CREATURE
FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)Director: Jack Arnold
Universal Home Entertainment
CREATURE
FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)One of the screen's greatest-looking monsters stalks one of the screen's sexiest women in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. It was a real innovation for its time and inspired later blockbusters, the best of which was 1975's box office champ, JAWS.
An expedition crew sails the Amazon to study the legendary gillman that they hope to find in the mysterious waters of the Black Lagoon. Swimming in her delicious one-piece bathing suit, Julie Adams becomes the object of the creature's affection, and eventually gets swept off her feet (literally) when the man-fish seizes her off the boat and plunges into the ocean with her.
These days, the film has a more run-of-the-mill feel to it , probably in light of hordes of other 50s monster quickies that came in its wake. What the film really had going for it upon its 1954 release was the then popular 3-D process, in which the audience found themselves drawn right into the underwater action, and images seemed to leap right off the screen. Fortunately, I have a friend who owns a beautiful 3-D print in 16mm and I am privileged to be able to see it once in awhile.
For those of you who don't know my friend, you won't get any help from this Universal DVD; they chose not to issue the picture in 3-D. In all fairness, I spoke to a representative from Universal recently and he said that the technology isn't perfected yet for DVD. I'm not so sure that this is a bogus excuse, since my first exposure to a DVD in the 3-D process (COMIN' AT YA) looked lousy. Besides, I've never thought that a small TV screen could do justice to the 3-D experience; to really enjoy it you need to be surrounded by a large screen, like at a theater or through the use of a home movie projector.
Universal's DVD is acceptable, mostly due to the fact that the print is from the 50s. It has the edge over their abysmal transfers of their 30s and 40s classic monster features (see my UNIVERSAL (UN)APPEAL article). Still, there is occasional grain evident on the screen, and the movie needs restoration somewhere down the line. Too many other black and white features on DVD from other studios blow this one away, and while this one overall is "okay," it's still not what it should be.
Tom Weaver, who was sensational on his WOLF MAN commentary, almost does a great job here. His insights regarding the film are interesting and worth a listen.
The documentary is better than average this time around, and features interviews with cast members such as Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning (one played the Creature on land, the other in the water), and especially Miss Adams. It's great to see her again, looking very attractive and eager to talk about the film. This is a treat because she has declined offers to appear at horror conventions for years now.
There are different trailers included this time, and it was thoughtful of Universal to grace us with these. Their still gallery is also one of the better ones, with loads of rare shots to enjoy. (Joe Lozowsky)