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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'Them')
Directed by
Gordon Douglas
USA 1954
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By far the best of the '50s cycle of 'creature features', Them! and its story of a nest of giant radioactive ants (the result of an atomic test in the New Mexico desert) retains a good part of its power today. All the prime ingredients of the total mobilisation movie are here: massed darkened troops move through the eerie storm drains of Los Angeles, biblical prophecy is intermixed with gloomy speculation about the effect of radioactivity. Almost semi-documentary in approach, the formula is handled with more subtlety than usual, and the special effects are frequently superb. |
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Theatrical Release: June 17th, 1954
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC
| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
Also offered, very reasonably with - The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms / Them! (Double Feature) (1953) at Amazon HERE (Thanks Hans!) |
| Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:32:21 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.31 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Who's
Who (listing of characters) |
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| Comments: |
Blu-ray reviewed HERE. The Warner image is surprisingly very strong - compounded by the fact that it is only single-layered! I don't see excessive manipulation and the picture quality is very clean. Contrast and detail are well above average. No complaints at all with the visual aspect of the DVD. NOTE: The title (lone) is in color - bright red and blue - and the film was intended for both a color release and in 3-D - but neither came to fruition.
Warner have coded this
for regions 1 thru 4 with subtitle options in Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Japanese or English. The audio is a clean original mono
track. Snapper-cased package is now available as a Keep Case and, although a little hard to navigate, I
LOVE the tabloid menu screens (see below).
Extras are more-or-less sparse with some text
screens, short outtakes and a fairly long trailer.
THEM! is one of
the most recognizable 'creature features' from the 50's. Certainly
quintessential in this, more innocent, vintage sci-fi genre which
continues to be a favorite of mine.
On a late Friday
night, crackle-up a big tub of popcorn with plenty of butter and double
feature pair
THEM!
with any of a host of seminal cold-war-drive-in specials available on
DVD (or Blu-ray for some) - like
20 Million Miles to Earth,
Tarantula,
The Deadly Mantis,
This Island Earth,
Earth vs. The Flying Saucers or
The Incredible Shrinking Man to name a few. Personally speaking
that is what I believe a home theatre is all about. NOTE: I continue to
reserve rainy Sunday afternoons for Harryhausen gems like
Jason and the Argonauts,
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad or
Mysterious Island (when is this one coming to Blu-ray?)
THEM! on DVD is whole-heartedly
recommended for helping keep alive the essence of cinema at one of its
most nostalgically innocent eras - also captured with pinpoint precision
by Joe Dante's
Matinee from 1993.
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| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
Also offered, very reasonably with - The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms / Them! (Double Feature) (1953) at Amazon HERE (Thanks Hans!) |
| Distribution | Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC | |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
