Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Tentacles Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 19, 2022

Ovidio Assonitis' "Tentacles" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus features on the disc are vintage trailer and radio spot for the film from its American distributor. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It ain't a shark. This thing is bigger. Much, much bigger.

Even though Tentacles was produced and directed by Ovidio Assonitis, a Greek whose production company funded some quite well-known international genre films, it is a genuine Italian project. Well, sort of. You can think of it as a genuine Italian project only if you forget that Steven Spielberg directed Jaws a couple of years before it. In other words, Tentacles is one of those very particular Italian copycats that were made to capitalize on the massive success of Jaws.

The film opens up in Southern California where some sea creature begins killing local residents and tourists while they enjoy the beautiful summer weather. Most die in the water, but a baby also disappears from the shore after a mother is temporarily distracted. Initially, the local authorities begin speculating that a great white shark has arrived in the area, but the suspicious veteran newspaper reporter Ned Turner (John Huston) reaches out to whale trainer Will Gleason (Bo Hopkins) and together they are able to conclude that the killer must be bigger -- much, much bigger. Meanwhile, the sea creature kills a couple of Gleason’s best friends in the area, both professional divers, and then takes to the bottom of the sea a few luxury yachts with everyone on them. Gleason, who has had enough of it, vows to destroy it. But to get the job done he would need the help of Summer and Winter, two giant whales he has been training in a local aquarium.

Tentacles isn’t the simplistic and predictable genre film the short summation above implies. Indeed, while it is very easy to tell how it plans to entertain its audience, and specifically what type of genre thrills it intends to produce, the progression of its narrative is quite unusual. For example, unlike Jaws, Tentacles has a sense of humor that not only balances the horror and action, but often overwhelms both. As a result, there are sequences that effectively pull the narrative in some pretty strange places where the behavior of the stars looks completely out of sync with the behavior of the supporting actors. Compare how Henry Fonda and Franco Diogene treat their characters. The former is very much committed to a serious environmental drama like The China Syndrome whose ultimate goal is to deliver an important message. The latter is still playing the fluffy joker from Strip Nude for Your Killer and very much enjoying the experience. Needless to say, the contrasts that emerge as the sea creature goes berserk are pretty remarkable. On top of this, Stelvio Cipriani’s soundtrack produces so many different curve balls that it becomes absolutely impossible for Tentacles to establish a proper identity.

Then there is the sea creature, which is supposed to be a giant octopus but could be anything one’s imagination wants it to be. Why? It moves like a torpedo, it seems to have the head of a huge alligator, and at the end, right before it is attacked by the whales, it resembles a giant gorgon. It looks real, too. Believe or not, the Assonitis and the other producers of Tentacles apparently spent almost a million bucks on a giant replica of an octopus exactly like it, which sank immediately after it was placed in the water.

Tentacles clearly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but folks that appreciate the sense of humor and enthusiasm Italians brought to these types of shameless copycats should have a good time with it. This film has some legit out-of-left-field moments that are borderline brilliant and as a result produces an atmosphere that is pretty special. Admittedly, it is hard to tell if everything that happens in it was entirely scripted and not a byproduct of unavoidable compromises, but at least as far as this writer is concerned it does not matter.

Tentacles Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tentacles arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by MGM. The visuals are just a tad softer than they should be, but delineation, clarity, and depth remain very pleasing throughout the entire film. In fact, I was quite surprised to see how good the film looked on my system because it is pretty easy to tell that the master was prepared a while ago. Color balance and saturation are lovely, too. Is there still room for improvement? Some very minor adjustments could be made, but the difference will be fairly small. Density levels are very good. Image stability is excellent. So, ideally Tentacles could look better, and will look better if it is redone in 4K. However, even though its grain exposure could have been a tad more convincing, this master still provides a very nice organic presentation of the film. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Tentacles Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Stelvio Cipriani's soundtrack is very active and there is a lot of footage with a pretty diverse range of nuanced dynamics. What about the action footage? It sounds good, too. However, a lot of the underwater footage incorporates different sound effects, so this is how most of the memorable contrasts are produced. The dialog is clear, stable, and very easy to follow.

Tentacles Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - an original vintage trailer for Tentacles. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Radio Spot - an original U.S. radio spot for Tentacles. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Tentacles.

Tentacles Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite the impressive cast, I expected Tentacles to be a pretty dull and visually boring copycat of Jaws. I ended up enjoying every minute of it, and I knew I would as soon as I spotted Franco Diogene's name in its opening credits. Yes, Diogene has a very small part in Tentacles, but I am yet to see a genre film with him that I did not like. He had a special presence before the camera and was able to infuse even incredibly serious dramas, like Midnight Express, with exotic atmosphere I always found extremely attractive. There is more than enough of this exotic atmosphere in Tentacles and all kinds of legit out-of-left-field moments that are borderline brilliant, so as far as I am concerned this film is perfect to see in the wee hours of the night. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is sourced from an older but good organic master that was supplied by MGM. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (If you have the time to do a double bill with a decisively more serious film that wasn't conceived as a copycat and features a much more vicious sea creature, pick up a copy of DeepStar Six).