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

ADDITION: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray July 17': This new Shout! Factory Blu-ray is cited as being a "NEW High-Definition transfer taken from a fine grain-print".  I'm not crazy about the appearance. It has a ratio difference from the DVD, is brighter, sometimes excessively so, and looks soft at times. The damage is the same although is less prominent on the 1080P. I wonder if this has had some digitization effect to minimize the scratches - that weren't an issue, regardless. I reduced a few of the 1080P caps to 720 and the SD looked better to me. It shouldn't. I'll live with the BD for a while and se if I can do some further comparisons. So far, I'm not very impressed with the Blu-ray visuals. The, many, cue-blips are not visible (see last capture.)

ADDED: We review a lot of older films on Blu-ray and one thing that seems consistent is that damage marks (scratches etc.) become more prominent in the higher resolution - as all detail, generally, improves. When there has been a film-level restoration these damage marks can be removed - I don't think that has happened here as I see the same damage marks (see Margaret Field's face in the second last capture) but the prominence of the scratch has been diminished on the Blu-ray. It looks like it has been done through digitally altering the contrast. This is why we see some of the compared screen captures darker and some lighter... I strongly suspect that the single-layered, bare-bones, DVD was just a straight transfer of the (same) source - it is consistent and no reason to go through the expense of scene-select manipulation. The Blu-ray has the benefit of 1080P resolution - more visible grain, a more subtle expression... but I also think the BD has some horizontal stretching OR the DVD has vertical stretching. I lean to any distortion being with the Blu-ray (less natural - fatter faces). I don't consider this, latter point, to be a big issue and most won't notice or care. Someone, very high up in the chain of studio digital transfers, once told me that 99% of the time that the darker image is the more theatrically correct. The DVD is darker but it also has a smaller resolution with those inferiorities going against it (less grain, less film-like etc.) as well as the audio and extras. It's not about saying one is better than the other - as people watch them on different systems, have different expectations and different sensitivities. The Blu-ray has the two commentaries and that, alone, is worth the price of the package.

Competent DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) at 1568 kbps. Effects exist but are modest - however, they do carry maximum more depth than the lossy SD. There is an original score by Charles Koff (Abilene Town)and it's standard fare - benefitting from the lossless. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

There is an audio commentary by Tom Weaver (author of the upcoming Universal Terrors 1951-1955: Eight Classic Horror and Science Fiction Films), Joe Dante, David Schecter and film historian Dr. Robert J. Kiss that goes into detail about Ulmer and minutia of the production. It is excellent and we also get a second commentary by Gary D. Rhodes (co-author of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster with Tom Weaver) and Arianne Ulmer Cipes, daughter of Edgar G. Ulmer. It, likewise has value - a super addition. There is also a theatrical trailer.

I love this genre and The Man From Planet X - a quintessential example of the charismatic production inferiorities that make these pulpy popcorn'ers so watchable and desirable. I will continue to investigate the 1080P image but the twin commentaries make this, alone, essential.