Invasion U.S.A. / Rocket Attack U.S.A. (Film Masters) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Studio: Film Masters
Release Date: December 10th, 1952 (theatrical) (Invasion U.S.A.) / March 24th, 1960 (Rocket Attack U.S.A.) / August 26th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 21 seconds (Invasion U.S.A.) / 1 hour 3 seconds 37 seconds (Rocket Attack U.S.A.) / 1 hour 37 minutes 35 seconds (Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode) (Rocket Attack U.S.A.)
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 2 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (1.37:1 aspect ratio) (Invasion U.S.A., Rocket Attack U.S.A.) / 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio) (Rocket Attack U.S.A.)
Sound: English DTS-HA Master Audio 2.0 (both films), English Dolby Digital 2.0 (both films)
Subtitles: English SDH (both films), English (commentary track) (both films)
Slipcover: No
Starring: Gerald Mohr, Peggie Castle, Dan O'Herlihy, Robert Bice, Tom Kennedy, Wade Crosby (Invasion U.S.A.) / Monica Davis, John McKay, Phillip St. George, Edward Czerniuk, Daniel Kern, Richard Downs (Rocket Attack U.S.A.)
Written by Robert Smith and Franz Schulz (Invasion U.S.A.) / Barry Mahon (Rocket Attack U.S.A.)
Directed by Alfred E. Green (Invasion U.S.A.) / Barry Mahon (Rocket Attack U.S.A)
Rating: Not Rated (war violence) (Invasion U.S.A.)

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Poster

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What's It About?

Five people are sitting in a New York bar with a mysterious Mr. Ohman, when they hear the news that the godless Communists are invading the good ol' U.S. of A. The five rush off to various sections of the country to do their part to stop the invasion, when an A-bomb crashes down upon Manhattan. (Invasion U.S.A.)

A spy is sent to Moscow to determine just how far along their missile program is. Surprise, surprise: Sputnik gave them all the data they needed to build one nuclear missile, which is ready to launch against the U.S. (Rocket Attack U.S.A.)

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Video/Audio

Taken from a "4K scan from 35mm archival film elements), and presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, INVASION U.S.A. looks pretty good. Blacks are deep, whites are not blown out, and greyscale looks right. There is a healthy amount of stock footage that varies in quality, with some of it looking pretty rough. Film grain also varies with it being obvious in some scenes and very light in others.

ROCKET ATTACK U.S.A. lists a "new HD print" without anymore information provided. Given Film Masters usual stellar work when it comes to new scans and whatnot, I really doubt the print they had was all that great. We get the usual imperfections like dirt and hairs but we also have to deal with an image that is too dark some of the time while damn near blowing out some of the actors' faces. They appear way too white. The image is also very flat and lifeless. I can look past all of this given what Film Masters had to work with. It looks like crap but knowing that this was taken from a print and not the OCN or an interpositive allows us to grade the picture quality on a different scale.

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Extras/Packaging

Disc 1: Invasion U.S.A.

Commentary by Jason A. Ney (Found in Setup Menu) Mr. Ney always provides great commentary tracks and this one is no different.

A Matter of Minutes: Remembering Gerald Mohr documentary from Ballyhoo Pictures (18m, HD, 1.85:1) Mohr's son Tony is on hand to offer a remembrance of his father and his career. This is a really good special feature. I wish we would get more of these. I always love when family members do this.

Better Dead Than Red: Hollywood vs. Communism in the 1950's documentary from Ballyhoo Pictures (36m 6s, HD, 1.85:1) I knew of the Red Scare and whatnot but I wasn't all that familar with the films that came from it. This is a pretty good overview of all that.

Atomic-era shorts collection: part 1

A is for Atom (14m 43s, HD, 1.33:1)
A New Look at the H Bomb (10m 14s, HD, 1.33:1)
About Fallout (23m 35s, SD, 1.33:1)
Stay safe, Stay Strong (22m 34s, SD, 1.33:1)
Atomic Alert (10m 38s, SD, 1.33:1)
Fallout (14m 13s, SD, 1.33:1)

And a Voice Shall Be Heard (1951) short (21m 33s, HD, 1.78:1) This is a propaganda film that focuses on the importance of the two way radio, especially if an atomic bomb was dropped. The video here has been stretched from it's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio to a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Why? I have no idea.

re-cut theatrical trailer (1m 33s, HD, 1.37:1)

Gallery of stills (2m 15s, HD) autoplays with zero sound.

Disc 2: Rocket Attack U.S.A.

Commentary with C. Courtney Joyner and Mark Legan (found in Setup menu) Joyner is always a joy to listen to. The guy is so knowledgable and he always presents this knowledge in an enlightening way. He is never boring. Legan, who I have never heard of, is great too. He asks Joyner a ton of questions and makes the track even better than if Joyner had been on his own.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring Rocket Attack U.S.A. (1h 37m, SD, 1.33:1) The episode starts out with the crew watching part 2 of The Phantom Creeps, which threw me off as I must have missed them saying we were watching two different things, before they get into Rocket Attack U.S.A. Watching the film through this episode is the way to go if you plan on trying to sit through the snoozefest that is Rocket Attack U.S.A.

Atomic-era shorts collection: part 2

Our Cities Must Fight (8m 46s, HD, 1.33:1)
Warning Red (13m 50s, HD, 1.33:1)

Re-cut theatrical trailer (1m 29s, HD, 1.85:1)

Packaging wise, the front features the poster for INVASION U.S.A., along with a small portion of the poster for ROCKET ATTACK U.S.A. Inside you will find a 22-page, full color booklet featuring two essays: one by Toby Roan about actor Peggie Castle and the other by Don Stradley about ROCKET U.S.A. There are also various photos of Miss Castle, original artwork, poster art for ROCKET ATTACK U.S.A. and stills from the film as well.

Each film is divided into 8 chapters which are accessible through the remote and on the main menu.

Both discs are REGION FREE

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Overall

Despite being propaganda, I liked INVASION U.S.A. The film is well made and there isn't any pissing time. It moves at a brisk pace and doesn't overstay its welcome. There is a lot of corny dialogue but it doesn't take away from the fun of the film. Apparently, people hate this film but I thought it was much better than people think although I do think the ending was a cop out. The film would have landed a lot better had they left out the last minute or so.

On the other hand, ROCKET ATTACK U.S.A. is absolutely awful. I don't think I have ever seen a film that feels like it was made specifically to be featured on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000. Having watched both the film with and without the MST3K treatment, I can honestly say this is one of worst films I have ever seen. Who wanted this thing made? Why was it made? Was this a money laundering scheme? I can't think of a single reason this thing exists. I know people will say its propaganda, and they are right, but you would think propaganda would be a bit more entertaining. INVASION U.S.A was.

As they have proven time and again, Film Masters is the Criterion for public-domain films. They always give the films they release the royal treatment. We get a nice 4K scan of INVASION U.S.A. along with a great commentary track and informative interviews. ROCKET U.S.A. isn't given the best transfer (which I am sure was out of their control) but we get another killer commentary track along with the MST3K version of the film and a great commentary track. I also really enjoyed the Cold War propaganda films provided here. I cannot imagine going to a movie theater to watch a sci-fi film (or any genre) and seeing one of these "scare films". I do wish we had gotten the MST3K version of the INVASION U.S.A. but there were probably rights issues they couldn't clear. This does not take away from what we have here. This is a stellar release.

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Extras/Menus