MovieChat Forums > 20 Million Miles to Earth Discussion > 'Venus? The planet Venus?'

'Venus? The planet Venus?'

posted 18 years ago by rogueforte
21 replies | jump to latest

This movie just cracks me up. There are so many funny moments and lines. Along with the great "Fascinating. Horrible, but fascinating", I love the above line when the reporters are told that the creature is from Venus and two of them ask, "Venus? The planet Venus?". If this were redone, a la the Airplane! remake of Zero Hour!, you know the next line from the reporter would have to be "Are you sure you don't mean 'Venice'?". Or how about Dr. Sharman ("Just make sure you don't squeeze him"). The lines for a Abrahams/Zucker or MST3K remake write themselves.

You know it's going to be that kind of a movie when right at the beginning, the guy who plays the Italian fisherman Verrico (couldn't they have found someone with more acne scars?) has lines like, "Look...a hole...". I'm talking about Ed Wood level touches like a reporter who has to lounge back on a desk when talking to his editor on the telephone.

What really makes this movie stand out against other MST3K-type movies are the A-grade (for the time), Harryhausen special effects. It turns 20 Million Miles to Earth into a kind of forerunner of movies like Ghostbusters that combine decent special effects with (in this case, unintentional) comedy.

[–] Stabby_Joe 18 years ago

Venus? The planet Venus?

No... the women's razor...

[–] BadWebDiver 18 years ago

...I've hear real-life reporters make inane comments like that. Especially on very tacky commercial current affairs shows or gossip magazines.

Die Gerdanken Sind Frei (My Thoughts Are Free) - a WWII protest song

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] flyer333555 17 years ago

What do you mean 'comedy?'

That line "do you mean the planet Venus?" is a way of reporters eliminating the possible miscommunication that could happen. The reporters, because they have been told something in their minds impossible, wanted to eliminate the similar - sounding "Venice" as the source.

So they ask "planet Venus?"

[–] pylgrym 17 years ago

Kubrick sends up all reporters in all SciFi movies for all time in "2001".
'
'

YE must be born again

[–] damnedifyoudont 17 years ago

My favourite line from this classic movie is one of Marissa's: "It's so very ugly. And yet it seems so frightened." Like, as if being ugly would prevent it from being frightened. A very clever thing for an almost-doctor to say!

[–] katydid579 16 years ago

What about the final line, "Why is it always, always, so costly to move from the present into the future?" Costly for who?

[–] kewlcrueldude 16 years ago

For all of us. "We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives." Criswell in "Plan 9 from Outer Space"

[–] rndhyd 15 years ago

Yeah, that whole line was strange. What does time have to do with anything?

My guess was that since it was so cheesy & an innocent beast was killed, was that something eloquent or thought-provoking was wanted. Of course that was a big miss w/nonsense.

[–] Gregoire-2 16 years ago

My favorite lines are actually

'We sent a spaceship to Venus."
"Ah, you must-a mean-a Venicia!"
"No, Venus."

[–] silovik812 10 years ago

A voyage to Venus? Whatsa matta for you? You must mean Venice! Venice is very nice this time of year! A voyage to Venice would be very nice!

----------------------------------------

"Oh, well" said Zanoni, "to pour pure water in the muddy well does but disturb the mud !"

[–] JacksonYaya 16 years ago

I am grieved.

[–] DJMan-51 16 years ago

Well, there are U.S. towns named London and Paris and Norway and such. If I lived in southern Illinois and someone said he was going to Cairo, I might well say "You mean, in Egypt?"

[–] silovik812 10 years ago

I once spent the night in Mars, Pennsylvania. If someone living in western Pennsylvania was told that the government was going to send people to Mars, he might do a double-take. "Oh, you mean the planet Mars!"

----------------------------------

"Oh, well" said Zanoni, "to pour pure water in the muddy well does but disturb the mud !"

[–] rixrex 16 years ago

Don't be such a dope. This is in no way equitable to an Ed Wood film, regardless of the dated lines and material.

Your grandchildren will laugh at you one day for things you think are not funny, and it will merely be justice.

-----
The Eyes of the City are Mine! Mother Pressman / Anguish (1987)

[–] jackcain92 16 years ago

whts an 'MST3K'? i'll probably know when you tell me, but for now, i can't think.

[–] ursapater 16 years ago

It's an acronym for Mystery Science Theater 3000

Ursa the ghost bear

[–] ColDax 15 years ago

Venus? I think you meant "penis". This film is obviously a post-modernistic critique of Freudian psychoanalysis vis-a-vis Jungian archetypes ...

[–] DJMan-51 14 years ago

>> Venus? I think you meant "penis". This film is obviously a post-modernistic critique of Freudian psychoanalysis vis-a-vis Jungian archetypes ... <<

Yes! History shows that the vandal "Vlanet" chipped not only the arms off "Hermes DeMilo," but also one more thing. The absence of the "Vlanet Penis" gives us the well-known statue.

;)

[–] antherick 13 years ago

you are right on man. i saw this a the theater last night, people in town are resurrecting Dr. San Guinary and are putting together a "creature feature" live at the cinema once a month. it was a sold out crowd and we were having a blast. my friend leaned over to me about that reported on the phone and i told him "totally, i always take my calls like that."

The "fascinating...horrible, but... fascinating." line was classic, and our personal favorite was when the guy asked where he could find the doctor, and the italian guy said "He'a drives'a the truck with the house on the back that'a folows like'a goat!" truly remarkable.