06/10/06 When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide (1951), directed by Rudolph Mate

watched solo; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Look at this in the context of when it was made, and it appears to be a remarkably effective epic sci-fi story along the lines of a "War Of The Worlds." In its day, it was heralded as a great feat for special effects in cinema, as it attempted to push the limits of what and how much you could accomplish on film. The plot played deftly into the paranoid hands of the masses of that era, where intergalactic curiosity was on a high...and nuclear fallout was a realistic global threat. In the movie, the tagline states how there are more "stars in the heavens than people on Earth," which brings into perspective just how insignificant we all can be rendered in such a vast landscape. That being said, the story focuses on the question of "what if?" the world were to end due to the collision of some of those rogue gliding planets. Astronomers calculate the course of two such planets that are to impact the Earth, causing ultimate devastation in a matter of weeks. Using their horrific findings, the astronomers try to convince the world of alternative escape routes from this destruction, but few believe their outlandish views. One curmudgeonly millionaire who wants to save his own life fronts the money to the scientists to build what will in effect be a modern-day Noah's ark to take the lucky numbers to another world to begin life again. Maybe it's just me, but you would think that the melting pot that is America (and granted, I know what the segregated connotations were in the 1950's) would somehow be able to save more ethnically diverse of a population to re-create civilization. It's kind of sad that it's all whiney white people who win the lottery to survive...but I digress. Anyway, this spacecraft ark is built to shuttle the lucky few off the planet to avoid the impending doom. There are some hokey models of spaceships, and buildings/bridges being destroyed by the brewing storms...but like I said before, that was revolutionary at the time of special effects. It's playfully fun to watch the end of the world in this flick, as it still stands as a classic in the sci-fi genre. Is it just me though, or does anyone else have that damn Powerman 5000 song "When Worlds Collide" drumming incessantly in their head now? Get me on the next ark fellas.

3 out of 5 stars