The Blob (MRA) (1958) |
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The Blob (MRA) (1958) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Horror |
Scene Selection Animation Audio Commentary-Jack H. Harris (Producer) And Bruce Eder (Film Historian) Audio Commentary-Irwin S. Yeaworth Jr (Director) Theatrical Trailer Gallery-Stills And Posters |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 1958 | ||
| Running Time | 82:18 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. |
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Studio
Distributor |
 MRA Entertainment |
Starring |
Steve McQueen Aneta Corsaut Earl Rowe Olin Howlin Alden 'Stephen' Chase John Benson George Karas Lee Paton Elbert Smith Hugh Graham Vince Barbi Audrey Metcalf Jasper Deeter |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $19.95 | Music |
Ralph Carmichael Burt Bacharach Hal David |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 1.0 (128Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 1.0 (128Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.66:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
My early teens were spent staying up late on a Friday or Saturday night to catch late night Sci-Fi/Horror movies. In those days there was no choice but to stay up until the early hours of the morning, you couldn't just duck down to the local video store, as there was no such thing as a VCR player let alone a DVD player.
I have to admit that many of those late night Sci-Fi/Horror movies were rather poor and often not worth the loss of sleep, however there was always that gem, buried just beneath the surface, waiting to be found. The Blob was just such a gem; it combined a seemingly indestructible monster with the right blend of suspense and cheesy characters.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Blob, it begins with two teenagers, Steve Andrews (Steve McQueen) and Jane (Aneta Corsaut), who are making out when they see a shooting star land near by. Deciding to investigate they set off in the direction of the impact, but they don't get there first. A nameless old man (Olin Howlin) has also seen the meteorite and he is the first to find the crash site, an impact crater that contains a small-cratered rock. Picking up a stick the old man pokes the meteorite which cracks open to reveal a soft centre. The sticky goo adheres to the stick and slowly runs down towards its first victim. Steve and Aneta come across the old man when he runs onto the road in front of them. He is in a near state of panic and is holding his arm, which has something attached to it.
Not knowing how to help the old man Steve and Aneta drive him to see the town physician, Doc Hallen (Stephen Chase). By the time they arrive the old man is incoherent and the mass has consumed his whole arm. The Blob continues to grow until it threatens the whole town. Steve and Anita try to raise the alarm with the local authorities but, of course, they don't believe some wild story about a monster from outer space.
The once popular theme song that plays over the opening credits is rather catchy and was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach.
Although the special effects look a little dated by today's standards they still hold their own. It is remarkable what you can create using weather balloons and some coloured silicone gel.
From a purely technical stand point there are numerous deficiencies with the video transfer, but it is an absolutely fabulous job considering the age of the source material. I was genuinely surprised by the quality of the video image - if only other movies of this vintage could look this good.
The transfer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
The image is surprising sharp with good shadow detail. There is a degree of grain throughout the film which is most evident during the darker scenes, of which there are plenty considering the whole story takes place at night. There is no low level noise.
The image brightness appears to fluctuate at different times, one example being the interior of Doc Hallen’s surgery at 23:50.
The colours are vibrant and are testimony to the quality of the transfer.
Aliasing was kept to a minimum though a shimmer could be seen on the chrome finish of the cars and around the police badges. Telecine wobble is present during the opening credits and throughout the film. Of greater concern was the appearance of the whole frame jumping at 25:41 and 42:17.
There is a sprinkling of film artefacts throughout the movie. A hair crawling across the lower right hand corner at 33:20 and a reel change marking in the upper right hand corner at 33:51 are two of the more obvious.
There are no subtitles on this DVD.
There is no layer change during the movie.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
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| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
There are three audio tracks on this DVD; the default English Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) soundtrack and two English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 1.0 tracks. I listened to all three soundtracks.
The English Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) soundtrack contains a degree of hiss that is made more noticeable by its absence than its presence. In an attempt to clean up the audio hiss the sound editors have cut all audio during the scenes that contain no dialogue, music or sound effects. Although this was done with good intent I personally found it annoying as it simply drew my attention to the presence of hiss in the first place.
Although this is a mono sound track, spreading it to both the left and the right main speakers does give it more presence.
The dialogue was generally easy to understand though it did sound a little flat at times.
The audio sync was terrible during some scenes, presumably because of ADR. A good example is the scene where Steve and Anita are talking outside Doc Hallen’s surgery at 27:22.
The musical score by Ralph Carmichael is typical for Sci-Fi/Horror movies of this era.
There was no use made of the surround channels or the subwoofer.
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| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
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This is a Dolby Digital 1.0 sound track. The content of both commentary sound tracks is similar, as they tended to cover the same ground. It is remarkable that all involved could so easily recall the smallest detail after all these years. Producer, Jack H. Harris recounts how they set out to create a film that combined both of the popular 1950s movie themes, teenage delinquency and science fiction.
This is a Dolby Digital 1.0 sound track. In addition to Director Irwin S. Yeawoth Jr it contains comments by Robert Fields who played one of the delinquent teenagers. Irwin S. Yeawoth Jr recounts how budget restraints lead to a limited supply of film stock, which necessitated in-camera editing and the use of limited takes. He also explains how Steve McQueen came by the lead role and the problems associated with casting actors in their late 20s to play teenagers.
The video transfer of the theatrical trailer is good though it does contain a lot of film artefacts and scratches. It is interesting to see how The Blob was hyped-up and overstated by the narrator, to encourage potential viewers to part with their money.
The Memorabilia Slide Show contains 70 odd stills and posters. Whilst the quality of these images is variable, many are heavily pixilated and the supporting captions exhibit the gibb effect, although they do provide an interesting look at the sets and props used. They are a worthy addition to the DVD that will be appreciated by true fans of The Blob.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
There is no compelling reason to purchase the Region 1 version of The Blob unless you are either hearing impaired or a die-hard fan that simply must have the Wall Poster and Booklet.
The Blob has never looked so good. Considering this movie is nearly 50 years old the quality of the video and audio is very impressive. This DVD would make a worthy purchase for anyone who collects 50's Sci-Fi/Horror movies or those people who want to see how Steve McQueen launched his acting career.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-533K, using Component output |
| Display | InFocus Screenplay 7200 with ScreenTechnics 100" (16x9) screen. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to Amplifier. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | Denon AVC -A11SR |
| Speakers | Jamo D6PEX wall mounted Speakers and Powered Sub (7.1) |