Umbrella Entertainment brings to Blu-ray an uneven double feature showcasing the talents of effects artist Ray Harryhausen with FIRST MEN IN THE MOON and 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH.

FIRST MEN IN THE MOON: The thunder of a joint American/Russian/Japanese flight to the moon is stolen by the shocking discovery on the surface of a British flag and a faded document staking claim in the name of Queen Victoria dated 1899. The only name that can still be read is that of a Katherine Callender. Investigating the possibility of a hoax, the UN dispatches to Dymchurch, England in search of birth records to prove or disprove her existence where they discover that she died ten years ago but her husband Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd under old age make-up) is still alive and living in a nursing home. Arnold is regarded as a loony since it is revealed that he has been writing to space agencies around the world about the dangers of landing on the moon. When he learns from the UN investigators that astronauts have indeed landed there, he becomes agitated and takes them back to the events of 1899 when he as a young playwright took a cottage in the country in hopes of writing a hit with investors breathing down his neck for an advance he has already spent. His American fiancée Kate (Martha Hyer, SABRINA) becomes frustrated when he finds various excuses not only to put off writing but also to delay their engagement, the latest being the interest he has taken in the experiments of neighboring loony Professor Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries, EYEWITNESS) who has developed "Cavorite" a substance capable of cutting off the force of gravity with the plans of using it to coat a spherical spaceship for a trip to the moon. Arnold even goes so far as to sell his cottage, which he had claimed to have inherited, to Cavor for an investment in Cavorite, putting the property documents in Kate's name to stave off his creditors. Kate remains skeptical about the trip, and is on the verge of leaving Arnold when he chooses the trip over her until she receives a court summons for her revealing that Arnold had no right to sell the cottage. When she climbs on top of the ship demanding entrance as it about to take off, Cavor and Arnold have no choice but to drag her inside as they rocket into the sky. Crash-landing on the moon, Cavor and Arnold explore the surface in driving suits, falling through a glass dome and discovering below the surface that there is oxygen that allows them to breathe without their suits. They explore the cave and tunnels only to be cornered by its inhabitants: the insectoid Selenites. Cavor tries to communicate with them but a fearful Arnold starts fighting with them, killing several and destroying any chance of peaceful interaction. The pair flee to the surface but discover that the ship has been dragged below ground, leaving them no choice but to go back underground to rescue her.

Based on the Jules Verne novel and scripted by Nigel Kneale (QUATERMASS), FIRST MEN IN THE MOON is a gorgeous-looking British-lensed Technicolor and Panavision science fiction film that nevertheless feels old-fashioned and possibly too juvenile for its audience. Judd, Hyer, and Jeffries are an engaging trio, and the moon production design of John Blezard (WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH) and color-gelled cinematography of Wilkie Cooper (JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS) have one wondering if Mario Bava had seen the film before he undertook PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. Harryhausen's stop-motion Selenites and a couple other beasties are better composited here than in some of his other films, but the classic science fiction themes of thwarted communication between species and man's violent and distrustful nature are effectively conveyed with Jeffries earnestness and Judd's believable fear and panic; so much so that the final twist seems like a facetious punchline. Laurie Johnson (AND SOON THE DARKNESS) contributes an epic orchestral score that, along with the other fine British contributes, sets this film quite apart from Harryhausen's other contemporary works in spite of the direction of jobbing Nathan Juran (JACK THE GIANT KILLER)

Released by Columbia Pictures in mono 35mm and 6-track 70mm, FIRST MEN IN THE MOON has remained available on home video from the panned-and-scanned RCA/Columbia VHS to a pair of mono widescreen laserdiscs from Pioneer and Columbia/Tri-Star. When Columbia released the film on DVD, the anamorphic transfer sported a Dolby Digital 4.0 track that presumably reproduced the 70mm mix. Its Blu-ray debut as a limited edition from Twilight Time had a 5.1 track (as well as a welcome isolated score track in stereo) while a more affordable region free UK release from Powerhouse Films' Indicator line had 5.1, 3.1, and 1.0 mono tracks and carried over the US extras as well as adding a few exclusives. Umbrella's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 transfer of the same master looks stunning throughout with rich color and varying degrees of grain thanks to the heavy use of optical effects. Unfortunately, the only audio option is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and there are no English subtitles or any extras whatsoever.

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH: A rocket returning from Venus crashes into the Mediterranean near a Sicilian fishing village. A pair of brave fishermen boards the rocket through a large hole but they are only able to rescue two wounded men before it sinks beneath the surface. While Colonel Robert Calder (William Hopper, THE BAD SEED) and Dr. Sharman (Arthur Space, THE BAT PEOPLE) are being treated by Marisa (Joan Taylor, EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS), the American medical student granddaughter of vacationing zoologist Dr. Leonardo (Frank Puglia, THE BURNING HILLS), mischievous fisherman's son Pepe (Bart Braverman, THE GREAT TEXAS DYNAMITE CHASE) finds a canister that has washed up on the shore and sells is cocoon-like contents to Dr. Leonardo so that he might buy a Texas cowboy hat. Major General McIntosh (Thomas B. Henry, BEGINNING OF THE END) arrives in Sicily along with Dr. Judson Uhl (John Zaremba, DANGEROUS CHARTER) to coordinate with government and local officials (THE KILLING's Tito Vuolo and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE's Jan Arvan) to retrieve the canister. It is only when he hears of the quarter of a million dollar reward that Pepe fesses up to selling the contents to Leonardo who has taken off to Rome with his daughter and the hatched lizard-like creature which he at first believes is a mutation or throwback. Unfortunately, Earth's atmosphere is having a strange effect on the creature's metabolism and it is rapidly growing to enormous proportions, endangering human lives (and Roman monuments).

One of Columbia Pictures' series of fifties science fiction productions attempting to rival the contemporary output of Universal Pictures (THE DEADLY MANTIS, TARANTULA), 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH is not only the lesser of this double feature but also a lesser Harryhausen work in general. His stop-motion creature is an impressive creation in all of its sizes but he never believably inhabits the same space as the actors – then again, neither do the actors convincingly inhabit the rear projection Italian location backdrops – and it does not help that the creature is a lot more likable than the characters; indeed, Calder notes that it is only ferocious when provoked and then proceeds to jab at it with a stick to try to lure it into a trap. Hopper would be subsequently make a name for himself as private investigator Paul Drake for the entirety of PERRY MASON's television run but is here the least charismatic, thoroughly unlikable of fifties sci-fi square-jawed heroes (his banter with "Miss Almost-a-Doctor" Marisa is more sexist than cute and their obligatory romance is unbelievable). The rest of the cast are not much better, and the Sicily where everybody speaks broken English supporting cast is murder on the ears (particularly little Pepe). The story seems to be a loose retread of KING KONG with the monster captured, exhibited at a zoo where an accident causes it to break loose and run amuck (we see the stop motion monster not only attack a Claymation elephant but also a Claymation human), knocking down various Roman landmarks that the American military do not blow to smithereens themselves (including the St. Angelo bridge and the Coliseum!) Instead of the closing "It was Beauty killed the Beast," we get "Why is it always so costly for Man to move from the present to the future?"