6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A misunderstood teen fights to save his town from a gelatinous monster from outer space.
Starring: Steve McQueen (I), Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howland, Stephen ChaseHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.'s "The Blob" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; massive collection of stills, posters, behind-the-scenes photographs, publicity materials and special effects props gathered by movie memorabilia collector Wes Swank; audio commentary by director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and actor Robert Fields; and another audio commentary by producer Jack H. Harris and film historian Bruce Eder. Also included with this release is an essay by critic Kim Newman. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Some very nasty thing, but what is it?
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.'s The Blob arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created on in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the original 35mm camera negative; reel five, however, had to be scanned from a 35mm interpositive, due to the poor condition of that portion of the negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image Systems' Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Transfer supervisor: Maria Palazzola.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Culver City, CA."
I don't currently have this film on DVD in my library and can't offer any specific comments on how substantial the improvements in image quality are, but I would say that the new digital restoration has produced some marvelous results. The film looks so vibrant and lush now that it is hard to believe that a DVD release could come even remotely close to reproducing the depth and fluidity of the new restoration. The wide range of rich colors is also quite remarkable. (I took a number of different screencaptures, including some excellent close-ups, so that you could get an idea how good this low-budget DeLuxe Color film looks now on Blu-ray). Clarity is also excellent, including during sequences where light is obviously restricted, such as the basement sequence where Steve discovers how to fend off the blob. There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening corrections. There are no stability issues to report. Also, scratches, debris and cuts have been carefully removed. Compression is also very good. All in all, I feel confident stating that this is indeed the kind of definitive presentation fans of The Blob have been hoping to get from Criterion. The film really does look terrific. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Depth and clarity are excellent, and there is even a surprisingly good range of nuanced dynamics. Burt Bacharach's legendary song, in particular, sounds great. The dialog is always crisp, stable, and easy to follow. It is obvious to me that hiss, clicks, and thumps have been been carefully removed as well.
The Blob is one of those perfect to see very late at night drive-in shlockers that people of all generations will still want to see years from now. It isn't a flawless film but it has a tremendous atmosphere, in my opinion one that is impossible not to admire. Criterion's new digital restoration has also given The Blob a new life. This has to be one of the very best looking low-budget Technicolor films. RECOMMENDED.
1988
1958
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1951
Special Edition | The Creeping Unknown
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2K Restoration
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Director's Cut
1986
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