The Blob

Rating:
Summary: Not the definitive DVD version of 1950s classic
Review: Those expecting a pristine copy of this 1958 sci-fi classic should seek out Criterion's DVD (which Amazon also carries) rather than this no-frills budget version. For serious fans of "The Blob," the Criterion version is the only way to go and includes two separate audio commentaries from producer Jack Harris and director Irvin Yeaworth, among others. Also included is a photo stills gallery of collector Wes Shank's Blob collection, including the famous red silicone masquerading as a man-eating monster from outer space.

For casual fans of the film, however, this version (from Beverly Wilshire Filmworks, distributed by Front Row Video) is serviceable enough with VHS-like viewing quality. The source material isn't terrible, but is certainly nowhere near as crisp and clean looking (and sounding) as the Criterion version. It is the full-length version, however, and is presented in full screen (pan & scan). But that's all you get, there are no extras to be had, not even chapter breaks. You just slip the disc into your DVD player and it plays automatically.

Residents of Chester County, Pennsylvania (west of Philadelphia) may recognize a few of the film's locations including the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville and the Downingtown Diner, both of which are featured prominently in the film's climax. These cinematic "landmarks" are still in existence today, well over 40 years after the film was made.

Rating:
Summary: It crawls.... It creeps.... It eats you alive!
Review: I hadn't see this movie in quite awhile, so when I saw it out with the 'Criterion Collection' treatment, I picked it up pretty quickly. The transfer is really good, and the colors come through brilliantly. Just seeing the blob oozing around, all bloated on the blood of it's victims is quite creepy. I do wish I could have seen this at the drive in, as that seems to be it's perfered format of venue, but this is the next best thing. I loved the part where the old man finds the small meteor and starts poking it with a stick. You just know something bad is going to happen. And then when he starts playing around with the blob on that stick, the ooze sliding down, getting closer to his hand....and the theme song...I had almost forgotten about that. It's so unlike a horror movie theme, but very catchy. Reminds me of that song 'Purple People Eater'. Anyway, the movie is a great piece of 50's sci-fi with great effects that's a lot of fun. Also included with this editon is a poster, and a few extras on the disc, but a lot less than I would have thought. I was expecting a little more, but what are you going to do? It seems odd that the Criterion Collection edition of Carnival of Souls should have as many extras it did and there not be more for The Blob. Anyway, if you like classic sci-fi, this one is a no brainer.

Rating:
Summary: The Blob (original 1958)
Review: I saw this B-movie almost 6 years ago, and I haven't forgotten it since. Steve McQueen does a fabulous job as a young man whose girlfriend and him are caught up in a terrifying frenzy of terror when a gigantic blob of goo starts killing people around a city. THE BLOB is an extremely creative and thoroughly enjoyable experience. It's one of those films that has a plot so simple and yet so fresh, that's the effect that adds the creepiness to it. This movie is a true, B-movie classic and should never be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: oh yeah baby, what I've been waitin for!!
Review: This is what every B-movie fan has been waiting for.It's the classic film, good for horror fans of all ages. The special features have to be spectacular,and very good transformation to DVD.The classic story begins with two lovers up on lovers lane, and they then see a meteorite go crashing near by.
Ok, then the good stuff happens, nearby, an old hobo dicovers it, and a mysterious goo comes out.Then the lovers run into the man, and the blob is on his arm. Soon they are trying to get the adults to listen to the story, but nobody listens.I won't give away the ending, but it rocks man.I wouldnt recommend the remake,it has good s/f's, but, it's predictable at times.So, get this, order it now, it is the grandaddy of all great horor b-movies.And be sure to have good fun watchin it, you'll be in for a fun time. Be sure to get this DVD, cause theres another one out there that ... big time. This dvd has alot of goodies and awesome things to watch. So get this, and check out the awesome special features.

Rating:
Summary: Beware Of The Blob DVD!
Review: "The Blob" is a very entertaining, sci-fi thriller. I especially like the jazzy theme song. Steve McQueen has a strong screen presence in his first starring role. However, since he was born in 1930 and "The Blob" was made in 1958, that makes him too old to convincingly play a high school teenager. Similarly, his girlfriend and buddies look like a bunch of clean cut twenty-somethings, rather than a gang of high-spirited high schoolers. The special effects are laughable by today's standards, although that lends the movie a certain cheesy charm. However, I don't feel that the Criterion Collection DVD version of this movie is worth the extra money. Yes, the enhanced picture and sound quality far exceeds the previous DVD release. It includes the standard theatrical trailer, 2 audio commentaries, a small booklet and a poster. However, the "BLOB-abilia" section - a series of pictures, posters and props, including a photo of the blob - was a major disappointment. The feeling I had after watching everything was that I did NOT get my money's worth.

Rating:
Summary: Criterion Does It Again - Delicious!
Review: One of the few pulpy movies that survived the 1950s Sputnik/Atomic glut of monster scares to become a true classic, The Blob comes to us on a packed, digitally pristine Criterion DVD. With a compelling commentary and a supurb transfer, The Blob never looked better. Really.

Starring B-Movie-Meister Steve McQueen as a 35-year-old high school student, The Blob details the adventures of a pile of Jell-O stranded on Earth after its spaceship, which looks like a pockmarked bowling ball, crash-lands outside of Smallville, USA. The Blob exists to do nothing but eat people, which leads to a slight interplanetary misunderstanding after it begins devouring the denizens of the town. McQueen and the girl he was trying to score with at the local "parking" place are the only two who know what's going on, and attempt to convince the town's adults, obviously influenced by propaganda films such as Reefer Madness, that a lump of cheesy monster effect is really eating everyone and growing larger.

From the campy music to the campy dialogue, The Blob practically oozes the essence of films like Plan 9 and Them!. Criterion has seen fit to give us a worthy addition to their library and ours, offering two commentary tracks and a transfer that makes the movie look and sound like it just came out of Skywalker Ranch. They also pack the case - literally - with an extremely thick (and entertaining) book, and a smallish, folded movie poster. And, of course, the usual Criterion "colored bars" option.

As far as discs go, this one is highly recommended, for the content as well as the obvious care taken with bringing this film to the DVD format. Sci-Fi fans and movie fans alike will want to add this release to their collection.

Rating:
Summary: "It Creeps & Leaps & Glides & Slides Across the Floor...."
Review: Taken as a straight horror film, 1958's THE BLOB would admittedly fail, as it is not creepy or frightening by any conventional cinematic standards. But this campy classic is not meant to be taken seriously. From the opening bars of the catchy pop-music theme song to the question mark that follows the words THE END, the film is a blatant send-up of 1950s American culture and its white-bread mores and sensibilities. The film is replete with palpable caricatures of nearly every cultural icon of 1950s: Squeaky-clean teenagers, rock-n-roll music, hot-rods and drag racing, friendly neighborhood cops, cold-war anxiety...you name it. Indeed, taken as a whole, the film itself is a spoof of both the invasion-from-space and the giant-monster-on-the-loose sci-fi flicks that were popular earlier in the decade.

THE BLOB was made and released in the wake of teen-angst films like REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and beatnik publications like Kerouac's ON THE ROAD, and it was also a time when the counterculture icons of the 1960s--rock groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones; gurus of alternate lifestyles such as Dr. Timothy Leary and Abbie Hoffman--were formulating their radical ideals and ideologies. In other words, THE BLOB was the product of a period when American youth were becoming restless and were itching for artistic and intellectual stimulation, and teens and young adults were therefore growing increasingly weary of bland 1950s conservatism. Campy films like THE BLOB capitalized on that attitude by offering up exaggerated and surrealistic snapshots of the culture's insipid qualities, thereby giving the younger crowd an opportunity to openly laugh at the worldview of their elders. Alas, the sardonic humor and satirical subtext of THIS classic film seems to be lost on the average contemporary audience.

The special FX in THE BLOB are typical of 1950s cinema, but that only adds to the humor and the fun. The gelatinous titular character is especially a hoot to watch. Even though the illusion of its movement is obviously the result of stop-motion animation, it is still quite compelling to see it ooze under doors, through duct vents, and down Main Street, USA.

Film buffs will definitely enjoy seeing the venerable Steve McQueen in one of his earliest film roles--the twinkle in his eye as he delivers his ah-gee-whiz lines should clue you in to the fact that this film is parody--and couch potatoes and fans of classic TV will recognize Aneta Corsaut, the girl playing Jane Martin, from her recurring role as Helen Crump on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW.

The visual transfer on Criterion Collection's DVD version of THE BLOB is beautiful--probably the best digital version to date--and the disc also offers extras that include two interesting audio commentaries. The one negative aspect of CC's disc, though, is some very noticeable scratchiness on the soundtrack during a few short portions of the film. For the price that the CC charges for their discs, consumers are right to expect all noticeable flaws in picture and sound to be cleaned up.

Overall, THE BLOB is a great piece of classic camp, and the five-star rating is based on the film itself and does not, therefore, reflect the aspects of any particular DVD version.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Hunk Of Flesh-Devouring Protoplasm!
Review: Yes! A meteorite crashes to earth, unleashing the blob! An old man is it's first victim, foolishly poking at it with a stick, only to be absorbed into it's mass! Steve McQueen is excellent in his first starring role. He witnesses his local doctor being assimilated into the monster. The cops don't believe him. Only the town's swinging teens will help. Meanwhile, the blob is on a rampage, eating everyone and growing bigger and redder with each new meal! What is it? Where did it come from? Can it possibly be stopped?? This movie will have you checking under your bed, chair, and even in your duct-work for this hellish beasty! Watch it at your own risk...

Rating:
Summary: A B-movie classic
Review: The Blob is a classic B-movie that has all the elements of a 50's horror movie while also being the movie that helped shoot Steve McQueen to stardom. One night, two teenagers see a meteor crash to Earth. Before they can find out what it is, an old man unleashes what it contains on himself, a gooey substance that quickly begins to take over his arm. Soon enough, the gooey mass begins to grow, but nobody believes the two teenagers who saw the blob eat the town doctor. The small town then must unite to defeat the evil substance that threatens their existence. This is a very low budget movie, it is easy to see, but that is what makes it so fun to watch. The Blob looks like strawberry jelly throughout which adds to the cheesiness factor. Either way, this is a fun movie that is more enjoyable every time I watch it.

The Blob was Steve McQueen's first starring role as Steve Andrews, a misunderstood teen who with the help of his girlfriend, Jane, tries to get the townspeople to realize what they are going up against. Somehow, a 28 year old McQueen passes as a teenager while the other teenage characters are actually the age they play. Anyhow, this may be different from every other movie McQueen ever made, but it is still a good one. The Criterion Collection DVD is well worth the purchase. It includes two commentaries, a collectible poster, theatrical trailer, widescreen presentation, and several other features. The Blob is certainly not the highest quality of movie, but it is still very good and well worth a watch.

Rating:
Summary: surprisingly watchable
Review: Put together a silly script, bogus special effects, a cheesy theme song, and Steve McQueen, and what do you get? A surprisingly entertaining "B" monster movie, thanks to McQueen's uncanny ability to pull a winner out of what by all rights should be a loser. The oddest part about it is that McQueen plays the role of the only teenager in town who is sufficiently upright and honest that the chief of police _will_ believe his amazing story -- quite a contrast with the usual McQueen role.