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Official Synopsis:
It Came From Beneath The Sea -
A giant mutated octopus attacks San Francisco. A Pair of scientists and a nuclear sub captain try and stop it before it tears down the Golden Gate Bridge.
Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers -
Dr. Marvin and his wife work for a government task force that sends rockets into space to probe for future space flights. When the rockets mysteriously disappear, they discover the culprits - space creatures bent on destroying Earth.
20 Million Miles To Earth -
An American spaceship crash-lands off the coast of Sicily, freeing a small native Venusian creature called the Ymir. Eventually growing to enormous size, it threatens the city of Rome.
The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad -
Sinbad must rescue a princess who has been miniaturized and held captive by a ruthless magician. When they unexpectedly stop on the island of Colossa on their way to Baghdad, they find themselves battling all types of dangers, such as a man-eating Cyclops, a fire-breathing dragon, and a sword-wielding skeleton.
Our Take:
Ray Harryhausen has been described as an influence on filmmakers and special effects artists for quite some time, but for far too long he’s been seen by the general public as just a guy who made a bunch of B-movies with dated special effects. The truth is that Ray Harryhausen did make B-movies, but they were great B-movies, and he was a pioneer in the realm of special effects. I don’t think we’d have the likes of Stan Winston or Rick Baker nowadays if it hadn’t been for Harryhausen’s efforts in filmmaking.
Luckily, Sony has realized that Harryhausen is someone to pay tribute to, rather than just a schlocky filmmaker from a bygone era. Last year, the studio released a 50th Anniversary two-disc edition of 50 Million Miles From Earth, and then they continued that trend with new deluxe DVD editions of It Came From Beneath The Sea and Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers (and didn’t Harryhausen’s movies have the greatest titles?) Now, with the release of a new deluxe DVD release of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Sony has decided to collect the three previously released titles in The Ray Harryhausen Collection.
And really, what a collection it is. Not only do you get all three films in both their original black and white versions as well as new Harryhausen-supervised colorized versions, but you also get beautiful transfers, excellent soundtracks, and terrific extra features packages. Granted, there are no new extra features that are exclusive to the collection, but when you look at the wealth of material included, it’s hard to complain about the lack of new NEW extra features. The DVD version of this set also comes with a great-looking statue of the creature Ymir, which is a real treat for Harryhausen fans. I just don’t get why Sony didn’t include The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in this collection as well. I know it’s available separately, but the Blu-ray version of this set includes Sinbad, so why not here? It could have still been available separately for those who already own the Harryhausen discs and don’t care about the statue. I just can’t figure it.
As for the 7th Voyage of Sinbad, it’s another terrific two-disc set, featuring both black-and-white and colorized versions of the film. There are tons of extra features, and the movie itself is great fun. The Sinbad movies are amongst Harryhausen’s most renowned films, and it’s easy to see why. Harryhausen seemed to be at his best when he was working in another era, as evidenced here and in films like Jason and the Argonauts.
All of the discs in this set are the special edition DVDs that have been previously released, and each of the three films in this set are packed with amazing extra features.
20 Million Miles To Earth –
* Feature Available In B&W and Color – In a nifty trick, you are able to toggle between the two versions using the ‘angle’ button on your remote.
* Audio Commentary - With Ray Harryhausen, visual effects artists Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, and Arnold Kunert.
* Remembering 20 Million Miles To Earth (27 minutes) – Interviews spanning Harryhausen to Rick Baker, Stan Winston, and Terry Gilliam.
* The Colorization Process (11 minutes) – This technology is so far advanced beyond what you may expect.
* Tim Burton Sits Down With Ray Harryhausen (27 minutes) – A really fun conversation/interview between the two.
* Interview With Joan Taylor (17 minutes).
* David Schecter On Film Music’s Unsung Hero (22 minute) – Schecter discusses the work of Mischa Bakaleinikoff.
* “20 Million Miles More” Comic Book – A digital feature that you can scroll through with the arrows on your remote.
* Galleries (35 minutes) – Including: Ad Art, Production, Portraits and Harryhausen’s artwork.
* Original Ad Artwork (18 minutes).
It Came From Beneath The Sea -
* Ray Harryhausen on It Came From Beneath The Sea.
* Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Visual Effects Specialists.
* A Video Discussion - Of It Came From Beneath the Sea’s 1955 marketing and advertising campaign by producer Arnold Kunert.
* A Present Day Look at Stop Motion.
* David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero.
* Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen – Yep, Tim Burton interviews Ray Harryhausen. How cool is that?
* Still and Production Art Gallery.
* Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book It Came from Beneath the Sea…Again!
Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers –
* Harryhausen on Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.
* Audio Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Other Visual Effects Specialists.
* A Present Day Look at Stop Motion.
* Video Photo Galleries.
* Tim Burton Sits Down with Ray Harryhausen.
* Interview with Joan Taylor – Sweet! Hear from the actress who starred in the film.
* Advertising Artwork Video Montage – Of the film’s ad materials by Producer Arnold Kunert.
* David Schecter on Film Music’s Unsung Hero.
* The Hollywood Blacklist and Bernard Gordon.
* Sneak Peek of Digital Comic Book Flying Saucers vs. the Earth.
The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad -
* Audio Commentary With Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects Expert Phil Tippett And Randall William Cook, Authors Steven Smith, And Arnold Kunert
* Remembering The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad
* The Harryhausen Legacy
* The Music Of Bernard Herrmann
* Photo Gallery
* Sinbad May Have Been Bad, But He's Been Good To Me Music Video
* A Look Behind The Voyage
* Special Effects Featurette
* Ray Harryhausen Interviewed By Director John Landis
As you can see, these are pretty impressive DVDs, and I think they do a great job of presenting classic films on DVD with enough supplemental material to elevate them in public perception above just being B-movies. While Harryhausen made a lot of films and not all of them were gems, the ones compiled in The Ray Harryhausen Collection are great, classic sci-fi films from the early days of the genre, and the special effects work is an important part of cinematic history. Nice job, Sony.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Overall Picture:
Movies: B+
Extras: A+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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