8mm Forum: Creature from the Black Lagoon-17mins-super8/3D.

This is topic Creature from the Black Lagoon-17mins-super8/3D. in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on April 26, 2007, 11:40 AM:

Well Fellow members hereit is.My first 3D review of Derann's reissue of this classic 1954 movie,directed by Jack Arnold.
What do you need to view this two reeler?.All you need to do is lance up your projector as normal,put on your speces-two come with this film and away you go!
After the title sequence,we join are intrepid explorers enter the black lagoon in their old tug boat.The very pretty Julie Adams goes for a swim,and feels something touching her legs-its of course The Gill Man,who not surpisely takes an immediate fancy to her.I don't blame him!.
The monster then dams up the lagoon enterance,so no one can escape,and one by one picks off the scientists,played by Whitt Bisselland Richard Denning.
Richard Carlson dons his aqualung and fights the creature underwater..Effective stuff this 3D!
The creature climbs on board the old tug,and kidnapps Julie.
He takes her to his grotto,with Carlson hot on their heels for the final confrontation....
It's great to see this title back,i think its the same cut down as the old Universal8 one.
My print has a little wear here and there,nothing to get upset about.Excellent sound.A first rate rrelease from Derann.Well done.I have used MS.Adams real name as she is know now!
PRINT A-
SOUNDA.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on April 26, 2007, 04:20 PM:

Hi Andy,
It sounds exactly like the original Universal 400 footer.
How sharp is the print, and how effective is the 3D?

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on April 26, 2007, 04:25 PM:

I used to have this film. The scenes aboard the tugboat I wasn't impressed with, but the underwater scenes were absolutely astounding. Honestly, the best use of 3D in a 1950's classic 3D film that I have ever seen.

I wonder if Derann struck new prints from the Universal negative, (as they did with "It Came From Outer Space"), or did they get ahold of some never opened prints from way back when Univeral 8 first released it. If the latter is so, then they'll be Kodak SP and will fade over time.

Posted by Guy Taylor, Jr. (Member # 786) on April 26, 2007, 04:52 PM:

This is great news. I went to Derann's site and it is true they are releasing new prints of this digest.

I have the old Universal 8 print of this as well "It came From Outer Space."

They are both great digests. Even though the 3D effects are still good on both of my prints, I intend to upgrade and by the Derann Low Fade Prints.

Regards.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on April 26, 2007, 08:29 PM:

I believe you guys at Derann are watching these posts... [Wink]

you've posted and replied to other posts many times.... what's the story on this re-release???? Some details please! thanks [Smile]

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on April 27, 2007, 10:48 AM:

Fellow members.The effect of 3D varies from scence to scence.The best are the underwater and cave sequences.The scences on the old tug boat,less impressive.It is just like "IT". still very good print and excellent sound.Buy it.Andy.

Posted by Peter Richards (Member # 738) on April 27, 2007, 11:38 AM:

Nice review Andrew on a great 3D film,i was fortunate enough to pick up the later U-8 film in the clamshell case and cardboard sleeve and mines in excellent condition and as you say the underwater scenes are excellent [Cool]

Don't think i'd be prepared to pay £50.99 plus postage for it but to each his own [Wink]

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on April 27, 2007, 12:14 PM:

An intersting view there Peter.What you have to remeber is this.Back in 1977/78,when this title was first released the cost was around £30.00,or so sterling.So now the £50.99,is not so bad is it?.It is a great cut down no matter which version it is!I am still
amazed that Derann got the hold of it to re-release it;just as they did with IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE!.Andy.

Posted by Peter Richards (Member # 738) on April 27, 2007, 12:50 PM:

I was only speaking for myself and would not put any member off buying it.
It is a great cutdown and if you don't have a copy of it then you will get one from Derann.

I did not mean to offend anyone by my personal judgement on the price and fully understand that it's not cheap to run off new prints.

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on April 27, 2007, 01:19 PM:

Hi PETER.It's okay mate,everyone has their views.My point was
remeber what Dracula went for?.I'M sure you do.This is why this forum is brillant.We,the members,can express our views on ALL subjects of REEL film.Keep well Peter,im sure we will talk about something else in the future.Andy.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on April 28, 2007, 02:12 AM:

Well done, Andy.

Like Peter, I was fortunate enough to buy a copy from the last batch of U8 prints back in 1983. It's not faded and 3D is still very nice. And, on top of eye-popping tricks mentioned by Andy, there are some cool depth-of-field effects of the skipper piloting the Rita through the lagoon.

I have purchased many new titles from Derann and will continue to do so, but I'll pass on this one.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on April 28, 2007, 09:43 AM:

Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed at Wakulla Springs, in the Florida Panhandle, a 3 hour drive north from where I live. It is a stunningly clear deep water springs, filled with underwater grasses, and all the underwater 3D sequences were shot there.

http://www.wakullacounty.org/wakulla-30.htm

There are plenty of Creature from the Black Lagoon references, photos, and books in the park store, and every year they have an outdoor Creature festival, showing all the creature films, and usually attended by the still very attractive Julia Adams, and other cast members. So far I have not seen any 400ft Universals for sale there! Maybe Derann should ship a caseload in! [Big Grin]

[ April 28, 2007, 11:14 AM: Message edited by: Paul Adsett ]

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on May 08, 2007, 04:40 AM:

Andrew,

I got the chance to review my Derann copy over the weekend and it was good and finally I have a copy that will not turn red for a few years (if ever!).

The underwater scenes are just magnificent in 3D [Eek!]

Rick

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 01, 2007, 08:45 AM:

Just viewed my print that I picked up at the BFCC. This film is exactly the same as the Universal 8 400ft digest, minus the Universal 8 opening and closing logos. As already noted, the underwater scenes and the ones in the cave have the most effective 3D effect. Best of all is the scenes where the creature climbs up onto the boat and walks towards the camera - the 3d here is great. But unfortunateley a lot of the footage did not seem to converge very well and I saw a lot of double images. I wonder if the red and green glasses that come with this film are the correct color. Sound quality was good, better than I remember on the U8 print that I had. All told I was a little disappointed with this film, DisneyWorld 3D it is not, but it is certainly a good novelty item and probably the only source anywhere of 3D scenes from this classic feature film.

[ June 01, 2007, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: Paul Adsett ]

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on June 01, 2007, 11:24 AM:

I agree with you Paul about super 8 3D. I do not have this print yet, but the 3D that I have some scenes work, others dont. I have also wondered whether they require special 3D glasses designed for super 8 prints and not just standard ones. I also used to prefer the red/blue as apposed to red/green.

At least with a DVD projector you can change the colour and contrast to get the best 3D effect possible.

There still a nice novelty though and something to impress your mates.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on June 01, 2007, 03:53 PM:

Convergence is a problem with these prints.... they have to be printed with EXACTLY the same colors as their respective glasses. The closer the match, the better the effect and the less ghosting and double images. Sometimes the printing on the film leaves a lot to be desired and the manufacture of the glasses can be problematic as well. My old UA print of Creature has held up very well, but also always suffered a double image as the monster walks closer to the camera. The best 3 D I ever saw on film was part two of two little silent Columbia releases of the Three Stooges Spooks. Part one was not very good, but part two, in separate packaging....was printed better and the glasses really matched . Outstanding. that was back inthe 60's and was Standard 8mm.

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on June 01, 2007, 04:21 PM:

Super 8 3D does tend to be a bit of hit and miss. Probably only around 50% of the film will work well.

One of my favourite films was Audioscopics 2 which, when I showed on my wall looked very impressive, but I then took this same print to show to an audience on a 6 foot screen and people were not that impressed with it. Mabye the size of the picture and the brightness affects the effect as well.

Another one of my favourites is the Three Stooges in 'Pardon My Backfire' which I think Derann still sell.

But as Paul says, these extracts are not available on any other format so these super 8 films are special and worth collecting [Smile]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 01, 2007, 05:33 PM:

I wonder if red/cyan or red/blue glasses would be better than the red/green glasses that Derann supply with this film?

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on June 01, 2007, 05:48 PM:

Its possible. I always thought that the Red/Green glasses gave a too darker image and I preferred the red/cyan because it was brighter and looked better overall.

I think Pardon My Backfire is in red/cyan, I will check.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 18, 2007, 05:22 PM:

Watched my Dreann print again last night, but this time on my big 8ft screen. I was suprised at how much better the 3D effect worked compared with my original viewing on a 4ft screen. Is bigger better with super 8 3D?

Posted by Frank Picaro (Member # 811) on June 25, 2007, 07:29 AM:

I saw the original CREATURE in the theater, and the 3D was outstanding. That said, having the DERANN release of the digest to screen at home is still enjoyable, if not DISNEY 3D as Paul stated. Some scenes are very convincing, even the boat in the lagoon. But the 'coming at you' effect of the spear gun or the bat in the cave wasn't the 'ducking' best!! [Wink]

Overall, it's a great little film.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 25, 2007, 06:52 PM:

I agree Frank, that the Derann digest is well worth having, even if the 3D is disapointing in some scenes. I intend to show the full CFTBL feature on projected DVD, then supplement the show with the 3D selected scenes of the Derann S8 digest.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 25, 2007, 07:32 PM:

That's a good idea Paul. I see the same problem with "It Came From Outer Space" Some scenes, AWESOME, some, incredibly bad, and then there's that awesome rock in the avalanche scene that REALLY does leap right out at you.

One of the nice things about the "It Came From Outer Space" 3D digest, is the very different usage of the 3D effect. In most other 3D films, the effects are somewhat "earthbound". In "IT"
(to make it simpler) there are images from inside the aliens helmets, or P.O.V., for instance, which work very well.

The Three Stooges "Pardon My backfire" has some very good usage of the 3D effects, and I find the focus to be quite good thru-out. The only problem is that the film is a defective print, but since I didn't buy it from Derann directly, I can't return it as a defective print.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 26, 2007, 11:42 AM:

........and who can blame the poor creature for being smitten by the gorgeous Julia Adams:

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on July 13, 2007, 10:17 AM:

Just received the Derann Creature print and took a look at it ....it's not a great print, but OK. I didn't get a much of the three D effect on this one as I did the original Universal 8 release. It looks like it's at least one more generation away from the original Universal release. More dupey, less sharp....not awful, but not the best.

I was disappointed also that the Derann print doesn't extend the end music out to completion , but just stops it where the original U8 end title was. The least they could have done was let the end music extend out and end over black screen. You feel incomplete without that closing the end music.
Still a nice novelty. I need to try it with the original U8 glasses. I have 40 pair of those and they are much nicer. You don't have to hold them up to your eyes. they are more like eyeglasses.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on July 13, 2007, 12:09 PM:

Well Gary, at least it won't fade like my original U8 print has! As far as the ending music, I plan on dubbing that part of the track over from my existing U8 print and splicing in the old U8 end logo. Plus, of course, I still have the existing U8 clamshell box and the nice cover art of the creature and 3D logo, so Derann's print brings me more or less back to what I had 20 years ago when I first purchased the creature digest.
Incidentally, I would highly recommend Universals 2-disc special edition DVD of this title, which has all three of the creature movies, plus a special feature on the making of CFTBL with interviews with Julia Adams and Ben Chapman, and a lot of technical stuff about the special effects, creature costume, and the difficulties of making an underwater 3D movie.

Posted by Paul Spinks (Member # 573) on July 13, 2007, 10:47 PM:

I wish that U8 had originally released this film in a standard black and white 400ft version as well as the 3D version. Then we could have spliced in the additional scenes from the excellent 200ft version and made up an excellent digest. Red and green 3D is always disappointng, or maybe it's just my eyes.

Paul.

Posted by Frank Picaro (Member # 811) on July 14, 2007, 11:07 AM:

Paul, It's NOT your eyes. [Smile]

Red/blue 3D is inferior to polarized 3D, but it's the only game in town, it seems, and the occasional 3D effect is still worth it.

I recently purchased the DVD 3D version of CREATURE. Again, some scenes are full of depth, while others are just two shots(red-blue) unconverged. Hard on the eyes!!! [Eek!]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on July 14, 2007, 11:26 AM:

I agree Paul that a 400ft (non-3d) digest would have been great. But you have to give credit to Universal for releasing a 3D digest on S8. I seem to remember that they even printed up a little promotional 2-page leaflet explaining the anaglyph 3D process and how they used it to get the S8 prints of CFTBL. Anyone have a copy that they could scan into this forum?

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on July 14, 2007, 04:41 PM:

thanks for that post Gary, i'm not going to buy the Derann re-release. I'll keep my U8 print, which is still nice, but I was hoping the Derann print was much, much better.

Posted by Marshall Crist (Member # 1312) on November 26, 2013, 07:43 PM:

Picked up a reddish print of this recently--my first viewing of this edit. Surprisingly, the 3-D effect was still very strong. My only gripe: too bad the prologue--which made it into the shorter 200' flat version--was omitted. Not only did it set the film up nicely, but it contained one of the best 3-D moments.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on November 27, 2013, 12:12 PM:

Some screenshots from the print would be much appreciated for this review!

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 27, 2013, 03:06 PM:

osi, screenshots would look awful, remember this is anaglyphic 3D.
Here is a 3D shot of the gorgeous Julia, which you can view with red/green glasses:

And some more 3D from the film:

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 27, 2013, 12:32 PM:

I do remember that this film had absolutely gorgeous 3D effects underwater that had a tremendous amount of depth to the image. I was really stunned by just how good the 3D was. The 3D effects were far superior to those in the other 3D classic "It Came From Outer Space".

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on December 27, 2013, 02:47 PM:

And of course 'Creature' had one outstanding feature absent from 'It Came from Outer Space', namely Julie Adams! [Big Grin]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 28, 2013, 12:43 PM:

Mmmmm ... Adams!

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