Curucu, Beast of the Amazon Blu-ray

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 50,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Curt Siodmak
USA 1956

When reports of a clawed beast cause hundreds of natives to flee their Brazilian plantation jobs, the landowners send a macho trouble-shooter aptly named Rock Dean and cancer-researching doctor Andrea Romar deep into the rainforest for a steamy odyssey of dance numbers, headhunters, blowguns, grope-happy savages and one of the most infamous monsters in horror history!

From famed writer/director Curt Siodmak – scribe of The Wolf Man, I Walked With A Zombie and Donovan's Brain – comes perhaps the most notorious jungle shocker of the 50s: Curucu, Beast of the Amazon! Starring 50s B-movie legend John Bromfield (Revenge of the Creature), cult movie icon, Beverly Garland (It Conquered the World), alongside Tom Payne (Love Slaves of the Amazon), Vinegar Syndrome Labs offers this criminally overlooked studio produced shocker on Blu-ray for the first time.

***

Rock and Dr. Andrea travel up the Amazon to find out why the plantation workers have left their work in panic, allegedly because of attacks from Curucu, a monster who is said to live up the river where no white man has ever been before...

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 1956

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Vinegar Syndrome Labs - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Vinegar Syndrome Labs - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:15:08.795
Video	2.00:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,509,409,854 bytes Feature: 22,033,640,064 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2061 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2061 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Vinegar Syndrome Labs 2.00:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,509,409,854 bytes Feature: 22,033,640,064 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Brand new commentary track with film historian / author Barry Forshaw and film critic / author Kim Newman • Archival video featurette with writer/director Curt Siodmak (5:02) • Gallery (0:26) • Video trailer (1:56) Reversible sleeve artwork Blu-ray Release Date: February, 2023 Transparent Blu-ray Case in firm slipcover Chapters 5

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome Labs Blu-ray (February 2023): Vinegar Syndrome Labs have transferred Curt Siodmak's Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (pronounced "Koo-Ruh-SOO") to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm dupe negative". Colors (Eastmancolor) are quite impressive in this 1080P transfer. The source has some surface marks and scratches, and a few frames that look misaligned (see samples below.) Grain is strong and pleasing - it is in the 2.0 aspect ratio. Process shots, effects and stock footage show weaknesses but that isn't a fault of the dual-layered transfer with a max'ed out bitrate. Despite some frequent inconsistency, I thought the HD presentation was more than acceptable to enjoy this title.

Vinegar Syndrome Labs is another VS sub-label - as they state "... we are hoping to expand and defy expectations with the diversity of films we restore and release. As the name implies, VSL will serve as a kind of testing area for releasing genres and eras of film that one might not immediately expect to come from VS. The ultimate objective of VSL will be to see if these types of films will find an audience, and if so, pursue and release more of them…and even if not, still serve as a means of restoring more of the weird, rare, and unusual movies you might not expect from Vinegar Syndrome." Personally, I hope they do more of this particular genre.

NOTE: We have added 68 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Vinegar Syndrome Labs use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Curucu, Beast of the Amazon has aggressive moments, and Beverley Garland screams, that come through with modest depth. Dialogue is again a function of the production - a shade less-consistent and scattered at times - some apparent DUB'ing. The, often dramatic, score was by Raoul Kraushaar (often credited as Ralph Stanley) who is has done film compositions for Invaders From Mars, She Should Have Said No, Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, Dirty O'Neil, September Storm - 3D, Fritz Lang's The Blue Gardenia etc. sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. Vinegar Syndrome Labs offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Vinegar Syndrome Labs Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Barry Forshaw (author the BFI Film Classics' The War of the Worlds book) and the inestimable Kim Newman (author of Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju) They discuss grumpy Curt Siodmak, John Bromfield's hunkiness but modest acting ability, the film's glaringly obvious sexism, the relationship of Curucu, Beast of the Amazon to the director's Love Slaves of the Amazon + Bride of the Gorilla, the unsavory-ness of the male lead character, Beverly Garland remarking in interviews how difficult the film was to make - everyone was ill, Siodmak rushed it because he was so stingy with the 35mm - 10,000 feet of color film left , how she had to do her own make-up etc. Always with Barry and Kim there is plenty of information - anecdotal details - and fun comments. Excellent. There is also an 5-minute archival video featurette with writer/director Curt Siodmak, a gallery and poor quality 1.33:1 video trailer. There is also reversible sleeve artwork with embossed slipcover (designed by Earl Kessler Jr.) and is only limited to 4,000 units - available on VS's website, Amazon or select Indie retailers.

Mid 50's? Curt Siodmak? Beverley Garland? "Beast" in the title? I was sold before I watched it. Curucu, Beast of the Amazon was distributed in the United States as a double feature with The Mole People. It has some animals gruesomely fighting, shrunken heads, an arm cleaned to a bleached skeleton by Piranhas, deadly snakes and spiders, plus some impressive waterfall sequences. Beverley Garland may be the best drawing card but it is better than Love Slaves of the Amazon that was borne out of this production - even with its budgetary constraints. I love this cinematic milieu and am thrilled with the sub-label Vinegar Syndrome Labs - hoping more Blu-rays of this imperfect genre are forthcoming. The commentary is very much appreciated and adds more value, plus the great packaging that VS always does. A solid keeper for me.