Product Details

• Actors: Vincent Price, David Tomlinson, Tab Hunter, Susan Hart, John Le Mesurier
• Directors: Jacques Tourneur
• Writers: Charles Bennett, David Whitaker, Edgar Allan Poe, Louis M. Heyward
• Producers: Daniel Haller, George Willoughby, Samuel Z. Arkoff
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: November 20, 2001
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005O075
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,669 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "War Gods of the Deep" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SO BAD IT'S, WELL, BAD, April 18, 2002

By 

Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: War Gods of the Deep (DVD)

With little fanfare, MGM has quietly transferred a handful of great B films to DVD that they not too arbitrarily categorize as "Midnight Movies." The nice looking digital prints are in their original theatrical format and appear as if they were taken from original material. The discs come with no substantial extras but care has been lavished on the box art, often reflecting the lurid lobby cards and posters of their initial release. Even acknowledging the B category, these are for the most part well-crafted and, well, adequately acted.

In "WAR GODS OF THE DEEP," the late and much-lamented Vincent Price co-stars with 50s pretty boy Tab Hunter in an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story that pits he-men against gill-men with sexy Susan Hart caught in the middle.

See, Price is uberlord of a lost underwater city (apparently built by a low bid papier mache developer), and he's got gillgoons that kidnap landubbers. The second half is a showdown between brave humans and slimy fishmen with an angry, about to blow volcano towering over everything. ...

This gets 3 stars 'cause Vincent Price and Edgar Poe had a hand in it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Should've gone deeper., November 12, 2001

By 

Doghouse King "eddie_denman" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Gods of the Deep (DVD)

AIP's main contribution to the horror genre in the 60's was their series of "Poe adaptions." If Poe wrote down a grocery list it became a movie starring Vincent Price. And many of these were fine efforts. But most such movies (including some from other studios which also starred Price) stuck slavishly to this formula, even using it for movies based on the writings of other authors. By 1965 the formula had degenerated, as formulas are wont to do. Poe, Lovecraft and Verne adaptions all felt basically the same. And War Gods of the Deep is no different than any of them (Compare Die, Monster, Die; House of Usher; Master of the World; The Mysterious Island and this film and you'll see what I mean.) It is nominally based on City Under The Sea, but is more in keeping with Captain Nemo than Edgar Allen.

Director Jacques Tourneur was a tremendous filmmaker who helmed some of the defining genre pieces of the 40's: Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie and Out of the Past. His career wound up with this and Comedy of Terrors. And while he is not to be blamed for their mediocrity, it is unfortunate that they have almost none of the atmosphere of his earlier works. Much of that can be attributed to 60's tastes, but it makes me wish these last few films had been shot in contrasty black and white.

The plot of WG of the D is simplicity itself: The nightgown-clad hottie is kidnapped (the movie's best scene); they follow her trail (with a few leaps in logic) and come upon the underwater city; they meet Price, learn of an active volcano; see where this is going?; they wander around some, get threatened, uncover a few secrets, and eventually escape in a too-long, too-dull (but decently directed) slow-speed chase along the bottom of the sea. Things pick up slightly at the very end with a shootout and the inevitable volcanic eruption, but it's far too little, far too late. A rooster (yes, that's right) is on hand for some comic relief; he is cute, I guess, but his doting master gave me the dry heaves.

The sets are surprisingly good for an AIP costumer; the effects are very good for the time, the creature costumes are only okay, but seldom seen anyway. Due in part to the tiny role the Gill-Men play, there are almost no chills whatsoever. In fact, the only one more wasted than the Gill-Men was the hottie. (I will say, she is the one person in the cast that can make a giant helmet with a fish on it look attractive.) And Vincent Price coasted through this role; it was the kind of power-mad tragic figure he could play in his sleep. Still, a coasting Vincent Price is better than most anyone else.

MGM is to be highly-commended for making this long-unavailable movie (and many like it) available at such a neat price. The cover art on these things is almost worth it by itself. And the print of this movie looks great. It's just not a great movie.

See also: The films aforementioned; Mole People

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and Visually Appealling Film, January 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: War Gods of the Deep (DVD)

Although the story-telling and pacing leave much to be desired, this is a nice addition to the collectible MGM Midnite Movies series. Great sets, locations, and actors (Vincent Price, whom many would pay to hear recite his laundry list) make this a visually appealing film. I disagree with Maltin's comment about the "shoddy underwater city". For its time, the visual effects (with the notable exception of the gill-men ), sets, and props were impressive. Dive in and see for yourself.