6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Deep in the Florida Everglades, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Alec Holland, and a sexy government agent, Alice Cable, have developed a secret formula that could end world hunger. Little do they know, however, that their arch nemesis, Arcane, is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish schemes. Looting the lab and kidnapping Cable, Arcane douses Holland with the chemicals and leaves him for dead. Mutated by his own formula, Holland becomes "Swamp Thing" — a half-human/half-plant superhero who will stop at nothing to rescue Cable and defeat Arcane...even if it costs him his life!
Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Louis Jourdan, Ray Wise, David Hess, Nicholas WorthHorror | 100% |
Comic book | Insignificant |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono (224 kbps)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
MVD's Rewind Collection is revisiting Swamp Thing, which Shout! Factory's Scream Factory imprint originally released on 1080 disc way
back in 2013. This review
will repeat appropriate sections of my original Swamp Thing
Blu-ray review as a result.
It might not have risen to the level of the Florida woman who checked out a VHS tape (remember those) of Disney’s Home on the Range from her
local library for her son to watch and was shocked when it contained a porn video instead, but another mother,
this time in Texas, was outraged when she rented Swamp Thing from her local Blockbuster (remember
those?), and was shocked—shocked, I tell you—when she discovered the film contained nudity! It
turned out that MGM had inadvertently released the unrated international cut on DVD, a cut that ran just a couple of
minutes longer than the “kinder, gentler” American version and which indeed had a few passing glimpses of the female
form. MGM went into instantaneous damage control mode and recalled the "unauthorized" version, quickly releasing
the relatively more chaste American version. The first release has now become a collector’s item, fetching some unholy
prices on various online auction sites, and
while some fans were probably hoping against hope that the Shout! Factory Blu-ray would contain the controversial
footage, either in the form of the international cut, or at least as bonus material, it didn't, something that has been ameliorated with this new
release. That might mean that this new release may require vigilant mothers to keep their children from seeing any untoward material in terms of
unwanted nudity. That is, if you don’t already consider a monstrous half
plant-half human hybrid untoward. Swamp Thing, based on a DC Comics character who has had more lives than
a veritable cat, is a flat out goof-fest that came relatively early in Wes Craven’s career, and which finds the director
concentrating more on mood than scares. Set in a Louisiana bog (Craven states the film was actually shot in South
Carolina), Swamp Thing details the trials of Dr. Alec Holland, a man who, kind of like Dr. David Banner of The Incredible Hulk fame, is
inadvertently affected by his own experiments and turns into a gigantic green behemoth who marauds through various
adventures in a fit of pique.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from MVD's 1080 disc included in this package. More screenshots from the 1080 release can be viewed here:
Swamp Thing Blu-ray review.
Swamp Thing is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Rewind imprint with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1.
Both MVD's
1080 and 2160 presentations are culled from new 2023 work and the results are quite impressive, at least when compared to the old Shout! Factory
release. The first thing that's evident even in the 1080 presentation and probably more so in 4K UHD is the upgrade in saturation, along with an overall
darker look (so much so that the Shout! release almost looks artificially brightened now in hindsight). Despite some "baked in" softness, detail levels
are also measurably improved throughout the presentation, with fine detail on things like our title hero's rubbery skin more palpable looking. There's
even some improvement in general detail levels in some of the midrange and wide shots in the bayou. There are still some rather noticeable downturns
in quality, including the scene of Adrienne Barbeau exiting a helicopter fairly early on, and a later moment with Louis Jourdan on a boat, and I frankly
felt that these quality variances were only more apparent on this disc than on MVD's 1080 disc, simply due to the increased resolution and HDR. As I
mentioned with regard to the Shout! Factory release, and also with regard to MVD's 1080 presentation, this can definitely be very grainy looking at
times, most of which has to do with opticals, but that's another aspect where the increased resolution may not be especially beneficial. HDR and/or
Dolby Vision add a rather warm rush of suffusion throughout, and some of the crazily lit and/or graded sequences, including moments bathed in red or
green, really pop spectacularly in this version. My score is 4.25.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track on this disc struck my ears as being virtually interchangeable with the track on the Shout! Factory release from years ago. As I mentioned in my original review, this is one film that actually might have benefitted from a surround track, given the ubiquity of ambient environmental effects in the swamp, but the mono track is decently layered and offers secure fidelity. Dialogue, effects and score are all presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Note: The 4K UHD disc in this package offers the commentaries and two versions of the films listed below. The 1080 disc has all of the
following supplementary content.
This release ports over the supplements from the Shout! Factory release, though as often tends to be the case, the timings can be a little different,
and this disc has separated the photo galleries. There are also two featurettes (marked with an asterisk) that were not on the Shout! release.
Swamp Thing is neither as scary nor as funny as it really could have been, but it's still enjoyable most of the time, aided by Barbeau's earnestness and a surprisingly well done villain turn by the ultra-suave Jourdan. Craven is still finding his directorial legs here, and the film has some pacing issues as well as a certain tonal unevenness, but this is a near perfect recreation of fifties' drive-in fare, whether that result was intended or not. This 4K UHD presentation offers a more robust palette and good improvement in detail levels from MVD's already excellent 1080 version, both discs easily outpacing the old Shout! Factory release, though the increased resolution here does offer a few obstacles as well. Audio is problem free and supplements are excellent. Recommended.
1989
Escape 2000
1982
2016
2010
1988
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
1978
1984
2002
2005
2013
2019
Grave Desires / Tomb of the Living Dead
1968
Collector's Edition
1978
1982
1971
1961
1955
1956
2010
2009