Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The Thing from Another World Blu-ray Movie Review

31 B.C. (Before Carpenter)

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 19, 2019

Holy cats! Christian Nyby's The Thing from Another World turns 70 in just two short years, but this landmark 1951 sci-fi thriller is still ready to wow younger generations raised on John Carpenter's terrific 1982 remake. Both productions are based on John Campbell's 1938 novella Who Goes There? and remind us that alien visitors might be a little pissed off after crash-landing in sub-zero temperatures. Likewise, they're both extremely insular tales of human survival in the midst of unexpected terror, with uncomplicated core stories that are mostly played straight to maximize effectiveness. More out of necessity, this original adaptation plays it even straighter from start to finish: more screen time is devoted to the human element than non-stop alien scares, emphasizing "science vs. military" and chain-of-command drama to show us that eight foot tall monsters aren't the only things our reluctant heroes have to deal with.

Not that a film of this age and stature needs a quick summary, but here goes: following an unexplained event, a team of men led by Capt. Pat Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) is ordered to check up on Dr. Arthur Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) and his fellow scientists stationed at the North Pole. Turns out there's been a crash about 48 miles away, involving an object -- meteor, plane, or something else? -- that's yet to be determined. Omitting Hendry's past romantic attachment to Carrington's secretary Nikki Nicholson (Margaret Sheridan), everybody's in brand-new territory here...but formalities will have to wait until they check out the crash site. Turns out said object is large and cylindrical, which means a flying saucer, but careless extraction all but destroys the UFO before it's even examined. Hendry, Carrington, and company do manage to take home one valuable souvenir: what looks to be the saucer's alien pilot, frozen in ice.

Even first-time viewers, based on the cover alone, should be able to guess what happens next: the eight-foot alien (James Arness, four years shy of his career-making run on Gunsmoke) wreaks havoc on his unsuspecting captors after someone leaves the thermostat up. What follows is a tense game of cat-and-mice seasoned with a dash of "science vs. military"; after all, Carrington wants to keep the creature alive for research purposes, while Hendry and company -- acting more under instinct than direct orders -- would much rather leave with their heads attached.

Although The Thing from Another World isn't loaded with action and thrills, it's able to create a huge amount of tension in short order. The handful of face-to-face alien encounters are undoubtedly its most memorable moments, whether you're scared for the first time or revisiting the source of childhood nightmares. While their final showdown serves as the climax by default, it's an earlier moment -- right around the 70- minute mark -- that figuratively goes from 0 to 60 in just under a minute. The scene in question, which ends with a literal room on fire, has the effect of being suddenly thrown into a river that's rushing towards a waterfall: it's all downhill from here, and no one saw it coming. Much of this suspense is due to Arness' performance: he's wonderfully terrifying as the title creature, an extremely imposing figure that basically just has to stand there to induce panic, and one whose spirit hovers over the entire film even though he's only on-screen for a few minutes. In contrast, our human characters have to carry the rest of the weight and, aside from a few secondary characters that don't leave much of a lasting impression, they're a memorable group divided into two very distinct sides. With one notable exception, the sides eventually converge.

During the past 68 years, The Thing from Another World has remained a leader in the "violent first contact" branch of science fiction. Though its cynical view of science -- not surprising, given current events at the time -- don't play as well today (nor does that "Noah's Ark" end speech), this production as a whole far outshines most genre entries from the era. It has a lasting appeal that stands in great contrast to Carpenter's remake -- and even if you saw the 1982 film first, you'll enjoy this one unless you're only in it for the guts and gore. Either way, The Thing from Another World's history is just as interesting as the film itself, which extends all the way to the state of its original negative. Luckily, Warner Archive Collection has treated it with care for this Blu-ray, whose transfer was assembled from higher-quality elements that collectively beat its parent company's 2003 DVD counterpart by a solid margin.

The Thing from Another World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, Warner Archive's brand-new 1080p transfer offers a strong presentation of the best available source elements. The Thing from Another World's full-length original camera negative, which ran for 87 minutes, was trimmed by RKO for a theatrical re-release and its cut scenes were destroyed. The shorter negative, along with 35mm footage of the cut scenes, formed the foundation of a fine-grain master positive created at Burbank's YCM Laboratories in 1998. This master positive was used by Warner Bros. for both their well-received 2003 DVD and Warner Archive's recent Blu-ray. This time around, better-quality 35mm elements of those cut scenes, as well as a fresh 2K scan of the same 1998 master positive, were combined at Warner's MPI facility to create a new master. Occasional shifts in quality during the cut scenes can still be seen, but they're much less noticeable than on Warner's 16-year-old DVD. Other new improvements can be spotted as well: the film's opening titles, hastily cropped to 1.85:1 by RKO during that same theatrical re-release, have now been restored to their original 1.37:1 format.

Overall, this is an exceedingly clean 1080p transfer which has been carefully scrubbed of dirt, debris, and other age-related wear, but also one that does not suffer from excessive digital noise reduction and other such eyesores. Aside from those modest shifts in quality between a handful of scenes, the only other perceivable "problem" is a few stray missing frames; this is likewise a source material issue and nothing more. Warner Archive's new Blu-ray represents an outstanding restoration job overall, and one that fans should certainly consider worth the wait.

The Thing from Another World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although The Thing from Another World's original nitrate soundtrack also no longer exists, Warner Archive has made use of the best available 35mm optical audio elements to create a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio (mono) mix that likewise represents a clear improvement over Warner Bros.' 2003 DVD. Dimitri Tiomkin's memorable score gets perhaps the biggest boost in quality...especially in the clarity of its instrumentation, such as Sam Hoffman's theremin performance. (Hoffman also made use of the instrument on The Day the Earth Stood Still, released less than six months later, with his very first sci-fi score contribution being 1950's Rocketship X-M.) The dialogue also sounds quite a bit cleaner and more natural with no obvious hissing, pops, and other related wear outside of reasonable boundaries. Though the cramped Arctic base and plane interiors usually lend themselves to a more narrow sound field, there are a number of small touches -- howling wind from outside, faint echoes, and the gentle hum of electronic equipment when Dr. Carrington is introduced around the 12-minute mark -- that provide a pleasing amount of contrast. It all adds up to a striking presentation that doesn't show its age as strongly as other films from the era; considering the compromised state of its source material, what's here is fine work that fans should really appreciate.

My only quibble is with Warner Archive's optional English subtitles which, like most of their releases from the past few years, are displayed in large yellow ALL CAPS print that looks especially garish against the black-and-white image. When they finally switch to a better-looking style, I'll be among the first to congratulate them for it.

The Thing from Another World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Nothing aside from a pair of trailers for the main feature, unfortunately. I know of a John Carpenter audio commentary that exists on at least one international release, but Warner Archive typically just ports over existing bonus features from past Region 1 DVDs released by their parent company.

• HD Re-Release Trailer (1:35, 1080i) - This shorter trailer (see below) is hardly in great condition but features a quick overview of the film with plenty of spoilers. It also included burned-in Spanish subtitles.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:50, 1080i) - This original trailer includes a slightly longer introduction, voice-over narration, and a different end title card, but otherwise is more or less identical to the re-release trailer above.

The Thing from Another World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World is a landmark slice of science fiction that still feels lean, mean, and ready to surprise new viewers almost 70 years after its first theatrical release. Though arguably superseded by John Carpenter's outstanding 1982 remake -- now closer in time to the original than the present day, if you really want to feel old -- in recognition and overall effectiveness, this is still a top-quality thriller from start to finish. First released on DVD back in 2003 by Warner Bros., The Thing from Another World has previously looked a little iffy on home video due to the state of its source material, but Warner Archive's new 1080p transfer makes the most of higher-quality elements that make it feel like a much more complete and well-rounded presentation. Likewise, the audio has also never sounded better. Although the lack of bonus features here stings a little more than usual, this is still a worthwhile Blu-ray that's very highly recommended to die-hard fans and newcomers alike.