DESTINATION MOON On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

Film Masters continues its series of home video releases of neglected classic genre films with a sparkling Blu-ray of George Pal's 1950 space exploration saga DESTINATION MOON. This release also comes with a bonus disc featuring the 1951 sci-fi adventure FLIGHT TO MARS, a movie about as different from DESTINATION MOON as you can get. (I will be covering FLIGHT TO MARS in a future blog post.) 

DESTINATION MOON was meant to be a serious and earnest attempt to dramatize a realistic trip to the moon, based upon what was known at the time. I'm sure that for many viewers today DESTINATION MOON comes off as quaint and old-fashioned, but one can't deny the honesty and integrity that producer Pal, artist Chesley Bonestell, and writer Robert A. Heinlein applied to the project. 

What needs to be realized is how far-sighted DESTINATION MOON actually was. The main plot details how a group of industrialists and businessmen band together to plan and implement a trip to the moon, despite the fact that the American government--and shadowy forces--are not too keen on the endeavor. That plot description has a very 21st Century feel to it. There are some elements of DESTINATION MOON that seem creaky--Dick Wesson's wisecracking "regular guy" crew member in particular--but the overall production holds up very well if one places it in the proper context. 

What's most important is how great DESTINATION MOON looks on this Blu-ray. The transfer was taken from a new 4K scan of 35mm elements, and it is colorful and clear, bringing out all sorts of detail. The sound quality is excellent as well. 

As usual, Film Masters provides plenty of nice extras. This release comes with an illustrated 15-page booklet that has an essay on the film's production history by Sloan De Forest. The disc has a 23 minute featurette which also details the movie's background and history, along with a gallery of pictures from the film's pressbook. There's also a 40 minute audio reading of an article written by Bob Burns detailing how he actually visited the set of DESTINATION MOON, and his long friendship with George Pal. This extra is presented by Tom Weaver, and it is set up to run along with the last half of the movie. An original restored trailer for the film is also included. 

The main extra is a new audio commentary by George Pal biographer Justin Humphreys. It is an excellent talk that is well-paced, insightful, and informative. Humphreys provides the listener with everything they need to know about DESTINATION MOON, and he rightfully goes out of his way to explain why the movie is one of the most important American genre films ever made. 

For some reason DESTINATION MOON very rarely gets shown on TV anymore, so hopefully this magnificent release gives the film some much-needed attention. A 75 year old movie about a trip to the moon may seem totally outdated to most, but it had a major impact on the cinematic science fiction boom of the 1950s, even though most of its brethren were not in any way as well crafted or as well thought out. Film Masters has been coming out with some impressive products recently, and this Blu-ray of DESTINATION MOON is one of their best releases yet.