Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (First Spaceship on Venus / Laserblast / Werewolf / Future War)

.This review is of the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: 20th ANNIVERSARY compilation. The four movies up for heckling vary widely in quality and theme:..FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS (MST3K Episode 211, movie released 1960): This East German-Polish co-production tries hard, but errs more toward seriousness than entertainment. After finding a Venusian artifact on earth, a multinational cast fly to Venus to see what's what. It isn't all bad -- enroute, there's a Roomba-sized robot that plays chess against a dimwitted crew member -- but generally it's a little dull despite middling-good special effects for the turn of the Sixties. It does have nice things to say about international cooperation and fear of nuclear proliferation. However, Joel and the bots are not at their best here, if only because the movie itself is neither silly nor ludicrous. My favorite host segment featured Tom Servo with his "sarcasm sequencer" out of whack...LASERBLAST (Episode 706, 1978): Despite the presence of veterans Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall in small roles, this turkey undoubtedly sent the career of the late Kim Milford as lead character "Billy Duncan" into a tailspin, in a performance derided as "greasy" and "pop-eyed" by the SOL crew. (The supporting cast mostly consisted of versatile "B" veterans like Ron Masak, Dennis Burkley and Eddie Deezen, the Arnold Stang of the Seventies.) Premise: Young man stumbles across a powerful laser blaster, but reptilian aliens want it back. (What could go wrong?) LASERBLAST is a great example of a cheesy sci-fi flick redeemed by heavy and funny riffing. Regarding the film itself, the SOL crew had this to say:.-- On the fluctuating production values: “Oh no, his car turned into a sedan (it had been a station wagon) and crashed and exploded.”-- On lack of tone: “I think they were going for A Touch of Evil feel, but got a touch of something else.”-- On lack of suspense: “This film was run through a highly technical process called ‘tension extraction.’”.Among the many other references, watch out for a big bunch of 1970s music-group riffs. A witty host segment, alluding to Trace Beaulieu's last appearance on the show, has him in a parody of the closing sequences of the movie 2001. For extra fun, devise a drinking game based on the numerous times characters in the film head for a Coke (always Coke) machine. One of the best Mistie episodes, IMO.PS: Yes, film critic Leonard Maltin really did give this movie two-and-a-half stars ("David Allen's stop-motion effects are a highlight"), the same as for MY DINNER WITH ANDRE(!) and THE GREAT SANTINI(!!)...WEREWOLF (Episode 904, 1995): a direct-to-video production: allegedly a horror movie but more like a horror of a movie. Somewhere in the American Southwest, in an outdoor “sugar mine” next to a “Tiramisu excavation” (per the SOL crew), an unusual skeleton is exhumed, which turns out to be a werewolf. The rest of the movie is basically a round-the-rosy of lycanthropy, but so deeply schlocky that it makes for great riffing by Mike and the bots. The female lead cannot pronounce the word “werewolf” correctly; each time she tries it’s a little different but always wrong. (Mike accuses her of having learned English from “a wild and crazy guy”). When she says: “I don’t know what to believe,” Servo advises “Try believing in ESL for a while.” Night cinematography is done by “Haskell Wexler’s . . . cat.” Wolf transformation scenes usually involve extra hair glued to the actors’ cheeks, later a bear mask(!) or a bat puppet(!!). Expect full-service riffing from our guys, starting with the pseudo-Native American chants which they call “Jingle Bells” sung by the Bulgarian Women’s Choir; ending with various American popular songs sung/chanted to the rhythm of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk.” I consider this one of the very best MST’s, on a par with such beloved send-ups as MANOS, SPACE MUTINY and I ACCUSE MY PARENTS. With Joe Estevez...FUTURE WAR (episode 1004, film made 1994, released 1997): Crow was right: “You know, I could point out that it’s not the future, and there isn’t a war, but you know me; I don't like to complain.” This movie makes no sense, and it is so bad that words fail me. Sheesh. It’s as though the makers of this movie went out of their way to violate realism, even when they didn’t have to. Note that the movie was given the video equivalent of an “R” rating and you can see the nun’s speech being blipped in early scenes. Are potty-mouthed nuns a problem in your life? I didn’t think so. On the whole, FUTURE WAR is deeply cheap and almost plotless -- plastic-looking dinosaurs attacking humans is about all it amounts to. If you can make it past the first scene of people tossing around obviously empty cardboard boxes as though they had something inside -- well, bless you, I almost stopped there. Mike and the bots try their best but they are obviously as nonplussed as anyone else with this insultingly lame movie. I’d give the movie alone two stars only because it’s in color and I heard all the words. The Mistie treatment did improve it, in my opinion, just not enough to put it in the top echelon of MST3K episodes...Unlike some Shout! releases, this set does not come in a tin box, just a cardboard wraparound. It does have the miniposters, though, and a nice little doc starring Mistie principals about the history and production of the show, one chapter per disc in succession. My original reviews ranked these four movies 4, 5, 5, and 4 respectively. I'll ooch that up to five stars here, because the new, improved price makes the set affordable. For once, though, all these movies are currently available as Amazon downloads (unlike many compilations, it doesn't have that one frustrating episode that can't be found otherwise through Amazon), so the purchasing decision may be a judgment call on your part. Meanwhile, dim the lights, and get Mike to whip up some Jiffy-Pop!.

Most of the MST collections are good, this is another.

It brought me back to a simpler time. I used to stay up late and watch this show as a kid. I’m glad to have found some of their older episodes! Can’t wait to get more!! We got movie sign!!!

The 20th Anniversary Edition is a great find. The extras include a three part history of MST3K, the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con International Reunion Panel, original trailers of all the movies and variations on the opening theme song.Now, let's get to the movies!First Spaceship On Venus, Show 211, is one of those episodes I missed watching on MST3K but did see on TV in real life. And I happened to like it for the way they handled the settings, alien technology and future human technology. I liked the international feel to the film. But the plot sucks. And the message is boring - technology gets out of control, we're all going to die. YAWN. But I did like the film's robot and of course Joel and the Bots helped me get through the movie without falling asleep.LaserBlast, Show 706, is the last MST3K that ran on Comedy Central. This is also the first time I got to see it in any form and, frankly, the movie is really bad. No, even with Mike and the Bots making fun of it the thing stinks. I don't want to give too much away but here is a list of random stuff - clay aliens, laser weapon, the MASK, spaceships, bad video effects. Loved the way the MST3K ended the show with the last segment. How many sci-fi movies can you spot?Werewolf, Show 904, starring Joe Estevez is a bad film but one that isn't too bad. Still, once again I am not sure if the werewolf had anything to do with werewolves. In fact it seems to be a Native American Skin Walker. And sometimes it looked more like a puppet or some kind of sick cat.Future War, Show 1004, has Robert Z'Dar from Soultaker, exploding, self-cleaning, dinosaurs and lots of flashbacks. Jokes about LSD and Clowns will pepper the show and there are also a huge amount of empty boxes. Oh, and cyborgs. And kick boxing. And boxes. Don't forget the boxes.A must for any MST3K collection!

For people who are relatively new to this show like me, this is probably the best value as far as the box sets go, extras-wise anyway. The usual lobby cards & trailers are there, but it's the feature-length(about 80 min) 20-yr history of mst 3000 and the entertaining reunion at the 2008 comic-con(almost 40 min) hosted by patton oswald that really make this set stand out. Unfortunately, the history feature is broken down into 3 parts and spread out on 3 discs. I would've preferred a 'same disc/play all' option. Since i'm a late adopter(barely bought this a month ago), apparently i missed out on a crow figurine.Anyway, if you're on the fence or on a budget, since the box sets are kinda pricey, i suggest you add all of them to your cart and check in now & then. Amazon tends to go crazy once in awhile and offer big sales on these. When i checked on my cart and it updated the price for this set at $26 in march, i jumped on it. A few others i've grabbed for $30 or less as well, all new, and one came with the tom servo figure.Either way, they are all worth it. Great show that i'm sorry to have been so late on discovering, let alone collecting. Btw, besides the great extras you do get 4 very good episodes. Nothing really reaching manos, mitchell or this island earth greatness, but 4 solid entries nonetheless. Highly recommended.

Werewolf was awesome

Seeing as the product wasn't for me personally but meant as a present, I can't rate it myself with the highest rating. But the person I gave it to, liked it very much and straight away started watching the movies. So it had a very good response from him.

Just not as funny as I had hoped. Nor anywhere as funny as it should be. While most of the films are a pretty sad collection. Not so much a good bad films as just plain bad ones.