The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 21, 2024

There was a famous old ad (for margarine, of all things) that used to warn people "it's not nice to fool Mother Nature", and in that regard, films like The Great Alligator make it clear that disrespecting Mother Nature may be even worse, at least in terms of consequences for those daring to behave so badly. While the film may clearly (and/or murkily, considering the glut of underwater photography) owe more than a bit to Jaws, there's perhaps surprisingly (at least given a lower budget that would seem to want to rely on scares more than anything) a whole bunch of other content that might include elements that could be considered eco horror and/or involving carelessness toward other cultures, as careless Western interlopers upset a tribal community that may have a bit of a secret.

Daniel (Claudio Cassinelli) is a globe trotting photographer (is there any other kind in movies?) who has been tasked by resort developer Joshua (Mel Ferrer) with getting some shots of the place, ironically (considering what happens) named Paradise House, featuring both models as well as visitors and local tribe members. Those tribe members become more integral to the story when it's unsurprisingly revealed that Joshua's "empire building" has encroached on sacred land and a vengeance seeking alligator god may have been awakened as a result. Will Joshua pay heed? What do you think?

The Great Alligator is pretty relentlessly silly, and some of its "special effects" involving its titular beast are probably going to be laugh out loud hilarious for some, but despite the lo-fi ambience suffusing the production, the actual screenplay at least flirts with making a salient point or two about disrespecting Nature in general and native culture in particular, in between scenes of carnage of course. After Daniel's gorgeous model Sheena (Geneve Hutton) turns up missing (guess what happened to her?), Daniel pairs with conveniently available expert Alice (Barbara Bach) to figure out if maybe there is a vengeance seeking alligator, if not an alligator god, wreaking havoc.

The Great Alligator had a prior release on 1080 disc courtesy of Code Red a few years ago. Those interested can find information on that release in Brian Orndorf's The Great Alligator Blu-ray review. As I am wont to repeat, different reviewers means different opinions, and Brian is evidently a bit more of a fan of the film than I am.

The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Great Alligator is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The transfer is advertised on the back cover of this release as having been "newly scanned in 4K from the original negative". While I don't have the old Code Red 1080 release to do a side by side comparison, a cursory look at screenshots suggests this transfer is similar though not identical to the older version. While I'd say color timing is generally in the same ballpark, look, for example, at the renderings of the green foliage in the background of screenshot 1 in my The Great Alligator 4K Blu-ray review and screenshot 1 in Brian's review, and it looks to me that there's less of a blue cast in this new version. On the flip side, though, look at the (again to my eyes) more accurate blue skies in screenshot 1 of this review when compared with screenshot 6 of Brian's review. Suffusion is very good though variable, and in fact I'd say that overall "variable" is a good descriptor for the look of this transfer. Some of the brightly lit outdoor material pops very appealingly, and grain can be at least relatively tightly resolved, but there are other moments where the palette can falter, clarity recedes and grain can almost overwhelm the image. There is persistent damage on display, including all manner of scratches, nicks and other blemishes.

The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Great Alligator features DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks in either English or Italian. The Italian track is noticeably louder but also reveals more evident distortion in some of the music cues and sound effects in particular, so it's a bit of a tradeoff. Stelvio Cipriani contributes another really enjoyable score, and some of his kind of quasi "easy listening" cues for montages featuring our hero photographer plying his craft are especially nice. There is some jumpy editing in both tracks where cues and/or effects can kind of "thunk" into place. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in both versions, but both languages can offer "loose sync". Optional English subtitles are available.

The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

It looks to me like at least some of the supplements below have been ported over from the older Code Red release, albeit with new titles here.

• Down by the River (HD; 10:42) is an interview with director Sergio Martino, who makes no bones (and/or scales) about the influence Jaws had on his film. Subtitled in English.


• Minou (HD; 16:34) is an interview with actress Silvia Collatina. Subtitled in English.


• Beware of the Gator (HD; 16:28) is an interview with camera operator Claudio Morabito. Subtitled in English.


• Later Alligator (HD; 16:48) is an interview with production designer Antonello Geleng. Subtitled in English.


• Underwater (HD; 7:16) is an interview with camera operator Gianlorenzo Battaglia, who handled the submerged part of the shoot. Subtitled in English.


• 3 Friends and an Alligator (HD; 16:32) features a discussion between cinematographer Giancarlo Ferrando, production designer Antonello Geleng and special effects supervisor Paolo Ricci. The trio seems somewhat bemused to have taken part in this production. Subtitled in English.


• Paradise House: Christianity and the Natural World in The Great Alligator (HD; 18:50) is a really interesting video essay by Lee Gambin examining some of the potent and provocative subtexts of the film. Also interestingly and vis a vis sensitivities to other cultures, this comes with a warning for Aboriginal viewers that it may contain images of deceased persons.


• Alligator Land (HD; 6:12) features Antonello Geleng sharing some of his concept art. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 2:56)

Note: Severin sent their combo 4K / 1080 package for purposes of this review, and if this standalone 1080 release is like the 4K release, the keepcase features a reversible sleeve and packaging features a slipcover.

The Great Alligator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lest anyone think Sergio Martino was only interested in ripping off Jaws, there's also a clear reference to King Kong in terms of nubile young women being offered as a sacrifice to a mutant beast. While it's probably unavoidable to think of The Great Alligator as a quickly shot, low budget cash grab, as some of the supplements on this disc get into, there actually is some rather interesting and even provocative subtext at play here, even if it tends to get buried in the overall silliness of the plot and absolutely goofy special effects. Video quality is probably improved at least marginally from the Code Red version, but both video and audio encounter occasional hurdles, albeit nothing overly debilitating. The supplements are enjoyable and interesting for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.