very underrated movie!
i saw this movie about a year ago, and i thought it was a great film! very good story, and i love the special effects!
"Mother, tell your children not to walk my way..."
Glad you discovered it! I first saw it on TV in 1994 and have been a fan ever since. You bet I have the Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack that came out in 2014.
"Slip forward and break out the heavy-weather hook!"
i still have to pick up the blu-ray. they sure don't make films like this anymore!
"Mother, tell your children not to walk my way..."
This is a great Blu ray combo pack with a great transfer and nice extras. I originally saw this film under the title "It Came Without Warning" and the poster I saw at the theater is included in this Blu ray's reversible cover. I think the "It Came" poster has the cooler looking image, especially since the alien isn't fully revealed till quite late in the story, (although when the scoutmaster is at the Winnebago, you get a quick partial look at the alien partially hidden in the tall brush/grass. If you blink, you might miss it).
The commentary is quite interesting and informative. The featurettes are good too.
I first saw this at a post theater when I was stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany. It was either late 1980 or early 1981. I'm thinking (but cannot be sure) that "It Came Without Warning" is actually the film's original title. The included theatrical trailer also has that title.
According to the commentary, the scene with the hanging bobcat, bathroom graffiti and initial intro of Martin Landau's character wasn't in the original release. I don't remember seeing those scenes (of course, it's been more then 35 years). I'm glad they're on this release, especially since it helps to flesh out the Landau character. It also explains his use of the phrase, "No Chance, No Help, No Escape" and gives it stronger impact.
Many thanks to Shout Factory for doing a fine job with this release.
I first saw this at a post theater when I was stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany. It was either late 1980 or early 1981. I'm thinking (but cannot be sure) that "It Came Without Warning" is actually the film's original title. The included theatrical trailer also has that title.
The film's original title was actually "Alien Warning." (Well, technically, it was "Alien Encounter" but this was the screenplay title by the four credited writers prior to it landing in Greydon Clark's lap.) That was what was used at least for the main part of the shoot, and is plainly visible on a clapboard dated 12-19-79 in a photo featured in his autobiography. Obviously, "Alien" gave away the surprise, thus the word was sensibly dropped. (Not that Filmways' promotional materials didn't end up giving it away, anyway.) After briefly being known as "The Warning" - which would eventually wind up the U.K. video title in 1986 - it became "Without Warning," which I have been told was the original post-production title and which was absolutely the title used for its original major-market theatrical release in September, 1980. (There was also a one-off screening held in Southern California on December 28, 1979, which took place for no other reason than Clark needed to have something resembling a completed picture into a theater by the end of '79 to qualify for tax shelter credit. Devoid of post-production, it was also devoid of huge chunks of the beginning of the film, as the scenes with Cameron Mitchell & Darby Hinton and Larry Storch with the Boy Scout troop had yet to be filmed. For this screening, the film print had no title whatsoever reportedly, and I have no idea what Greydon was calling it at that point.) In 1981, it was re-released, which is when it was playing as "It Came... Without Warning." I assume there are still 35mm prints floating around with the re-release title, though I've never seen one.
According to the commentary, the scene with the hanging bobcat, bathroom graffiti and initial intro of Martin Landau's character wasn't in the original release. I don't remember seeing those scenes (of course, it's been more then 35 years).
To the best of my knowledge, all theatrical releases by Filmways under either title were the shorter (90 minutes) version and not the 97 minute director's cut, with a number of trims made by either Filmways or AIP to the first reel. But I always saw it on television - as "Without Warning" - in Greydon's preferred version with the scenes in question. When I last saw it on TV - on the sadly-defunct MonstersHD - it was the 97 minute cut. Others on here claim to have seen the edited 90 minute cut on TV. Perhaps they were outside of the U.S., because it certainly never played that way on premium cable. Filmways didn't have television rights to this in the U.S., as Skip Steloff sold them to HBO and CBS prior to the AIP sale, thus the shortened version was not what they were handed. share