THE
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (1957)Director: Val Guest
Anchor Bay Entertainment
THE
ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (1957)Ah! More great British horror from the 1950s! This film reteams writer Nigel Kneale and director Val Guest from the Quatermass films and is a wonderful exercise in the "less is better" school of filmmaking.
The story involves an overbearing American showman (how else would the British represent an American!) who mounts an expedition into the Himalayas to search for the infamous Yeti. Various characters are along for the ride, including a British botanist who questions the motives of the American. This is a truly atmospheric and eerie film, and although you do indeed see the Yeti, quite a bit is left to the imagination. A very enjoyable piece of filmmaking that could be quite frightening to the youngsters, despite its age! As was typical for British horror/sci-fi of this period, an American actor (Forrest Tucker) is featured for export box office potential and the remainder of the cast is British. Peter Cushing is particularly effective in this one.
The transfer on this disc is wonderful. I am a big fan of B&W Cinemascope cinematography and the transfer lovingly (almost) preserves the original framing. My only gripe is that the frame is slightly truncated at 2.2:1 (should be at least 2.35:1), but it's better than a full-fledged pan & scan affair. The original film elements used for the transfer are quite good with few blemishes to speak of. The sound is monophonic, as recorded, and is rather full bodied for a film of this age.
As to the extras, this disc is typical of the Hammer series. First, there is a full-length audio commentary by Kneale and Guest, which is quite interesting and entertaining. They make some really nice comments about Peter Cushing, and you'll have to hear their amusing story of why Cushing became known as "Props Cushing!" If you get this disc, please be sure to listen to this commentary as it's quite interesting!
Also included is a US release trailer, letterboxed, which features some great 50s hokey voiceovers ("Be on your guard! He's coming to this theatre! The Abominable Snowman dares you! WE dare you…..to see THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN!!"). Finally, there is a 30-minute episode of THE WORLD OF HAMMER TV series entitled "Peter Cushing." As usual, Anchor Bay has included an insert card featuring original poster art on one side, and chapter listings on the other side.
Overall, a great disc! I can't recommend this one enough! (Jason R. Casey)