Wednesday 14 February 2018

Film Review: The Beast from 20,000 fathoms

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Release date: 13th June 1953.

Story: A team of research scientists are testing a new atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle. Where the explosion awakens and releases a giant dinosaur named the Rhedosaurus. Where it makes its way towards New York city. Leaving a trail of chaos and devastation in it's wake. Will the scientists and the army be able to stop this creature before it is too late? Watch it and find out.

My thoughts: This was the first film where Ray Harryhausen did the stop motion animation. And the movie was based on the short story The Fog Horn by Ray's friend Ray Bradbury. Which tells the story of a dinosaur being drawn to a lighthouse by a fog horn that it thinks is another dinosaur. But it's then disappointed when it finds out that it was just a lighthouse and destroys it. This scene was incorporated into the movie where the Rhedosaurus encounters a lighthouse on it's way to New York. This is a classic stop motion monster movie that not only lanced Ray Harryhausen's career and was the creator of the genre of giant monster movies on the rampage (after King Kong). But was the inspiration for other giant monster movies like The Giant Behemoth, Gorgo, and of course the king of the monsters himself.... Godzilla.

My score: Five stars.

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