20 Million Miles to Earth (Blu-ray)

Synopsis

Upon its return from a mission to Venus, an American spaceship crash lands in the sea near Sicily. The rescue party discovers that the astronauts have brought back a curious gelatinous mass that soon hatches and evolves into a strange bi-ped creature which rapidly increases in size. While being subjected to laboratory experimentation, the creature, now 20 feet tall, escapes its confines, goes on a destructive rampage through Rome, battles a zoo elephant and swims in the Tiber. It eventually takes refuge in the Colosseum, where the film’s pyrotechnic finale occurs during a climactic showdown with the military.

Dazzling special effects by Ray Harryhausen highlight this thrilling sci-fi extravaganza about a Venusian monster who wreaks havoc in Italy. On its way home from Venus, a U.S. Army rocket ship crashes into the sea of Sicily leaving Colonel Calder (William Hopper of Rebel Without a Cause) the sole survivor... or so it seems. A sealed container is also recovered from the wreck and, when a zoologist (The Mark of Zorro's Frank Puglia) and his granddaughter (Joan Taylor) open it, the gelatinous mass inside escapes. Overnight, it grows into a horrific monster that has doubled in size. In desperation, Calder calls in the Army to help fight the monster, which has taken refuge atop the Coliseum in Rome. But it will take more than man's weapons to fight the evil forces of the unknown and save the world from destruction.