Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 21, 2022

Dino De Laurentiis actually did it. The famous producer hyped the stuffing out of his 1976 remake of “King Kong,” making sure audiences everywhere knew the film was coming and it was going to be an event. He worked his publicity magic to the extreme, managing to turn the feature into a major hit – number four on the list of top-grossing movies of the year (sandwiched between “Silver Streak” and “A Star is Born”). De Laurentiis willed his production into tremendous profitability, and when there’s money to be made, knockoffs aren’t far behind. 1977’s “Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century” is one of many cranked out during the late 1970s, with the Italian endeavor hoping to inspire their own “King Kong” energy with the tale of a recently thawed Yeti who can’t handle the pressures of modern life, with his soul soothed by the beauty of a young woman. De Laurentiis had a top shelf cast and agreeable special effects, while “Yeti” frequently struggles with crude technical achievements and an overall lack of property destruction, concentrating on heart instead of horror, which makes this howler all the more ridiculous.

Morgan Hunnicut (Edoardo Faieta) is the head of Hunnicut Enterprises, and he’s looking for the next big thing to make his company headline news, lusting after fresh profit. With help from his mute grandson, Herbie (Jim Sullivan), and his granddaughter, Jane (Antonella Interlenghi), Morgan’s wish for glory is granted when the body of a Yeti is found in a Canadian glacier. The towering creature needs to be thawed and studied, with paleontologist Henry (John Stacy) reluctantly agreeing to lead research operations, while the glacier team is handled by Cliff (Tony Kendall). The Yeti is returned to life, violently confused about the new world he’s witnessing, with his temper cooled by the presence of Jane, falling in love with the tiny human and the power of her beauty. Jane begins to feel compassion for the Yeti’s situation of confinement, but Morgan doesn’t care, preparing to put the beast on display as a Hunnicut Enterprises exclusive, looking to attract as much publicity as possible. Standing in the way of success is rival corporation Make Believe Factors Limited, who have their own plans to acquire the Yeti, threatening Jane and Herbie in the process.

“Yeti” commences with Morgan’s excited visit to Henry, helicoptering into the area to persuade a trusted man of science to take part in the thawing of the glacier find. Morgan’s a practiced showman and a lover of capitalism, hoping to make the discovery of a lifetime with the Yeti, who’s locked inside glacier ice, requiring a team armed with flamethrowers to help melt, slowly exposing the creature, who initially appears dead after spending “a million years” in the cold. “Yeti” isn’t going to win viewers over with the specifics of the mission, but it does offer introductory enthusiasm, watching Henry narrate progress on the plan, while Cliff organizes the team, taking time to flirt with Jane, a teenage girl joined by Herbie, who was traumatized years ago by the death of their parents. “Operation Yeti” is a success, with the gang able to finish the thaw by locking Yeti in a cage and flying his body into the sky via helicopter, using the power of the sun and the unusual air to bring the beast to life.

Obviously, Yeti isn’t delighted with the confusing situation, inspiring an early rampage sequence where the creature loses his cool, stomping around the Canadian wilderness, tossing trees on Hunnicut team members. Help arrives with Jane, who manages to keep the beast calm with her good looks, helping him to lose his hangry attitude with a dinner of fish. Of course, he offers the young woman a giant fishbone to help brush her hair, but such goofiness is topped when Yeti offers Herbie and Jane a ride on his hand. During this close encounter, Jane accidentally brushes the Yeti’s nipple, causing it to become erect (and god knows what else), solidifying his sexual interest in the human. There’s campiness throughout “Yeti,” but this moment is exceptionally bizarre, with the production making a choice to communicate lust through large-scale nipple play, which also required the construction of a mechanical areola, and the very thought of an Italian special effects team spending weeks working on such a visual for the picture is enough to inspire laughs. It’s one of those movie moments that’s so ludicrous, it needs to be seen to be believed.

“Yeti” locks into “King Kong” mode fairly early and doesn’t deviate from the formula, though this picture is definitely less invested in dramatic integrity, hoping to throw a big screen party with the creature, even gifting him his own funky theme song (sample lyric: “The Yeti’s so big/The Yeti’s tall/He’s so good”). Pacing is satisfactory for the first two acts, which deliver scenes of exploration and weird behaviors, while Henry tries to maintain control of the situation, and Morgan is ready to exploit his discovery as soon as possible. Such liveliness is muted in the final act, which switches over to tedious corporate competition and treacherous activity, also limiting the Yeti’s exposure to the open world, making a stop in Toronto that’s unfortunately short on citywide destruction, as the production can only afford some mayhem set inside a warehouse.

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.67:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as "Remastered in HD from the original Italian 35mm camera negative." The viewing experience on "Yeti" doesn't reflect a firm refreshing of the feature, as softness mostly dominates, even when considering process shots and dreamier cinematography style. Fine detail isn't readily available, but a general appreciation of Yeti and human textures is found, especially with hair and some facial surfaces. Colors are acceptable, capturing blue skies and period hues, while the Yeti offers a brownish appearance. Skintones are natural. Delineation is acceptable. Grain is somewhat blocky, losing film-like qualities.

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track is mostly a blunt listening event, with dubbed dialogue exchanges providing passable clarity and dramatic emphasis. Scoring is acceptable, with decent instrumentation, and funkier soundtrack selections supply an appreciable groove. Sound effects aren't nuanced, but growling and destruction is understood without slipping into uncomfortable shrillness.

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's no technical flair to "Yeti," with special effects exceptionally crude, and the scale of the creature tends to change in nearly every shot. Attention to detail, besides the beast's nipple, isn't a priority for the production, which is primarily invested in recreating "King Kong," with the Yeti looking to protect Jane from harm, while the human learns to love the big, hairy dope, who's also aided by Herbie's trusty dog, Indio. "Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century" isn't creatively ambitious, and while it eventually loses its sense of insanity, it remains a prime Bad Movie Night selection, capturing a time when "King Kong" was the film to follow, and nipple pleasures were handed a massive cinematic examination.