The Incredible Shrinking Man

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

The Incredible Shrinking Man

#1 Post by Ribs » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:23 am

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A FASCINATING ADVENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN!
He baffles science! He confounds medicine! Submitted for your approval, the strange story of Scott Carey – an ordinary young man who, through an extraordinary set of circumstances, becomes The Incredible Shrinking Man!

Whilst on a holiday cruise with his wife, young Scott finds himself enveloped by a luminous mist which cover him in a strange, glittery dust. Several months later, he’s accidentally sprayed with an insecticide. Soon, Scott starts shrinking at an alarming rate, and before long he’s thrust into a terrifying world of gigantic cats, spiders and other over-sized pitfalls!

Adapted for the screen by celebrated fantasy scribe Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) from his own novel, The Incredible Shrinking Man – directed by sci-fi pioneer Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon) – is rightly regarded as being one of the finest science-fiction films of all time.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Auteur on the Campus: Jack Arnold at Universal – an extended documentary about the early career of director Jack Arnold at Universal-International studios
• There Is No Zero: Writing The Shrinking Man – an in-depth conversation with author Richard Christian Matheson about his father and the creation of the original Incredible Shrinking Man novel
• Super 8 cut-down version
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Teaser
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Kim Newman

November 13

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HitchcockLang
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:43 pm

Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#2 Post by HitchcockLang » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:51 am

Oh snap, I love this film. Guessing it will be Region B only?

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MichaelB
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Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#3 Post by MichaelB » Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:42 am

It's a UK-only release and a major studio licence, so the chances of it being region-free are approximately zero.

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Apperson
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:47 pm
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Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#4 Post by Apperson » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:00 pm

Nice to see that Arrow is getting on the Super-8 gravy-train that Indicator is doing.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#5 Post by What A Disgrace » Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:59 pm

Just the other day, I was puzzling to myself why Arrow Academy's classic Hollywood acquisitions seemed so uninspired, and then one of my most sought after classic Hollywood films gets a Blu-ray release...from the Video label.

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rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
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Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#6 Post by rapta » Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:16 pm

I absolutely love this film, so this'll be a day one purchase from me! I actually sent this to Arrow quite some time ago as part of a 'wishlist' so it has been a long time coming for me (and a lot of others here, I'm sure). Great to see them continuing with some of my most-wanted Universal titles as part of their most recent deal with the studio - Matinee, The Blue Dahlia/The Glass Key, The Hired Hand, Raising Cain, One-Eyed Jacks, The Day of the Jackal, The Thing, and now this too. Excellent work!

PS. Bit of a shame they couldn't get Tarantula from Universal too (and Strange Days, Into the Night, Small Soldiers, Two-Minute Warning). All of these went to 101 Films and Mediumrare, who will no doubt add little to no extras to the discs... :(

vidussoni
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:51 pm

Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#7 Post by vidussoni » Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:43 pm

Jack Arnold has a phantom page, so I think I'll hold off for a Criterion release :-k

Ahab
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:43 am

Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#8 Post by Ahab » Sat Aug 19, 2017 10:22 am

Arnold has had a phantom page for over a year now. Not sure what that means.
In any case love this movie enough that I'll be happy to purchase the Criterion and Arrow editions .

Still fondly recall reading the paperback book of Shrinking Man back in grade school after watching the film on one of those late night horror/sci-fi shows back in the '60's. It was much more sexually explicit than the film.
When a class mate asked if he could borrow it because his mom wanted to read the book I kept making excuses for not giving it to him because I didn't want any adults to know I was reading a 'dirty book'. :-)

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Banasa
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:35 am

Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#9 Post by Banasa » Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:23 pm

Finally got around to watching my copy. For a film that was only released in a DVD box set of science fiction films from the 1950s, I'm glad this got its own release. The extras are provided partially by the people who made the extras on The Thing. The overview of Jack Arnold at Universal is entertaining, but the best feature on the set is Tim Lucas' commentary, where he reveals it was among the earliest films he had seen. He has a lot of information that is missing in the booklet and gets a bit more in depth on the film and its lead actor while mixing it up with his own memories of watching it as a boy and running out of the theatre in fear of the giant spider in the film. He was coaxed back into the theatre by his grandmother I believe being told the spider was gone, but he runs out again immediately as soon as he witnesses the spider again. :D Poor Lucas.

M Sanderson
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:43 am

Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#10 Post by M Sanderson » Sat Apr 07, 2018 4:06 am

Anyone else think the transfer was quite weak? Bearing in mind, dated master, of low budget film. Or, am I being unreasonable?

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therewillbeblus
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Re: The Incredible Shrinking Man

#11 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:14 am

For a while this has been (unless I'm forgetting something) my favorite B Sci-Fi movie, and unquestionably the best of the subgenre of the unexpected consequences of science-fiction on mankind's physical abilities. This film is many things, and while its pleasures are sourced in the fantastical perspective-shifts to a micro-adventure, the sci-fi themes on ideological gender expectations are demonstrated quite well.

Most didactically, it’s a presentation of a complacent male’s emasculation in not being able to sustain his comfortable dominant status. The role-reversal that forces a destruction of established relationship dynamics, including those of stereotypical gender roles, is felt in the home, and his projections of anger on his wife as a result of impotence are verbally acknowledged as such in hindsight, much like the way we beat ourselves up for succumbing to our emotional reactivity after a spat. The most tragic insights come in smaller details though, such as when he finally meets a female dwarf and feels a moment of satisfaction and esteem at being taller than another living, breathing person significantly of the opposite sex, only to become shorter just two weeks later, escalate and run away. The need to just be physically taller than our romantic partners in heterosexual unions is exploited right there in a disturbing manner, because the agility by which his emotions flood his senses and he reacts with flight is reminiscent of our capacity to cope with stressors that target our fragile masculinity.

The actual adventure part has a dual function of competing tones, by emphasizing the horrors of an experience of submissive status yet also resembling a child’s wonderful imagination in playing with toys. I’m reminded of Fantastic Planet in this regard, of being stripped of power and surviving as a high-functioning being isolated from the rest of intellectual equals. However, that fun component is perfect fantasy, the special effects and setpieces emphasizing creative ideas for what and how we might navigate a new world in such an absurd position, and the narrative ultimately affirms our resilience to use our executive functioning skills for survival under even the most dire circumstances. After the indictment and anthropological horror exposure, we are afforded an opportunity to stress our adaptability and strength in facing the challenges we are most ill-prepared for.

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