Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Crabless, January 3, 2003
"You Are About To Land In The Lonely Zone Of Terror!" as claimed on the back cover of this DVD - and this is a true portent of what's inside.Allied Artists has released a genuine dud. This DVD has been copied from poor-quality video complete with misaligned tracking scrolls at the bottom of the picture. Instead of nostalgic enjoyment from this fifties flick, what you get is a diaphanous and murky print. Of some of the claimed special features, one is "Digitally Mastered", exactly what this is referring to is unknown. The scene selections on the disk only have four choices. Additionally, Dolby Stereo is conspicuously printed on the rear panel but I am unable to determine that the audio is even remotely stereophonic. If you have a longing to relive what badly transposed video tapes were like, then this is for your collection, otherwise, avoid this release.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Never Thought I Would Prefer the VHS, February 14, 2003
The other reviews you will read about this unfortunate edition are all too true, and expose a basic problem with the releasing studio. Psychotronic films such as this often mean the difference between a studio making and losing money. The profits they engender help a studio make prestige films; in the case of Allied Artists, its Monogram subsidy frequently financed films such as "Friendly Persuasion." Yet, when it comes time to release these much-loved B's on video and DVD, we manage to get the worst prints for the highest prices. The murkiness and darkness of the print is worthy of the kind shown on a shoestring UHF station. It's almost as if they are thinking since horror/sci-fi fans will watch films like these, they are missing a few brain parts and will settle for anything, no matter what the quality. They wouldn't dare do that with a "Cabaret," so why do it here?And the real shame in this case is that "Attack of the Crab Monsters" was Roger Corman at his absolute best. Done way before the French declared him a genius, thus ruining his product, The picture is a combination of weird acting and papier mache monsters, with an almost incomprehensible plot to drive the action. A group of scientists arrives at a desolate Pacific island, only to find the group that preceeded them is missing. As the action unfold we discover that a bunch of ordinary crabs has been enlarged by radiation and are intent on destroying the island. (Why, we don't know.) Worse, they like us for dinner as well as we like them, but they also have the ability to ingest the intelligence of those on whom they munch. After a war of survival, humanity wins when Russell Johnson (the Professor from "Gilligan's Island) sacrifices himself to save the hero and heroine and make the world once again safe for seafood. From watching the movie it is obvious the crabs go best with cheese and that if it happened today, humanity would have nothing to worry about because the monsters would end up as "Giant Crab Battle" on the "Iron Chef" show. Hopefully, the complaints of loyal customers will spur the DVD producers to give us a cleaner copy.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK Until a Better Copy Shows Up, December 31, 2002
This Roger Corman essential has been long overdue for a DVD release. Sadly, a sloppy masteringjob makes this disc a bit of a disappointment; the title sequencecontains some nasty videotapeartifacts,spoiling what would otherwise be a most watchable DVD.The trailer and still gallery arenice extras, but I take a dim viewof paying over $20.00 for picturequality in the "close enough"range...still, at least it's not as problematical as the KING DINOSAUR disc. Verdict: if you have no other copy of CRAB MONSTERS, bite the bullet and getthis one; others may want to wait.
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