Welcome to the first installment of what I hope will be a weekly feature here on The Weekly Geek, Sci-Fi Sundays. This week, I’m going to be talking about the 1951 George Pal film When Worlds Collide.

When Worlds Collide opens, oddly, with a short reading from the Bible. The sermon today is apparently about Noah, which is what pastors usually talk about when they’ve got nothing really interesting to preach on. Following the sermon, we’re treated to a narration that informs us that “there are more stars in the sky than humans on Earth.” Gee thanks, narrator, I never would have known that.
--Mack
http://weeklygeekshow.com/2007/11/scifi_sundays_when_worlds_coll.php

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Product Description

When a group of astronomers calculate one planet is on course to pass close enough to the earth to cause havoc on land and sea while a few days later a second will record a direct hit they set about building a rocket so a few selected individuals can escape to the first of the unwanted intruders. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 04/11/2006 Starring: Richard Derr Peter Hanson Run time: 83 minutes Rating: G Director: Rudolph Mate

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2940 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2001-09-25
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 83 minutes

Amazon.com
Winner of the 1951 Academy Award for Best Special Effects, this science fiction extravaganza set a new standard for the realistic depiction of cinematic disasters. Of course, it's a quaint curiosity by today's technological standards, but as produced by visual effects pioneer George Pal, this story of Earth's collision with a runaway star is still a dazzling example of screen sci-fi from the '50s, when special effects were entering a new stage of advancement. Despite scientists' warnings about the star's destructive potential, government officials refuse to take action that could cause international panic, but a consortium of private industrialists prepare for the worst by building a gigantic spaceship--an ark for humanity to begin life anew on a distant planet. Who will be chosen to go, and who left behind? As earthquakes roar and massive tidal waves devastate entire cities, the huge rocket prepares for take-off from its miles-long launching ramp--ready to abandon the shattered Earth! Although it's more enjoyable now as a cinematic museum piece, When Worlds Collide remains a milestone of its kind, leading the way for many more screen disasters that followed this movie's still-worthy example. --Jeff Shannon