NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2022): Kino have transferred three Edgar G. Ulmer science-fiction films to Blu-ray. They are The Man from Planet X (1951), The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) and Beyond the Time Barrier (1960). It is cited as having "Brand New 2K Masters for Beyond the Time Barrier and The Amazing Transparent Man". All three, relatively short B-films, reside on one dual;-layered Blu-ray disc. The Man from Planet X was already on 1080P from Shout! Factory in 2017 (see our comparisons to DVD HERE.) It looks very similar , with the same small damage marks, if being less robust. I couldn't detect much of a difference. In fact, all three films look quite good with Beyond the Time Barrier showing heavy grain and a few more m arks than the other two. Each have softer sequences that seem inherent in the low-level productions. Overall, I was quite pleased with how these looked don my system.   

NOTE: We have added 38 (per each film) large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language for all three films. Effects exist but are fairly minimal with the meager budgets. Margaret Field's screams and the spaceship beacon are piercing on The Man from Planet X. The score is by Charles Koff (Abilene Town), on The Man from Planet X. On both The Amazing Transparent Man and Beyond the Time Barrier it is by Darrell Calker who was no stranger to this genre having done scores for film such as From Hell it Came, Hercules and the Captive Women, My World Dies Screaming, The Flying Saucer etc. On this BD is sounds with a few instances of surprising depth if not earth-shatteringly dynamic in the lossless transfers. Kino offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers five commentaries for the three films. The first two for The Man from Planet X were already on the Shout! Factory Blu-ray. They were by Tom Weaver (author of Universal Terrors 1951-1955: Eight Classic Horror and Science Fiction Films), Joe Dante, David Schecter (on the music) and film historian Dr. Robert J. Kiss that goes into detail about Ulmer and minutia of the production. It is excellent and included is the second commentary by Gary D. Rhodes (co-author of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster with Tom Weaver) and Arianne Ulmer Cipes, daughter of Edgar G. Ulmer. It, likewise has value - an appreciated re-inclusion. Then Kino add three brand new commentaries on this Blu-ray - one for each film in the set. On The Man from Planet X it's by Richard Harland Smith - who is always a delight discussing the 50's sci-fi boom, the film's extensive fog and much more. I always enjoy his insights. Beyond the Time Barrier with Tom Weaver, David Schecter and Gary D. Rhodes - who leave no stone unturned starting with Miller Consolidated Pictures formed by John Miller in 1959 who also produced The Amazing Transparent Man, and the company's eventual bankruptcy with the logo being removed from the start of the film replaced with 'American International'. Weaver inserts dramatic recreated music at the very start to represent how it was in the theater with the Miller Consolidated Pictures logo. On The Amazing Transparent Man by David Del Valle (author of Lost Horizons Beneath the Hollywood Sign) who is another of my favorites talking about the film's similarities to film noir, Douglas Kennedy's character named 'Faust' and Ulmer as an auteur among many other details. There are also trailers for all three films.    

There was no way I wasn't going to review this Kino Blu-ray. I've wanted Beyond the Time Barrier in 1080P for a long while. I have always liked it as it evoked Forbidden Planet, as well as the apocalyptic genre of films, although atmospherically The Man from Planet X has more appealing and polished charm. I appreciated David Del Valle's take on The Amazing Transparent Man as having noir conventions and I saw it in a different light after his insights. The films themselves are solid gold for Ulmer fans and the 5 included commentaries give this package immense value. Watching The Man from Planet X, The Amazing Transparent Man and Beyond the Time Barrier and then the commentaries give you 7 1/2 hours of entertainment on this lone Blu-ray disc. Just to add further enticement - I loved the cover with the O-card slipcase. Yes, this easily gets our strong endorsement. Enjoy the cinematic 'B' innocence! 

Gary Tooze