The Beast From 20000 Fathoms cover art

The Beast From 20000 Fathoms Details

1953 Certificate PG
  • Rated:
  • 60
  • from 437 members

A single witness to the release of a prehistoric monster, following an atomic bomb test, tries to warn New York that the monster is coming. No one will listen until the monster emerges from the sea and attacks Manhattan. Can the city be saved Read more

Starring Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Ken Tobey
Director Eugene Lourie
Genres Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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The Beast From 20000 Fathoms cover art

The Beast From 20000 Fathoms

A single witness to the release of a prehistoric monster, following an atomic bomb test, tries to warn New York that the monster is coming. No one will listen until the monster emerges from the sea and attacks Manhattan. Can the city be saved

Starring Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Ken Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef
Director Eugene Lourie
Studio WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 16 mins
Certificate Certificate PG
Genres Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 26 Jan 2004
Production year: 1953
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (2) of The Beast From 20000 Fathoms

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    The first prehistoric-monster-on-the-rampage feature and arguably the best. Based on the Ray Bradbury story The Fog Horn, it also marked the solo debut of special effects genius Ray Harryhausen, who would refine his stop-motion puppetry in the Sinbad fantasies and Jason and the Argonauts. Freed from a prehistoric hibernation by an atomic blast at the North Pole, the peeved monster effectively tramples through New York and ends up taking a bite out of the Coney Island roller coaster. Tense and ferocious, this was the Jurassic Park of its day and spawned countless imitations.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • Flat-footed, though influential, addition to the monster cycle, with an interminable wait for the beast's appearance and inferior trick work when he goes on the rampage.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
    • Posted 02 Mar 2006

  • Most helpful member's review of The Beast From 20000 Fathoms

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    The film that started it all

    This film showcased Harryhausen's animation skills and set the trend for a range of monster movies ranging from Godzilla to Gorgo, and spawned a British take-off (The Giant Behemoth). The film established Harryhausen's methods of stop-go animation in the same way that King Kong did for his mentor, Willis O'Brien. The film plays nicely on the fears of nuclear fallout at the time when a possible escalation of the cold war worried ordinary people.

      • A customer from Birmingham, UK
      • Posted 04 Jan 2005 14:22

  • Most recent members' review of The Beast From 20000 Fathoms

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  • Rated - 3 stars

    good black and white monster movie

    Well my 12 year old son was sceptical about this one as it was black and white and very old. But he enjoyed it and so did I. And so will you if you like the 50's creature movies.

      • A customer from Worthing
      • Posted 01 Sep 2005 22:34

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Rating breakdown

437 Member ratings
  • 100
31
  • 90
21
  • 80
68
  • 70
63
  • 60
109
  • 50
56
  • 40
38
  • 30
23
  • 20
19
  • 10
9

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      • A single witness to the release of a prehistoric monster, following an atomic bomb test, tries to warn New York that the monster is coming. No one will listen until the monster emerges from the sea ...