Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4432 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-23
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 79 minutes

Special Features
Full Screen
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital Mono
Theatrical Trailer
Danish\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Norwegian\Spanish\Swedish

Synopsis
In this beloved George Pal-produced sci-fi classic, a dying star hurls through space on a collision course with Earth, with no way to stop it. The hope of the planet's citizens lies in the hands of pilot Dave Randall (Richard Derr) and astronomer Doc Hendron (Larry Keating), who will supervise the construction and flight of an interplanetary craft that will carry a handful of humans to start the race anew on another planet.

Customer Reviews

Classic early Sci-Fi
This 1951 film is a minor classic in the history of science fiction films.
The film has tended to be overlooked as it came out the same year as The Day the Earth stood still (which IS a better film). But if you look back prior to 1951 there is really only Metropolis which stands out.

The title explains everything about the plot. A passing planet is going to pass near the Earth and cause chaos, however it will be closely followed by its star which will destroy the Earth. A team of scientists have to build a Rocket to take a selected few from the Earth so that the human race can survive. This provides a lot of opportunities for various sub-plots about the morality of who should get a place on the Rocket.

Its only real flaw is the science, where the film just doesn't add up! For example when the star is getting very close this doesn't seem to raise the temperature on Earth all.....

The special effects now look incredibly primitive, but for the time they were brilliant. In 1951 at the Cinema, this film, which is in colour must have been absolutely stunning for the audience at that time. You might want to see it first before buying, but for me it is a milestone movie of its day.

collision course earth
I must say, War of the Worlds and this movie have been fantastic. The post war angst of disaster is there, in your face. But the characters are interesting, and I now know where the concept of burning money comes from.
There is a touch of humour, in the midst of disaster which makes the film more of a human epic. The special effects aren't all that bad, remember, man on the moon was in the realm of sci-fi at the time, so whatever they came up with is amazing in its imagination and often so close to the truth. The burning up fuel, nothing left to land with is a reality in our modern space shuttles of today. And yet, they thought of it in great detail in this film. Re-entry into atmosphere, hadn't been addressed or landing gear, but then the landing wouldn't be as dramatic at the end.
Only criticism is right at the end, the canvas painting foreign planet looks like a painting.
If you like classic sci-fi, this one is a gem.

It Could Happen!
Made half a century ago by George Pal who was a pioneer of movie making in what is commonly termed nowadays "Blockbusters", this movie has stood the test of time. Pal of course is renowned for making some fine movies during the 1950s, notably War of the Worlds; The Time Machine; and Destination Moon. Indeed, his contribution led to many blockbusters today such as Independence Day; Deep Impact; and Armageddon. The movie industry owes him a great debt because of what he achieved with limited budgets and technology which existed at the time. Overall, its a fine action movie with some good effects bearing in mind CGI did not exist then. Not surprisingly, When Worlds Collide won an oscar for its effects, the destruction of New York for instance. Ok, some of the background scenes are obvious matte paintings; but dont let that distract you though. Its a human drama as well, when people are confronted with the realisation that the world is about to end. The DVD contains a trailer, and nothing else which is a shame. Still, picture is quite good, but dont expect super duper sound though. A must buy for those who like the old movies. Dont forget the popcorn by the way.