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Released by: Twilight Time
Released on: March, 2015.
Director: Nathan Juran
Cast: Lionel Jeffries, Martha Hyer, Edward Judd
Year: 1964
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
Based on the story by H. G. Wells, 1964's First Men In The Moon takes place at the end of the 19th century where we meet a writer named Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd). He's gone into isolation mode and hidden himself in his cottage out in the country where he hopes the peace and silence will help him get over a nasty bout of writer's block. That's not going to happen though, at least not yet, because his fiancée, Kate Callender (Martha Hyer), has just purchased a new car and driven it all the way out to pay him a visit.
She's understandably concerned about him but all of this will pass when he and she meet up with an eccentric inventor named Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) who, through the use of any anti-gravity paste he's created called Cavorite, talks Arnold into accompanying him on a trip to the Moon. With Kate stowed away, they make their destination and then find that it's not as unpopulated as they thought - it's inhabited by a race of bee-people!
First Men In The Moon takes a little too long for its own good to really hit its stride. The character development and setup is admirable but it isn't particularly well paced or really all that interesting and as such, the first half of the movie is on the slow side. Having said that, once we shift gears and get into the whole space travel/moon landing aspect of the story, things improve considerably. The sets show some great design work and the special effects and creature design work from the great Ray Harryhausen are a lot of fun to watch. Wells' imagination runs wild here and director Nathan Juran does an admirable job of getting that all on film. The Moon in this story is a treacherous place, one that contains not only the aforementioned bee-people but also a wealth of dangerous underground caverns and deadly denizens out to get our intrepid explorers.
Of course, by modern standards the technology used to explore the moon simply doesn't make sense. The spaceship looks more like an old fashioned diving bell and the suits look like dry suits rather than the spacesuits that we would all be able to recognize, given that space travel has become a reality since this movie was made. That's half the charm of a Wells story brought to filmed life, however. Those who can appreciate the charm of a product that is very much of its time should appreciate the look and creativity behind this and easily be able to look past the logic gaps that would have been unknown to the writer when he came up with all of this.
Performances are decent enough. If Edward Judd is a little on the dry side he looks the part and he and the beautiful Martha Hyer have a likeable enough vibe to their relationship that they're watchable enough. Not surprisingly, it's Lionel Jeffries as the mad doctor sort who tends to steal the show here. He's got more enthusiasm for all of this than the other two primary thespians and he tends to make the most of what his character is able to offer him.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Twilight Time presents First Men In The Moon on Blu-ray in an impressive 2.35.1 widescreen presentation in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. While some shots do look softer and heavier with grain than others (typically those involving a lot of effects work) generally the picture is nice and film-like without much in the way of obvious digital manipulation. Detail looks excellent in the close up shots and a bit softer in medium and some long distance shots while colors are consistently bright, bold and beautifully defined without ever edging over into looking oversaturated. Black levels are strong and print damage is never much of a problem at all. There are no obvious issues with noise reduction while depth and clarity are strong throughout the film.
The only audio option provided is an English language DTS-HD 5.1 track but it's a very good one. Levels are very nicely balanced and there are no problems at all with any hiss or distortion. The score sounds nice and clarity is strong from start to finish. There's good depth and presence to the audio here and it sounds fantastic. No alternate language options or subtitles are provided.
As far as the extras go, the main bonus feature here is a commentary track from Ray Harryhausen and Randall Cook. Harryhausen obviously worked on the effects for the feature and he looks back on his work here quite fondly. Cook, an animator in his own right, knows his stuff and manages to keep Harryhausen talking and the end result is an interesting track. There's a ton of detail here as to how the effects featured in the movie were created, when puppets were used and how, difficulties in preparing for the shoot and the aspect ratio used as well as what it was like working with Juran and his cast and crew.
Also noteworthy is the inclusion of the aforementioned score in DTS-HD 2.0. It's a great piece of work and it sounds nice and clear here on this isolated score option. Aside from that we get static menus and chapter selection. Julie Kirgo once again contributes a nice selection of liner notes that offer up a nice history and appreciation for this film. Some welcome archival images compliment the essay, rounding out a very classy and respective package.
The Final Word:
First Men In The Moon is a solid slice of sixties sci-fi filmmaking highlighted, not surprisingly, by Harryhausen's excellent special effects work. It takes a bit of time to get going, but once it does the film pays off nicely. The Blu-ray release from Twilight Time is a very nice one, as it includes an interesting commentary track that makes for a great compliment to a very nice audio and video presentation.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
