Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The Cyclops Blu-ray Movie Review

The eyes have it.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 11, 2025

One of the most obvious candidates for Mystery Science Theater 3000 that somehow never made it to the show, Bert I. Gordon's The Cyclops is a 1957 creature feature chock full of rear-projection visuals including the titular titan who's still Grade "A" nightmare fuel. This sparkling Blu-ray edition from Warner Archive may have been released all the way back in 2018, but it's got two connections to recently-reviewed titles: not only is this an Allied Artists film but it's also got plenty of voice work by Paul Frees, who's famous for his tenure at Hanna-Barbera including Magilla Gorilla.

So, who are the four fine folks above? Sitting in back of the prop plane are smooth scientist Russ Bradford (James Craig) and Susan Winter (Gloria Talbott), who's looking for her missing husband Bruce Barton, a pilot who vanished somewhere in the jungles of Mexico roughly three years ago. Up front we've got mining expert Marty Melville (Lon Chaney Jr.) and sunglasses-wearing Lee Brand, who's flying them into mutually interesting territory: not only might Bruce be there, but so are potential uranium deposits that will be of much interest to the scientific community.

It's a motley crew of characters to be sure, and everyone plays them well enough to make for a memorable team of admittedly not-so-bright individuals. Trouble stars early when an altercation on board the plane almost causes a crash landing, but luckily they touch down safely in a clearing many miles away from civilization. It turns out, however, that the group might as well have gone back in time several million years: giant and presumably prehistoric creatures run amok, and many of them at least seem threatening. Russ makes the educated guess that radiation from the uranium deposits might be responsible for the creatures, believing them to be enlarged versions of animals native to the area. But all hell breaks loose once they're stalked by the grotesque, titular one-eyed titan (voiced by Paul Frees and played by stuntman Duncan Parkin, who would more or less revisit the exact same role in War of the Colossal Beast, the 1958 sequel to Gordon's next film The Amazing Colossal Man), who rightly scares the pants off all four of our hapless heroes. Unable to return to their potentially damaged plane, they've got to hatch a plan if they want to get home.

At a svelte 66 minutes, The Cyclops doesn't have a lot of time to tell its story, which is of course extremely thin and exists mostly to showcase Bert Gordon's special effects -- these all range in quality from decently convincing to, well, gut-bustingly bad. And while The Cyclops' does indeed take itself seriously most of the time, it can still very much be enjoyed for its considerable camp factor which is aided by a few genuine visual scares. Sure, the characters are tough to actually care about due to several bad decisions and low intelligence (seriously, first-time viewers should have the "twist" figured out within 30 minutes), but it's all part of the fun. For all its flaws, The Cyclops is memorable stuff, the kind of throwback B-movie that encapsulates low-budget sci-fi of the era -- it's still perfectly solid Saturday afternoon entertainment for genre fans of all ages, but again younger viewers might end up being scarred for life.

As usual, Warner Archive delivers the goods with this Blu-ray edition, which polishes The Cyclops to an absolute shine while leaving in all the charming shortcomings of its dated visual effects. Although the film's brevity and a lack of bonus features don't exactly make it the biggest "bang for your buck" title in the boutique label's outstanding back catalog, it's still well worth picking up for obvious reasons -- this one won't be re-released anytime soon.

The Cyclops Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot in lustrous black-and-white and featuring terrific location footage, The Cyclops plays handsomely on Warner Archive's Blu-ray, which reportedly offers a considerable upgrade from their 2010 DVD. This time around, the 1080p transfer has been sourced from a high-res scan of the original camera negative, one that reveals outstanding amounts of fine detail in naturally lit exterior shots and expressive close-ups. The numerous visual effects shots are a bit more hit-or-miss, though it's no fault of the restoration: WAC has sensibly left in all those questionable matte lines and the slightly transparent sheen of several rear-projection effects. There's an accompanying drop in fine detail and contrast levels during these brief moments, but everything's back to full speed before you know it and, again, it's all part of the era-specific charm. As usual, the disc encoding is solid and The Cyclops runs at a very supportive bit rate from start to finish -- no dual-layer disc is needed, due to the film's brevity. Fans may also notice that it's presented in 1.78:1 open matter rather than its original 1.85:1, due to a broad studio policy that was thankfully changed soon after.

The Cyclops Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner Archive's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track repurposes The Cyclops' original mono mix in in a split two-channel container, slightly widening its presence while similarly keeping things authentic. Dialogue and front-field effects are clean and well-balanced, while the distant threat of gargantuan beasts and the titular titan's menacing growls add their own flavor to the stew. No age-related defects could be heard along the way except for minor hiss as well as a bit of unavoidable thinness on the higher ends of composer Albert Glasser's original score. A fine job indeed.

Optional yellow English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only.

The Cyclops Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with eye-catching cover artwork and no inserts. Extras are minimal.

• Textless Theatrical Trailer (1:43) - As its title implies, a promotional piece sans credits and logos.

The Cyclops Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bert I. Gordon's The Cyclops was an early directorial feature for the celebrated VFX artist, and unsurprisingly it has plenty of old-school rear-projection effects, matte work, and intermittent doses of nightmare fuel for first-time viewers. The performances are capable enough for a film with such light demands on characterization and story, while the latter is stretched thin but can still be enjoyed for its camp value and time capsule appeal. Warner Archive's Blu-ray features top-tier A/V merits as usual, although the film's brevity and a lack of extras don't translate to lots of bang for the buck. This would be an easier recommendation were it part of a triple feature like Monogram Matinee, Volume 1 or a multi-disc bundle like 4-Film Collection: Film Noir, but it's still worth a purchase for nostalgic genre fans.