Product Description

Star Wars' Mark Hamill hosts this two-hour journey through the greatest science fiction films ever made. This fast-paced adventure through some of Hollywood's most imaginative movies includes nearly everything from early silent classics to contemporary favorites. From the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park to the spaceships in Independence Day and the oozing aliens of Men in Black, high quality special effects are expected by today's audiences. From the earliest days of cinema, science fiction films have offered dizzying illustrations of visual possibility. From Earth's first contact with alien visitors in The Day the Earth Stood Still to the eerie menace of computer HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the genre's most imaginative storytelling has also helped to explore mankind's darkest fears and greatest hopes. Includes highlights from the greatest science fiction films of all time including Metropolis, The Invisible Man, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Fly, The War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, The Star Wars Trilogy, Close Encounters of the Third kind, Star Trek, Predator, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Alien, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men in Black, Lost in Space and many more!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21770 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2004-09-21
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Customer Reviews

Total Surprise that I'm the First Reviewer
The product description above is certainly accurate. Chock full of examples, it entertains and kind of keeps you on the edge of your seat. Definitely not a dry documentary sort of thing. Mark Hamill does a great job of hosting and his is not the only voice. You get some super heros in the industry like Robert Wise (among others) as well. It takes a straight line approach through time and adds just enough background about what's happening in the real world at the time to put things in that perspective. So, let me put my 5 star rating in perspective.

Two sci-fans walkin' down the street; you and me. You say - "Dude, I love the sci-fi movies. I wish I could find a really good historical overview that runs less than two hours."

In a heart-beat, I'd be like "Dude: 'To the Galaxy and Beyond With Mark Hamill: A Century Of Science Fiction Cinema', you've got to see it."

You'd thank me. So really - what I'm saying is this is really good.

Great sci-fi survey
Unlike many of the disjointed surveys the leave you with sound bites and contradicting narrators, this presentation is consistent carrying you through time from the beginning of sci-fi film or maybe just film through to today's product. We have one narrator Mark Hamill to synthesize and organize our adventure. In this adventure we see many film clips of our favorite sci-fi / monster movies and maybe a few that we somehow missed in life. Now the clips themselves are sometimes narrated by actors and producers of the actual films.

Keep in mind this presentation was produced in 1997 as a TV documentary (DVD - 2004) so a decade or so of our favorite movies might not be were presented. I guess it's time for a new one of these presentations who will do it?

You will not find a dull moment in this intriguing presentation. You may also have to watch this over again to catch all of the smaller intimations that you missed while you were thinking about the major ones.

Bamboo Saucer [VHS] ~ Lois Nettleton

Luke, I am your father...
This is a fun DVD hosted by Luke Skywalker AKA Mark Hamill that does a creditable job of reviewing the history of SF cinema from its earliest beginnings (Melies) up until the mid-1990s. Most of the high points of SF are touched upon, with lots of clips from classic films such as The War of the Worlds, The Invasion of the Body Snatches, and Star Wars. I've taken a star off my rating because like most American-made products, the producers think that Hollywood is the center of the cinematic universe, so European SF gets short shrift. This could have been a six hour miniseries and still held the attention of SF fans!