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Amazon.co.uk Review
Jack Arnold's horror classic The Creature from the Black Lagoon spawned not one but two iconic images: the web-footed humanoid gill-man with a hankering for women and the leggy, luscious Julia Adams, the object of his desire, swimming the lagoon in a luminous white bathing suit. Not since King Kong has the "beauty and the beast" theme been portrayed in such sexually charged (though chaste) terms. Arnold turns an effectively B-movie plot--a small expedition up a remote Amazon river captures a prehistoric amphibian man, who escapes to wreak havoc on the team and kidnap his bathing beauty--into a moody, stylish, low-budget feature. The jungle exteriors turn from exotic to treacherous when the creature blocks their passage and strands them in the wilds. Much of the film is shot underwater, where the murky dark is animated by shimmering shards of sunlight, creating images both lovely and alien (the studio-built sets of the creature's underground lair are far less naturalistic, but serve their purpose). As with most of Arnold's '50s genre films, he's saddled with a less than magnetic leading man (in this case the colorless but stalwart Richard Carlson) and a conventional script, but he overcomes such limitations by creating a vivid and sympathetic monster (helped immeasurably by a marvelous suit of scales and fins) and establishing a mood thick with atmosphere. The film was originally shot in 3-D. --Sean Axmaker
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Creature from the Black Lagoon is probably one of the most iconic monsters to have lurched from the Universal studios in the last 50 or so years. Recognisable by any film fan, this is a great disk. The film itself was originally a 1950's 3D shocker, concerning an ill fated trip to the titluar lagoon by a bunch of scientists chasing up a strange fossil of a fish/man hibrid. On arrival, finding that their camp is trashed they run into the creature who takes quite a fancy to Julia Adams.
Tame by todays effects standards, the film still commands attention and the special effects and underwater photography were groundbreaking in it's day. The film itself is a good copy and the sound, including the famous theme tune played everytime (literally!) the creature appears, comes across well on the disk.
The disk also features a specially made feature about the making of the film with contributions from surviving cast and crew. There is also a feature length commentary which, while informative and with several dry annecdotes about various people involved in making it, is at times rushed. As the film is only about 80 minutes long however, it is understandable.
This is part of a series of disks released by Universal featuring all their classic beasties and is well worth the money.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I first saw The Creature From The Black Lagoon as a wee kid and certain scenes gave me major frights. Upon watching it as an adult, it still has much in its favour. Fair enough we all know its just a guy in a rubber suit but thanks to imaginative direction and a solid workmanlike cast its still well worth watching if your a fan of creaky monster movies.
The scene where the creature swims along underneath the lovely Julie Adams has an eerie beauty to it. Also a scene where the crew are huddled together in the the boats wheel house created the same sense of ordinary people up against it as did Howard Hawks The Thing From Another World. CGI fans will no doubt be scornful of this film but I really enjoyed seeing it again. Any film that can bestow emotion upon and elicit sympathy for a man in a rubber suit can't be all bad. As for the disc the picture on the case is marvellous and for a fifties monster movie there are a plethora of extras including original trailers, a making of featurette. All this for under a fiver, a small price to pay to revisit the past.
The scene where the creature swims along underneath the lovely Julie Adams has an eerie beauty to it. Also a scene where the crew are huddled together in the the boats wheel house created the same sense of ordinary people up against it as did Howard Hawks The Thing From Another World. CGI fans will no doubt be scornful of this film but I really enjoyed seeing it again. Any film that can bestow emotion upon and elicit sympathy for a man in a rubber suit can't be all bad. As for the disc the picture on the case is marvellous and for a fifties monster movie there are a plethora of extras including original trailers, a making of featurette. All this for under a fiver, a small price to pay to revisit the past.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
For a film that relies quite heavily on evolutionary science as a plot device, it is great to see how this film is a link to many other films that have evolved from it. But first, we have to look at where it came from. The undeniable king of monster movies to which Creature From The Black Lagoon owes much of its creation is King Kong, made some 21 years earlier.
The story focuses on a small group of scientists who are searching for a fossil of an unknown creature, where one part of it was found but the rest is missing. They travel downriver from where the partial fossil was found to a natural beauty spot called the Black Lagoon. However, unknown to them, the creature is not so much a fossil as something alive that is just behind you. Throughout the early part of the film, the creature is partially spotted lurking around, reaching out for people, but always pullin back. By keeping it largely out of sight and by making the audience more aware than the characters, Jack Arnold, the director, gives genesis to a technique that has been used in many creature features and slasher films later on. The particular examples that came to my mind were Jaws and Halloween, which I doubt would have been made had it not been for Creature From The Black Lagoon.
The creature itself is very clearly a man in a suit, but the lack of special effects does not make this film ridiculous. The greatest scene is the whole film is a swimming scene where the creature, just below the surface, mirrors the movement of a character swimming above it. The underwater camerwork is amazing and still looks good today, over 50 year later. It is hard to underestimate just how important this film is the history of cinema and if you haven't seen it already, I would encourage you to do so.
The story focuses on a small group of scientists who are searching for a fossil of an unknown creature, where one part of it was found but the rest is missing. They travel downriver from where the partial fossil was found to a natural beauty spot called the Black Lagoon. However, unknown to them, the creature is not so much a fossil as something alive that is just behind you. Throughout the early part of the film, the creature is partially spotted lurking around, reaching out for people, but always pullin back. By keeping it largely out of sight and by making the audience more aware than the characters, Jack Arnold, the director, gives genesis to a technique that has been used in many creature features and slasher films later on. The particular examples that came to my mind were Jaws and Halloween, which I doubt would have been made had it not been for Creature From The Black Lagoon.
The creature itself is very clearly a man in a suit, but the lack of special effects does not make this film ridiculous. The greatest scene is the whole film is a swimming scene where the creature, just below the surface, mirrors the movement of a character swimming above it. The underwater camerwork is amazing and still looks good today, over 50 year later. It is hard to underestimate just how important this film is the history of cinema and if you haven't seen it already, I would encourage you to do so.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
FELL HOOK, LINE, SINKER !!!!!
Good Afternoon All,
RE: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
WATCHED: SAT 25TH FEB 2012
I'd waited just over 2 wks for the above DVD to arrive via Royal Mail. Read more
RE: CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
WATCHED: SAT 25TH FEB 2012
I'd waited just over 2 wks for the above DVD to arrive via Royal Mail. Read more
Published 3 months ago by MRS SMITH
We didn't come here to fight monsters, we're not equipped for it.
Out of Universal Pictures, Creature from the Black Lagoon is directed by Jack Arnold, and stars Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Spike Owen
Underated Undersea Classic!
What a great film! it has horror, suspense, action and fantastic photography! The creature, which is what you see the movie for, does not disappoint! Read more
Published 21 months ago by Welshandrew
A SPLENDID CREATURE IN GREAT ARTISTIC CREATION
This is one of the best movies to come out of America .
The creature looks and feels real with a potent and vivid atmosphere which pulsates both in your concious and... Read more
The creature looks and feels real with a potent and vivid atmosphere which pulsates both in your concious and... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2008 by usman
the legend lives on...
This is the classic monster/horror movie from the 1950's, immortalized by Marilyn Monroe in her film, The Seven Year Itch... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2007 by F. A. Penney
Wakulla Springs
I went to the place where it was filmed this easter! OMG it takes beautiful to the next level! you go back in time to the 20's! loved every second of it! Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2007 by 02efletcher
Good "B" movie monster film.
This is typical of this type of film. The monster is done quite well. The location sequences are nice. The acting is "B" movie standard. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2007 by thewatcher
really good but horrendously dated
If i were to write this review twenty years ago you could happily have stuck an extra star on this. Trouble is that this film just hasn't weathered the storm of time. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2006 by Grr
Love lost
It is the bane of all great monsters to seek beautiful women in white bathing suits. Especially if you think you can retaliate those fools that try to capture you. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2001 by bernie
Comfort food for classic junkies.
If your'e not into classic horror then steer clear, but if you are, this is brilliant. Turn the lights off, the fire up and enjoy this movie. Read more
Published on 16 April 2001
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