20 Million Miles to Earth

When I was growing up, searching for the science fiction movie 20 Million Miles to Earth, with special effects and creature design by Ray Harryausen, was like a Holy Grail quest for me. I very rarely found it on television.

The first time I had seen the movie was on a summer afternoon. School was out for vacation and I was spending most of those days playing baseball, fishing, swimming, doing chores, or just goofing off around the neighborhood. When I came inside one afternoon, I only caught a small part of the movie that first time on our black and white TV. I never knew the name of the film. I knew it as "that movie with the cool monster at the Coliseum." I was always hoping I'd see it again some day.

I think what intrigued me about the movie was how well the creature was integrated into a real world setting. There were no dark Gothic castles or lunar landscapes in my neighborhood; but there were trees, fields, and farms. I also knew that Italy was a real place. It seemed possible to imagine a fabulous creature like the Ymir walking around in my town.

I've watched 20 Million Miles to Earth many time now and I'm excited to see this new DVD release. It even has a colorized version, in addition to the original back and white. I am usually not a fan of colorizing these old movies (I did like the colorized The Thing, From Another World, 1951, which I think is no longer available. note: a DVD seems to be available in the UK of the colorized version) It may be a treat to have the option of seeing something a little different in this favorite of mine.