The Black Scorpion (1957) - Page 4 - Blu-ray Forum

SMOOT · 03-26-2018, 08:17 PM

I enjoy The Black Scorpion. As said by JUDiaz718, the stop-motion alone gets 3 stars.

AKORIS · 03-26-2018, 08:24 PM

you really need to have an appreciation for these genre films.... obviously the reviewer today does not.

The Great Owl · 03-26-2018, 08:31 PM

The site reviewer does a fine job of laying out The Black Scorpion for new viewers.

For many of us, this movie was a pivotal inspirational positive influence on our lives, but nostalgia for the childhood viewings is admittedly a big reason why we hold it in high esteem.

Zillamon51 · 03-26-2018, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

For many of us, this movie was a pivotal inspirational positive influence on our lives....

Dude, this isn't King Kong 1933 or Godzilla 1954. It's the friggin' Black Scorpion. I'm as big of a classic monster fan as you'll find on this board, but get real. If this is a childhood inspiration, you needed to see more movies.

Jaymole · 03-26-2018, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

Dude, this isn't King Kong 1933 or Godzilla 1954. It's the friggin' Black Scorpion. I'm as big of a classic monster fan as you'll find on this board, but get real. If this is a childhood inspiration, you needed to see more movies.

Speak for yourself. The Black Scorpion had such a powerful influence on meas a child that I begged and begged my parents for a scorpion as a pet. They finally gave in and although my father and sister died a few months later due to Stingy getting out of his cage, I still consider the film a positive influence on my life.

Gorgon · 03-26-2018, 10:14 PM

I just finished Reuben's review and I think he was sufficiently neutral, on the positive side.
I'm also of the camp that loves this flik, as I saw it fresh as a young lad and it helped inspire the wonderful affection I feel for all 50's sci-fi films.
Are they works of art? Hardly, but that doesn't matter a whit when we are talking about affection for films.
For a fun flik to watch on a couch with my Grand-daughter, ice cold Cokes and a big bowl of popcorn,

it's a blast from the past...

cakefactory · 03-26-2018, 10:16 PM

The review's fine. It's not unfair and it does a good job of describing the movie. It sounds more neutral when you read it than I was expecting from the first couple of posts. While it does point out some specific bad effects, I'm surprised he didn't mention the awful closeups on the drooling anthropomorphic scorpion face!!

Gorgon · 03-26-2018, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cakefactory

The review's fine. It's not unfair and it does a good job of describing the movie. It sounds more neutral when you read it than I was expecting from the first couple of posts. While it does point out some specific bad effects, I'm surprised he didn't mention the awful closeups on the drooling anthropomorphic scorpion face!!

That "drooling scorpion face" I actually found one of the creepiest aspects that stuck with me from the film (I was about 8 first viewing).
I did not mind the atrociously bad, black matte shops either at that age because, well, it was called "The Black Scorpion" so OF COURSE it would show up all black! heh heh...

RalphoR · 03-26-2018, 10:56 PM

There's no question that if you aren't into 50s sci-fi this movie would be considered pretty awful today but if you are then it's great. I highly doubt somebody NOT into these movies to some extent would ever blind buy it. It's for that reason I take exception to the reviewers judgment that newcomers wouldn't watch it more than once.....they just might like it.

AKORIS · 03-26-2018, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cakefactory

The review's fine. It's not unfair and it does a good job of describing the movie. It sounds more neutral when you read it than I was expecting from the first couple of posts. While it does point out some specific bad effects, I'm surprised he didn't mention the awful closeups on the drooling anthropomorphic scorpion face!!

A 0.5 rating??? Are you kidding?

Robert Furmanek · 03-26-2018, 11:44 PM

He's mistaken in thinking original 35mm prints were several generations removed and printed from a dupe negative.

At that time, prints for first-run 35mm theatrical distribution were printed directly from the original 35mm camera negative. I used to have a 1957 print of this film in 35mm and it was razor-sharp.

jmat91 · 03-26-2018, 11:46 PM

Sold my old dvd snapper. excited for this.

AKORIS · 03-27-2018, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmat91

Sold my old dvd snapper. excited for this.

always amazes me when I see posts like this. How much do you make selling an 18 year old dvd in a snapper case? Genuinely curious.....

Zillamon51 · 03-27-2018, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKORIS

always amazes me when I see posts like this. How much do you make selling an 18 year old dvd in a snapper case? Genuinely curious.....

I usually sell off DVDs that I've upgraded to Blu. If it's a common title, I sometimes only make a buck or two after shipping. But shelf space is at a premium, and a buck's a buck, right?

smithb · 03-27-2018, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

I usually sell off DVDs that I've upgraded to Blu. If it's a common title, I sometimes only make a buck or two after shipping. But shelf space is at a premium, and a buck's a buck, right?

My preference is to put the disk into a sleeve and slide the sleeve under the clips within the blu-ray case cover. This way I have a backup of sorts with no loss in shelf space.

Zillamon51 · 03-27-2018, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smithb

My preference is to put the disk into a sleeve and slide the sleeve under the clips within the blu-ray case cover. This way I have a backup of sorts with no loss in shelf space.

I've thought about that. But it seems wasteful to orphan the DVD packaging and recycle it, just to keep a disc I'll rarely, if ever, use. And I figure if something happens to the Blu-ray (it gets run over by a car, hit by lightning, chewed up by wild dogs, or whatever), the DVD in the case is probably going down with that ship anyway.

Dr Lenera · 03-27-2018, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Might as well wait for a few user reviews before purchasing. Since you've never seen it and if you like this genre then you should be pleased.

Well I do like this kind of stuff, big fan of stop-motion and movies like Them!, I can't imagine I wouldn't enjoy it!

Dr Lenera · 03-27-2018, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by revgen

Depends. I believe it's still overall better than the old NTSC DVD which is 4:3 open matte aspect ratio. The Blu-Ray is widescreen.

I'm not sure what kind of replacement system WB/WAC has with international customers, so you may have a reason to worry.

I know what you mean, this kind of thing tends to be more difficult if you import...but what the hell, I'm gonna bite.

hoytereden · 03-27-2018, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gorgon

That "drooling scorpion face" I actually found one of the creepiest aspects that stuck with me from the film (I was about 8 first viewing).
I did not mind the atrociously bad, black matte shops either at that age because, well, it was called "The Black Scorpion" so OF COURSE it would show up all black! heh heh...

I watched The Giant Behemoth on TCM last night and it has some similar cost cutting effects that are in sharp contrast to the O'Brien animation. In this case it's a model of the title creature from the neck up that's used whenever the monster surfaces. Even so, I still enjoy the film a lot. It's well acted with Gene Evans and Andre Morell as the voices of reason. I do hope it will be upgraded soon.

yellowcakeuf6 · 03-27-2018, 02:03 PM

Yeah, even Maltin gave it 1.5 out of 4 stars, so Mr. Reuben was severely harsh!

03-26-2018, 08:17 PM	#61
SMOOT Power Member Member since:Oct 2007 Blu-ray reviews:14	I enjoy The Black Scorpion. As said by JUDiaz718, the stop-motion alone gets 3 stars.

03-26-2018, 08:24 PM	#62
AKORIS Blu-ray Prince Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Beautiful Pacific Northwest 4K collection:661 Blu-ray collection:3646 Blu-ray reviews:19	you really need to have an appreciation for these genre films.... obviously the reviewer today does not.

03-26-2018, 08:31 PM	#63
The Great Owl Blu-ray Archduke Member since:Dec 2012 Location:Georgia 4K collection:926 Blu-ray collection:6034 DVD collection:28 Blu-ray reviews: 255 Trading Score:6	The site reviewer does a fine job of laying out The Black Scorpion for new viewers. For many of us, this movie was a pivotal inspirational positive influence on our lives, but nostalgia for the childhood viewings is admittedly a big reason why we hold it in high esteem.

03-26-2018, 10:14 PM	#66
Gorgon Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2015 Location:Great White North Trading Score:32	I just finished Reuben's review and I think he was sufficiently neutral, on the positive side. I'm also of the camp that loves this flik, as I saw it fresh as a young lad and it helped inspire the wonderful affection I feel for all 50's sci-fi films. Are they works of art? Hardly, but that doesn't matter a whit when we are talking about affection for films. For a fun flik to watch on a couch with my Grand-daughter, ice cold Cokes and a big bowl of popcorn, it's a blast from the past...

03-26-2018, 10:16 PM	#67
cakefactory Blu-ray Baron Top contributor Member since:Oct 2012 Location:WI, USA 4K collection:442 Blu-ray collection:3929 DVD collection:808 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:23	The review's fine. It's not unfair and it does a good job of describing the movie. It sounds more neutral when you read it than I was expecting from the first couple of posts. While it does point out some specific bad effects, I'm surprised he didn't mention the awful closeups on the drooling anthropomorphic scorpion face!!

03-26-2018, 10:56 PM	#69
RalphoR Blu-ray Archduke Member since:Oct 2013 Location:The Forbidden Valley of NE Ohio Trading Score:13	There's no question that if you aren't into 50s sci-fi this movie would be considered pretty awful today but if you are then it's great. I highly doubt somebody NOT into these movies to some extent would ever blind buy it. It's for that reason I take exception to the reviewers judgment that newcomers wouldn't watch it more than once.....they just might like it.

03-26-2018, 11:44 PM	#71
Robert Furmanek Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2012	He's mistaken in thinking original 35mm prints were several generations removed and printed from a dupe negative. At that time, prints for first-run 35mm theatrical distribution were printed directly from the original 35mm camera negative. I used to have a 1957 print of this film in 35mm and it was razor-sharp.

03-26-2018, 11:46 PM	#72
jmat91 Expert Member Member since:Jan 2014 Location:Somewhere South Blu-ray collection:2312 DVD collection:2	Sold my old dvd snapper. excited for this.

03-27-2018, 02:03 PM	#80
yellowcakeuf6 Blu-ray Guru Member since:Nov 2008 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Blu-ray reviews: 16	Yeah, even Maltin gave it 1.5 out of 4 stars, so Mr. Reuben was severely harsh!

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