Sci-Fi Classic Review: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957)
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- The first movie to be based on a Richard Matheson book, The Incredible Shrinking Man was one of the biggest sci-fi hits of the fifties and remains one of the most interesting and most serious takes on the subject matter.
If you're looking for a "review" in the traditional sense, then let me just say I love this movie. This video, however, is a "review" in the literal sense (using the Miriam-Webster definition "a retrospective view or survey"), in that I'm going over the history of the film and its place in sci-fi cinema history.
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I've read the novel by Richard Matheson. I didn't care for the way the novel ended. The ending of this film left me with a few tears, but it also gave me a ray of hope. No matter how seemingly insignificant and how unnoticed by the rest of the world we might seem, we still mean something to God.
It ended with the most beautiful long quote in cinema history.
@@Chotabear There's no doubt about that!
one of my favourite films growing up.
That ending is one of the greatest of all time, of any movie genre. Such a great monolog.
Your reviews are excellent. This one no exception. Incredibly well researched, thought provoking, and you always keep things moving along. A+.
Part of the great atomic age sci-fi/ horror era of the 1950s . Not about outer space , but the inner universe of the human condition. The ending is ever so religious, but I enjoyed it. Well done.
one of the best sci-fi movies ever!
When I first saw this movie, when the pipe burst and his wife and brother finally went down stairs he screamed for them. But he was too small to be heard. That was so sad.😢
Another well done and thoughtful review of a classic film. I commend you on your clever linking of the script and visual coverage such as when you say "divorced" and Scott's wedding ring falls from his finger or when you conclude there's no special serum and the doctor is drawing from a vile for an injection. Bravo.
Thank you for saying that! I always wonder if people pick up on that sort of thing.
@@TheUnapologeticGeekyou're welcome. It helps that I worked in television news.
I was really impressed by how they go the weight of the props right. When he picks up the finish nail, it looks like the weight was scaled correctly. Also the finish looked really good too. It looked like a credible weapon as did the scissors. This reminds me of another movie you reviewed where the production really punched the effects up by taking care with details. It was one of your earlier videos.....I want to say it was the original version of The Fly.
A little attention to detail goes a long way. The original fly works because the headpiece has that proboscis on it that wiggles in just the right way to tickle your lizard brain.
I would argue Raymond Bailey was a notable performer, appearing as Mr. Drysdale for nine seasons of The Beverly Hillbillies (harder to recognize without the hairpiece). William Schallert had a long career; he was the father on The Patty Duke Show and Mr. Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. His appearances in genre films like this undoubtedly had something to do with Joe Dante using him in some of his movies.
"Fantastic Voyage" was also a lot of fun. Both of these films were equal science fiction classics.
Funny you should mention Fantastic Voyage...
Keep up the good work, really enjoying these.
I only remembered this movie becaise of the (existential?) ending from Friday Nightmare Theater 1966. A prebubescent disenfranchised from church and trying to find a place in an infinite universe. I am moved by your critique to find and read the book(s). Enough lab work experience to understand Brownian Motion and the Limits to shrinking as well as a fan of "Hard SF" none of the other shrinking stories match this film. Gullivers Travels was a childhood favorite but the rest seemed silly. This is the first non happy ending movie I remember appreciating. Like Star Trecks Kobiashi Maru = The Unwinnable Scenario. There is an understanding how we remain human remain functional remain morally intact working within the limitations of corporal mortality.
Honey I Shrunk the Kids is awesome, I watched it like 30 times when I was a kid, and I still enjoy it 25 years later
Calling William Schallert an "undistinguished character actor"?
Ouch.
Without him, I could never have hoped to understand all of the
technical jargon they were throwing at me in "Mant!"...
Lest we forget, he was the guy who pissed off the man from Planet X as well as Captain Kirk, among many memorable roles.
@@JoseyWales44s Yeah he was great in "The Trouble With Tribbles." William Schallert was far from being "undistinguished." He had quite a prolific career.
'Attack of the Puppet People', as an answer to your "shrinking people movie challenge". (Also has a weird plot and ending)
i grew up on the universal horror movies and loved this film. the effects, his struggle to survive, loved the ending too. the other movies just played it for laughs & got pretty cornball. Lilly Tomlin riding a gorilla for example. Now I'm curious about the novel and the points you mentioned. Love your work, not many people focus on the great horror films of the past. people need to remember that the directors today stand on the shoulders of of giants!
Great informative review with tons of trivia! I subbed almost immediately!
The philosophical pseudo-religious endings of science fiction films like this one, "War of the Worlds" and "The Omega Man" were brilliant ideas that worked like an exclamation point in the story-telling.
Thank you for all that great info! I just saw the movie on DVD in its entirety for the first time. Some thoughts:
- It must have been fun to watch this in theaters, with an audience...
- The special effects were very amusing! I was wondering how they were gonna do everything. I think it holds up, even in 2022! I love the filming of the conversation from behind the big chair, making the audience wait to see what he looks like!
Similar to the chair spin late in "The Ring"...ha ha!
And Psycho, of course.
Those oversized props would be worth a lot today! I want the radio!
- William Shatner would have been awesome in the lead role! (Not that it was a possibility, it just occurs to me,)
- It's annoying when the brother says, "we've looked everywhere for him..." How about,,,THE BASEMENT! Ah-DOIYY!!
- I don't feel that the "losing his job" problem was effectively conveyed. We never saw him working -- I'm not even sure what his job was.
- In the real world, even, I think, in the 1950s, that cat would've been, well, let's just say, thoroughly examined for stomach contents...
- It was a very effective plot point/device when he suddenly realized, standing next to the small-sized woman at a later date, that she was now taller than him -- so his shrinking had not been permanently stopped after all! A-ha! It had all been a clever set-up, earlier, when she caringly reassured him that he was taller than her! I did not see that coming!
- I don't know why exactly, but I do like the ending. Reminds me just now of the ending of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey; very philosophical, makes you think, and, of course, SPAAAAACE....
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I must add a comment as to your comments on the actually strong cast appearing in this film:
GRANT WILLIAMS was part of Universal Pictures first round of new talent actors to be groomed in tv series and occasional feature films. He was a classical singer doing 5 years at the Metropolitan Opera and appears in WRITTEN ON THE WIND. Later he portrayed Tchaikovsky for Disney. Unfortunately, Rock Hudson, Jeff Chandler & Tony Curtis were occupying every first round casting decision. RANDY STUART memorably appears two thirds of the way into ALL ABOUT EVEN in a lovely close up sequence as the rooming house girl friend of Eve's that places the late night call to Lloyd Richards. PAUL LANGTON potrayed Leslie Harrington in 219 episodes of tv's PEYTON PLACE. RAYMOND BAILEY is James Stewart's psychiatrist in VERTIGO, as well as the Clampett's banker & neighbor on THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. WILLIAM SCHALLERT was a doctor in THEM! as well as Patty Duke's father on her tv series. APRIL KENT next appears along with DEBBIE REYNOLDS, LESLIE NIELSON, SYDNEY BLACKMER AND FAY WRAY in TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR.
The script for THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN is the most thought provoking and serious in all the 1950's outside of THE NAKED JUNGLE, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL & THE TIME MACHINE. The line in which Scott and his wife joke about flagons of ale and wenchs also references Universal's series of Technicolor pirate and sword & sandal films starring MARIA MONTEZ and YVONNE DE CARLO that were the studio's bread and butter.
Well done as usual. I thought the ending was spot-on. Sad but appropriate
Hi Magill.This is my fave movie & I was born 1957.I found People on Mars 2004,designed Mars rovers 1987 as ghostwriter for Star Trek.See pics Mars People serch Jerry Lehane Mars .People 6 inches to 5 ft tall wear light clothes.
Fantastic Voyage…. best part when Welch needs special “help” with her SCUBA equipment.
Honey I Shrunk the Kids....great movie as well.
Any remake now could take use of truly realistic special effects. The concept of getting smaller and struggling to survive--after first experiencing being made fun of, and a media sensation--is interesting.Kids especially would get a kick out of seeing a grownup get smaller--having dealt with being little and "getting looked down on" themselves but would also sympathize with a guy who they could hold in the palm of their hand.
The orig book has a 5 year old daughter who soon deals with a dollhouse daddy. This film of course inspired many stories and TV episodes, and Irwin Allen's Land of the Giants put little Earthlings on Brobdignag..
I loved this film. I was so enthralled by the writing that I made the connection with the author and several episodes of the Twilight Zone---Death Ship is one of my favs, but others like Nightmare at 20,000 Ft.---I wanted to read more by this author and his Third from the Sun was wonderful.
as a kid, i enjoyed watching "Innerspace" (1987) ...the only annoying part of this sci-fi comedy is Martin Short.
I used to watch that as a kid too. I’ll make sure it’s on my list!
Love this flic! Not too surprised they trimmed some of Matheson's concepts... that was a bear he had to cross throughout his career! & I know it's not Sci/Fi... but if we asked nicely, would you consider doing 'The Terror of Tiny Town'???
I’ll think about it. Lol 😂
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Good Enough!!!
Great job, My favorite movie about shrinking people is Fantastic Voyage.
It’s on my list, so hopefully I’ll get to it soon!
I swear you have been thru my DVD collection ! (:
A conventional ending with him getting back to normal and living happily ever after would have been predictable and boring. The philosophical ending that was kept was MUCH better.
I like your take on the gender politics, but for me the film feels like it's about a man struggling with a terminal disease. He becomes dependent on his wife and others, resents it, finds he can pull off a victory against the spider which restores his sense of self-worth, and ultimately finds solace in faith before the end.
Hi from YNAO🙌
Can say without reservation that "favorite film about shrinking people" is not a list we have made 😁
great video.
Thanks!
You mentioned the physics that was wrong. I wonder if the writer had any knowledge of Quantum Physics. The recent Antman movies showing the "quantum realm" makes me think that this is where the character from this movie "actually" ended.
I always thought the ending was cheesy and awful. It was a good scifi film and then WHACK you get bibled in the face. But I see why many people like it. It is a glorious slice of cheese and I can appreciate it, but I would have liked to see the original ending.
Great review. Especially the but about gender politics. I missed alot of that
the condom fact just made my day.,😂
your channel is great
I.found the ending incredibly moving. If you believe in a Creator with infinite wisdom, you can appreciate that the movie is about relativity. Scale is infinite in both directions. from the sub atomic particles, to the vast expanse of the Universe. human size is our measure. In this movie Scott is removed from the comfort of familiar life, he might as well have been shipwrecked in an alien world. There is no end eventually slipping between atoms that turn into worlds,
will you do tarantula one day?
It's on my list, for sure!
They should do a modern day sequel for 2024. "The Incredible Shrinking Deficit."
I like how you think "what's normal" just happened in the last 50 years. Lol... pro tip: despite what your lifelong steady diet of pop culture propaganda has told you, immutable facts about human nature haven't changed much in the last 50,000 years.
Dislike for the pedantic beta "gender politics" analysis... dude.
Thanks for watching!
You’re offended by gender politics? That’s a real beta move.
@@MartialArtsFilmFreak Who said I was offended? I understand the perpetually offended also tend to project so I get why you would say that. But no, not offended. Just commenting that the analysis is pedantic and lame. And beta.