Movie Details
| Title: | First Man Into Space | |
| Director: | Robert Day | |
| Year: | 1959 | |
| Genre: | Science Fiction | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 11.13.25 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (0)
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 11.13.25 | DVD | This Screening is part of event: DVRfest 2025 roll: 1 / 10 spine: 365 (monsters and madmen) My mom actually bought this box set before I did. She liked it so I think she got it for me as a gift. I have to imagine that for her this is a throwback to drive-in movies when she was a teenager. For me, it's a fun collection of b-movies that I've always meant to sit down and watch but just never got around to it. Even though I don't hear much about this in criterion circles, I think the box set has some fantastic artwork and booklet design and is a rare example of the usually highbrow art house company giving some love to b-movies. This one in particular is a sputnik space race yarn where an experimental rocket pilot defies orders to turn back because he wants to be the titular first man into space, but space immediately fucks him up, sending him back to earth encased in a latex meteor outfit (it has a shirt and pants as well as mask and gloves) that turns him into a struggling rampaging monster. He eventually finds his way back to base where he goes into a high-altitude chamber in an attempt to save him. This was fun. It's clear how limited the shoestring budget is because it's pretty much all a couple dudes talking to each other interspersed with stock footage. Still, there is something charming about 1950s cultural attitudes toward space and the unknown. I recently watched the old Quatermass and the Pit TV mini-series which had somewhat similar vibes. No one knows what's out there but it could be anything! Beware! Not much more to say about this than that. Fun to watch, happy to finally get around to seeing it, not a favorite or anything but good enough fun. It's late but I'm gonna try one more roll of the dice. Let's see what I'm signing myself up for. |
