Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

You're gonna need a bigger bra.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 29, 2022

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.

So yeah, not exactly a good movie but certainly entertaining enough within its very limited boundaries, and more so after decades of hindsight. While not stuffed to the gills with nostalgic tropes, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman presents a reasonably engaging story and draws its narrative lines efficiently, with womanizing cad Harry Archer (William Hudson) cozying up to homewrecking doll Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers) while his estranged wife, wealthy and eccentric Nancy (Allison Hayes), reportedly sees a glowing sphere along a deserted stretch of road. We see this orb, as well as the giant alien creature that frightens her, in plain sight... but absolutely no one believes poor Nancy, not with her long history of emotional problems and constant dependency on alcohol. She persists and Harry, hoping she'll be thrown back into the nuthouse again (thus leaving him with her $50M estate), finally agrees to search the surrounding area.

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.

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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.

• Audio Commentary - The DVD-era commentary pairs charismatic film historian Tom Weaver (no stranger to the format, especially on classic horror titles) with supporting actress Yvette Vickers for a suitably relaxed and very entertaining little session. It unavoidably plays out in more of an interview-style format with Weaver doing most of the driving, and curious fans will be rewarded with lots of interesting tidbits about the film's development, production, release, and enduring place in pop culture. Good stuff if you haven't heard it already.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:50) - This memorably campy promotional piece can also be seen here.

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.