First Men in the Moon (1964)

Edward Judd	Arnold Bedford
Martha Hyer	Katherine 'Kate' Callender
Lionel Jeffries	Joseph Cavor
Miles Malleson	Dymchurch Registrar
Norman Bird	Stuart, Moon Landing Crew
Gladys Henson	Nursing Home Matron
Hugh McDermott	Richard Challis, UN Space Agency
Betty McDowall	Margaret Hoy, UN Space Agency
Paul Carpenter	Reporter from the 'Express' (uncredited)
Erik Chitty	Gibbs, Cavor's Hired Man (uncredited)
Peter Finch	Bailiff's Man (uncredited)
Laurence Herder	Glushkov, UN Space Agency (uncredited)
Sean Kelly	Col. Rice, Moon Landing Crew (uncredited)
Marne Maitland	Dr. Tok, UN Space Agency (uncredited)
Gordon Robinson	Sgt. Andrew Martin, Moon Landing Crew (uncredited)

Director	Nathan Juran
Writer	Nigel Kneale Jan Read H.G. Wells

At times a bit too tongue-in-cheek for its own good, First Men in the Moon is nonetheless an enjoyable H.G. Welles cinemadaptation, decked out with eye-popping special effects. When scientists in the year 1964 are confused by evidence of a long-ago space flight, nonagenarian Arnold Bedford ( Edward Judd ) explains all. Back in 1899, Bedford, eccentric scientist Joseph Cavor ( Lionel Jeffries ) and heroine Kate Callender ( Martha Hyer ) took a trip to the moon in a home-made space vehicle. Once on the lunar surface, they encountered an alien civilization resembling an ant colony, complete with "queen," soldiers and workers. How they returned, and the aftereffects of their journey, comprise the film's final third. First Men in the Moon is highlighted by some of stop-motion maven Ray Harryhausen 's best and most convincing work; less believable is the notion that the pioneering space travellers are able to traverse the moon without covering their hands with gloves! Albert Finney appears briefly as a messenger; he happened to be visiting the set when the actor hired to play the messenger failed to show up, so..... — Hal Erickson

Edition Details
Chapters	28
Release Date	3/26/2002
Packaging	Keep Case
Screen Ratio	2.35:1
Subtitles	Chinese; English; French; Korean; Portuguese; Spanish; Thai
Audio Tracks	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 4.0 [CC]
Layers	Single Side, Dual Layer
No. of Disks/Tapes	1

Personal Details
Purchase Date	4/2/2002
Owner	Thomas Eisenmann
Store	Best Buy
Purchase Price	$19.95
Condition	Excellent
Reviewed	Widescreen Review
Bit Rate	448 KB
Anamophic	Yes
Links	IMDB DVD Empire

Anamophic

Photo Gallery
"This Is Dynamation" Featurette
"The Harryhausen Chronicles" Featurette
Theatrical Trailers
Interactive Menus
Scene Selections

Story Synopsis:
H.G. Wells’ “First Men In The Moon” has events occurring in 1964 when man touches the surface of the moon for the first time, or so he thinks until a British flag from 1899 is discovered on the moon. The engaging story traces the adventure of three discoverers with British actor Edward Judd featured as the eccentric scientist along with American Martha Hyer as his bride-to-be, and Britisher Lionel Jeffries as the scientist inventor of the vessel. (Gary Reber)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1 DVD exhibits pleasing visual quality for the film’s age. Colors are well balanced, with nicely rendered fleshtones, though blacks are slightly weak. Images are generally sharp and detail can be nicely rendered. Scenes which utilize optical effects exhibit an expected increase in film grain, but otherwise the source element appears to be quite clean. Edge enhancement can be a problem, and there is some pixelization. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 4.0 remastered soundtrack originates mostly from the screen channels, with the surrounds selectively engaged. (The spatial rendering on the moon is actually unrealistic, given that the atmosphere of the moon is in a vacuum.) The restoration of the original audio is remarkable, without objectionable background noise. Characteristic of multichannel soundtracks of the time, the dialogue exhibits directionality across the screen. The sense of separation across the screen is quite convincing from the music and effects. (Perry Sun)