Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Friends and Foes

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 30, 2015

In addition to the volume of Hammer Horror Classics released earlier this month, Warner Home Video has dipped into its vault for a choice selection of four classics that it is calling the "Special Effects Collection". At first glance, one might be tempted to call these "monster movies" or "creature features", but those names would be unfair to two of the films, The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young, both of which feature memorable heros who just happen to be huge beasts created by special effects. The other two films, Them! and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, are classic tales of deadly predators who threaten humanity with annihilation.

Each film is available singly as well as in a volume of four.

For discussion of The Son of Kong, please see The Son of Kong Blu-ray review.

For discussion of Mighty Joe Young, please see the Mighty Joe Young Blu-ray review.

For discussion of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, please The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Blu-ray review.

For discussion of Them!, please the Them! Blu- ray review.

Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Son of Kong (for additional screenshots, go here):

The Son of Kong was shot by the same team of cinematographers that photographed King Kong: Eddie Linden, J.O. Taylor and Vernon Walker. Like much of the RKO library now owned by Warner, the source elements were not well preserved by RKO, and significant restoration effort was required by Warner's Motion Picture Imaging facility to bring this new 2k scan up to what Warner considers acceptable standards for Blu-ray. As with any other effects-laden film from this era, Son of Kong is loaded with shots featuring multiple layers of optical superimposition, a process which unavoidably degrades the image. As the film switches back and forth between scenes with and without opticals, the level of detail shifts noticeably. Blu-ray's superior resolution accentuates the difference, but that difference is part of the original film.

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is a fine representation of Son of Kong. Judged by the shots without any kind of effects, the black-and-white image is sharp and detailed without the kind of electronic trickery that was often used to overcome the limitations of the DVD format (notably artificial sharpening and contrast boosting). Blacks are solid, variations of gray are well-delineated, and the grain pattern appears natural. Effects shots vary in quality, depending on which "layer" was the last to be superimposed. These kind of variations remained the bane of effects films until the advent of digital compositing in the 1990s, some sixty years after Son of Kong.

Consistent with Warner's recent abandonment of low bitrates, Son of Kong has been mastered with average rate of 32.84 Mbps, and the compression has been carefully done so that no digital artifacts are added to the existing analog byproducts of the optical effects.


Mighty Joe Young (for additional screenshots, go here):

The credited cinematographer on Mighty Joy Young is J. Roy Hunt (I Walked with a Zombie), although many of the scenes were actually photographed by Ray Harryhausen, who operated the camera, one frame at a time, for the many scenes containing stop-motion animation. As with the other titles contained in Warner's Special Effects Collection, MJY has been newly scanned at 2k from a fine-grain positive for this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, but anyone who views all four discs will immediately notice that MJY has the best image of the bunch. This remains obvious even after making due allowance for the inevitable softness and loss of detail that occurs in various effect shots containing multiple layers of opticals, rear projection and multiple "passes" of the same negative to combine various elements. (Harryhausen describes the process in the interviews contained in the extras.) In MJY's non-effects shots, and even in effects shots, if one concentrates on the last element added, which is usually Joe Young himself, the Blu-ray image reveals a level of clarity, a degree of detail and a sense of depth that even the films made later (i.e., Them! and The Beast from 20,000 Phantoms) cannot match.

The difference is attributable to the source material. As some readers will know, the silver nitrate film stocks commonly used before 1951 were subject to many risks. They could decompose or deteriorate, and they were also highly flammable. Many original camera negatives (OCNs), and more than a few lives, were lost as a result of vault fires caused by nitrate stocks, which is why nitrate was phased out and replaced by so-called "safety stock". On the plus side, however, nitrate, in the rare instance where it has survived, produces a noticeably superior image when scanned for video. Some people call it the nitrate "sparkle".

The OCN for MJY no longer exists, but it just so happens that the surviving fine-grain master used for this new scan is nitrate-based. That is what accounts for the additional luster, detail and depth in the Blu-ray image, as well as the solidity of the blacks and the overall clarity, even when the image softens due to the effects processing. In its best moments, MJY is a reminder of just how superbly Blu-ray can reproduce the experience of black-and-white motion picture photography. To ensure that the full benefit of MPI's scan and restoration work appears on Blu-ray as intended, Warner has encoded MJY with an average bitrate of 34.85 Mbps, which is a figure more commonly seen from the Warner Archive Collection.


The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (for additional screenshots, go here):

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was shot by John L. Russell (Hitchcock's Psycho). For Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray release, the studio's MPI facility has created a new 2k scan from a fine-grain positive. As with the other films in Warner's Special Effects Collection, Beast's creature effects were optically superimposed into the finished film, so that shots in which the resurrected Rhedosaurus appears routinely contain portions that have suffered generational loss of detail and cannot look better than they do here. It's also worth noting how frequently effects supervisor Ray Harryhausen positioned his stop-motion model wholly or partially in shadow, and used water or smoke to obscure its artificiality. In later work in color, Harryhausen's work had advanced to the point where he could place his models in full illumination without camouflage.

Within the limits of the source material, the Blu-ray image is very good: sharp and detailed, with solid blacks, well-delineated grays and a natural grain pattern. The Arctic snows are white, but the remaining scenes retain their natural texture and have not been artificially brightened to create a false sense of "pop". Like the other films in the Collection, Beast has been well encoded at a high bitrate, in this case 31.91 Mbps.


Them! (for additional screenshots, go here):

Them! was shot by cinematographer Sid Hickox (The Big Sleep) during Hollywood's transition to widescreen, when studios were experimenting with multiple aspect ratios. Originally planned as a color production in 3D, the film was downgraded to black and white in pre-production, with an intended aspect ratio of 1.75:1. Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, based on a new 2k scan of a fine grain positive by the studio's MPI facility, is, to my knowledge, the first home video presentation of the film in anything close to its intended ratio. (The Blu-ray's measured AR is exactly 1.78:1.). Consistent with Warner's commitment to abandon low bitrates, the feature has been mastered with an average rate of 27.93 Mbps.

Dissatisfaction has been expressed with Them! on Blu-ray, based on a small selection of screenshot comparisons to Warner's 2003 DVD. The concern is understandable but misguided. DVD, with its low resolution and limited color space, was never promoted as a medium capable of reproducing the texture of film; to compensate for the format's limitations, telecine colorists applied various techniques, including artificial sharpening and contrast boosting. No such manipulations have been applied by MPI to this new transfer, which will probably be perceived by those familiar with the DVD in the same way that a professionally calibrated TV is perceived by its owner—at first, it seems to be less bright and eye-catching, but as one's eye adjusts, significant gains in depth and detail become apparent.

The Blu-ray image has solid blacks and fine delineations of grays and whites. A number of scenes are exceptionally dark and are intended to be that way; the descent into the ant nest in New Mexico is a prime example. Others are soft and blurry because the image was deliberately obscured; the entire sequence leading up to the first appearance of a giant ant is a perfect demonstration of an image that has been purposefully softened by simulating a sandstorm, the better to hide wires, rigs and puppeteers, when the first beast appears. In other scenes, when the source allows, the image is quite detailed. As a demonstration of the degree to which the selection of images can influence a reader's perception of a disc, I have tried to concentrate on those scenes in selecting screenshots to accompany this review.

Equally unconvincing is the complaint that the colors are wrong in the title card, the only place in the film where color occurs, with the word "Them!" in red and blue. Unless one has access to an answer print or other authoritative source, one cannot know whether it's the DVD or the Blu-ray that is right. MPI has such access; the rest of us do not.

An additional concern (raised by another review site) is that the Blu-ray image is "stretched" horizontally. Here, again, this claim rests on the fallacy that the 2003 DVD of Them! represents a standard by which any subsequent iteration should be judged, but DVD-era transfer technicians were frequently more concerned with compensating for overscan than maintaining image accuracy. Priorities have changed with Blu-ray, and a new scan in the original aspect ratio is more likely to feature the correct geometry than a 12+-year-old scan in the wrong OAR. To confirm this, all one has to do is watch the new Blu-ray and note whenever a circular object appears; if the image were "stretched", all those circles would be ellipses, and they are not. The screenshot used by the other site of child actress Sandy Descher as "The Ellinson Girl", which some readers have thought makes her face look oddly fat, only demonstrates that one can always pick an unflattering camera angle. In other frames from the Blu-ray, of which I have provided several, young Ms. Descher's face looks perfectly normal. (By contrast, the film's trailer, which has not been remastered, is horizontally squeezed, and this is obvious from the logo "stamped" on the opening, which should be circular but is not.)

Mistakes do happen in Blu-ray mastering, and there are some notorious examples. Them! isn't one of them.

Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Son of Kong:

The Son of Kong's original mono track has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA mono. Within the limitations of the source material, it sounds quite good. Dialogue and effects are clearly delivered, as is the score by legendary film composer Max Steiner (Casablanca). There are no pops, clicks or other distortion, and hiss is minimal, but the dynamic range is limited, which is only to be expected from a recording of this vintage.


Mighty Joe Young:

MJY's original mono soundtrack is presented in lossless DTS-HD MA mono, and it sounds very good for its era. There is no distortion or other interference. The dialogue and effects are clear, and Joe's roar has sufficient dynamic range to make the requisite impact. The musical score by Roy Webb (Out of the Past) navigates the film's tricky emotional turns effectively.


The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms:

Beast's original mono soundtrack has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA mono, and it is remarkably effective for its era. Not only is the dialogue clear, but the all-important roar of the angry Rhedosaurus makes an appropriate impact (though it doesn't exactly rattle the room). The sounds of destruction wrought by the creature would be more dramatic in a contemporary mix, but they tell the story well enough. The score by David Buttolph (House of Wax) is a classic among creature features.


Them!:

Them!'s original mono soundtrack has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA mono, and it is very effective. The dialogue is clear, as are certain key sound effects, notably the high-pitched, slightly electronic wail of the ants' communication. Various explosions and gunfire have the limited impact that one might expect from a 1954 soundtrack, but they make their point. The dramatic score is by Polish composer Bronislau Kaper (A Day at the Races).

Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Extras for each disc are discussed in the individual reviews.

Special Effects Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Special Effects Collection offers worthy presentations of all four films. The choice between acquiring individual titles or the entire volume comes down to personal taste, but all of them are worthwhile. Highly recommended.