It Came from Outer Space on DVD

If you're interested in seeing the prototypical 1950's sci fi flicks, It Came From Outer Space is a good place to start. It features "stereotypical" fifties action, dialog, effects, and music, though the script is far more intelligent than some - and you can see just how it inspired many of the movies that came later.

Based upon a story by Ray Bradbury, "It" tells the tale of an amateur astronomer who witnesses the crash-landing arrival of a space ship - but can't get anyone to believe him.

Richard Carlson stars as John Putnam, the astronomer, with Barbara Rush playing his fiancée. As with so many fifties-type sci fi/horror flicks, her role is mostly decorative and her dialogue is liberally laced with screams; she seems to holler in horror at the drop of a hat.

But that comment, while true, doesn't do justice to "It Came From Outer Space" (which should really be called "They Came From Outer Space"), which was also one of the first (and best) 3D movies. It's a nifty and intelligent story about aliens whose only reason for being on earth is to repair their space ship so they can take off again and continue their journey. They aren't interested in rape and pillage, though once Putnam finds that out no amount of cajoling on his part can convince the powers that be of the aliens' benign intent.

In the end, it becomes a race against time as the one-eyed aliens and the human bodies they've borrowed rush to complete their repairs before the US military unleashes whatever havoc it can on them.

The script is very good and the dialogue pays a surprising amount of attention to its Bradbury roots; there are some unusually poetic lines uttered by some of the characters, lines that have "Bradbury" written all over them - which is as it should be.

We wish Universal had released this film in its original 3D incarnation when creating the DVD, but we're glad to see it in any form. It's a true classic and, other than the lack of 3D, Universal has done a great job on the disc.

The black and white picture, presented in the 4x3 full frame aspect ratio (which is bound to annoy many 16x9 TV owners, who'll have to stretch or zoom it to fill the screen) is sharp and clean and looks very good.

That advantage of a good, high resolution picture can be a bit of a disadvantage when it shows up some of the cheesier shots as being a tad cheesy, but fortunately most of the film is very well done and so the high resolution works well - as it should! And any cheesiness makes you smile tolerantly as you nod to yourself and think "ah, the fifties. Gotta love 'em.."

Audio is Dolby Digital 3.0 Stereo, and the sound quality is quite good, all things considered. There's some good stereo separation, too - surprisingly enough for what is an old and fairly low budget movie.

Even the extras are great. Universal has included "The Universe According to Universal," which is an original "DVD Exclusive" documentary on It Came From Outer Space, putting it into its historical perspective. The documentary also includes some neat scenes from another Universal classic, "This Island Earth," and provides excellent background on "It," 3D movies in general, and director Jack Arnold's films in particular.

There's also a feature commentary with Film Historian Tom Weaver, and it's pretty interesting stuff, with good background and context.

And that isn't all, though that's the major stuff. You also get a photograph and poster gallery, production notes and cast/crew info and, of course, the trailer.

Again, we'd like to see a 3D version of this historic sci fi flick (perhaps on side 2), but can easily live with the package Universal has delivered with this DVD.

It Came From Outer Space, from Universal Home Video
81 min. 1.33:1 full screen (not 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 3.0 channel stereo
Starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes, Joe Sawyer,
Produced by William Alland,
Written by Harry Essex, from a story by Ray Bradbury, Directed by Jack Arnold.

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