ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD (September 2022): Vinegar Syndrome's are releasing William Sachs’ The Incredible Melting Man to 4K UHD. It is cited as "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative". We compared the Shout! Factory and Arrow Blu-rays HERE. It looks now that the 1080Ps (from the exact same D1) were slightly vertically stretched (thinner faces). The 3840 X 2160 image has consistent grain textures, deep rich colors, highly pleasing detail in the close-ups and more information in the frame - visible on the bottom and left edges. It does appear to get negligibly softer in the second half of the film as I recalled with the Blu-rays and this has a smidgeon of teal. There is a modest HDR pass and a very high bitrate. It is very clean (a  few imperceptible vertical scratches) and this 4K UHD provides a notably superior presentation. The feature is also included in 1080P on a second disc Blu-ray that has the video extras. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 32 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Cloak & Dagger (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR), Out of Sight (software uniformly simulated HDR), Raging Bull (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shaft (1971),  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Double Indemnity (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Untouchables (software uniformly simulated HDR),  For a Few Dollars More (no HDR), Saboteur (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marnie (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shadow of a Doubt (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Fistful of Dollars (no HDR), In the Heat of the Night (no HDR), Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Vinegar Syndrome use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Lots of 'melting man' grunts. London Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Arlon Ober composed the score and he also did work on Eating Raoul and Child's Play. It strikes the right mood and has a tinge of the excessive. The disc offers optional English (SDH) subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide. In this case the second disc Blu-ray is region 'A'-locked.

The rest of the extras are on the second disc Blu-ray, along with a 1080P version of the feature. The 20-minute interview with writer/director Sachs (not 'Sacks' as spelled by the original featurette) and make-up effects artist Rick Baker plus a short interview with make-up effects artist Greg Cannom - also repeated from the Blu-rays. New (2022) to this release are "Just Show Up" a 1/4 hour interview with script supervisor Sandy King and the 1/2 hour "It's a War"- a brand new interview with 80-year-old Sachs - nice to have his continued participation on the digital versions. Also included are an original theatrical trailer, stills gallery and the package has reversible cover artwork.

Vinegar Syndrome's 4K UHD release of William Sachs’ The Incredible Melting Man was commercially successful, despite heavily negative reviews. Baker's makeup effects were generally praised with the progressive melting of Steve West's body through radiation poisoning. There are several "atomic age" homages in "The Incredible Melting Man" to science fiction and horror films of the 1950s and 60's - a sub-genre that we love. It's even mentioned in Cult Science Fiction Films: From the Amazing Colossal Man to Yog : The Monster from Space written by Welch D. Everman. The title itself, The Incredible Melting Man, refers to Jack Arnold's inventive The Incredible Shrinking Man with Grant Williams battling a house spider. One of the melting man's victims is played by directed-of-note Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs.) Less notable but of interest, The Incredible Melting Man also has quasi-exploitation genre star Cheryl Smith (as Rainbeaux Smith), the model who would get her breasts exposed by the aggressive photographer. She would also star in Demme's Caged Heat and Melvin and Howard, as well as other appearances in Farewell, My Lovely, Phantom of the Paradise, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Massacre at Central High, Revenge of the Cheerleaders, Parasite etc. As a gimmick, candles were made and sold to advertise the film. It was Drive-In fodder with the exciting sci-fi horror title. It remains a nostalgic, cheesy, fun ride with some very creepy visuals. Vinegar Syndrome's 4K UHD is a large step-up in terms of video quality and it adds new extras - certainly recommended to the right crowd.

Gary Tooze