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Il Pianeta degli Uomini Spenti
Battle of the Worlds
Italy 1961
produced by Ultra Film, Sicilia Cinematografica
directed by Anthony M. Dawson (= Antonio Margheriti)
starring Claude Rains, Bill Carter, Umberto Orsini, Maya Brent, Jacqueline Derval, Renzo Palmer, Carlo D'Angelo, Carol Danell, Jim Dolen, John Stacy, Joe Pollini, Aldo D'Ambrosio, Massimo Righi, Giuliano Gemma
written by Ennio De Concini (as Vasilij Petrov), music by Mario Migliardi
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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A planet called the Outsider has entered our solar system and is
threatening to crash earth. Only Professor Benson (Claude Rains), an
eccentric and arrogant scientist who hardly ever leaves what he calls his den,
thinks otherwise - and wouldn't you know it, once close enough, the
Outsider doesn't crash Earth but orbits her. Thing is, according to
Benson's calculations, the Outsider was not to orbit earth. So Benson
tries to persuade those in power to blow up the Outsider, but this is
deemed to dangerous for our planet - and we soon regret it when earth spaceships are
attacked by flying saucers and shot out of space one after the other. But
enter crack pilot/scientist Fred Steele (Umberto Orsini), who finds a way
to outmaneuvre one of the saucers and send it crashing onto earth. Once the
saucer is investigated, it turns out to be crew-less and controlled
by a computer. Somehow, Benson gets his hands on the computer and finds
out how it works and how to use it to control (and blow up) the flying saucers. So
the next time an earth battleship goes up into space, it spells doom for
the saucers. With the Outsider defenseless, earth wants to blow it up immediately,
but now Benson himself wants to go to the planet to investigate first. Up on the planet, Benson and crew find a system of caverns that reveal
the secrets of this planet: It was once inhabited by an alien race, that
on the verge of extinction launched it into space to find another home for
themselves. But extinction couldn't be stopped, and now what keeps the
planet going and attacking other planets (like earth) is its central
computer ...
An extended subplot tells about the love story between crack
pilot/scientist Fred Steele and Benson's personal assistant Eve (Maya
Brent).
Of course, from today's point of view, many miniature effects featured
in this film and many futuristic sets might look a tad ridiculous,
on the other hand, if you prefer good old plastic miniatures to
all-too-slick CGI-effects and like these weird, almost psychedelic 1960's
designs like I do, you might like this one. Furthermore the script of the
film is quite ok (considering this is a film about a runaway planet and
UFOs of course) and director Antonio Margheriti (in only his second film)
directs the movie with an emphasis on style and atmosphere, making it
maybe not prime science fiction entertainment, but for what it is a very
watchable, even intelligent movie. And Claude Rains as the grouchy
scientist is really worth watching the movie by itself already.
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