The movie is finally out on Blu-ray 3D and it looks fantastic. The parallax in this one is huge...just look at the separation between the background jungle trees as seen from the boat. The underwater shots look absolutely stunning and throughout the film there is a great sense of space between objects and characters which also have an obvious solidity to them. This is how 3D should look and it puts a lot of modern efforts to shame. Having said that, there are some problems evident. Occasionally, but only very occasionally, the 3D alignment is either incorrectly positioned or even in reverse, so that the 3D doesn't work. There's the obligatory 2D moment too. This one scene occurs when Richard Carlson is underwater in the Lagoon. Also, the image quality varies from mainly beautifully rich (for a film of almost 60 years at least) to times where the image quality noticeably degrades (most obvious on a couple of scenes on the boat). Do these few anomalies spoil the overall succes of the 3D though? No, not at all. Creature From the Black Lagoon retains its status as a bona fide 3D classic.
(Possible slight spoilers) One other thing about the film that is worth pointing out is its influence on other film-makers, most notably Steven Spielberg. While watching the movie, I could see where Spielberg got a lot of his inspiration for Jaws. There's the shaking of the boat, the female underwater silhouette, the underwater leg grabbing, the block and tackle struggles and just the general feeling of something menacing lurking beneath the water. Also, did I really hear some dum dum dum dum music on the soundtrack during the underwater scenes? A couple of times...yes!! All these elements were utilized, of course, in "Jaws" in a very similar fashion to how they appear in "Creature". That alone is a tribute to the impact that this movie must have had all those years ago. Today, its a great example of 3D being used to its full potential and although the film might seem a bit tame by today's standards, its still a worthy and enjoyable viewing experience...especially in 3D.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is highly recommended to all 3D and monster movie fans.(v)
Buy at Play.com
Go to Blu-ray.com for an in-depth review with screenshots
