ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Stephen Abell Now, let me tell you I could be a little biased here with my scoring. For this film lit the light of remembrance and melancholy within me. As it took me back to my childhood. There was a time when the good old BBC would play these movies on a Saturday afternoon: On BBC2 while BBC1 had Grandstand. I remember watching these Sci-Fi monster flicks with my Nan on cold and wet winter days, usually in front of a warm gas fire. Those were good days. So, I thank the makers of the film for giving me this memory.What you have is a pretty bog-standard tale of nuclear radiation mutation... as was par for the course in the fifties. Here though, not only does it mutate a creature to an enormous size, but apparently resurrects a long-dead dinosaur. This then goes on the rampage through London. Though what makes this a little better than the average film in this genre is the extra details. We don't start in London but in a little fishing village in Cornwall where strange things have been occurring; a man being burned with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns, shoals of dead fish washing up on the beach, and strange lights under the surface of the sea. This pulls the viewer in with the mystery. There's also the brilliant usage of the radiation because if you get too close to the creature then you burn. When we arrive at the rampage, the director uses parts of London not fully rebuilt after the war to create an atmosphere that works well. Also, the large amount of extra's running from the monster is just right - not one or two people, but a hole streets worth of men and women.The director is very good at his work. He sets the pace of this film perfectly. There's a small crescendo at the beginning when Marine Biologist Steve Karnes' is warning the government about the possible side effects of radiation on the oceans and their populace. Then drops to a steadier pace with the mysterious happenings. Building up slowly to the rampage at the climax. Spot on perfect.The special effects, for their time, are not quite as good as others. However, they are passable. It's nice the puppeteer changed out to a fully automated Behemoth for the later scenes as the fixed mouth version that attacked the ferry looked a little silly. I have to admit I really loved the part where the Behemoth walks through the dockyards. The part where he wrecks one crane by tearing it apart with his teeth and the other by simply walking through it is one of the better stop animation sequences I've seen. I liked the fact the director filmed it from the position of the pavement, which had the effect of giving size to the creature.This was a very enjoyable flick, to say the least. The story and the filming were solid as too was the acting. Everybody put their skills into making this a very watchable movie. Not remembering the movie fully, I thought that the two main characters in the fishing village section Jean (Madison) and John (Turner) would be in the whole show, their acting is that good. However, when we leave the village we never see them again.If you've never caught a '50's sci-fi monster flick then this one would be a nice place to start. And if you are a fan of the genre, then find a copy and watch this once more, it's worth it.

mfredenburg Atomic Testing creates a monster. Perhaps an overused premise for science fiction, but Giant Behemoth does a very credible job in exploiting this premise. The film does a much better job in detailing the scientific investigation that methodically uncovers the nature of the beast than most films - past or present.The characters are likable and believable.The acting ranges from competent to very good.This is a well-directed, well acted film.Assuming you buy into the ability of radiation to create monsters, the plot line is quite credible.The special effects and the monster are decent for 1959, but vastly inferior to what we get today.Still it is a much better film than most modern sci-fi films.

classicsoncall Like many mutant monster flicks of the 1950's, this one starts out with a compilation of atomic bomb blasts and a premonition that the radiation fallout may have a disturbing effect on nature. It takes it a step further though, with Professor Steve Karnes' (Gene Evans) explanation that these blasts may have a biological chain reaction that causes a geometrical progression resulting in radioactive conglomerates. Okay, okay, he explained it in simpler terms too. Little fish eat radioactive plankton, big fish eat little fish and so on and so on, until you get a giant behemoth. Then they make a movie out of it.I actually thought the behemoth here, a giant paleosaurus, was done pretty well. The concept of a four legged dinosaur tearing up London doesn't sound like it would work on paper but this guy could get up on it's hind legs if he had too. The underwater scenes might have been even better, the monster really had a fluid motion cruising the Thames River, almost as good as present day animation. The stop motion photography and lifelike presentation of the behemoth was good enough that you didn't mind it when he stepped on a few toy cars that got in the way.I'll tell you what was really scary though. There were a couple times during the havoc on the London streets when the camera focused in on a vehicle with it's license plate showing, prominently reading 911. With all the mayhem and destruction going on, who would ever have thought that a future American disaster would be called to mind while watching this film today. To be more precise, the actual number on the license plate was 911MMF, but still, it got a reaction out of me just the same.I guess we'll never know if the film makers intended a sequel but you can't fault them for planting a seed at the end of the story. As the picture closes, TV news of dead fish all along the American East Coast are being reported, so that could have been a springboard for a follow up. After all, now they knew how to build those radium tipped atomic warhead torpedoes.

BA_Harrison The Giant Behemoth was released on DVD under Warner Brothers' Cult Camp Classics label, but it doesn't really qualify as such: it's far from a classic and certainly not in the least bit camp. Like many of these 50s atomic creature features, it plays matters remarkably straight, perhaps even more-so than usual, presenting scene after coma-inducing scene of dull scientists discussing paleontology and nuclear physics before getting down to the monster action.About twenty minutes from the end, the radioactive Paleosaurus finally makes its appearance, a rather rigid rubber version sinking a model ferry in a bath tub, and a slightly better animated version stomping on Dinky cars (or is that 'car'?—the same vehicle gets crushed three times) and terrorising Londoners (of which there seem to be quite a few, despite an earlier evacuation of the city). These silly scenes just about make the film worthwhile, but this far from the best the B-movie monster genre has to offer.