The Black Scorpion (1957) [Blu-ray]

The movie itself was excellent. The video transfer great. The extras offered a documentary of Ray Harryhausen reminiscing over his mentor Willis O’Brian who did the special effects for the original “King Kong” and “The Black Scorpion.” It also included the stop motion prehistoric segment from Irwin Allen’s documentary feature film “The Animal World” which was the last film collaboration of Willis O’Brian and Ray Harryhausen.In addition it had stop motion special effects footage from Pete Petersen’s aborted film projects. Petersen was O’Brian’s assistant on “Mighty Joe Young”, “The Giant Behemoth” and “The Black Scorpion.” Petersen did the tedious hands on stop motion work under the supervision of O’Brian.My only quibble is the exact same extras were on the dvd release of the film and no new extras were made for the Bluray release. It would have been nice to have had a commentary tract done for this release.About the film itself in my humble opinion it’s the second best giant bug flick made during the 1950’s sci-fi movie craze. Only the classic “Them” surpasses it having superior story, acting and direction. Regarding special effects however Black Scorpion is superior. O’Brian’s and Petersen’s stop motion in many ways surpasses Ray Harryhausen’s best work. Several scenes of scorpions on the rampage are genuinely frightening and caused me to lose sleep when I saw it in theaters as a child.For those interested in classic 50’s sci-fi, stop motion animation or just a great entertaining movie I highly recommend seeing “The Black Scorpion.”

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'The Black Scorpion' released by Warner Archives in 2018.BLU-RAY:The Blu-ray transfer is very good overall but it is not perfect. You see almost no flaws such as dirt, specks, lines, etc. It is very clean but the picture is not perfect. There are many places where the picture is very soft or slightly blurry and other places where it is very sharp. Generally a lot of the closeups, especially indoors, are very sharp. The outside shots are another matter. This might have to do with how the movie was shot or it might be the quality of the source materials. I don't really know. I'd have to say that most people will be very happy with the picture. I am. Perfectionists will find things to gripe about. Unless this movie gets a complete overhaul, which would be costly, I doubt it will be looking any better anytime soon. I'm giving the picture a 8/10.EXTRA'S:You get a few interesting extra's but no commentary track. The extra's are:-Stop-Motion Masters with Ray Harryhausen-Footage of the Las Vegas Monster and Beetleman - This is some test footage shot by assistant animator, Pete Peterson.-Animated footage from the dinosaur sequence of 'The Animal World.' This was shot by both Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien working together in the 50's. It would be the last time those two animation giants would work together.-TrailerPLOT/SUMMARY: Two geologists, Henry (Richard Denning) and Arturo, are in Mexico to study a volcano that recently erupted. They are staying in a town called San Lorenzo. In the area they find some wreckage that just doesn't look like the type of damage that a volcano would do. At one house they pass, they find an abandoned baby. They also find a police car with a body. In town, the geologist's are told that there have been many disappearances of both livestock and people. The locals hear eerie cries in the night. Soon afterward, giant black scorpion's start showing up and attacking. Yes, that is plural! There are many scorpions, not just one.In any event, I gave you the setup. The rest of the movie is spent trying to stop these giant scorpion's. The army is called in as bullets are useless to stop them. Along the way, we get the typical kid who get's into trouble and eventually the Scorpion's make their way to Mexico City for a showdown with the Mexican army.PRODUCTION/COMMENTS: 'The Black Scorpion' is a joint US-Mexico production that was shot in Mexico in 1956 and released in 1957 by Warner Bros.-This movie obviously borrowed very heavily from the very successful 'Them!'.-I think this movie is quite good. There are some genuine moments of tension that reminded me a bit of 'Them!'.-The stop-motion effects by Willis O'Brien are excellent. I thought the scorpions looked and moved just like the real thing.-Unfortunately due to budget constraints, there are a few scenes where the scorpions are rendered as just shadowed. I felt like they probably could have just eliminated these scenes and saved the criticism because what is shown on the screen is very good.-In an interesting side note. Some of the creatures used in the cave scene were the very same creatures intended for the original 'King Kong'. These creatures were supposed to be in the legendary missing 'pit sequence'.-The special effects used for the Scorpion closeup have been heavily criticized. I think the face looks creepy but the problem here is that they don't really look like that. They certainly don't drool!-The plot while nothing special, is not bad. It's pretty much standard stuff but it works.I think this movie has a poor reputation because of the budgetary problems that caused the special effects to not be completed. Of course, this is a very good reason!RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: I'm giving this release 4 stars. I'd like to give it 5 stars but I don't like to give that rating unless a release is truly worthy. Either the movie itself or the presentation, which includes picture quality and extra's, needs to be top notch. We get some nice extra's here but no commentary track. So 4 stars for the extra's. The picture quality is very good, 4 stars for that and the movie itself is probably about 3 1/2 stars. The plot is a little better than average but doesn't quite make it to very good.This movie does not receive a lot of love but I am a big fan of it. I think it is much better than it is given credit for. Calling a movie underrated is very common but to me, this movie is underrated.Highly recommended for 'big bug' or 'big insect' fans.Highly recommended for fans of stop-motion animation.Highly recommended for fans of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen movies.Highly recommended for fans of 50's science fiction movies.Thanks to Warner for providing this classic stop-motion sci-fi classic with a nice clean print for fans of the genre.

Of the numerous black & white 1950s & 60s horror/sci-fi films that I watched as a kid back in the 1950s & 60s, there were three that stood out in their ability to give me nightmares. One was Hammer's X THE UNKNOWN. the second was Gramercy's THE VAMPIRE and the third was this one. I can't believe it took me this long to post a review for BLACK SCORPION as I have had the original DVD since 2006.The fact that there are so many other reviews tells you just how fondly remembered this title is for many people. A lot of it has to do with the stop motion animation of the title monsters which was done primarily by Danish animator Pete Peterson (not Ray Harryhausen as several reviews claim) under the watchful eye and with the assistance of legendary KING KONG animator Willis O'Brien.The story is classic 1950s B sci-fi stuff with one main exception. The giant scorpions are not the result of radiation but of natural phenomena, a combination of a volcanic eruption and an earthquake. Their first appearance is an attack on a Mexican telephone crew and it was this scene along with the sound effects that really got me as a kid. An attack on a train was just as disturbing and remains so today.Richard Denning (before becoming the Governor on HAWAII FIVE-O) and Mara Corday make for a suitable 1950s couple. The rest of the cast is Mexican as the film was primarily financed and shot there. This gives the scenes of the villages and of the villagers a genuine reality that adds to the viewing experience. The b&w photography is also very atmospheric especially in the stop motion scenes.Much has been said about how uneven the special effects are. While that cannot be denied, when they do work, they are extremely effective. Scorpions do not roar and they do not drool but you have to admit it really makes the ones in this film among the meanest and nastiest of 1950s monsters. Watching it again as an adult, it still delivers a shiver down the spine especially in this excellent DVD and now Blu-Ray transfer.

This is a review of the quality of the transfer to BluRay, not a review of the film. I have seen it several times before, so knew what to expect from the story and effects. I project onto a screen, so the quality, or lack of it, is more apparent. A few scenes are just about acceptable. Most, however, are in too soft focus, too dark and/or too contrasty. Most of the stock footage - and there is quite a bit of it - is absolutely dreadful. In my collection, I have far better quality DVDs.

The eruption of volcanoes is followed by the discovery of cars and a house wrecked by some mysterious beast. Before long there are giant scorpions coming out of a hidden cave deep below the ground to feed on the local people.This is without doubt a classic amongst the "giant mutated invertibrate" films. The scorpions are well-made and genuinely creepy stop-motion, and the film features cameos from a spider-like beast and a giant worm-like monster. These two models are the ones originally used in the missing King Kong "spider pit" sequence. The scenes underground give you a real idea of what the spider pit sequence must have been like. A first-class film, and it also comes with extras such as the stop-motion dinosaur sequence from "Animal World".

Another Creature Feature -this time it's a salivating giant scorpion! If taken with the massive pinch of salt with most other 50s movies. It's for these lovers of the films that gave many people in the 50s nightmares but unlikely to do that nowadays. No blood ,no swearing Good fun but unfortunately only available on American import

Classic b movie

very good entertainment, we watch this film with out any swear words and found it quite scarry