The Blob (1958)

Steve: Alright, we tried to do it the right way, now we're going to wake this town up ourselves.
Tony: Yeah, but how?
Al: Yeah, how?
Steve: Any way we can think of.

Director:   Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
Producer:  Jack H. Harris
Main Cast:  Steve McQueen
Runtime:  82 minutes

This reminds me of the fantastic film Invaders of the Body Snatchers (1956) in that it also had a remake just as The Blob did in 1988 that was faithful to the original, though I must say that I enjoyed the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers more than this version of The Blob.  The use of practical effects and miniatures obviously made things difficult to get onto the big screen effectively but they did some great work here with The Blob.  Apparently the blob substance is still in its original form even to this day almost 60 years after being made.

A small meteorite crashed to earth and the first person to discover it is an old man and the blob attaches itself to the man’s hand.  He crosses paths with Steve (Steve McQueen) and his girlfriend who also saw the meteorite crash to earth and they take him to the town doctor who starts investigating the matter attached to the man.  Steve and his girlfriend leave the doctor to see if anyone knows more about the old man and upon their return Steve swears he saw the doctor get dissolved by something.  They go to the Police however no one seems to believe them.  Soon after the blob kills several people around town and the truth is finally revealed and somehow they must kill it… if they can.

The movie itself is quite well done for its time and whilst it is a bit flat it’s not hard to see that the limiting factor was likely the budget, as it did not cost a lot to bring it to the screen and in fact it was not expected to do well either, after all it was a B movie not a premium high budget one.  That is not to say that it is a bad movie but rather it can be a little lacking.  The acting standout is Steve McQueen with the remaining being adequate and may be a little campy but is still a good movie that just shows what can be done with imagination and some good special effects.  It is also one of Steve McQueen’s early movies though he did do TV work prior to this.

It wouldn’t be too mean to say that it is not a movie that would win awards, but it is a classic 50’s sci-fi that has lasted near on 60 years so far and it clearly has the following and popularity to spend the reasonable $$ on it to restore it in 4K and not only that but was also given the “Criterion” treatment (Criterion are an expensive U.S. DVD/Bluray distributor that only deal with films that have important value attached to them. For a movie to be released by Criterion usually means it is a classic and well worth restoring and keeping), but more on that later.  In a nutshell, this is an enjoyable movie but probably not one that would be high on my re-watch list.  

The Bluray reviewed here is an Australian Limited release of which only 2000 copies were made.  From my understanding the 1988 remake is available on Bluray but the original 1958 version as seen here is only available in this limited edition on Bluray.  The Limited edition (minus extras) comes on two Blurays and they contain:

• The Blob (1958) in HD
• Son of Blob (1972) in SD
• The Blob (1988) in HD

Now here is the exciting part.  The Blob (1958) was released on Bluray by Criterion in the U.S. and here now, Umbrella Entertainment have released the Bluray that contains the same restored transfer of the film and some of the extras.  This is really good news and it is something I hope we will see more of.  The image is in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio and the quality is really good, in fact top notch and I doubt you will ever see it any better with the only soft portions of the film due to miss-focusing whilst filming.  There is quite a bit of grain to the image which retains that film feel and look.  The sharpness is also impressive.

The Bluray for the 1958 film contains the following extras:

• Audio Commentary by Producer Jack H. Harris
• Audio Commentary by Director Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
• Theatrical Trailer
• Son of Blob (1972) in SD

The two commentaries are also carried over from the Criterion Bluray from the U.S. release.

Overall, this is a good little movie and certainly has its charms, but doesn’t really match some other sci-fi’s of that era but to be honest none of them really dealt with a blob that digested people.  So it was original for it’s time and still remains a classic to this day even with its slight campy low budget feel.  I would very highly recommend this to fans of the film or those who want to replace the DVD with a high definition copy as there are only 2000 copies being made and they are only available through JB Hifi.  Apart from that there are better 50’s sci-fi to watch if you only specifically wanted to watch the best such as Forbidden Planet, It Came from Outer Space, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Tarantula, The Incredible Shrinking Man and so on.  But for those who enjoy 50’s Sci-fi…. what are you waiting for?  Snag a copy of this limited edition now before it gets disolved!

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