Rating: 
Summary: One Of The All Time Great Movie Monsters....
Review: ....makes his debut here; The Creature is at the very least the most memorable mainstream monster to come out of the '50s and the last of the great Universal Studios Monsters. Basically this is an extremely well done drive in movie, helmed by the superior direction of Jack Arnold, who gets good performances out of a cast that contains several familiar faces to fans of '50s Sci-Fi/Horror (Richard Carlson, Richard Denning, Whit Bissell, Nestor Paiva) and also gets the most out of the mysterious, potentially dangerous Amazon jungle setting. There is a good feeling of paranoia in the last half of the film, when the Black Lagoon and the boat both get a little claustrophobic for our heroes as they realize the Creature is more intelligent than they thought and is playing cat-and-mouse with them. The music score is an unforgettable, classic '50s horror movie score. And of course, there is the classic 'underwater ballet' scene with the monster swimming underwater stalking lovely Julia Adams in a graceful, haunting mirror image (Ms. Adams swimsuit is a close second place to the Creature himself as the real star of the film!). Too fast paced, exciting, and all around well done to be considered run-of-the-mill schlocky 50s 'Man in a Rubber Suit Monster' drive-in fare. Probably won't scare many anymore, but still brings back warm, fond memories of the late, late monster show (where has all that programming gone on late-night local TV stations anyways? I sure miss that.....) Definetely a fun way to waste 80 minutes out of an evening.
Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the wait...Except...
Review: When the DVD series of the classic Universal Monster movies first came out I was very dissappointed to see that my personal favorite, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, was not among the initial batch released (Dracula, The first two Frankensteins, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man. I was happy to find out that The Gill Man was slated to be included in the second batch of Monster DVD's and began counting the months until I could get my hands on it. I bought my copy on the day of release and it was well worth the wait. Universal has given the Creature the same royal treatment as the earlier classic monster releases by adding some extras, including a 40 minute documentary about the making of the film, featuring interviews with both men who played the creature as well as the still lovely Julie Adams. There is also an excellent, amusing, and informative commentary by Sci-Fi film expert Tom Weaver that you can select to run with the film. It is these additions as well as a photo archive and the stunning quality of the picture on DVD that make this package head over heels a better buy for the Creature fan than the long available VHS version of the film.My only quibble, and the reason I didn't give the DVD 5 stars, is that there would have been room on the DVD to include the seldom seen 3D version of the movie. When I found out the movie was coming out on DVD I thought this would be a natural thing for Universal to do. After all, the DVD of Dracula included the complete Spanish version of that film, which was shot concurrently with the Bela Lugosi film (many think the spanish version turned out as the superior film) so why not give us both versions of the creature? True, 3D doesn't work the best over television and you've got to wear the funky, headache inducing, glasses but why not give the viewer the chance to at least get an idea of what it was like to see the film in 3D. Everyone in the documentary talks about how awesome the film was in 3D and I would imagine the 3D version of the film must still exist in a vault somewhere (this film was briefly made available in 3D on VHS many years ago). Still this is a minor complaint and shouldn't take away from how great this DVD package is. If you are a fan this movie, or of 50's sci-fi, I don't think you'll regret spending the money on this DVD. Even if you already own it on VHS the extras alone are worth the price of the purchase. This is the one true classic of the "Man in the Rubber Suit" monster movies and it has finally been given a fitting and deserved tribute with the release of this DVD. I love it. Now when can we expect "Revenge" and "Walks Among Us" on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: Universal's original "Jaws" of the 50's
Review: I had the pleasure of seeing this film last Fall on a movies in the
park festival and it still brings in a packed house. Who would't go
see the age old story of beauty and the beast so skillfully done by
Director Jack Arnold. The story is that of a group of Amazon explorers on the thier way
to unearth the "find of the century" a fossil of a missing link of
between fish and man but instead come to meet that of a living sea
creature in which science can't explain and seems to have general
dislike toward these invaders of his Black Lagoon. Followed by 2
sequels this was a big event in 1954 and without added spectacle
of the 3D process this still remains a sci-fi classic with great
cast including Richard Carson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Whit
Bissell, Nestor Paiva and Rico Browning as the creature. Universal maybe slow at getting thier golden age 50's sci-fi film
collection going but they went all out on this monsterfest disc.
The dvd is without doubt one of the cleanest prints of this flick
that your most likely to see (From Laser disc legend has it) The
disc also includes a "Back to the black lagoon" featurette and I
believe every trailer for Black Lagoon in existence plus assorted
vintage ads and stuff and of course that beautiful 50's art cover
make this must for any classic sci-fi dvd collector. I hope that
Universal does this film's sequels "Revenge of the creature" and
"Creature walks among us" on a double disc.Someone pass the word!
Rating:
Summary: The origional Jaws!
Review: The 1950's brought us many sci fi horror films such as The Mole People, This Island Earth, and Attack of the Crab Monsters. The best of the bunch, however, is Universal's classic monster film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) directed by Jack Arnold. The make up effects were outstanding in this film! The Creature itself looked great and the actor under the outfit was able to move around very well under it. I am also impressed with how easy it looked for the actor in the Creature costume to swim under water, alghough I am sure it wasn't. The story line was origional. The film was scary. The Creature is a great character and great addition to the classic Universal monster collection. If you are going to get a Universal monster movie don't go diving into a lagoon, dive into this film, you wouldn't be disappointed. Before Jaws, it was Creature from the Black Lagoon that made people terrified of going swimming!
Rating:
Summary: The Gillman Still Entertains Just Swimmingly
Review: Though it features the weakest of the classic Universal monsters, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is still a first-rate horror film. Two decades before Steven Spielberg's JAWS made us fearful about swimming too far beyond the beach, this classic movie made us believe that something weird and evil could be lurking below the water's surface. The story revolves around a scientific expedition in the Amazon jungle. Spurred by the recent discovery of a strange fossil, the scientists hope to find evidence of what may be the "missing link" between humans and the first of our ancestors to have crawled up out of the sea. Then, while collecting rocks and fossils from the bottom of a sequestered little lagoon, they unwittingly intrude upon the lair of the titular creature, a fish-like humanoid--or "gillman"--who just might be a living example of the fossils they seek. Unlike the other rubber-suit monsters in B-grade horror flicks from the 1950s, the eponymous monster in this film does actually look real and frightening. Especially scary are the close-up shots of the creature when he is out of the water. Gasping for air, his mouth opens and closes in short spasms as the fins on his gills gesticulate in a parallel rhythm, and he quite convincingly comes across as a giant mutant fish with nothing but most malevolent of intentions. Even in black-and-white, the underwater photography in THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is absolutely beautiful, and it is often cited as one of the best aspects of the film. Much of this underwater footage was shot in protected nature reserves in Florida, and though it was not directed by the film's primary director, Jack Arnold, it fits in seamlessly with Arnold's top-notch above-water directing style. Also top-notch are the performances in the film, especially from principals Richard Carlson, Richard Denning, and Julia Adams. Speaking of beautiful film footage, Ms. Adams looks fantastic in a bathing suit, even in the conservative swimwear of the 1950s. And while we're on the subject of sex, it's been nearly 50 years since THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was released, but some critics and film historians still point to the sexual subtext of the film as the main reason for the its enduring popularity. It is supposedly a classic beauty-and-the-beast story--one of the scriptwriters has even been quoted as saying he was inspired by KING KONG--with Ms. Adams playing the beauty, of course, to the lovesick creature's beast. Though it is true that there are some scenes that are replete with sexual innuendo--the scene with Ms. Adams swimming in the lagoon while the creature lurks in the water just below can easily be read as symbolic of sexual intercourse--the titular creature is simply not a character that evokes sympathy, at least not to a degree that can make this film genuinely play like story of unrequited love. Indeed, the one aspect of creature that makes him rank just below the other classic Universal monsters is his lack of pathos. He's scary, to be sure, but devoid of the range of emotional response that makes it possible for an audience to identify with him in the way that they do with, say, the Frankenstein monster or the Wolfman. In spite of all the hoopla, then, it takes a bit of mental gymnastics to make this a love story. Still, Ms. Adams DOES look stunning in a bathing suit.... In short, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is a genuine classic monster flick, right up there with Universal's best. It has great photography, excellent acting, a bathing beauty, and a realistic and genuinely scary monster. It should be on the must-see list of any true horror fan. [Note: THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was originally filmed in 3-D, and there are some really dynamic shots that are obviously meant to exploit the 3-D technique. Unfortunately, the particular 3-D process originally used on this film only works with a special projection setup, and, consequently, the 3-D version is not available for home video. But don't let that deter you from buying the film for home viewing; it is still an excellent movie even without the 3-D effect. Some art-house theaters do occasionally screen the 3-D version--I happened to see it in 3-D in a Baltimore theater sometime in the early 1990s, and it was a great experience--so if you ever get a chance to see it in that format, DO IT!]
Rating:
Summary: Better than I thought it would be, now one of my favorites.
Review: First of all, I am fairly new to these classic monster movies. I have seen Dracula before but that was it. I knew that the Creature dvd was out of print and considerably rare, so when I stumbled upon it for $25 I knew I had to give it a shot. I am glad because it turned out to be a great movie, a true classic to be sure. The story revolves around a scientist who discovers the hand of some unknown creature in the rocks. Knowing it was a water based creature, he heads back to get an expedition together to further explore his finding. The thought was that this creature could be the link between man and aquatic animals. When two scientists dive into the black lagoon they encounter the creature, and one of the scientists becomes determined to kill the creature in order to get the credit for this find. Later Kay, played by Julie Adams, goes for a swim in the lagoon and becomes the object of the creature's desires. That is all I will say about the plot, but you need to see this classic for yourself because it has such a great story, great acting, and the underwater scenes look terrific. I love this movie now, and I am sure any fan of classic monster movies will too, that is if you havent seen it already. I was lucky enough to find this for a reasonable price but since it is out of print it is in high demand, selling for around $60 and up on Amazon/Ebay. Also there are some great extras on the disc, such as the 40 minute Back to the Black Lagoon which goes behind the scenes for The Creature and two sequels made after it. There are also theatrical trailers and posters which are interesting to see. Since I liked this so much I will view The Monster Legacy set, but I am sure the Creature will rank right at the top with the best of them. Get this if you can, you won't be sorry you did. (...)
Rating:
Summary: THE GILL-MAN OF THE AMAZON.....
Review: Probably the most celebrated monster film of the 50's (it even had a small role in "The Seven Year Itch"), "Creature from the Black Lagoon" deserves re-issue along with it's two sequels "Revenge of the Creature" and "The Creature Walks Among Us". The legendary tale of an ill-fated expedition up the Amazon after the discovery of a humanoid claw fossil remains a favorite for so many reasons. The Gill-Man monster suit and the leading lady Julie Adams are two reasons in my book. The Creature still looks good on film and Adams was the perfect heroine in her short-and-halter top oufits and, of course, that white swim suit. The underwater scenes of the Creature swimming underneath her in the lagoon have stayed in my memory all these years. Director Jack Arnold created a lasting film that may not hold up as well as it once did, but it's a treasure for sci-fi/horror fans all over the world. Richard Carlson and Richard Denning provided the stalwart male drama and heroics but the Creature's pursuit of Julie Adams is what gives this classic that strange sort of sex appeal that lies underneath the terror. It's a beautifully photographed b&w thrill ride for those of us who never get tired of watching it. Out of print? For now maybe. But he'll be back. And maybe with his sequels...
Rating:
Summary: All Time Classic!
Review: This would be an all time classic among monster movies.You
would have to rank this up there with Frankenstein,Dracula,and the Wolfman.In this movie an expedition travels to the Amazon
after a fossil is found.They have no luck until as a last resort they enter the Black Lagoon.The leading lady goes swimming and is
quickly observed by the Creature From the Black Lagoon.The creature falls in love with the leading lady.When the Creature is discovered by the expedtion they make several attempts to capture him.The Creature eventually captures the leading lady.
This just adds to the excitement of the movie.The Creature has a
very original costume for 1954.The scenery is also very original.
This movie is very definitely a collector's item.Buy it. You will
enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: The Demon of the Amazon
Review: The classic feature "The Creature of the Black Lagoon" is the latest DVD in Universal's Classic Monster Collection. In a forbidden lagoon on the Amazon, a scientific expedition searches for the fossilized remains of an "amphibious missing link" and discover a living specimen that falls for the head scientist's female assistant. When attempts to capture the creature failed, the powerful beast plots his revenge upon the scientists. Though not the scariest feature in the Universal Monster Collection, "The Creature of the Black Lagoon" is a solid and effective Sci-Fi film that features one of the most inventive movie monsters. This 1954 film contains a well-paced storyline, interesting characters and great underwater photography. The "Gillman's" scaly design is quite remarkable. The cast includes Richard Carlson, Julie Adams and Richard Denning. Universal earns high marks for giving a classic monster feature a great DVD presentation. The film is presented in its original fullscreen format. The DVD contains a stunning B&W picture quality with great clarity. The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound is well preserved and surprisingly clear. The DVD also includes audio commentary with film historian Tom Weaver, theatrical trailers and "Back to the Black Lagoon" featurette. With such fine picture quality and interesting supplements, "The Creature of the Black Lagoon" earns a solid "B".
Rating:
Summary: What's the problem...?
Review: Is anyone else out there as annoyed as I that this film (maybe the whole trilogy) isn't re-released on DVD? Regarding the horror films of the 50's, this MUST stand as a classic. It doesn't make any sense. Whoever has the rights to these films is too ignorant to the fact that there is a public waiting for this type of fare (for that matter, "King Kong" and "This Island Earth"... Anyone else agree...?
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