Customer Reviews

The Incredible Shrinking Man [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had not even HEARD of this film until I saw an ad for it in TV Guide a few years back. Naturally my first reaction was "WHAT???" I thought to myself "Great, another junky low-grade 50's sci-fi flop. "See the amazing side show freak, but look QUICKLY because he's getting tinier by the second. Whoops! There he goes!" *Clears throat* Excuse me. :)
ANYWAY, that's what I EXPECTED of this film. What I actually GOT was much different. I LOVE this thing even though so far I've only gotten to see it in its entirety one time. For the 1950's the special effects are incredible. They do not look fake at all, and you marvel as you watch a normal man get ever-tinier before your very eyes. The terror here is totally in the mind. It has nothing to do with zombies, ghosts, vampires or typical movie monsters, it plays with your head. Like most Hitchcock movies this one deals with a normal man facing extraordinary circumstances.
The fun, the adventure, the involvement, and the horror of this film comes from watching thee everyday world take on staggering proportions. Normal activies like eating become a chore and a death-defying quest. Just imagine YOURSELF being that tiny. Everything you took for granted is much harder to do. A trip across the room could take hours or days instead of seconds. Your husband or wife could step on you and kill you and not even know it untill it was too late. Your pet dog or cat could mistake you for dinner. Life becomes an obstacle course in every sense of the word.
The acting here was great. I really felt for the hero as he struggled with a situation that he was powerless to control. Even the other people in here I could sympathize with a lot. Imagine thinking that you have lost someone you love and having no idea whether they are alive or dead. How would YOU feel if YOUR spouse or a loved one was shrunk to the size of a gnat? It would be PRETTY hard to deal with, or even to picture, wouldn't it?
One thing I love is the point that this film makes. A lot of people attach great importance to size, whether it be physical body size and strength or how much money or status we have or how many things we own. It is heartbreaking to watch our hero lose all contact with his family and loved ones, to see him become "nothing" to the normal world of people. But there is a ray of light. As our hero faces this horrible ordeal he comes to terms with his tiny size and overall condition. He learns to accept himself, and he learns, as we all should, that in the eyes of God, no one is insignificant. God loves everyone and everyone has worth.
In short this is NOT your typical sub-par 50's sci-fi slop. This is a tragic but ultimately beautiful story that you makes you think and feel. It really tugs the heart strings. Please don't miss it. You just might love it as much as I did, or maybe even more than I did, and that says alot, since I REALLY loved this film even after only one complete viewing of it so far. Peace.

"The Incredible Shrinking Man", is one of the great Sci Fi movie titles from the 1950's thats not as well remembered as other landmark efforts of that time like "The Thing From Another World". That is unfortunate as here we have a really ground breaking effort that not only boasts stunning special effects, but also restrained performances and an interesting premise that is handled with integrity by director and cast. The film of course will always be talked about for the innovative and at times quite frightening process by which the main character shrinks away to practically nothing. Equally amazing in my mind after a viewing of "The Incredible Shrinking Man", is how this film gives us a view of the "normal", everyday world suddenly becoming a dangerous and potentially lethal environment where everyday things like the family pet or a spider in the basement take on life threatening personas.

The story starts out innocently enough with young couple Scott and Louise Carey (Grant Williams and Randy Stuart), who are spending some time on Scott's brother's boat. While Louise is below getting some refreshments Scott notices a strange mist approaching the boat and before he can take cover it envelopes the whole boat and he is covered in a strange glittery substance. It is just passed off as some unexplained happening and then the story jumps ahead six months to when strange developments start to occur. One morning Scott notices that his shirt seems too big for him and blames it on the cleaners. However it is not long before many other strange things begin to happen that arouse real fears in him. Going to his local doctor (William Schallert), Scott gets a clean bill of health and Louise feels that it is simply a lack of proper diet that is effecting her husband. To be sure however Scott is referred to a specialist Dr. Silver (Raymond Bailey), who gauges that Scott is actually loosing height over a number of weeks of examination and tests. The source of this strange occurance is narrowed down to the now forgotten glittery mist on the boat which further testing reveals to be some sort of radioactive body that causes the body to shrink. Dr. Silver injects Scott with a serum that will hopefully stop the shrinking process. Meanwhile the media have latched onto the newsworthy story of the "incredible shrinking man" and Scott and Louise become prisoners in their own home as curious busybodies begin making their life a misery. Scott is replaced in his employment which makes it dificult to live and causes further friction between he and Louise. Soon Scott's shrinking begins again and he experiences a rapid and terrifying drop in size. Back at the house Scott is reduced to living in a doll's house and one day when Louise by mistake leaves the door open and the family cat gets inside a new nightmare begins as Scott is hunted by the now "Giant", cat and after falling into the cellar having to face terrors like a hungry "Giant Spider". Everything in Scott's existence now holds unknown terrors and after Louise believes that Scott has been eaten by the cat he is now all alone with no assistance from anyone. After facing all of these terrors in his own home Scott does make his escape and now too small to be detected by any human beings begins a new existence where survival is his sole aim.

The story of "The Incredible Shrinking Man", may read like your usual sensationalist 1950's science fiction however it is far from that. It presents a quite thought provoking idea that we could all possibly imagine ourselves in. Noticeably absent in this film are the usual 1950's invading aliens or oversized creatures. Instead here the really frightening elements in the story are the simple household features that we encounter everyday like the family cat, a stray spider in the room or a leak in a water heater. Because of the shrinking of the main character these elements take on quite terrifying proportions. Director Jack Arnold wisely stays away from the more sensational potential of this story and in his direction even makes the scene where Scott's wedding ring rolls off his finger a seemingly frightening occurence. The performances here are first class and Grant Williams does a sterling job as the young husband who finds himself fighting for survival in his own home. His fear mixed with developing personal strength intent on survival makes for a great performance. Randy Stuart as wife Louise also deserves special mention as she delivers a well thought out performance as the first disbelieving wife who has to take over the leader role in the household as her husband literally shrinks before her eyes. The cast also features supporting performances from future comedy series regulars in Raymond Bailey and William Schallert who will always be rembered for their work in "The Beverly Hillbillies", and "The Patty Duke Show", respectively. "The Incredible Shrinking Man", contains many memorable scenes that boast special effects achievements that even today still cause amazement. Foremost among them of course are Scott's ongoing battle with the ferocious spider in the celler and his terrifying flight from the clutches of the family cat which is now 10 times his size. Those scenes present images that have rightly gone down into Science Fiction folklore.

Despite the films almost surreal ending which plays almost like a sermon delivered by Grant Williams the rest of the film dates amazing well despite the passage of over 47 years. Even the introduction of computer technology to achieve incredible special effects in my belief has not dulled the sheer genius evident throughtout this gripping sci fi tale. It certainly is one of my favourites of these efforts in the 1950's and deserves to be better remembered. For a thrilling piece of sci fi action from the golden era of these movies in the 1950's you can't get better than Jack Arnold's "The Incredible Shrinking Man".

This film almost defines its own genre. First, it might be said that it is a "grade B" film, with an A+ rating. But it is also not really a cult film, either, so...

It is the story of the inward development of an ordinary man, who, externally, gets smaller and smaller due to the blow-back mankind is about to experience from nature (following the inadequate attempts at forcing it to yield to his caprice through technology). The culprit: radioactive insecticide. On the external side of things, left to technology, insects get the upper hand. But, on the internal side of things, the human spirit refuses to be crushed, and the individual man, continually adjusting himself to his circumstances, triumphs and becomes the pioneer for future humanity...

In a way the film begins in the middle, after he falls into the basement when he is about 3 inches tall. But it also begins at the end, when he leaves the cellar by stepping out through the screen of the cellar window. From the beginning of the film he tells the audience his story first hand, as a recollection, but we don't quite know from where...

In terms of the special effects, it is quite amazing what it accomplished. Having some minor flaws, it would be helped by a computer enhancement. But it would not be improved upon in any way if a remake were attempted using only computer generated images. In fact, it would suffer.

If you like science fiction, see the film. If you like finding a sense of wonder in a blade of grass, see the film. If you like stories about persons finding inner courage and character as they deal with life's blows, see the film. If you like stories about fighting monsters and dragons and the like, see the film. If you like films with philosophy and speculations about the meaning of life, see the film.

Although The Incredible Shrinking Man is generally considered a typical early 50-s science fiction B-movie, that gross generalization lasts less than 30 minutes from the moment the film starts.

Interestingly, the only science fiction imagery of this picture is the odd sparkling cloud that provides the catalyst for the story. From that point on, TISM is far more accurately categorized as a horror picture, and it delivers with devastating effect.

True horror resides in finding familiar circumstances gone inexplicably wrong. Imagine the pet cat that you played with for years suddenly large enough to consider you a potential meal. Now, add the realization that the cat isn't bigger, you're smaller, and getting smaller still. Soon the rat that you want exterminated may exterminate you. The spider you tried to ignore isn't ignoring you, and a world once familiar and mundane is now filled with deadly terrors.

Much of the pain of this film is very personal, as a family finds itself being destroyed by a phenomenon it is powerless to comprehend, much less overcome. The most disturbing realization is that, as our hero shrinks beyond the physical realities of our world, his loved ones will never have any idea of what has really happened to him.

This film is based on a superb short-story, and it does an excellent job of staying with the story line. The ending is both thought-provoking and nearly infinite in its possibilities.

If this is a "B" movie, "A" doesn't exist.

I don't get some of these reviews - what's wrong with the end of this movie? How would you LIKE it to end? Guy shrinks to nothing and dissolves: dead, all gone, all over, nothing? Miraculous mumbo-jumbo cure whipped up by stock scientist type at the last minute, man starts growing again, everyone lives happily-ever after? Shrinking man gets eaten by his own cat? Eaten by the spider? Eaten by something else? Squashed accidentally by his wife? Just WHAT were you looking for from what the premise provded you? Seriously, people, you make no sense. And, if we take the original ending but eliminate the "rhapsodic" element, as one reviewer described it, what are you left with? As the man continues shrinking and wonders what he will face next he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Oh well, whatever!" Or he just flips out and goes crazy? Kills himself? Pees his pants? WHAT?! Well, I'm waiting, genius. See, here's the deal: if the guy continues to shrink and if the whole affair is to acquire some sort of meaning or sense of purpose then it must be looked at philosophically. As the shrinking man continues to shrink he finally accepts his fate and, instead of fighting it, struggling against it and therefore fighting everything around him, he decides to look upon his adventure, which anyone would first regard with incredible fear, as just that - an adventure and to look forward not with fear but with awe. After all, compared to the size of the entire universe just how big are we? How big is any of us? Myself, I see the "rhapsodic" ending as the most logical ending to this film, perhaps the most intelligent and logical ending to ANY science fiction or horror film from the 50's, maybe even of all time. It's sort of like Groundhog Day, where the protagonist finds himself trapped inside a strange phenomenon that no one can explain or understand and that no one else can share and he must face utterly alone. The writers of both films carefully considered all the possible reactions and outcomes and expresses each one dramataically, allowing the central character to come to terms with his fate, to find some way of redeeming his experience which, if you wanna get all philosophical about it, is a metaphor for all of our lives, the experience of life we all share. So, with all that in mind, just what the heck do you people THINK should have happened at the end of The Incredible Shrinking Man? Stop being scared of anything that dares to pose questions or express the human search for meanining in what can often be an inexplicable, agonizing existence. I'm afraid that some of you people are a little too married to the idea that movies, and maybe even life, should be one long, mindless funhouse ride. Next thing you know you're gonna start saying "Yuck! Mushy stuff!" anytime people kiss on screen.

That said, this film is a classic. Jack Arnold is a greatly underappreciated director. ALL of his films should be on DVD! Even the bad ones fit into his body of work. It is a CRIME that The Incredible Shrinking Man and Tarantula are not on DVD at present. These are two of his very best films. How about a boxed set of Arnold Films? To heck with it, the people who are in power aren't listening, anyway, and even if they did their minds are so filled with drool and feces that they wouldn't understand.

A film like SHRINKING MAN is more original than almost anything Hollywood turns out today. It is no wonder Hollywood must constantly remake science fiction films like STEPFORD WIVES and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (and soon this film), because there is so little creativity.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN is not the kind of campy '50s science fiction laugh-fest you may expect, but an intelligent movie about the possibilities of nature and science. The film works because it does not attempt to explain why the main character shrinks, but wisely questions our knowledge of science. It subtly suggests that we do not know everything--a thought more frightening than the premise for the goriest horror film. The idea of the unknown is more terrifying, as the viewer will witness.

When our main character is caught in a strange fog on a boating trip, he finds himself slowly, gradually shrinking in size. He finds his relationship with his wife strained because of his decreasing size. A very moving scene is when he is in the car with his wife and she promises to love him no matter what happens. She says, "as long as that ring is on your finger, I'm your wife." It is then that the ring suddenly slips off his finger, due to the smaller size of his fingers. We know where the relationship is heading.

The film is full of action. There are many riveting, suspenseful scenes as the main character continues decreasing in size, such as when he must battle a menacing housecat and a terrifying spider. Eventually, he becomes so small that his wife can no longer see him and believes him to be dead. The film does a very good job of focusing on the romantic aspect of the story, and love, and how it feels to lose someone you love because you are "different." There is a theme of loneliness throughout the movie that is absolutely saddening.

When the main character meets a midget at a circus "freak show" he finds companionship, because she is also his size. She explains what it was like to be different all her life, and he understands and comments: "Different is just another word for alone." When he begins shrinking again, and must abandon her as well.

The film's score is also particularly effective. A lone trumpet (perhaps a symbol of the pervading loneliness) plays the melody, which adds to the mysterious, wondrous tone of the film. The special effects are also impressive.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN is more than a science fiction fantasy. It questions the limits of our scientific knowledge and what is possible, it explores the many forms of loneliness including how it feels to be different, and above everything else it is a love story. Two people are parted forever due to something out of their control, beyond the limits of human knowledge.

Some people can only laugh at artistic works of the past, believing (or at least hoping) for them to be inferior, which is their misfortune. In an era when films are rarely original, a film such as SHRINKING MAN which questions everything we know--a film of intelligence and curiousity-- is desperately needed and welcome. If only open eyes and open hearts could embrace the masterpieces of the past we would not be laughing--but instead lamenting the loss of originality in film today.

Featuring a no-name cast, a ludicrous title, and coming at the height of 50's camp, it's understandable how this little gem got lost in the shuffle. Nevertheless, the story continues to unnerve after all these years, reaching down to deepest fears about ordinary processes gone suddenly awry. Seldom has middle-class complascency been so eerily attacked as when we witness the husband's role and breadwinner's status shrink slowly out of sight amid an Ozzie and Harriet living-room. Cult director Jack Arnold makes the most of a modest budget, deploying the special effects in highly suspenseful fashion. Here the effects mean everything as Robert Scott Carey's descent into ever smaller worlds exposes him to fresh terrors among the commonplace, and it's truly odd to transition from normal surroundings into a subterranean world at the same time the former becomes alien to both him and us. Other sci-fi classics of the period threatened us with external enemies to which the military was an appropriate response. A few threatened internally with a loss of personal identity. This movie, I believe, is the only one to threaten with a loss of significance. It's horrifying to think that physical size is more important to our evaluations than simple humanity. Yet this is what we experience as Carey grows ever smaller and less significant to the normal sized world. We are glad when the wife is finally rid of him. Like Hitchcock, this film confronts us with our own deeper and less desirable emotions.

The battle with the spider is an epic one, showcasing effects that continue to impress, now as then.The central performances are quite good, with Randy Stuart's anguished wife a standout. However, Grant Williams as Carey, deserves special mention. He brings just the right combination of grit and melancholy to a role that demands equal parts of both. Judging from other performances in a brief career, the melancholy came natually to one of the most blandly handsome faces in the business. The scene that lingers for me is of Carey's running through a gantlet of lawn sprays, having learned that the process has started again and knowing that the sprays can soon drown him. Though less well known than other 50's classics such as The Thing or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Arnold's film (minus the rhapsodic ending) is at least their equal and ranks with the very best of any period.

Grant Williams and Randy Stuart are Scott and Louise Carey, vacationing couple lounging on a boat. A mist envelops Williams, and he is left with what looks like glitter on his chest. No other ill effects are noticeable.

One day, six months later, his dry cleaner keeps screwing up, either giving him clothes that are too big, or doing something to stretch his old clothes. He begins to notice he may be losing height as well as weight. He goes to see a doctor, played by William Schallert, and discovers he is not imagining his condition. The doc sends him home, but Williams comes back with even more, er, shrinkage.

The doctors decide the radioactive mist, along with some insecticide Williams accidentally inhaled, is causing an almost anti-cancerous condition in his body. Instead of renegade cells growing, his body is shrinking at a uniform rate. Williams is injected with a serum that seems to stop his loss, but does not help him grow. His marriage to Stuart begins to suffer as he takes out all of his frustrations on her. Down to thirty six inches, he runs away from home, getting stares the entire distance. He meets a sideshow midget Clarice, played by April Kent, and begins to feel normal again, trying to adapt to his new world. Eventually, he discovers the serum did not work, and he begins to shrink again.

Williams is now angry and bitter, living in a child's doll house and ordering Stuart around. The film's most famous scene happens when a pet cat is accidentally let into the house and attacks Williams. He ends up in the basement, and his wife and brother think he is dead. They begin to pack up the house and leave, while Williams spends the last half of the film down in the cellar, hunting for food and battling a giant spider.

The radioactive mist that poisons Williams occurs in the first few minutes of the movie, indicating that the film makers really wanted to get going on the story. I would have appreciated just a little look at what Williams' life had been like before he began to shrink. Williams does do a great job showing us his character's frustrations, I liked the fact that he is not just another pretty faced leading man.

The final long set piece set in the basement is brilliant. Watching Williams figure out how to get food is fascinating to watch, and never stretches the imagination. The water heater flood is my favorite scene here, realistically played. The final few minutes of the film are a real downer, as Williams accepts his fate and travels into the backyard, ever shrinking.

I do wish the characters had loosened up just a little. I did not want an out and out comedy, but the doom and gloom gets a little heavy at times. Even Williams' relationship with the midget April Kent is not a happy one, and ends too soon.

Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay based on his own novel, and does a great job. The special effects are incredible, for a 1957 film, there were only a couple of scenes that were a bit iffy. No CGI, just good miniature and double shots that work well. Jack Arnold shows such a great eye here, getting down to Williams' level as he shrinks. How dirty is the floor of your basement? Arnold will let you know.

This is a quick eighty one minutes, and is never boring. "The Incredible Shrinking Man" is now a classic in the science fiction film field. Unfortunately, Eddie Murphy is set to star in a remake coming out next year. Can't Hollywood leave well enough alone?? I highly recommend this entertaining film.

This is unrated, and contains physical violence and some gore.

This excellent film version of Richard Matheson's classic combines the film noir ambience of black and white film with the existential dilemma of the diminishing role of the human in the burgeoning atomic age. I have used this film regularly in my high school literature classes to great effect and with very positive response. The modern youth, surfeited with special effects and starved for content, really resonate with the plight of anti-hero Scott Carey. Yes, they're even impressed with 1950's special effects. Well worth watching, engrossing and captivating.

This is a great film! I'd always heard about it since I was a kid, but never really saw it until just this past year. I'd always thought it was another of those "disease from Outer Space" movies, but I'm glad science fiction like this can be different. The story is very moving and gets even sad at the end. I felt like breaking down when the end came and we discover Scott Carey will never regain his size, nor will his family ever know that he isn't dead. A great adventure for everyone, even if you aren't into sci-fi thrillers.