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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

This Out-of-Print Blu-ray of Conquest of Space is compared to the Imprint Blu-ray in our review HERE

H D - S E N S E I

A view on Blu-ray by Gary W. Tooze

Conquest of Space aka "Die Eroberung des Weltalls" [Blu-ray]

(Byron Haskin, 1955)

Coming to the US on Blu-ray, by Imprint in April 2022:

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Theatrical: Paramount Pictures

Video: Endless Classics (Alive) (Limited Mediabook Edition)

Disc:

Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 1:20:32.494

Disc Size: 24,206,803,065 bytes

Feature Size: 23,702,575,104 bytes

Video Bitrate: 31.83 Mbps

Chapters: 13

Case: Mediabook Blu-ray case

Release date: December 23rd, 2016

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1560 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1560 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)

DUBs:

DTS-HD Master Audio German 1761 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1761 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio German 1670 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1670 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)

Subtitles:

None

Extras:

• Trailer (2:51)
• German trailers for The City of the Dead and War Gods of the Deep (4:04)

DVD

Bitrate:

Description: When the deeply religious leader (Walter Brooke) of a groundbreaking expedition to Mars begins to view the journey as blasphemous in the eyes of God, it’s up to his level-headed son (Eric Fleming) to preserve the lives of the remaining crew members: a Japanese botanist (Benson Fong), a loyal Irish sergeant (Mickey Shaughnessy), a Brooklynite electrician (Phil Foster), and a scientist (Ross Martin).

-Excerpt from FilmFanatic.org located HERE

The Film:

Totally bizarre sci-fi epic, mounting a 'realistic' attempt at an expedition to Mars, which has some animated segments as pretty as 2001. This George Pal project tries elaborately (and presumably expensively) for authenticity, and naturally gets it all wrong. But there's something pleasantly loony about the whole thing, from the chicken-pie capsules down to the anti-gravity zip-up boots. At one point the script even has its chief astronaut denouncing the entire mission as a 'cursed abomination' when he gets a touch of religion. A fascinating relic.

Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE

When one traces the timeline of sci-fi extravaganza producer George Pal, his Conquest of Space feels a bit of a letdown compared its predecessors, Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and War of the Worlds. Conquest was a box office failure compared to his earlier hits, and yet, like those earlier hits, it still manages to survive the decades, remaining as dazzling entertainment. In other words, it really kicks in that giddy 50s spaceman kind of way. The 1955 release continues Pal's fascination with blending authentic science with outlandish melodrama, and if that sounds like your kind of film, please follow me.

Excerpt from EFilmCritic located HERE

This Out-of-Print Blu-ray of Conquest of Space is compared to the Imprint Blu-ray in our review HERE

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

The surprising, and pure nostalgia title, Conquest of Space appears impressive on Blu-ray from 'Endless Classics' out of Germany. The 1.78:1 framed image has beautiful, rich colors, and tight, crisp, visuals with frequent depth notable. It is a shade blue-ish and I'd appreciate more grain. I was very pleased with the quality, though - even being a shade waxy at times. This Blu-ray image delivers an extremely clean presentation, but the effects naturally look 'of their age' in the 1080P resolution. Overall though, this produces a very positive viewing. I loved the, high-bitrate, image quality.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

Endless Classics offer an uncompressed DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 1560 kbps (16-bit) in the original English as well as two, lossless, German DUB options. There are rudimentary rocket, etc. effects, but the score by Van Cleave (Robinson Crusoe on Mars, The Colossus of New York, The Space Children, William Castle's Project X, and 12 The Twilight Zone episodes, among others) sounds very decent in the lossless projecting atmosphere, occasional humor and minor tension. Don't forget the, uncredited number with Rosemary Clooney. There are no subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE, playable worldwide.

Extras :

Firstly, this is a handsome Digibook (Mediabook in Europe) and the case, itself, contains 12-pages with beautiful color photos and text, in German. After that, there is only an English trailer for the film and German trailers for The City of the Dead , in very rough shape, and War Gods of the Deep. The package also contains a second disc DVD.

BOTTOM LINE:
Conquest of Space is an odd, but extremely desirable release on Blu-ray. It is so much of its time and, hence, has some of the highest nostalgia value on digital. In fact, the DVD is often out-of-print or very expensive. I LOVED seeing this, with all its, stalwart, scientific inaccuracies. Yes, we get Mickey Shaughnessy, William Hopper, Benson Fong, Ross Martin and more tackling the daunting task of exploring space. Wow.. You like 50's sci-fi? Well, you better have this unique gem on Blu-ray. Sweet! Recommended.