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(aka "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas")
Directed by Val Guest
UK 1957
He'll turn your spine to ice!
*** Literate, thoughtful and surprisingly well-produced on its modest budget, this low-key thriller was inspired by a flurry of early '50s speculation about the existence of the legendary manlike primate called the yeti, spurred by reports from expeditions to the Himalayas, including that of Sir Edmund Hillary. Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing) and his wife Helen (Maureen Connell), along with their colleague Fox (Peter Wattis), are in Tibet studying medicinal plants with the help of the local lama (Arnold Marle). Rollason, an experienced climber sidelined by a serious accident, is contacted by Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), an American adventurer who has mounted a small, well-financed expedition to find a yeti and bring it back to civilization. Aware that Rollason holds controversial theories about the man-beast, Friend persuades him to join the expedition, much against Helen's wishes. Even the normally helpful lama seems opposed to the venture, and delivers an enigmatic warning that Rollason ignores. Once in the snowy mountains, the party is beset by a series of misfortunes and the men fall prey to their own fears and insecurities as well. Scripted by respected science-fiction writer Nigel Kneale, the film features a crisp performance by the always reliable Cushing (the blustering Tucker fares rather less well) and handsome, black-and-white widescreen cinematography. The English sets are well integrated with second unit footage shot in the Pyranees mountains, which stand in admirably for the Himalayas. Excerpt from TVGuide located HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release: August 10th, 1957
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 1:30:05.817 / Full HD: 1:25:05.892 | |
Video |
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 49,985,370,330 bytesFeature: 22,919,933,952 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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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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Bitrate "Longer Cut with 5-minutes of SD unconverted footage' Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate 'Full HD Master' Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master Audio
English 1651 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1651 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz
/ 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital
Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 49,985,370,330 bytesFeature: 22,919,933,952 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• NEW Audio Commentary With Filmmaker/Film Historian Ted Newsom
Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
"Please Note: usable film elements of the complete film no longer exist;
approximately five minutes of the film have been upconverted to high
definition from a standard definition source."
We have included 4 samples below.
It also has the 'Full HD Master' NOTE: in it Shout! Factory sloppily spell the word 'missing' incorrectly as 'mssing'. These two cuts are not seamlessly-branched and Shout! Factory may wish to move in to the more modern transfer era as these separate transfers are the same - not need to duplicate them. This is a dual--layered disc with high bitrates for the two films. The full HD looked very good on my system. The full HD looks fine - not spectacular - but acceptable with a few surface scratches (see sample below), fine grain texture, and the 2.35:1 widescreen is very appealing, passive contrast and the SD inserts are easily noticeable by their disparity.
NOTE: 46 more full
resolution (1920 X 1080)
Blu-ray
captures for Patrons are available
HERE.
On their
Blu-ray,
Shout! Factory use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (24-bit) in
the original English language. It sounds consistent supporting the score by Humphrey Searle (The
Haunting), that has a regal feel to it with pleasing bass. Shout! Factory offer optional,
bold yellow, English
subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
The Shout! Factory
Blu-ray
offers a new audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Ted Newsom.
Newsom has worked primarily as a documentary filmmaker, specializing in
documentaries on the history of the horror and science fiction genre. He
has some interesting insights and anecdotes, not always relating to
The Abominable Snowman. I greatly enjoyed the second audio
commentary with director Val Guest and screenwriter Nigel Kneale where
Guest talks about how he would have preferred not to use the 2.35:1
ratio but Hammer-vision was in the forefront, how most of the Chinese
restaurant waiters in London were in the film as extras, Cushing,
Tucker, Guest's start as a writer and much more. It is excellent. There is
also a 23-minutes interview with Jonathan Rigby (author of
English Gothic)
entitled "In Search Of The Yeti" and his insights are always
interesting digging beneath the surface of what is generally know about
the film. Very good. There is the obligatory 1/2 hour World Of Hammer
with an episode on Peter Cushing and a Trailers From Hell with
Joe Dante, a theatrical trailer and extensive stills gallery.
I don't recall seeing this for a couple of decades or more and loved my
viewing |
Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
SD Upconvert samples (Click to Enlarge)
Scratch sample (Click to Enlarge)
More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |