Ray Harryhausen Collection + BD Live (20 Million Miles to Earth, Earth vs. Flying Saucers, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 7th Voyage of Sinbad) [Blu-ray]

Like all the reviewers here, I've been a fan of the fantasy film work of Ray Harryhausen since I was a kid. Fantastic journeys with Sinbad, Jason, and others are among my fondest childhood movie memories. But true science fiction was always my first love. So that's why I'm so excited that, among the many great films Harryhausen worked on, EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS has finally made its way to Blu-ray.While it never makes the Top 10 list of 50's sci-fi flicks, I think it belongs there, alongside the original  The War of the Worlds (Special Collector's Edition) , Forbidden Planet [Blu-ray ], and  This Island Earth . There were other alien invasion films during the decade, but none deliver the goods like Earth vs. The Flying Saucers. And it's not just because of the master animator's incredible effects work. The story, though certainly dated, holds up well for what it is. A jaded viewer will spot the cliches: Studly scientist (Hugh Marlowe) in love with the General's daugher (Joan Taylor), a military that is actually competent and helpful, and so on. But to my mind, these are things to cherish about the film rather than being deficits.To be fair to the whole box set, ALL the movies here are great in their own way. THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is certainly the best of Harryhausen's trilogy of film featuring the adventure-loving sailor. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH features one of his earliest beloved creatures, the Ymir, and uses Italian scenery to great effect (in an interview included on the disc, Harryhausen admits he chiefly accepted the job to get a free trip to Rome!). IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA is probably the least-known film, but holds its own against the onslaught of giant-creature flicks of the time.OK, if you're a fan, you may know all of this already. So what about the Blu-ray discs, you say? I own all the films on DVD (including TWO previous releases of Earth vs. The Flying Saucers...hey, I told you upfront I love that movie!), including the Legend Films colorized versions of Earth and 20 Million Miles. And I can tell you that the improved resolution is noticeable but may NOT be enough for casual fans to upgrade. As someone else noted, these films are pretty old. And there's only so much you can do with them. If by chance you don't have the DVD's, then certainly you should go straight for the Blu-ray's. Note that each film has a wealth of supplemental materials, but these are all holdovers from the most recent DVD releases. So the only real reason to upgrade is if you already know you love these movies, and want to see them in the highest possible resolution.Like I said, I'm a fan. So it was worth it to me. I've been watching these movies for almost 40 years, from staying up to watch "All Nite Movies" on a local channel, to currently enjoying them in true 1080p definition on a 52" HDTV. It's truly a movie-lovers dream come true. Now, we just need the rest of the Harryhausen catalog released.

Columbia Pictures/Sony released this 4-film collection of films that legendary and supremely talented special effects genius Ray Harryhausen worked on, a superb, first-rate HD upgrade from the old DVDs, porting over those various extras(though they are spread out among the films) plus many new ones are included(some even repeated), and each film with audio commentaries with Harryhausen himself, plus special effect artists like Phil Tippet, Dennis Muren and others.The main draw here was that the first three of the films originally made in Black & White are presented in color, a reasonably good process at the time that does bring a different look and perspective to the films that many purists hate, which is understandable, though the B & W versions are still available, and lose nothing in comparison with the "colorized" versions.The films are: "It Came From Beneath The Sea" (1955) Giant octopus awakened by H-bomb tests attacks a submarine and the San Francisco area."Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" (1956) Title says it all, though of course quite fondly remembered."20 Million Miles To Earth" (1957) First spaceship to Venus crashes back to Earth unwittingly unleashing a rapidly growing humanoid-looking lizard that must be stopped, despite not being bad, just lost, and most sympathetic."The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad" (1958) The one true color film in the set details various adventures of Sinbad the sailor(played here by Kerwin Mathews) in a most entertaining manner; the best picture of the 4.A pity that there wasn't a Volume II set with the next four Columbia pictures Harryhausen worked on... :(

The collection includes classic Harryhausen movies that have wonderful stop motion effects and 1950s B-movie sci-fi plots. It's a wonderful series of movies that fans of the genre would appreciate.

If you're a Ray Harryhausen fan you couldn't be more happy to see his films on Blu-ray. This boxed set offers four early movies. Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, It Came From Beneath The Sea, and 20 Million Miles To Earth give you the option of watching the films in black and white or restored color. Although I liked watching the colorized versions I still preferred the original black and white. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is in color only.Picture quality was a major step up from the dvd versions but we're talking about 50 year old movies so don't expect pristine transfers. What really jumps out at you are the remixed high definition soundtracks. They sounded amazing. You really get a feel for the sound when watching the Sinbad movies' beginning credits.Extras are very good with some new documentaries. All in all it's definitely worth it if you're a Harryhausen fan. Even if you're not there's something magical watching the stop motion animation from the master of the science. These movies should start a new generation of fans. I can't wait for the rest of Ray's movies to be released on Blu-ray. Enjoy!

4 classic Harryhausen flicks: 'Earth vs. the Flying Saucers', 'It Came from Beneath the Sea', '7th Voyage of Sinbad' AND '20 Million Miles to Earth' - what?! Sony should have included 'Mysterious Island' - I'm sure fans like myself have already bought '20 Million Miles to Earth' (the inclusion of this still baffles me) I'm still purchasing this box set, but... Sony seems to have slipped a cog here.

少しザラザラしている感じはありますが違和感はありませんでした。

I took advantage of Amazon Canada's one day sale on this. I have been wanting to pick it up but always skipped ordering it because of the price. I am so glade I did. Two of the films I had never seen. Clips in documentaries but never the whole film. These are what would be concidered "B" films but as R.H. Says "In budget only". I have always loved monster movies. I know most are crap but for some reason I am always in the mood for these and this has four of the best. All three of the films shot in black and white can now also be seen colorized. I have never been a fan of colorized films but they do look almost like they were shot in Colour. You do get the option of watching them in the original B&W. The extras never end. Interveiws with Ray Harryhausen himself. Doc's on the film as well as the restoration and colorization processes. You name it it's on here. If you like drive in movie Monster films from the 50's this is for you. If you are a lover of stop motion animation this is a must. Even Tom Hanks is a Ray Harryhausen fan. At an award show when he met him you could see how star struck he was. Then his comment "most people say Citzen Kane is the greatest film of all times. I say Jason and the Argonauts!". That film is not included in this set but the "Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad" is. Which is big budget. The other three films were low budget. Hence the Octopus having on six tentacles to save time and money. Any serouse film fan should definatly check this out.

Ordered this box set and it came from USA within the delivery time set and was in perfect working order great buy for oldie film buffs

It's great to have both colorized and B&W on the same disc. Bluray takes it one step further.

Very pleased with order