The Thing from Another World

(The Thing from Another World)
A movie directed by Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks
1951 - 87 minutes - Black & White - Mono - 1.37 : 1

4 - 13/20 Steve

April 26, 2005

Undeniably enjoyable, fast-paced, with an unusually naturalistic style in the way the characters deliver their lines. That said, it's not particularly scary -- more action-adventure than scientific mystery, shock, or horror. The interwoven romantic banter between the male and female leads is irrelevant but not overplayed. The fanatic scientist is a cliche, but at least the other scientists involved are more human.
Inevitably, comparisons will be made with the 1980's remake by John Carpenter, which is much closer to John Campbell's novella, "Who Goes There?" This 1950s version has nothing to do with the original story other than the premise -- a flying saucer is found buried in the ice, and its non-human pilot or passenger, mistakenly assumed to be dead, thaws out and comes to deadly life. I enjoyed this early version more than Carpenter's rather gory remake; it's just a lot more fun. And the best way to experience the original is not by seeing Carpenter's film but by reading Campbell's story, which is an authemtic SF classic.

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3 - 10/20 RONNIE

April 16, 2005

I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE WHICH WAS RE RELEASED WITH THE MOVIE ''MIGHTY JOE YOUNG''. YOU SAW TWO MOVIES BACK THEN. THIS WAS A MOVIE THAT I WATCH ON TAPE ENEN TODAY AT 59 YRS OF AGE, AND NEVER TIRE OF IT. IT HAD GREAT DIALOGUE TO BOOT. WHEN ''THE THING''(JAMES ARNESS) SWUNG HIS ARMS THROUGH THE DOOR WAY I JUMPED OUT OF MY SEAT AND WAS SCARED FOR WEEKS TO COME. THIS WAS JUST AS MUCH A HORROR MOVIE AS A SCI-FI MLOVIE, IT SIMPLY WAS ''GREAT''!

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2 - 10/20 Mike

October 03, 2001

I give this movie a ten. The movie scenes realistic. There were no corny special affects and by not showing the alien monster too many times it kept you uneasy as to when it would popped up and attack. the actors were great in keeping up the dialog and the pace. there were no phoney cliches. And the banter between the air force pilots/crews seemed like the normal thing that went on with military personnel. The aurguments between the scientists about defrosting the body was especialy realistic with points and counter points. The one scene I was amazed they kept in was the scene with Kenith Toby and his girl friend (?) having drinks with her tying him up! That was racey for that era and I am suprised the censors left it alone! The UFO crash site scene seemed real. Too bad this movie wasnt filmed in color but the black and white gave it that sinister feel. I think it was better than John Carpenters version (had too many special affects). This movie was great!.

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1 - 19/20 J. Gilliam

April 06, 2001

CLASSIC SCI-FI!!!I saw this movie when I was still in single digits and thought it was okay.I think this had a lot to do with seeing J. Carpenter's version(GREAT MOVIE)around the same time. Having watched this movie several times since then I've come to realize how great a movie it really is. The story about an artic outpost with scientists and millitary personnel discovering a "thing from another world" in the snow delivers classic sci-fi chills. While the costume of James Arnez(THE THING) doesn't stand up to many of the visions today,the direction, quick dialogue and good story more than make up for it.If you were to poll today's scince fiction writers and movie makers , many would tell you this is the best sci-fi movie ever.I am currently searching for this movie on dvd and would recommend this movie to anyone.

The Thing from Another World

4 - 13/20 Steve

3 - 10/20 RONNIE

2 - 10/20 Mike

1 - 19/20 J. Gilliam

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