RSS Feeds

Earth Science

Space Science

Life Science

Fields of Scientific Study

Nanotechnology

Cancer

Definitions of The Fields of Scientific Study

First Man Into Space | Video On Demand

Starring: Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Bill Edwards, Robert Ayres, Bill Nagy
Directed By: Robert Day
Also With: John Croydon (Producer), Charles F. Vetter (Producer), Richard Gordon (Producer)

1 New starting at:

$2.99

Binding:

Video On Demand

Run Time:

78 minutes

Studio:

The Criterion Collection

Release Date:

October 02, 2009

Genre:

Art House

Synopsis:

In this interstellar cautionary tale, brash U.S. Navy test pilot Dan Prescott, hungry for fame, rockets himself beyond Earth's atmosphere, only to become encrusted with cosmic dust and return a blood-drinking monster.

Sales Rank:

20,303th

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 13 reviews)

Horror / Sci-Fi Grand Slam... by Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein (under the rubble)

5 Stars
November 01, 2009
MONSTERS AND MADMEN is a brilliant quadruple feature for lovers of these two genres. First, there's the Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, Bride Of Frankenstein, Black Sabbath) classic, THE HAUNTED STRANGLER about a novelist (Boris) who becomes obsessed w/ the innocence of a man hanged for a series of murders, only to become a malignant force himself! Karloff is superb, w/ his sympathetic portrayal, complete w/ facial contortions. Next, in CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, Karloff returns as a surgeon trying to find a less traumatic / painful way to perform amputations. Unfortunately, his good intentions are counteracted by his own addiction, as well as the unscrupulous people he must deal with. This leads to murder and despair. Watch for an early, captivating role for Christopher Lee (To The Devil A Daughter, The Wicker Man) as the malevolant "Resurrection Joe". FIRST MAN INTO SPACE has an astronaut who returns to earth as a killer beast, looking much like a burnt tuna casserole in humanoid form! Marshall Thompson (It The Terror From Beyond Space) does his best to track down and save his friend to little avail. Finally, in THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE, Arthur Franz (Invaders From Mars) and the crew of the Tiger Shark must find the reason behind a number of maritime disasters. Along the way, they encounter a UFO w/ a nasty critter (an octopoid cyclops!) aboard that simply must be terminated. There you have it. If you love the 1950s, horror, sci-fi, or Karloff, then this collection is calling your name! These four films are perfect additions to any H /S-F shelf...

B movies given the A treatment by Old Man Parker (The Big Island, Hawaii, USA)

5 Stars
May 07, 2009
Monsters. Weird Science fiction. Plots more for a episode of Johnny Quest, but done on these films ,live actors giving their all to strange subject matter, with shoe string budgets making entertaining mood. Wonderful transfers. Interesting discussions. Movie fan treasure. If you're a collector of Horror and Science Fiction DVDs, then this is a good addition.

A competent but unexceptional set by Henry S. Leavitt (White River Junction, Vermont)

2 Stars
April 18, 2008
This is an odd package for Criterion, a company better known for foreign films and art house selections packaged with academic commentaries. It's a good collection of Richard and Alex Gordon features but many viewers, I suspect, will find the packet overpriced. Of the four features, two are Boris Karloff dramas and two are science fiction adventures. All are in black and white in good transfers with clear sound and subtitles. THE HAUNTED STRANGLER (UK, 1958; aka GRIP OF THE STRANGLER) is a minor classic with Karloff playing a writer who becomes involved in the case histories of a bizarre series of murders. Karloff's performance, I thought, was strong and the plot inventive without feeling contrived. I found CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (UK, 1958) less satisfying. The highly fictionalized account of the discovery of anesthesia in Britain seemed mechanical to me and a body-snatching subplot felt extraneous and gratuitous. There are nice performances by Karloff and Christopher Lee, however. THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE (USA, 1959) follows a crew of frogmen, scientists, and crusty sailors in pursuit of a flying saucer that has been sinking ocean ships. If it's possible to imagine an sf production spending less on set design than on script development, this is that production, an effort, unfortunately, not good enough to be convincing nor bad enough to evoke the spirit of Ed Wood. It's amusing the first time through but that's about all. FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (USA, 1959) is an sf adventure in the Science Creates a Monster tradition. A standard space adventure/monster movie is enlivened by some good performances, including an amusing cameo by character actor Roger Delgado. Rather than the scholarly audio commentaries that Criterion is known for, chatty conversations between Tom Weaver and producers Richard Gordon or Alex Gordon accompany the films. I found the commentaries somewhat disappointing, since none of them talks much about these films, but they are full of anecdotes of other productions. Richard Gordon is especially fond of his work with Karloff who, even in his 70s, was unfailingly hard-working and charming. Christopher Lee was a very good actor though sometimes difficult to work with. The only really harsh words are for Tim Burton who slandered the character of Bela Lugosi in ED WOOD and for Eddie Wood himself who "couldn't direct traffic." A low point is the commentary on First Man into Space where Tom Weaver kills time by reading a list of historical events he gathered from the internet. Collectors with a passion for 'B' sf adventure and Boris Karloff dramas will enjoy this box set, but those simply looking for a good buy on a classic set of thrilling wonder stories might look elsewhere. I would strongly recommend the Val Lewton box set that Warner brought out. It contains excellent transfers of CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and other Lewton classics, with very good commentaries (though not on all the films). Universal has also produced fine collections of DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLF MAN, THE INVISIBLE MAN, and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON with their immediate sequels. Again, the transfers are very good and each set includes additional material. On a scale of 0 to 5, my individual ratings would be (* for the films and c for the commentaries): ***/cc The Haunted Strangler */cc Corridors of Blood o/c The Atomic Submarine **/o First Man into Space

Darwyn Cooke covers by Hepcat Advocate (Tennessee)

5 Stars
June 09, 2007
The covers and box art for this set were drawn/designed by Darwyn Cooke, the writer/artist of DC:The New Frontier and other very cool comics. (if you like the covers of these dvds, you should check these out: Absolute DC: The New Frontier, Batman: Ego and Other Tails, Spirit, Catwoman: Selina's Big Score ) I bought this set on faith. Between Darwyn Cooke's art and Criterion's eclectic high quality, this just HAS TO BE cool. 'nuff said.

Pretty good set, way over-priced by Movie fan from another galaxy

3 Stars
April 02, 2007
While I found all four movies interesting for their nostalgia factor as well as for the b-movie schlockiness, the price was a bit too steep. The commentary and packaging were top notch, although I would have preferred a more authentic, vintage style artwork. These type movies generally delivered as much in the fun factor for their marketing concepts and over the top advertisements as for the movies themselves. For many viewers the initial interest for these movies upon their theatrical release in the late 50's - early 60's was by way of the small poorly printed drive-in ads in the local newspaper. Some of the original posters and ads are included on the disk as a slide show, but the box cover art and descriptions have been updated with anime style illustrations. Not bad artwork, just not in keeping with the times the movies were originally released. Doesn't really do justice to the movies included within. Both Karloff movies were groundbreaking for the gore factor and are by and large well acted with decent set design and direction. The 2 sci-fi films also included a bit more gore than usual for the times, although extremely tame by today's standards and are of interest now as rare and forgotten low budget popcorn drive-in fare. It was enjoyable to re-discover these movies all together in one package and with Criterion's attention to detail and top notch remastering it made it that much more so. But there have been other non-Criterion multi-movie genre box sets that are just as good if not better for about 30-40 dollars less. The Universal Monsters box sets are but just a few examples. I do have to say though that, unlike many of the other reviewers, I am especially glad that Atomic Submarine was included. Of the four movies, this one piqued my interest the most. While the effects and acting hit the embarrassment scale several times throughout the proceedings, the cumulative impact was high on nostalgia, inducing recollections of late night science fiction theatre on TV. I recommend this box set, but not at this price. All four movies in this package do a good job of illustrating that memorable movies can be made on a shoe string budget. And all four also have some historical significance in the changing way that graphic violence was being portrayed on the theatre screen. Let's hope Criterion continues bringing us rare low budget genre pictures...if only they could improve the pricepoint.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Elevator to the Gallows Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean Wall Directed By: Louis Malle Also With: Jean Thuillier (Producer), Criterion (Producer)
	Cosmic Man Starring: Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Lyn Osborn, Walter Maslow Directed By: Herbert S. Greene
	Brain From Planet Arous Starring: Thomas Browne Henry, Robert Fuller, John Agar, Joyce Meadows Directed By: Nathan Juran
	4D Man Directed By: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
	The Man They Could Not Hang Starring: Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox, Roger Pryor, Don Beddoe Directed By: Nick Grinde Also With: Wallace MacDonald (Producer)