5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
One woman – 25 pairs of shoes?!? It’s impossible not to have fun with this all-time kitsch classic which, as fans know, is actually about a very big woman with a very bad attitude. The woman is wealthy Nancy Archer, fresh from the loony bin and ticked off. Her rat of a husband has been at play while the feline’s away, putting the moves on Honey Parker and scheming about the day when Nancy’s fortune will be theirs. That day will never come – not after Nancy has an alien encounter that zaps her metabolism into overdrive. Soon, Nancy’s size matches her rage. She’ll prove big girls don’t cry; they get even.
Starring: Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers, Roy Gordon (I), George DouglasHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Nathan Juran's infamously deceptive indie cult classic Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, part of a brief wave of late 1950s sci-fi "size" films that built steam with the likes of The Amazing Colossal Man and The Incredible Shrinking Man (easily the best of the bunch), likely had hopeful audiences nervously checking their watches as precious seconds ticked away. "There's gonna be a 50 foot woman, right?" At just 66 minutes in length it takes a interminably long time to get going, with the titular event finally, mercifully happening with about 10 minutes to spare. It's a fitfully fun payoff for the kinda limp drama that dominates its running time, but still a far cry from the tantalizing sight of its iconic poster.
Imagine Harry's surprise when they discover the object Nancy ranted about, and of course the imposing alien that lives inside. After a failed attack causes him to flee the scene, leaving his wife behind, she's later found back at their house in a delirious state and checked out by her personal physician, Dr. Cushing (Roy Gordon). Largely confined to her room, Nancy has apparently been exposed to radiation from the alien's touch and Harry, at Honey's urging, secretly attempts to kill her with a lethal dose of medicine but instead finds Nancy has grown to an enormous size yet is mostly sedated. Her near-comatose state doesn't last long -- in movie minutes, at least -- and soon enough, oversized Nancy breaks free of her restraints (and the roof) for long-overdue revenge on her cheating, murderous husband.
It's a decent enough foundation for a film of this type and, even with its severe budget limitations in mind, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman had the potential to be a truly great little do-it-yourself spectacle. And while there are occasional moments of brilliance and a few clever special effects for the time period, this film is severely crippled by its structure and script: both work against any potential momentum almost everywhere except its bookending scenes, resulting in a film that should breeze by but feels like almost twice its running time. It still falls neatly into "so bad it's good" territory due to questionable performances and hokey dialogue, but a much more rewarding middle ground could certainly have been achieved here. Even so, its proportionately solid success at the box office (largely due to the poster, most likely), decades of nostalgia, and several home video releases have helped Attack of the 50 Foot Woman maintain its pop culture status as a fun little diversion from a more innocent era of filmmaking, independent or otherwise.
Warner Archive usually takes the high road with their monthly slate of releases... and given their quieter-than-usual output as of late (a temporary
setback), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman might have been better suited as a tongue-in-cheek "fifth wheel" rather than one-half of their
entire December lineup (the other half being The Night of the Iguana, which is next on my list). But the film certainly has its fans and, as expected, they'll adore
this Blu-ray edition with its typically terrific A/V presentation and extras carried over from Warner Bros.' 2007 "Cult Camp Classic" DVD.
In news that should surprise virtually no one, Warner Archive's reliably great restoration work has once again yielded outstanding results on this exclusive 1080p transfer. Its source is a recent 4K scan of the original negative with careful cleanup that, as always, preserves Attack of the 50 Foot Woman's organic textures while looking squeaky clean, likely outpacing even original showings by a decent margin... and you know earlier home video editions didn't look half this good. Of course, such a tangible bump in resolution and clarity only exacerbates a few unintentional seams: support strings, dodgy mattes and superimpositions, and other dated SFX techniques, but one could easily argue this just adds to the film's kitschy charm. Inarguably, fine detail and textures are flat-out fantastic even in unflattering lighting, with clearly visible pores, wrinkles, and ultra-crisp background details that, before now, couldn't help but look a little waxy. Black levels, gradients, and shadow details hold up extremely well, thanks as much to the workmanlike cinematography as Warner Archive's expert disc encoding which shows no obvious compression issues; even on a single-layered disc, the short running time means there's more than enough real estate for a comfy fit. As always, buy with confidence knowing you're getting yet another WAC disc that pushes the limits of Blu-ray's visual capabilities.
Invariably, the DTS-HD 2.0 spilt mono likewise yields great results, even if that era's optical audio tracks don't leave as strong an impression as good quality film stock. There's a great clarity to this mix that almost defies its modest budget in equal measure, with crisp dialogue and balanced effects that suffer from virtually no source or age-related defects such as distortion, hissing, and pops. Sure, it's a little strained on the high end -- this applies to some of the shriller screams, as well as Ronald Stein's original score -- but that's almost expected and in no way distracting. In almost every respect, it's just as good of an audio restoration and likewise runs circles around previous editions.
English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film only, not the extras. This is disappointing since Warner Bros.' 2007 DVD, which the Blu- ray's legacy extras were created for, does include optional subtitles for all content.
This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with that iconic poster artwork on the front cover and no inserts. Both of its bonus features have been ported over from previous editions including WB's 2007 DVD.
Nathan Juran's Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a sci-fi cult classic that, as that designation often implies, offers a mix of "guilty" and "pleasure". It's got its moments but is mostly remembered for the questionable dialogue, lo-fi effects, and occasional eye candy, which of course extends to the iconic poster art. Warner Archive's Blu-ray polishes its visuals to a pristine shine -- enough to see a few strings, even -- and similarly fine-tines the audio track, making sure to carry over a few lightweight but enjoyable DVD-era bonus features too. Die-hard fans have likely pre-ordered this already, but the inarguable appeal of another solid Warner Archive disc might even draw in curious newcomers too.
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Warner Archive Collection
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Standard Edition
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Collector's Edition
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Enemy From Space
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Special Edition | The Creeping Unknown
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2K Restoration
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