Response
This Island Earth was released in June 1955 and by the end of that year had accrued US$1,700,000 in distributors' domestic (U.S. and Canada) rentals, making it the year's 74th biggest earner.
The New York Times review opined, “The technical effects of This Island Earth, Universal's first science-fiction excursion in color, are so superlatively bizarre and beautiful that some serious shortcomings can be excused, if not overlooked." "Whit" in Variety wrote "Special effects of the most realistic type rival the story and characterizations in capturing the interest in this exciting science-fiction chiller, one of the most imaginative, fantastic and cleverly-conceived entries to date in the outer-space film field. "
Since its original release, the critical response to the film has continued to be mostly positive. Bill Warren has written that the film was “the best and most significant science fiction movie of 1955… remains a decent, competent example of any era’s science fiction output..” In Phil Hardy’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction the film was described as “a full-blooded space opera complete with interplanetary warfare and bug-eyed monsters…the film’s space operatics are given a dreamlike quality and a moral dimension that makes the dramatic situation far more interesting.” Danny Peary felt the film was "colorful, imaginative, gadget-laden sci-fi." However, of the 14 reviews included in a Rotten Tomatoes survey of internet critics regarding the title, 28% reflect negative reactions. Greater Milwaukee Today described it as “An appalling film…”
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