spends a fair amount of time building up the tension before the monster's eventual appearance: a typical method in monster pictures. Their fault? They took too long. Way too long. The movie's down to its third act before the behemoth attacks London and the two acts preceding it are as monotonous as the wooden, care-free expressions upon supporting actor Andre Morell's face. The movie also starts several subplots that are developed to a point and them simply cut off. For example: characters affected by the monster's appearance near a fishing village. A good length of time is spent attempting to develop this subplot, and a couple of characters involved in it, and then the screenplay just drops it. No conclusion, no pay-off, no transition. It just abandons the story dead right there.

And so with a screenplay as passion-free as the one here, the saviors would really have to be the actors, at least until the monster arrives. Unfortunately, leading man Gene Evans (an unlikely casting choice for a heroic lead) is the only one who seems to have given a hoot about acting here. He's the only one who presents any simulated emotion, any care about the context of the picture. Mr. Morell, as I mentioned before, is shockingly lifeless and dull, as if he had read all his lines off cue cards the entire time or had been filmed while going through rehearsals. The multiple personalities imitating military personnel are just as dim and energy-free. And a ship captain transporting Mr. Evans in search of the creature gives one of the most wooden, couldn't-care-less performances I've seen in a while.

Now I know, good acting is not usually attached to monster movies. But usually we see campy, attempted acting. Or overacting. Here, there is no real attempt to act except by Mr. Evans a few stand-outs.

Even though Mr. O'Brien (the worker of the magic if pictures like "King Kong") commanded the special effects crew, even the work of the department here seems stilted. The behemoth is portrayed via two methods. One is an awkward, stiff, entirely unconvincing head and neck puppet with next to no movement or flexibility. The second is stop-motion animation and even this, which Mr. O'Brien was one of the mastering pioneers at, seems unnaturally stilted with stiffer, more quirky movements especially in the neck area. But the scenes with this effect are the most entertaining and as I said, the fifteen-minute rampage of the creature in London is virtually the only moment in "The Giant Behemoth" that contains any genuine energy or spark of creative passion. A scene of the behemoth tearing down some electrical towers, reminiscent of "Gojira," is particularly enjoyable.

But sadly, the picture really just has the feeling of an assignment given to somebody hopelessly unhappy in their field as opposed to a work done by people who love their jobs. Eugene Lourie directed two very entertaining monster movies. "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" and "Gorgo." I would recommend monster fans check those out instead and pass on this one. With a lack of energy and no real enthusiasm "The Giant Behemoth" is a plodding bore.

I first saw this movie when I was 9 years old and it was the scariest movie I'd ever seen. I vividly recall the scenes of terrified people running from the monster and being melted by the radiation waves emitted by the beast!

I watched the movie again last year and still found it compelling, albeit in a low budget way. I remember the sub-head, or perhaps the trailer to be "It came from the sea." Or, perhaps I was hiding under the sheets and didn't hear it correctly.

Giant radioactive monsters, while apparently preferring Tokyo, do occasionally attack other major cities, whether they be San Francisco in It Came from Beneath the Sea, or London, as in this movie. This one, called the behemoth, I think is referred to as a plesiosaur but looks more apatosaurus-like. The Giant Behemoth, aka Behemoth the Sea Monster, is your average monster-attacks-city movie. It spends an inordinate amount of time on people jabbering along, scientists trying to figure out what gave dead people radiation burns, et cetera, et cetera. By the time I started nodding off, the monster makes his first appearance, and looks kind of like a piñata. Later it comes on land and is a stop-motion effect. This was Willis O'Brien's penultimate film. At this point, O'Brien and his techniques had been surpassed by those of his student, Ray Harryhausen. The behemoth looks not much better than the dinosaurs of the silent The Lost World. Still, I quite like it. There's just something about stop-motion effects that charms me. But these effects are too few and far between to make the movie worth anything.