SEE: Two kids wandering around in space helmets!
SEE: Two archeologists farting around in the caves of Bronson Canyon!
SEE: A nap… after a picnic!
And let me tell ya boils n’ ghouls, all of that pulse pounding excitement is only in the first few minutes of reel one… of course 2 seconds later a burning object screams through the skies as pilfered footage of lizards that are supposed to be dinosaurs (and a little stop-motion dino action… also borrowed) ‘rassle!
It’s about then that one of those kids mentioned up yonder awakens from his egg-salad slumber, let’s call him Johnny (Gregory Moffett)… mostly because that’s the character’s name… and discovers a gorilla in a space helmet named Ro-Man (George Barrows with voice acting provided by John Brown) has arrived from the stars, and he has wiped out most all of Earth’s inhabitants with his Calcinator death ray (minus our main cast, who have all been injected with a super-serum that can conveniently resist pretty much everything) all in the name of conquest… he’s also brought along N. A. Fischer Chemical Products’ Billion Bubble Machine, so you can just imagine all of the fuckin’ bubbles floating here and there whimsically throughout the picture.
Will Johnny and the handful of survivors manage to defeat that sinister space-born simian and his revoltin’ ray (and beastly bubbles) or are they doomed to a life of scrub brush and servitude?!!
I’m going to level with you; I absolutely LOVE Robot Monster, and have since I saw a regional broadcast of it way back in that ancient time known as the 1980’s!
Director Phil Tucker (along with screenwriter Wyott Ordung) create here a picture overflowing with imagination… imagination that surely stood in sharp contrast to the meager budget and 4 day shooting schedule, but they just went for it anyway resulting in a picture that’s part fever-dream, part anti-war parable, part children’s fantasy… there’s a couple of romances thrown in… and all of those disparate elements come together in a charming sci-fi shocker that is as filled with heart as it is with space apes and tacked-on dino footage.
It also contains some solid performances across the board, with the standout being veteran Austrian character actor John Mylong who adds a ton to the film with his enthusiasm and a twinkle in his eye… no matter how batshit the things around him become.
On the downside, for a film that runs just over an hour, there is a good amount of characters just wandering around (especially Ro-Man) that are included to pad out a film that was in danger of missing that elusive “feature length” mark… but it’s a minor sin at best given the psychotronic goodies the film throws our way!
Adding to the enjoyment to be had with this Bayview Blu-ray release is the fact that this thing is filled to the brim with a bananas assortment of special features… like hours of ’em!
Firstly we are presented with a few viewing options; 3-D (for 3-D Blu-ray players and TV sets), 2-D, and the good ol’ 3-D with the red and blue glasses (included with this release)… which was the format the film was released on back in 1953.
Also included is the film’s original accompanying short, Stardust in Your Eyes which features “Slick Slaven” who asses around, sings a song, does impressions (which featuring one solid laugh and a plethora of the word “robot” pronounced as “robit” which always delights my infantile mind) during said song, grates on the nerves, and shows off some lame 3-D effects to lube you up for the main event.
After the feature, a still gallery of promotional images for the film plays automatically, which is an odd choice, but the images are kick-ass, so why the fuck not just have them autoplay?
Also included are a series of bonus materials for both the 3-D and 2-D versions of the film… and yes, they are completely different!
On the 3-D side of things, we kick things off with a 3-D trailer for the film, followed by an interview with Moffett, a collection of (unrelated to the film) 3-D vintage slides, a collection of 3-D inserts from a film called Side Streets of Hollywood, a golden age 3-D comic book, a brief return to Ro-Man’s cave as it appeared in 2006 (and featuring Bob Burns displaying the Ro-Man helmet used in the film), a cute short film that catches up with Ro-Man at home, and a quick demo of the restoration process utilized for this release.
2-D version bonus material features: a fascinating documentary short exploring Slick Slaven’s true identity and the restoration of Stardust in Your Eyes, Robot Monster‘s original coming attraction trailer, a collection of 2-D trailer for 3-D features playing around the time of Robot Monster‘s release, an alternate opening for the film displaying the title Monster From Mars, a Trailers From Hell segment hosted by Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins) examining the film’s trailer (under the Monster From Mars title), a look at the film’s mistakes and innovations, a listing for a book about the making of the film, and a brief doc detailing the discovery of 35mm prints of the film that contained the complete 3-D footage used in this release.
Both versions contain a commentary track featuring Moffett (along with Mike Ballew, Eric Kurland, Lawrence Kaufman) that gives us a first-hand account of what the film’s production was like, and a 1953 episode of You Asked For It featuring Bela Lugosi (with it’s own optional commentary track).
An absolute legend of bizarre-o cinema, Robot Monster is as crazy as it is charming; and this release gives the flick the love it deserves!
