Diagonaldi Very well executed

Artivels Undescribable Perfection

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Robert Griffith So, it is 1:00 am and I am up watching "The Wild, Wild Planet"(1965) - Off the hook, certified wacky goodness! If you like movies like "The Green Slime", this is a must see! Almost beyond description, but here goes... A deranged scientist is using his employer's top-secret bio-laboratory to engage in clandestine eugenics experiments. When he starts kidnapping leading citizens for use in his twisted tests, it's up to rogue cop Mike Halstead to come to the rescue of all and sundry, including his lady friend Connie, who is also being held captive by the madman. This entry is part of the Gamma I Quadrilogy space adventures (Yes, there are 4 of these!), directed by Antonio Marghereti (aka Anthony Dawson). Also starring a very young Franco Nero! This was a staple on WPIX channel 11 when I was a kid and some of my "Older" Facebook friends may remember watching it with me back then! What can I say, dumb, 60's mod sci-fi fun all the way. Sexy babes, cheesy effects, 4 armed assassins, 60's style martial arts, shrinking people to the size of dolls, turning people into half men/half women (Just like Denny's on a Saturday night in Hollywood!). God help me, I love this sh*t! Just go find it and watch it!

Leofwine_draca Jack-of-all-trades director Antonio Margheriti is primarily known for his horror output, but he also took time out in the '60s to direct a handful of low-budget yet colourful science fiction epics termed "space operas". WILD, WILD PLANET is probably the most entertaining of his sci-fi movies, a fast-paced and action-packed tale involving all manner of weird and wonderful creations and colourful, tacky set designs. If one film could exemplify the swinging '60s then this retro-gem would be the one. Where else would you find caped dancers with huge butterflies painted on their capes dancing before a rapt audience? Surprisingly this film lacks an American lead this time around but there are many familiar Italian faces in the cast list. Tony Russel takes the lead as Mike Halstead and is great as the no-nonsense commander who finds himself embroiled in an extremely weird mystery. Lisa Gastoni is his pretty but cold girlfriend who finds herself in the clutches of the typical mad scientist chap, played by Massimo Serato. Serato has a ball with his good-natured but corrupted evil scientist and makes for a superb choice as a villain. A very young-looking Franco Nero also appears in the film as Jake, one of Halstead's men who will do anything to protect his boss.I find it difficult to do a linear review for a film like this so instead, I'll just create a list of all the cool stuff it has in it. Firstly, Margheriti was obviously really into his model-making phase here, as each and every shot of space vehicles or futuristic city has been created in miniature. It may not make for the most realistic science fiction film ever but it's certainly one of the most unintentionally amusing - check out the spaceship that flies back and forth on a wobbly wire! There's also a car accident which involves a model car flying off a mound of earth and is damn hilarious to watch. Elsewhere we have supposed astronauts rocking to and fro on barely-hidden wires while their fellow actors look on in surprise. We have brightly-coloured futuristic cars which somehow look very sixties in their design and unconvincing. There's a plethora of weird and wonderfully colourful costumes on display and lots of fake scientific equipment which nonetheless looks cool. The film contains a pack of female fighters who certainly have the upper hand on their male counterparts during a hotel room battle where martial arts moves are all the rage, and the women disappear into nothing when beaten. We have bald villains in black macs and sunglasses (inconspicuous see) going around and shrinking people. The miniature people are later discovered hidden inside suitcases in a state of suspended animation much to the horror of minor cast members. One such character shrinks a doctor but only half completes the process, turning the man into an unhappy dwarf! Later on we discover the bald men are in fact clones and have four arms for some reason. I don't really know why but it looks cool anyway.The film gets even better towards the end as Halstead and his men invade the enemy planet and infiltrate the base. A battle with guards takes place and lots of guys die by having blowtorches - sorry, flame-spewing guns - shot at their chests and being burnt. The good guys are later captured when a huge steel box is simply dropped on them out of the sky. The baddie takes time out to explain all of his evil schemes and we even get to see a room of genetic failures, or more realistically overacting Italians in bad makeup. It turns out that the evil scientist desires (more than anything else in the world) to merge himself with a woman! The excellent finale sees the enemy base destroyed (again mostly in miniature) by a flood of red water - I guess that's the risk you take when you build your base UNDERNEATH a huge lake! Lots of things explode and people scream as they drown, including the lead villain Massimo Serato. Luckily the good guys escape in conveniently-placed capsules and simply pop to the surface. The epilogue shows them relaxing and womanising by the poolside in a typically sexist '60s Italian way familiar to anyone who's seen a Euro-spy flick. On top of all this we have some cheesy dubbing and hilarious dialogue ("you helium-headed idiot" was a particular favourite of mine). WILD, WILD PLANET is hugely entertaining and far-out movie which is why I recommend it wholeheartedly to sci-fi fans looking for something other than the more mundane and boring fare.

jess My sister and I just caught this on AMC, of all channels, and laughed the entire way through it. I'm still not sure on the details of the plot, couldn't keep track of the characters because of the terrible characterization that focused very heavily on one trait and drove it into the ground (angry! drunk! hysterical!, et cetera), but it was extremely laughable. Definitely one for those of you who adore low-budget, nonsensical fare. The dialogue was extremely poor (this may have been a result of translation? The audio/visuals were unsynchronized throughout): there was a lot of emphasis at the wrong time, and there were some really out-there lines which came off as hilarious instead of meaningful or dramatic. Honestly, thinking about it, Wild, Wild Planet is probably no worse than any other sci-fi films/programs of its era, but if you're like me, you watch these kinds of films for a lark.

Judexdot1 Wish I had been old enough to see this in Theaters during it's initial "Summer Of Love" release in America. The Italian movie industry has kind of a dicey history with Science Fiction films, (see "Star Pilot"/"2+5 Mission Hydra", or almost anything by "Al Bradley" for proof), but this is by the man who started cinematic SF in Italy, with "Assignment: Outer Space", and is one of his best SF films. It's actually the start of a series, known as the "Gamma IV Quartet", and is the best of the series. Mysterious dark strangers, (who look like they just stepped out of "Thin Air", the movie) are snatching healthy folks for unauthorized experiments by a renegade Doctor, in another attempt to create a super race. Initially concerned, space cop Mike Halstead gets down and dirty when his girl, Connie, is also snatched. Very colorful, with a a nearly psychedelic approach to some effects, which offsets some of the cheesier model work. Fun stuff, followed quickly by "War Of The Planets","Planet On The Prowl", and the amazing "Snow Devils". Franco Nero left for stardom (after he made it big with "Django"), and Giacomo Rossi Stuart shows up in his place. They all use some of the same footage, and "War Of The Planets" definitely needed more effects for the big conclusion, but this seems like more of a labor of love by longtime SF fan Antonio Margherhetti. He has made a few, and provided effects for many others, (Like "Mission Stardust", the Perry Rhodan adaptation), and he continues to this day. This is one of his, and Italys, best. Hey TCM, how about running that letterboxed copy again, please!