Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 From Outer Space is one of those films that seem to get released by a different company every few years. Although not quite as prevalent as the films found at the local dollar store, Plan 9 has had dozens of releases over the years from multiple companies. There are currently three DVD releases in the US alone (and several more abroad). The release under consideration here is the one made available through Image Entertainment under the auspices of the Wade Williams Collection.
First of all, the film itself is in really nice shape. Although they haven’t gone to the trouble to remove every bit of damage to their print, it’s obvious that Image found the best elements possible. The film never looked this good on VHS. The image is clear and even the occasional hiccup isn’t too distracting. Compared to the heavy damage seen in many old VHS releases, the version here looks gorgeous. Also, the film is unedited. Many copies that air on television or found their way to small-time video distributors were edited by several minutes to fit into an hour slot (the film runs 79 minutes), but not here. Another issue is that most companies that released Plan 9 on video would either cut out the opening frames that show the logo of the Distributors Corporation of America (the company that originally released Plan 9) or cover it with their own logo (Wade Williams did this on his original VHS release of the film). On this DVD, it is left intact. This means this DVD has the most accurate and clean version of Plan 9 yet made available.
As for the bonus material, the theatrical trailer is nice (although not restored like the main film), but the real selling point is the ‘making of’ feature. Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion is no simple DVD featurette, slapped together to fill out a release. It is a full-fledged documentary that runs longer than the main film itself and had its own individual release on VHS. Flying Saucers is extremely low budget, but not short on information. A wide variety of people show up, from Ed collaborators like Steven Apostolof, to cartoonist Drew Friedman to industry icons like Forrest Ackerman. The interviews are usually enlightening, often amusing and sometimes infuriating. Particularly vexing is when screenwriter/screenwriting teacher Terry Black takes time to point out the “errors” he found in the film. (I’d take his criticisms more seriously if he hadn’t written Dead Heat.) Particularly amusing, on the other hand, is an appearance by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi and his sometime co-writer Scott Spiegel re-enacting an appearance by Tor Johnson on You Bet Your Life. Flying Saucers also stops to take a closer look at many of the actors who make an impact in Plan 9, like Vampira and Tor Johnson. Unlike the Rhino-produced Look Back In Angora, Flying Saucers never treats Ed’s story like a joke. And despite its low budget status, it’s a more honest, straightforward look at Ed and his work than the more slickly produced The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
All in all, Plan 9 From Outer Space is a movie every film buff should have. As of this writing, the Image release has the best looking and most complete print of the film ever seen. The bonus documentary, however, is its main attraction, establishing that if there’s one edition to own, this is the one.