THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS - The Movie That Inspired GODZILLA

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  • Опубликовано: 4 май 2023
  • It's Ray Harryhausen time with the ultra influential 1953 monster movie "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms", which helped inspire "Godzilla"!
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Комментарии • 1,1 тыс.

  • @TheBrandonTenold
    @TheBrandonTenold  Год назад +995

    Anyone else think there should've been a "Godzilla vs. Rhedosaurus" movie?

  • @huntercoleman460
    @huntercoleman460 Год назад +297

    Fun fact: Eugene Lourie’s daughter cried over the Rhedosaurus dying, he promised her that he’d make a movie where the monster would live at the end. That movie was Gorgo.

    • @canonbehenna612
      @canonbehenna612 Год назад +6

      Ouch long ago that would be good but now that’s not right

    • @huntercoleman460
      @huntercoleman460 Год назад +42

      @@canonbehenna612 what’s wrong with keeping a promise to your daughter?

    • @canonbehenna612
      @canonbehenna612 Год назад +9

      @@huntercoleman460 because the kajiu must die if it lives then it’s an unhappy ending

    • @huntercoleman460
      @huntercoleman460 Год назад +56

      @@canonbehenna612 Gorgo does have a happy ending. The mother and baby are reunited and return to the sea.

    • @frankgesuele6298
      @frankgesuele6298 Год назад +28

      "Daddy, I want a Rhedosaurus!"

  • @anthonyhudak9363
    @anthonyhudak9363 Год назад +136

    I find it funny that Clint Eastwood killed a giant spider in Tarantula and Lee Van Cleef killed a giant lizard in this movie

    • @georgemetcalf8763
      @georgemetcalf8763 Год назад +30

      It's a damn pity they didn't try to make a comedy with them as giant monster killers.

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Год назад +13

      Damn someone needs to make this movie set now.

    • @grapeshot
      @grapeshot Год назад +15

      Now we need Tuco Ramirez to defeat a Kaiju monster.

    • @glenchapman3899
      @glenchapman3899 Год назад +8

      And it is both actors very first part as well.

    • @ConstantineFurman
      @ConstantineFurman Год назад +14

      @@glenchapman3899 Whilst Eastwood's first movie was "Tarantula," Lee Van Cleef's first movie was "High Noon" in 1951. "Beast" was his seventh appearance onscreen.

  • @Magicghost23
    @Magicghost23 Год назад +217

    It’s funny to think Godzilla 1998 was pretty much a remake of this film Right down to the monster attacking New York.

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Год назад +15

      My thoughts as well.

    • @AgentofLADON
      @AgentofLADON Год назад +45

      They probably would have gotten a better reception if they just switched the names.

    • @saidi7975
      @saidi7975 Год назад +6

      Part of why I dig it ! XD

    • @glenchapman3899
      @glenchapman3899 Год назад +28

      @@AgentofLADON Yeah a a monster movie it was pretty good. As a Godzilla film it was appalling lol As soon as I saw the skinny ankles in the trailer I knew we were in very deep trouble

    • @canonbehenna612
      @canonbehenna612 Год назад +10

      Think the 1994 script would do more justice to the kajiu but it still better then evangelion,attack on titans and blood c

  • @wstine79
    @wstine79 Год назад +424

    The beast from 20,000 fathoms is my favorite 1950s non-Godzilla monster movie. I always love how the stop-motion movements look jerky yet fluid.

    • @Emmanuel-ms8pr
      @Emmanuel-ms8pr Год назад +22

      Same for me
      Stop motion will always be superior!!!!!

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Год назад +6

      Gremlins 2.

    • @huntercoleman460
      @huntercoleman460 Год назад +4

      Even more than Gojira?

    • @wstine79
      @wstine79 Год назад +2

      @Hunter Coleman OK. My favorite Stop Motion Monster movie

    • @stephenpmurphy591
      @stephenpmurphy591 Год назад +5

      Yep, mine too! My brother & I loved watching it on creature features.

  • @staghornroachanov2030
    @staghornroachanov2030 Год назад +60

    It's times like this when you can sit back and appreciate how the 1998 Godzilla film, while not great as a Godzilla movie, is fairly decent as a Beast from 20,000 Fathoms remake
    -We start with a nuclear explosion in a remote region
    -First person to see the monster is considered crazy
    -It sinks a few ships before making landfall
    -First attack is at a Manhattan dock (the exact same one both times)
    -Monster rams itself through a building during the first rampage and leaves a hole in it
    -The creature is big, but not gargantuan levels so it dwarfs most buildings
    -Rather than a force of nature or angry god, the monster acts more like an aggressive animal
    -There’s a confrontation with the military down a dark main street at night
    -A blood test is done on the creature’s samples after the battle and discovers a plot point
    -The monster can be killed, or at the very least seriously hurt, with conventional weapons, not some fantastical super weapon, it just takes awhile to land any good hits
    -Monster finally killed once it becomes tangled up in a New York landmark and fired upon

    • @DDlambchop43
      @DDlambchop43 5 месяцев назад +2

      I couldn't agree more! It also has more than a few resemblances to Giant Behemoth. If the '98 godzi had just been hyped as a remake of Beast, it might not have been dumped on so much.

    • @varanid9
      @varanid9 Месяц назад

      Huh, maybe they should have used a different design and market it as a remake of Beast.

  • @leeboy26
    @leeboy26 Год назад +47

    10:02 -That Rhedosaurus was smart when taking into account 100 million years of continental drift!

  • @OniTreefolk
    @OniTreefolk Год назад +152

    I like that you're covering movies that aren't JUST terrible. I like seeing these old movie reviews that point out the goofy tropes of the times.
    Thanks for the hard work 😊

    • @Lukiel666
      @Lukiel666 Год назад +16

      If you like good but old movies similar to this I highly suggest "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" also a Harryhausen movie. I have watched it many times.

    • @TheSeatisEmpty
      @TheSeatisEmpty 2 месяца назад +1

      @@Lukiel666Ten months later and he’s done a video on it
      I choose to give you credit for that.

  • @Scifogon
    @Scifogon Год назад +197

    This is the one movie that got me into my crazy obsession with stop-motion and monsters in general. Basically, the movie that made my whole future.

  • @shainewhite2781
    @shainewhite2781 Год назад +54

    6:47, these are Charles Knight painings, and he's a world renowned paleo artist whose paintings have been a major influence for film and television for 60 years. Even though his paintings are inaccurate, they are very nostalgic and gives us a glimpse of what dinosaurs really looked like.

  • @chaoticiannunez2419
    @chaoticiannunez2419 Год назад +29

    Actually, the Beast was meant to shoot fire from his nostrils like a dragon, but they abandoned this due to budget restrictions. So, yeah. Rhed really was the OG Godzilla.

  • @DungeonBro-wl4ps
    @DungeonBro-wl4ps Год назад +39

    Never thought the Beast looked bad myself, was always a fan of this monster! ❤️

  • @Predator20357
    @Predator20357 Год назад +39

    I unironically dig the monsters design and how it doesn’t need to be overly fancy to be threatening. I even love it’s rather animal like tendencies like batting a car with its hand.

  • @frenstcht
    @frenstcht Год назад +102

    The stop motion _does_ look really good by any standard, IMO.

    • @demonkingbadger6689
      @demonkingbadger6689 Год назад +5

      I prefer it to modern CGI, but i cant say 100 percent that isnt my nostalgia showing through.

    • @adambomb51
      @adambomb51 Год назад +3

      I AGREE!!!

    • @originaluddite
      @originaluddite Год назад +7

      It holds up well, even next to Harryhausen's later stuff. Maybe the moody black-and-white helps hide any imperfections.

    • @stillcantbesilencedevennow
      @stillcantbesilencedevennow Год назад +4

      ​@@demonkingbadger6689 tbf, I love even modern works of stop motion. Stuff is just a good watch when you realize how much love and effort goes into it.

    • @thepubknight6144
      @thepubknight6144 11 месяцев назад +4

      The details to the monster like it's muscles, scales and even bones is amazing and it moves very realistic
      It definitely holds up still

  • @KillFriskey
    @KillFriskey Год назад +68

    That tease at the end.
    Brandon, you god damn mad man.

  • @tannerprice2018
    @tannerprice2018 Год назад +17

    That “Size Does Matter” line at the end…
    I know exactly which Godzilla movie he’s looking at next.

  • @Dark.Shingo
    @Dark.Shingo Год назад +67

    Brandon is this comfy channel where you come to hang out and have a good time without pretentions or anything too elaborated. You come here and enjoy your time with some amazing movies and reviews. Kudos.

  • @Hulkzilla0
    @Hulkzilla0 Год назад +79

    That tease at the end, with the sloagn pun and that very specific roar sent chills down my spine! Looking forward to the 300th episode! And this was a very good way to cap off the 299th landmark! A classic never to be forgotten!

    • @nickbutcher760
      @nickbutcher760 Год назад +7

      That was pretty awesome

    • @steve4nj
      @steve4nj Год назад +2

      @@nickbutcher760 I wonder what Godzilla film Brandon will do....I would LOVE to see him tackle Shin Gojira.

  • @richardfabacher3705
    @richardfabacher3705 Год назад +62

    I first saw this movie in the theater 70 years ago and it thrilled my 8-yr-old self. (I was lucky; my mom was a bigger creature-movie fan than anybody I knew.) Svengoolie explained some of the special effects and camera-perspective tricks Harryhausen used. I still watch it every chance I get.

    • @DinoRicky
      @DinoRicky 9 месяцев назад +1

      Your 78
      Cool

    • @DinoRicky
      @DinoRicky 9 месяцев назад

      Also your cats cute

    • @richardfabacher3705
      @richardfabacher3705 9 месяцев назад +4

      @@DinoRicky Yeah, I used to love dinosaur movies and now I am a dinosaur.

    • @richardfabacher3705
      @richardfabacher3705 9 месяцев назад +1

      @@DinoRicky Thank you. I appreciate that. Sadly she passed away this February at age 14.

    • @finleydoyle4913
      @finleydoyle4913 4 месяца назад

      ​@@richardfabacher3705 May she rest in peace.

  • @grapeshot
    @grapeshot Год назад +14

    Yep and we saw something similar in Gamera the Invincible. You know the Kaiju being thawed out by the Atomic blast thing.

    • @andrewparsons2391
      @andrewparsons2391 Год назад +5

      I think Gamera also wrecks a lighthouse in his debut film doesn't he?

    • @grapeshot
      @grapeshot Год назад +1

      @@andrewparsons2391 yes he does. That's where he picked up Kenny.

  • @richardhart9204
    @richardhart9204 Год назад +22

    ... one of my late mother's favourite films.

  • @ingloriouscanadian9323
    @ingloriouscanadian9323 Год назад +57

    This was the first Harryhausen movie I ever saw, and it's still my favorite

  • @jwhaler82
    @jwhaler82 Год назад +9

    😄 You’re right. Something about Tom’s voice reminded me of The Room.

  • @shainewhite2781
    @shainewhite2781 Год назад +48

    LOVE THIS MOVIE!!
    The stop motion animation effects are awesome! This was Ray Harryhausen's first Dinosaur movie.

  • @RONBONIX
    @RONBONIX Год назад +36

    Hey Brandon, NOW we're talking!!! This movie after 69 years is still one of the very BEST Giant Monster movies ever made! It amazed me as a young lad and is still amazes me at 65 years old. Thank you for reviewing this movie. :) Just to let you know, I appreciate what you do. Keep up the GREAT work. Thumbs up from Okinawa. :)

    • @Zurround
      @Zurround Год назад +2

      I am kind of amazed that it was possible to film a movie back before there was such a thing as TECHNOLOGY.

  • @gio78954
    @gio78954 Год назад +11

    That cliffhanger at the end brought a huge smile to my face Im so excited for next time

  • @Giran_0
    @Giran_0 Год назад +11

    Seeing how Roland Emmerich said he hated Godzilla movies and was confused on why they picked him for the '98 version, i wonder if Zilla was more inspired by the Rhedosaurus 🤔

  • @brantfrans8595
    @brantfrans8595 Год назад +28

    Imagine if they remake this? It would be incredible. I just love this classic monster movie.

    • @brandonlyon730
      @brandonlyon730 Год назад +17

      The 1998 Godzilla movie is more like a remake of this movie then it has anything to do with Godzilla itself.

  • @ScreamingScallop
    @ScreamingScallop Год назад +11

    When you cover _Godzilla_ '98, I hope you'll catalog all the elements _it_ cribbed from _Beast from 20,000 Fathoms._ Aside from some swap-outs (Hank Azaria looking down at his camera for the cop looking down at his gun, the Brooklyn Bridge in place of the Coney Island rollercoaster, hatchlings instead of prehistoric germs, and so on) it's practically a remake.

  • @superplushtiman7ti075
    @superplushtiman7ti075 Год назад +12

    Now I'm imagining a video on Behemoth The Sea Monster
    A British movie from 1959 similar to this directed by Eugène Lourié and Douglas Hickox with special effects by Willis O’Brien, Pete Peterson, Irving Block, Jack Rabin and Louis de Witt that was originally going to have a blob-like monster, but was replaced for a similar monster to this, with the main hero being an American marine biologist named Steve Karnes(played by Gene Evans), another main is Professor James Bickford from the Atomic Energy Authority(played by André Morell)

  • @joevaughn9241
    @joevaughn9241 Год назад +10

    I saw this on TV as a little kid and fell in love with it. It was on the Saturday night horror show on local TV. 😀👍

  • @georgemetcalf8763
    @georgemetcalf8763 Год назад +14

    Lee Van Cleef versus a dinosaur. Do you need a better selling point?

  • @chancegivens9390
    @chancegivens9390 Год назад +10

    I'd love to see King Kong throw down with Rhedosaurus!

  • @micshork
    @micshork Год назад +20

    I hope you also do a review of “The Giant Behemoth” from 1959. It was Willis O’Brien’s take on the same Ray Bradbury story.

  • @enocescalona
    @enocescalona Год назад +22

    very grateful that you reviewed this one. i really love how influential the Redosaurus was.

    • @originaluddite
      @originaluddite Год назад +3

      The Redosaurus is fictitious but I feel like it fills a niche that _should_ have been filled by a dinosaur - a more chunky quadruped that is also carnivorous.

  • @shallendor
    @shallendor Год назад +14

    Ray Harryhausen has always been in a class of his own!

  • @darrenheideman2546
    @darrenheideman2546 Год назад +10

    My introduction to this movie was actually "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

  • @TheXell
    @TheXell Год назад +20

    Damn. The later parts almost remind me of Godzilla 1998.

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Год назад +2

      That's a lot of fish."

    • @TheXell
      @TheXell Год назад +2

      @@anubusx
      It sure is, buddy.

  • @kaiju115
    @kaiju115 Год назад +7

    Ah The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms one of my Top 5 Favorite Harryhausen movies.

  • @MorlokKurak
    @MorlokKurak Год назад +13

    Speaking of Ray, this movie is based loosely on Ray Bradbury's short story The Fog Horn.
    I have it, along with 11 other stories that were made into movies, like Ellison's A Boy And His Dog, The Racer (death race 2000), etc.
    The book is called "They Came From Outer Space."
    I highly recommend it, even though no one reads books anymore. 📚📚

    • @jeremyfrost2636
      @jeremyfrost2636 11 месяцев назад +1

      I read books. If you like grindhouse type stuff, check out some of Ari Marmell's recent work... The Goblin Corps is inspired by an all-villain D&D campaign and has some epic profanity and pretty gnarly violence. The Iron Devils is vampires vs. robots in a dystopian future. Despite the high cheese factor both are well written.

    • @mousetreehouse6833
      @mousetreehouse6833 10 месяцев назад +2

      You need to check out "Who Goes There?," a short story which all 3 versions of "The Thing" were based on.

  • @darthlord1997
    @darthlord1997 Год назад +17

    Since no one else seems to mention it, I'd love to see Brandon cover *Matinee* (1993). Directed by Joe Dante (the guy who made Gremlins)
    It's a fantastic love letter to the atomic age monster movies, and the theater going experience

  • @grapeshot
    @grapeshot Год назад +9

    Yep and he will be doing that Thorazine shuffle.

  • @rapatacush3
    @rapatacush3 Год назад +8

    Finally. A movie i've heard about

  • @otaking3582
    @otaking3582 Год назад +4

    14:02 "I think it was nice of you to give that dead officer another chance!"

  • @okami6399
    @okami6399 Год назад +15

    I think my favorite part of the effects here is just how animated and alive the beast is. Its tail constantly flicking back and forth, even while mostly still and its head tilting at times to look at things is really catlike to me. I could see Harryhausen watching a cat having zoomies or playing with something and taking some of that as inspiration for how the Radosaur moves and acts. I haven’t seen much of his works (something I plan to rectify in the near future) but I think this is the norm with him. Everything does seem alive with all the small movement details.

  • @sfighter0085
    @sfighter0085 Год назад +11

    I caught this movie a couple of times on "Svengoolie". Fascinating piece of 1950's Monster movies, especially since this movie was the inspiration of one of the biggest Kaiju movie franchises in history, as well as others.
    Seeing the next episode will be your 300th, I say we're probably gonna need a lot of fish. ;)

  • @Godzillakingofkaiju1
    @Godzillakingofkaiju1 Год назад +13

    Technically it was The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, then King Kong, then The Foghorn, then this movie, THEN Godzilla.

    • @theangryholmesian4556
      @theangryholmesian4556 Год назад +2

      If I had a nickel for every modern franchise/character inspired by ACD I'd be a billionaire.

  • @tardis1980
    @tardis1980 Год назад +11

    This video proves that in this day and age Canadians use their famous accent for tourists!🙂

  • @gerardorodriguez7500
    @gerardorodriguez7500 Год назад +13

    This movie is what inspired Japan to create Godzilla

  • @johnw8578
    @johnw8578 Год назад +7

    I first saw this movie on The Sir Graves Ghastly Show in the early 80s. I loved it as a kid but I haven't seen it in a long time -- I sort of feel bad for kids growing up today who will never know the excitement that these movies brought.

  • @DanBrizuela
    @DanBrizuela Год назад +10

    70 years and it’s aged beautifully. I just had a thought, wonder if Spielberg ever thought of making the shark in jaws stop motion due to all the trouble he had with it, and maybe asking Ray for help

  • @mikekomarinski
    @mikekomarinski Год назад +13

    I hope U also do The Giant Behemoth, which is a British knock off of Beast & has stop motion by Willis O'Brien.

  • @wimvanderstraeten6521
    @wimvanderstraeten6521 Год назад +9

    Harryhausen also created the effects for the 1955 monster movie It Came From Beneath the Sea.

    • @glenchapman3899
      @glenchapman3899 Год назад +1

      The first time someone beat on the Golden Gate bridge. That started a trend lol

    • @dngillikin
      @dngillikin Год назад +1

      And "It Came From Beneath the Sea" also stars Kenneth Tobey. The man just couldn't keep away from monsters in the fifties.

  • @rwd76
    @rwd76 Год назад +27

    A true classic from my childhood. Look out Mr Policeman!

    • @gabrielalmond3363
      @gabrielalmond3363 Год назад +1

      You realize that is what he is doing next right?

    • @anubusx
      @anubusx Год назад

      Maybe the goverment were cloning people in this film.

  • @rhedosaurus2251
    @rhedosaurus2251 Год назад +29

    This is one of my all time favorite movies. It really is nice to see that this movie is getting reviewed. This movie is far better then most other movies of its time.

  • @machotron5429
    @machotron5429 Год назад +5

    Been a fan of Harryhausen since seeing the Sinbad movies as a kid in the 80s. I recall picking up a book at the local library about special effects and that was the first time I learned who animated those cool skeletons and monsters.

  • @madahad9
    @madahad9 Год назад +20

    My favourite Ray Harryhausen creature was the Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth. I think his effects work better in black and white better than colour and the stop motion and live action characters blend much better. In colour they are seldom lit correctly and the effect looks awkward. With the Ymir he creates a being that you have genuine sympathy for. The fight between it and the elephant is still amazing. Hopefully you'll review this at some future date. As a kid I eagerly awaited any Harryhausen film to air on tv. In the days before DVD 's and streaming services we just had to wait, but it made those viewings all the more special. 😊😊😊😊😊😊

    • @YamiFudo
      @YamiFudo Год назад +1

      Agreed Yimir was something special, I loved that movie, first I remember feeling for the monster.

    • @glenchapman3899
      @glenchapman3899 Год назад +1

      @@YamiFudo Also had a really intelligent plot as well. Did not treat the audience like idiots. As for Harryhausen I can not get past Jason And The Argonauts as my personal fave

  • @NathanTarantlawriter
    @NathanTarantlawriter Год назад +23

    I have always loved the head chomp scene. When that movie made the rounds on late night creature features they usually cut the scene, it seemed, when I was a kid. I never knew it existed until I saw a streaming version. I totally agree with you on the quality of this creation. It makes what is really a lackluster movie in all other respects rewatchable. It makes me forgive the cheese and the lame science, etc. Absolutely awesome.

  • @umbrellacorp.
    @umbrellacorp. Год назад +6

    Godzilla's father.🐲
    13:42 Natural selection.👏😂

  • @RickDaSquirrel
    @RickDaSquirrel Год назад +7

    I look forward to when you cover the original Mighty Joe Young. Kong pseudo cousin

  • @jooei2810
    @jooei2810 Год назад +12

    You do love the stop-motion animation effects and so do I

  • @jasonswearingin1009
    @jasonswearingin1009 8 месяцев назад +3

    Saw this movie as a kid in the 80's and still love it. One of the best giant monster movies ever made.

  • @smithwesson1896
    @smithwesson1896 Год назад +6

    2:10 Great, now you woke up the Legendary Godzilla with your stock footage! Warner Bros *did* distribute both movies.

  • @5nokli
    @5nokli Год назад +11

    Wooo!! I watched this movie way back in 2000! Classic!

  • @JohnDoe-wq5eu
    @JohnDoe-wq5eu Год назад +7

    This is one of those movies you definitely appreciate the craftsmanship of the product a little more than the product itself.
    These effects were groundbreaking for the time and are, indeed, the reason we got things like Godzilla. It’s a decent movie but the influence is what is so important here.

  • @enscroggs
    @enscroggs Год назад +8

    Eugène Lourié made the same movie three times in eight years, which has to be a record for a non-Japanese director. Brandon mentions "Gorgo", but in between there was "The Giant Behemoth" (1959) which was a straight-up re-make of "The Beast", including a few near-identical shots. The kaiju in Lourié's 1959 movies is a giant carnivorous brachiosaur that kills by roasting people with its radioactive breath, but that's about the extent of the differences.

    • @DDlambchop43
      @DDlambchop43 Год назад +1

      I KNEW IT!! I knew the resemblance wasn't a coincidence.

    • @enscroggs
      @enscroggs 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@DDlambchop43 There are parallel sequences throughout. And though TGB is an inferior film and completely derivative, I've enjoyed it, but mostly for the acting, particularly that of Gene Evans, who usually got cast as a "heavy", and mostly in westerns. I think he could have done a fine job as a hard-boiled film noir detective. Too bad he had no other leading role.
      Apparently, Lourié had even less money to spend making TGB than TBF20KF, and what he had he spent on the cast, which is a good policy in general, but in a kaiju, the monster is the lead and needs screentime. However, the Paleosaurus, designed and animated by Willis O'Brien (King Kong), is seen for less than two minutes out of 71 minutes of total running time, and much of that is repetitive. Lourié tried to make up for the lack of a visible monster with reaction shots of its victims getting fried by its radioactivity. Nope, doesn't work. Lourié knew how to build this sort of story, and did it brilliantly in TBF20KF, giving Ray Harryhausen free rein to create a memorable and iconic work of animation exceeded only by the original and magnificent King Kong, but budgets and bean counters rule in the end, so he flubbed the remake
      Gorgo is pretty sad by comparison. Lourié's producers, the King Brothers, (King Bros. also produced the English-language version of Rodan) spent too much on Technicolor (which nevertheless looks grainy, washed-out, and altogether lousy) and stupid publicity stunts like parading a life-sized mannequin of Gorgo Jr. around Picadilly Circus, leaving very little for the kaiju, not to mention the sleepy, uninspired acting, and the incomprehensible script.
      So why did TBF20KF work so well and the remakes mostly failed? I think it boils down to three points. First and most importantly, Ray Harryhausen was given the time and the money and the creative freedom to make the Rhedosaurus a character rather than a prop. The lighthouse sequence is probably the best piece of animation ever filmed. You don't get that sort of work with cramped schedules and penny-pinching budgets. The Rhedosaurus is so well established as a character that its death agony on the Coney Island beach is tragic and heart-wrenching. Secondly, the script introduced a palpable element of menace into the story. Japanese Kaiju films try to do this with impossible creatures as destructive to Tokyo as a B-29 fire raid or an A-bomb, but "The Beast" did it with the completely non-improbable threat of a devastating pandemic. The Rhedosaurus itself could kill people by stomping some and eating others, but not millions and it could wreck stuff, but not the entire city of New York. However, the pathogen in its blood... the horror story of plagues is real history. Finally, there's the boundlessly charming Cecil Kellaway, casting him as the kindly Professor Elson was a masterstroke.

  • @agnethaladuff8559
    @agnethaladuff8559 Год назад +9

    Wow, great review of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the 300th episode sounds like it is going to be so totally awesome !

  • @travisrygg3317
    @travisrygg3317 Год назад +8

    I have the DVD itself along with a few other Harryhausen classics. Yet, I wonder why The Beast is a solo movie and not in a collection with others of Ray's work. It is featured with other sci - fi classics such as Them, Forbidden Planet, Thing from Another World, Time Machine, World Without End, and . . .Satellite in the Sky[?].

  • @nine_tails137
    @nine_tails137 Год назад +8

    Thanks for covering this inspirational movie Brandon.
    Hopefully you'll do the Deadly Mantis at some point?

  • @JasonTate08
    @JasonTate08 Год назад +31

    Speaking of this movie inspirering the 1954's Godzilla movie I bet, the makers of the 1998's Godzilla were also inspired by this movie. Think about it, some plot-points of "The Beast From 20.000 Fathoms" reappear in the 98's Godzilla movie aswell. The attomic bomb-testing that started the movie, the hiding of the creature, the fact, it attacks New York and that it is vulnerable to conventional weapons also happens in the 98's Godzilla.

    • @thing1thing2themediamaniac43
      @thing1thing2themediamaniac43 Год назад +4

      It's a shame that people hate The 1998 GODZILLA because that's the movie that first introduced me to GODZILLA back in 1998 when I was 11 years old I'm 35 now. Also Matthew Broadrick and Jean Reno are awesome in that movie

    • @romangunter621
      @romangunter621 Год назад +4

      @@thing1thing2themediamaniac43 the reason it's hated is because it was marketed as a Godzilla movie when the "Godzilla" in the movie has almost nothing in common with the actual Godzilla. Despite that Godzilla 98 is an entertaining monster movie but a bad Godzilla movie if that makes sense.

    • @thing1thing2themediamaniac43
      @thing1thing2themediamaniac43 Год назад +1

      @@romangunter621 I don't think it's a bad GODZILLA movie

    • @romangunter621
      @romangunter621 Год назад +4

      @@thing1thing2themediamaniac43 I did say it was an entertaining monster movie even though the "Godzilla" in the film doesn't act like a traditional Godzilla, doesn't have the iconic atomic breath, runs away from the army and fights back I think once, and is killed by conventionel weapons where as OG Godzilla is indestructible.

    • @thing1thing2themediamaniac43
      @thing1thing2themediamaniac43 Год назад +1

      @@romangunter621 MY ALL TIME FAVORITE GODZILLA IS SHIN GODZILLA

  • @jacobwilliams1223
    @jacobwilliams1223 Год назад +5

    One of the most influential monster movies ever made. Glad to see you tackle a review on it.

  • @asalways1504
    @asalways1504 Год назад +3

    Oh yes, the precursor to Godzilla. I remember watching this on a Saturday afternoon, and I unironically, really enjoyed it.

  • @seancarter7742
    @seancarter7742 Год назад +6

    Counterpoint: If it wasn't for this movie, we wouldn't have Manilla

  • @grapeshot
    @grapeshot Год назад +21

    Yep Godzilla design was based impart on this Kaiju. And ever since I was a little kid I always busted out laughing whenever I seen that cop getting eaten after he fires his service revolver at an extremely large creature he's never seen before thanking his small caliber bullets were going to actually do any damage.

    • @420JackG
      @420JackG Год назад +2

      There was a time when being a cop sorta meant being brave and putting yourself between danger and everyone else... I mean, sure, that was probably just some romantic notion or whatever, but it had some resonance with beat cops. I remember watching some news magazine in the early 90s with my mom, and there was a story about a cop in California or Florida or something who killed a rampaging circus elephant with a 9mm Glock pistol. He said he was hoping to draw the animal away from the crowd and that he never imagined he'd be able to drop the animal... that's pretty damn brave by just about any measure. Also, wild to think that the circus just used to have elephants that they would drive around the country.

    • @grapeshot
      @grapeshot Год назад +2

      @@420JackG Even if I was a beat cop I'm going to assume my service revolver cannot do any damage to a kaiju.

    • @420JackG
      @420JackG Год назад +1

      @@grapeshot maybe he had one of those (at that time) newfangled .357 mags that were advertised to police departments as "the most powerful handgun ever fielded, capable of taking any large game in North America and compact enough to fit in her purse"... maybe he bought the hype 😆

  • @justzillathekingofgames6867
    @justzillathekingofgames6867 Год назад +6

    I got the Blu ray dvd of this about 2 years ago and I loved watching it. It was on my watchlist for a good while. Great work always my dude.

  • @bensneb360
    @bensneb360 Год назад +11

    12:22 that guy seems unrealistically calm in that situation, he’s like “well golly g, it appears I am in the mouth of a prehistoric creature from millions of years ago… my horoscope, did say I would get a visit from the past, ain’t that peculiar” lol

    • @leeboy26
      @leeboy26 Год назад +4

      "I fell 8000 feet to my death. Of course, folks were tougher in those days. I was jitterbuggin' that very night!" -Grandpa Simpson

  • @kevinobill4818
    @kevinobill4818 Год назад +6

    This is a very great idea for a Harryhausen video review. I love to see more.

  • @adambomb51
    @adambomb51 Год назад +6

    I absolutely love this film! I remember recording it on my VCR!! I prefer the black and white original version! I thought the ending was magnificent! Just an all around classic. I did not like the sequel ‘the giant behemoth’ though, I thought I was going to love that one but it just bored me

  • @UltimaHeartless
    @UltimaHeartless Год назад +3

    Snapped me back to reality with that "Canadian fishermen" bit. I'd say your impression was spot on, but I'd hope so from a fellow Canadian.

  • @OniTreefolk
    @OniTreefolk Год назад +12

    Glad to see you cover this movie. I swear, this gets recommended to me monthly even though I've seen it three times 😅

  • @Magicghost23
    @Magicghost23 Год назад +6

    Godzilla before Godzilla

  • @Ironman-jd3do
    @Ironman-jd3do Год назад +26

    Brandon long time fan of your channel. Keep up the good work buddy. You inspired me to watch all these movie you review on here.

  • @adamofgrayskull7735
    @adamofgrayskull7735 Год назад +6

    Ohh hell yeah.🤘😆🤘

  • @Emmanuel-ms8pr
    @Emmanuel-ms8pr Год назад +30

    I seriously hope that Warner bros won’t block this video because if they did im gonna be pissed as fuck
    btw noice review on this movie Brandon keep it up and this movie is probably my favorite monster movie and Ray harryhausen probably did a lot of effort on the effects for this movie and i appreciate it
    Stop motion will always be superior!!!!!!

    • @odstarmor557
      @odstarmor557 Год назад +1

      You'd be rightfully pissed because this movie is public domain.

    • @Emmanuel-ms8pr
      @Emmanuel-ms8pr Год назад

      @@odstarmor557 if this movie is in the public domain then how in the hell there isn’t a full movie version of this film on RUclips

    • @odstarmor557
      @odstarmor557 Год назад +1

      @@Emmanuel-ms8pr nevermind, apparently they renewed the copyright, which is bullshit.

    • @Emmanuel-ms8pr
      @Emmanuel-ms8pr Год назад

      @@odstarmor557goddamn it
      I was about to plan to make a tribute for this movie and yeah it’s fucking bullshit that the copyright got renewed for this film >:(

  • @r.e.seymoursr.1214
    @r.e.seymoursr.1214 Год назад +19

    Hey Brandon, great work! Did you notice that the radio man was James Best, or better known as Roscoe P. Coletrain !! That's awesome! He is an underrated legend.

    • @demonkingbadger6689
      @demonkingbadger6689 Год назад +1

      Yeah, i have seen him in like a zillion Westerns. I think he was even a sheriff in a Audie Murphy one.

  • @Uncultured_Barbarian465
    @Uncultured_Barbarian465 Год назад +3

    I absolutely love this movie. Harryhausen was a legend.

  • @IronSalamander8
    @IronSalamander8 Год назад +2

    I love this one. I just got it on DVD last year and watched it again after not seeing it since the 80s as a kid! It's a great one.

  • @DakoGuyver
    @DakoGuyver Год назад +5

    When I think about it, stop motion is either really freaking good or really freaking bad. Even by today's standards Harryhausen's stop motion still looks damn good.

    • @jeremyfrost2636
      @jeremyfrost2636 11 месяцев назад

      When it's done well it holds up pretty decently, when it's done poorly it looked okay in its time but hasn't aged well. Harryhausen always did it well.

  • @bonebare22
    @bonebare22 Год назад +6

    I see godzilla i watch

  • @jasonblalock4429
    @jasonblalock4429 Год назад +2

    Man, the nighttime scenes look really good. The low light hides a lot of the flaws, like the lack of motion blur, or the slightly-fuzzy rear projection. Amazing work for the time, given how basic Harryhousen's tools would have been. Some of the rubble/destruction animation is also super impressive for having been done entirely by hand.

  • @jonathanmulondo9206
    @jonathanmulondo9206 Год назад +3

    It's always a good time when Brandon reviews a giant monster flick

  • @ChaosTicket
    @ChaosTicket Год назад +1

    Finally. Ive been waiting years for a Ray Harryhausen film on this channel.

  • @justincameron9661
    @justincameron9661 Год назад +10

    Brandon Tenold is to movie reviews what the Angry video game nerd is to video games

    • @mr.pavone9719
      @mr.pavone9719 Год назад +4

      But without the easy to imitate schtick. It's simple to scream obscenities at a thing but Brandon tempers his rage and frustration with love and grudging acceptance of old films.

  • @davidgantenbein9362
    @davidgantenbein9362 Год назад +2

    I must say that I‘m impressed by the effects, definitely top notch for its time.

  • @rdobson5413
    @rdobson5413 Год назад +1

    With that tease at the end, Godzilla 1998 is the perfect follow up to The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

  • @thebigone6071
    @thebigone6071 Год назад +2

    Thanks for these videos Brandon! I live in the hood and my life is filled with poverty, death and crime and these videos give me a bit of a break from that misery! Thanks!

  • @iamjacksselfloathing4857
    @iamjacksselfloathing4857 Год назад +3

    What a great legacy for any movie to have! Ray Harryhausen created some of the greatest moments in cinema, long before computers could make anything look real. Great vid, Brandon!

  • @tskmaster3837
    @tskmaster3837 Год назад +6

    The producers didn't buy the rights to Bradbury's story first, that's the problem. "The Foghorn"... changed from "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" for some unfathomable reason... is just a story about a lighthouse, a monster and a mood written in Bradbury's style. Enough story for one scene. And they would have gotten away with that scene too if Bradbury wasn't in town visiting his friend Ray Harryhausen on set. Ray saw what Ray was working on and asked to see a script and said "Hey, this is familiar." The following day, Bradbury was offered 2000 dollars not to sue... I mean 2000 dollars for the film right to his story as well as the title.
    Oof.
    Worked out for Warner Brothers as the movie's title went from "Monster from the Sea" to "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" for 2000 very fathomable reasons.

  • @markula_4040
    @markula_4040 Год назад +2

    13:48 Gotta love that horrific scream.

  • @Average_Fizz_Enjoyer25
    @Average_Fizz_Enjoyer25 Год назад +2

    The ending had me screeming. Ive been waiting for this review forever