The Black Scorpion (1957)

[Scottie]

[The Great Owl]

Woo hoo! I love this movie so much.

[octagon]

Yeah, they're having a hell of a day. And for all we know...

[Show spoiler]

day ain't over yet - YouTube

[evilive]

Best gawddamn news all day. Can finally retire my dvd.

[gpn]

I'm drooling with anticipation.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by gpn

I'm drooling with anticipation.

He just got his first look at Mara Corday!

[Scottie]

The Black Scorpion (1957)
New 2018 1080p HD Remaster
Run Time 88:00
Subtitles English SDH
DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono - English
ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 1.78:1, 16x9 Widescreen
B&W
BD 25
Special Features: "Stop Motion Masters" with Ray Harryhausen; Las Vegas Monster and the Beetlemen test footage; Harryhausen's Dinosaur sequence from "The Animal World"; Giant Monsters Trailer Gallery; Theatrical Trailer (HD)

They’re big. They’re bad. They scuttle along in caverns miles beneath the Earth – until an earthquake opens paths to the surface. Now, these monsters of genus Arachnida are invading our world with deadly force! With top special effects co-designed by King Kong’s Willis O’Brien, The Black Scorpion is horror with a sting more lethal than the king-sized ants that overran Los Angeles’ sewers in the classic Them! Can humankind survive these invincible juggernauts? That fate rests on the shoulders of Hank Scott (1950s monster-movie stalwart Richard Denning) as the creatures rip a train from its track, snatch a helicopter from the sky and, in the film’s most gripping sequence, battle each other in their subterranean lair.

[monwobbbo]

fantastic, want for sure. includes Harryhausen stuff from DVD which makes this an essential purchase. can't wait.

[NoirFan]

Hot damn! One of my most-wanted 50's creature-features.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkCU...ature=youtu.be

[heebiejeebie]

I've never actually seen this movie, but supposedly the spider in this is the same one used in King Kong's lost spider pit sequence.

[Partyslammer]

Originally Posted by heebiejeebie

I've never actually seen this movie, but supposedly the spider in this is the same one used in King Kong's lost spider pit sequence.

That is correct and it's brief appearance in this movie is one of the creepier sequences in the film. It's thought that the weird worm-scorpion that gets killed and eaten by another scorpion in the cave sequence is another re-used model from the King Kong spider pit scene.

The first time I saw this movie was around 1970 on late night broadcast tv and for this sort of old school 50's giant bug movie to actually depict the monsters brutally killing and more or less eating people was pretty unsettling (even if the "people" were tiny bendable buddies!).

The only real downside to the otherwise excellent stop motion effects is that many scenes are re-used multiple times to pad out spfx scenes, even some shots are horizontally flipped so the viewer is less likely to notice. That, and due to the budget running out, many of the shots of the big daddy scorpion in the finale are actually black cut-out mattes that Willis O'Brien didn't have the time or money to comp in the actual "Black Scorpion" model.

Regarding this release, I'm glad they are porting all the extras from the old DVD release and the later Warner Archives DVD-R widescreen upgrade from a few years back. They'll likely be in standard definition but I'm not going to get worked up over that. Turner has been occasionally showing the HD upgrade the past couple years and it looks very good.

I guess this puts the kibosh on a 2nd Warner Bros "Special Effects Collection" 4 film box for which this film would have been a natural inclusion. That said, I have to think believe "The Giant Behemoth" which has followed a similar path and has been broadcast in HD on Turner the past couple years will get a similar Warner Archives release before the end of 2018.

[The Sovereign]

It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen this one, but the trailer has me stoked. Can’t wait to bust this out for a late weekend night!

[AKORIS]

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep 'em coming WAC....

and mean it when you say "day one!" Blu ray. com members! We want more of these!

[Zillamon51]

I'd prefer it if stuff like this and Gwangi came out in sets, like the SPFX Vol. 1 collection, but I guess I have to take 'em as I can get 'em.

[TravelNurseRN]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep 'em coming WAC....

and mean it when you say "day one!" Blu ray. com members! We want more of these!

Done and Done. I've been buying these types of films day one, and most of them are complete blind buys for me. I've been hoping for Black Scorpion for awhile now, and can't wait to see it for the first time ever. WAC is in the top of my favorite labels. I wish Universal would do the same.

I'm a very late-bloomer Monster Kid (I grew up with Sci-Fi), and pretty much anything 1930's to 1960's that the true Monster Kids get excited about that releases on Blu Ray, I snatch those up ASAP both to show my support and to experience the films for myself. I haven't been disappointed yet. On the contrary, pretty much everything I get makes me want even more.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by TravelNurseRN

Done and Done. I've been buying these types of films day one, and most of them are complete blind buys for me. I've been hoping for Black Scorpion for awhile now, and can't wait to see it for the first time ever. WAC is in the top of my favorite labels. I wish Universal would do the same.

I'm a very late-bloomer Monster Kid (I grew up with Sci-Fi), and pretty much anything 1930's to 1960's that the true Monster Kids get excited about that releases on Blu Ray, I snatch those up ASAP both to show my support and to experience the films for myself. I haven't been disappointed yet. On the contrary, pretty much everything I get makes me want even more.

WAC has gone to the top of my favorite labels as well! Fun releases, great quality... always looking forward to their great announcements! Seems like they always offer something I want in my collection

[Gorgon]

Day One purchase.

[RalphoR]

Finally! Great news. This is one of my "final four" of WAC nutty monster movies I wanna get on bd. Here's to the other three making it soon:
The Bermuda Depths
The Last Dinosaur
The Giant Behemoth

[risky1975]

Hell Yes!!!!!

[EManT2200]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, this is most certainly a day one buy for me. Been hoping for this one. These 50's horror and sci-fi movies are the greatest, love this genre of movies ! ! !