This collection features three sci-fi shockers directed by the sensational Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat, Detour). THE MAN FROM PLANET X (1950) – On the coast of Scotland, where there’s enough fog to hide an alien landing, an astronomer discovers that one has actually occurred. But it’s soon realized that the creature, the “Man from Planet X,” has definite plans—not for friendship, but for domination—unleashing “out-of-this-world” havoc on the villagers! BEYOND THE TIME BARRIER (1960) – In 1960, U.S. Air Force Major William Allison pilots the X80 jet, which is capable of speeds up to 5,000 miles an hour and reaching heights of more than 100 miles above Earth. Upon nearly reaching outer space, Allison is unaware that the X80’s tremendous velocity has propelled him through a time barrier and into the post-apocalyptic year of 2024. He soon finds himself held captive in an underground city known as the Citadel, whose inhabitants have been menaced by mutants and a deadly virus. Now Allison must find a way to return to the past and warn humanity of impending disaster. THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN (1960) – In this pulse-pounding sci-fi classic, safecracker Joey Faust is snatched out of prison and made invisible with an atomic ray gun, apparently—and transparently—for the sole purpose of stealing nuclear fuel for a villain named Krenner and his beautiful moll Laura. But when Faust realizes his radiation-generated new look is slowly poisoning him, the tables are quickly turned, and his simple heist could now become the decade’s most horrifying nuclear nightmare of vengeance!
For thoughts on the Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
The Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection comes to Blu-Ray with three films included on one disc. While this might normally be a red flag, given the relative brevity of these three features, the disc is not pushed to the limits of its capacity. These films share a lot of the same qualities, so I will mostly be judging them in groups while pointing out noticeable differences when necessary. From the information I have at my disposal, it appears as if Beyond The Time Barrier and The Amazing Transparent Man were given new 2K scans, while The Man From Planet X is not specified as having a new master despite looking in line with the other two releases. Overall, these transfers represent something of a mixed bag in terms of quality. No one presentation in this set represents a 5-star effort, but the quality ranges from good to great. Every film suffers from quite a bit of print damage and other source anomalies, but the severity varies from film to film.
The beautiful black-and-white photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. The grain field seems a bit heavier on The Man From Planet X, but all transfers are resolved well. As mentioned, there is a fair amount of print damage found in these presentations, with The Amazing Transparent Man suffering a bit more than the other two in this regard. There are not very many moments where anything appears clumpy or unnatural. There is an incredible amount of detail present with nice texture on the unique costumes and in the distinct production design. Black levels are fairly deep with no noticeable occurrences of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, but the track does experience moments of density fluctuation in the print. All three features have until now mostly been relegated to cheap multi-film sets that did not lend itself to a respectful presentation. The quality of these transfers are as strong as the source material will allow. Kino Classics has done the best they could to preserve these films.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a pretty solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track for each of these three films that serves them well for what they are trying to accomplish. These tracks do present with a very minor amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing, humming and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. Dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements. The music never overpowers the dialogue or other important information, but it does sound a little fragile at its highest peaks. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for all feature films. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to provide the most stable track possible for these.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary for The Man From Planet X #1: Film Historians Tom Weaver, David Schecter, Dr. Robert J. Kiss and Filmmaker Joe Dante provide a multi-layered commentary track that is stitched together while providing different historical perspectives and even some personal anecdotes in the case of Dante, who worked with some cast members of this picture early in his career.
- Audio Commentary for The Man From Planet X #2: Film Historian Gary D. Rhodes and Arianne Ulmer Cipes (Edgar G. Ulmer’s Daughter) provide another great commentary track, this time with more personal details from Ulmer’s daughter as she reveals details about her father’s work you otherwise would never know.
- Audio Commentary for The Man From Planet X #3: Film Historian Richard Harland Smith provides a third commentary track which covers some of the same territory as the previous tracks, but offers plenty of unique insights for fans.
- Audio Commentary for Beyond The Time Barrier: Film Historians Tom Weaver, David Schecter and Gary D. Rhodes provide a stitched together commentary track which goes deep on the production history and the film’s legacy.
- Audio Commentary for The Amazing Transparent Man: Film Historian David Del Valle provides one of the few completely solo tracks on this disc which delves into the historical details while attempting to provide some arguments for why this film is misunderstood.
- Trailers: There are trailers provided for each of these three films.
Final Thoughts
The Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection is an incredibly fun blast from the past which shines a spotlight on three films that have historically been overlooked. While none of them are certifiable classics, each of them have distinct qualities that make them immensely watchable. The Man From Planet X especially deals with questions of man’s inherent destructive qualities which leaves you with a lot to question. Even The Amazing Transparent Man at less than an hour long provides a strong, noir-adjacent foundation that the film clumsily builds upon in the final stretch. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty strong A/V presentation and an impressive assortment of commentary tracks. If you are a fan of cheesy sci-fi films, you should consider this release a must-own. Recommended
Edgar G. Ulmer Sci-Fi Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
