Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Man from Atlantis Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 3, 2019

Mayo Simon & Herbert F. Solow’s Man From Atlantis was a minor but memorable TV series that lasted for 13 episodes during the 1977-78 season. Prefaced by four made-for-TV movies, it stars Patrick Duffy as a man with mysterious abilities including underwater breathing, exceptional swimming, heightened strength, and no depth limitations…even several miles underwater. Before this revelation, he was just some guy discovered unconscious on a beach, which is exactly where this self-titled pilot movie begins. Once a medical examination reveals his unusual anatomy -- webbed hands, glowing eyes, and gills instead of lungs – the newly- named “Mark Harris” is saved by Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (Belinda J. Montgomery), who has the good sense to get Mark back underwater before he suffocates.

It’s not long before Mark’s abilities draw interest: the U.S. Navy, having recently lost a submarine with several higher-ups on board, wants Mark to help find it. Reluctant to aid a species that seems intent on destroying itself and the environment, Mark initially rejects their offer; he prefers the tranquility of his tank and Dr. Merrill’s care, but eventually agrees to help. During their trip miles below the ocean’s surface, Mark separates from the team and discovers a hidden underwater facility with several scientists who seem to be working against their will – they even wear wrist bands that compromise their emotional ability. After a mastermind reveals himself, Mark must work independently to free the captive scientists and shut down the underwater operation before a much larger threat becomes reality.

Even the cursory write-up hints at the biggest problem with Man From Atlantis, both this made- for-TV pilot movie and the series as a whole: how quickly it devolves from a decent human drama into a campy adventure that, quite simply, hasn’t aged well. The story’s overall interest and effectiveness plummets soon after Mark explores the underwater facility, although the journey to get there and its actual discovery are certainly intriguing enough. The villain and his generic motives are ridiculous, even by 1970s TV standards, with several glaring clichés that make almost every third-act moment painfully predictable and cheesy. It’s a shame, too: despite Man From Atlantis’ less-than-original premise, it’s home to a few memorable moments and solid performances. Chief among them is Patrick Duffy, entirely believable in the role for both his physical appearance and swimming ability. He inhabits Mark Harris as well as any in his career, but can only do so much when the story itself feels like it's held together with duct tape.

Likely due to the recent popularity of some other fish-man with Atlantean roots, Warner Archives has seen fit to revive Man From Atlantis on Blu-ray -- or at least this pilot movie, depending on how it sells. This is still an unlikely release for two reasons: it was already afforded a decent series-spanning DVD collection back in 2011, and its low-budget roots don’t exactly make Man From Atlantis a prime candidate for high definition. Even so, this Blu-ray clearly offers an A/V improvement, thanks to a new 2K scan of those 2011 source elements and the addition of a lossless audio mix.

Man from Atlantis Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1977 tube TV-friendly 1.33:1 aspect ratio, this new 1080p transfer of Man From Atlantis looks very good within the film's obvious budget limitations. Although it was taken from the same source material as its 2011 DVD counterpart, this new 2K scan reveals an improved level of detail, clarity, and color depth…along with a few flaws that weren't visible on DVD, VHS, broadcast, or other such formats. Man From Atlantis was not an expensive production and, though shot and edited on film, shows more obvious seams depending on the locale and subject matter.

The best portions, perhaps not surprisingly, were filmed outdoors in the daytime or on well-lit indoor sets. These scenes display a striking amount of fine detail and texture…especially in close-ups, even though Blu-ray's increased resolution also uncovers less desirable elements like the waxy makeup on Mark's webbed hands (screenshot #6) or native limitations of a few stray optical effects. Other fundamentally flawed moments, such as a few woefully unconvincing day-for-night shots (screenshot #20) and several deep underwater or nighttime scenes (#21-24), exhibit a much flatter appearance, as well as higher grain levels and extremely limited shadow detail. Yet it's impossible to criticize such source material issues, especially since Warner Archive has not used any sort of digital noise reduction or contrast boosting to "overcome" these flaws; such tinkering rarely yields good results.

This is clearly respectful treatment of a 42-year-old TV movie and, in almost every area, represents a best-case scenario for video purists. The colors look especially deep and rich every step of the way, from the ambient cyan tones of Mark's underwater tank (screenshot #1) to the deep emerald glow of his eyes (screenshot #2) and the layered blues of cloudless daytime skies, with consistently accurate skin tones and saturation levels that aren't prone to any perceptible bleeding. Dirt and debris are basically absent, as are common digital defects including compression artifacts, banding, and edge enhancement. The bit rate, as usual, is very healthy. Overall, Man From Atlantis is certainly not the most impressive catalog title by design, but one with almost no obvious room for improvement.

Man from Atlantis Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Man From Atlantis' audio, on the other hand, is a lot more straightforward. This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio serves up a capable split mono presentation; given the film's low budget and native format, there's not a great deal of excitement here but two channels do the job well enough. Dialogue is clean and crisply recorded with no obvious sync issues or distortion, aside from a few chaotic crowded scenes during the climax that sound clipped at the high end. Mid-range levels are quite good with an overall solid dynamic range, and even a few respectable low frequency effects give added weight to the lower depths and rushing water. Overall, it's another fine presentation of source material that was never meant to emulate a big-budget theatrical presentation; for a 42-year-old telefilm, Man From Atlantis sounds about as good as it ever will. Although I wasn't able to do a direct comparison with the 2011 DVD's Dolby Digital mix, this lossless track likely represents an improvement based on those format differences alone.

Optional English SDH subtitles are included during the main feature…and surprise, surprise, they're not in all caps like most recent Warner Archive releases (see screenshot #15 for an example). Let's keep this trend going.

Man from Atlantis Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No bonus features have been included on this single-disc release. (Not surprising, since Warner Archives only ports over existing in-house extras and their separate DVD collections didn't have any either.) With that said, it's extremely disappointing that the complete series isn't being offered outright, or at least the other three telefilms -- not sure if they're just testing the waters here, but it doesn't exactly tip the scales in this release's favor.

Man from Atlantis Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lee H. Katzin's Man From Atlantis is the first of four made-for-TV movies that led to a short-lived series. It's not a particularly gripping or memorable production, aside from some decent low-budget effects work and the capable lead performance by Patrick Duffy, as it falls victim to campy clichés and a flat pace that slows down in all the wrong spots. There's obviously some nostalgic appeal for anyone who grew up with this short-lived franchise; anyone in that category should enjoy seeing this pilot film on Blu-ray, as its new 1080p transfer and lossless audio make the most of limited source material. But there are way too many drawbacks to recommend this to anyone else: no bonus features are included by default, and the release strategy pales in comparison to Warner Archive's earlier DVD collections. Unless you're a huge fan or a complete series is announced soon, don't go out of your way for this disc.