Films which imagined the moon landing before it happened seem to have become a bit obscure, eg Countdown, this one. It starts with a UN mission landing on the moon – where they discover to their surprise a Union Jack. It turns out a trio of Britons made the journey in 1899.
It is a bright idea and in the film is hard to dislike, with its Victorian era setting and Ray Harryhausen special effects, not to mention fact that it is a medium budget 60s English sci fi film with an American lead female actor (what can I say? I like the genre).
Lionel Jeffries’ mad scientist character is a little over the top at times, and I didn’t quite warm to Edward Judd’s hero – a bit of a thug, which is true to Wells’ original intentions but doesn’t really make him sympathetic.. I kind of wish they’d had a different ending, which didn’t imply the humans wiped out the aliens with their cold. The script seemed to need a sub plot when they arrive on the moon – another character, a love triangle, or something. It sort of goes interesting-encounter-then-another-interesting-encounter-then-another-interesting-encounter. The special effects are charming.
Peter Finch has a cameo as the bailiff – I didn’t recognize him first time I saw the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment