91 The Blob

[Martha]

The Blob



A cult classic of gooey greatness, The Blob follows the havoc wreaked on a small town by an outer-space monster with neither soul nor vertebrae, with Steve McQueen playing the rebel teen who tries to warn the residents about the jellylike invader. Strong performances and ingenious special effects help The Blob transcend the schlock sci-fi and youth delinquency genres from which it originates. Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor and a crew whose credits mostly comprised religious and educational shorts, The Blob helped launch the careers of McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach, whose bouncy title song is just one of this film’s many unexpected pleasures.

Disc Features

- New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Two audio commentaries: one by producer Jack H. Harris and film historian Bruce Eder and the other by director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and actor Robert Fields
- Trailer
- Blobabilia!, a gallery of collector Wes Shank’s rare trove of stills, posters, props (including the blob itself!), and other ephemera
- PLUS: An essay by critic Kim Newman

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[Matt]

Thomas Scalzo's review from Not Coming to a Theater Near You:

Beware of the Blob! Viewing this seminal classic nearly fifty years after its initial release, one may be inclined to imagine that it might well have lost some of its luster. Surely the special effects will have aged poorly; surely the ludicrous plot of a red, oozing protagonist will have grown stale and boring in this age of inventively psychopathic killers and technologically enhanced nemeses. But not so: The Blob endures as one of the most perfect horror films ever created, a timeless example of how to tell a entertaining story.

The key, of course, is simplicity. Whereas innumerable horror films of past and present exude unnecessary energy and time crafting needlessly complicated plots and ridiculously elaborate killers, The Blob sticks with the basics; rowdy teenagers, an adult population that does not believe a word of what those teenagers say, and an antagonistic force to be reckoned with that is purely and simply evil.

To my mind, The Blob is the most perfect of all horror movie adversaries: not a man, not a monster, just a glob of goo. It is nameless, faceless, personality-less, and, seemingly, motivation-less, merely content to consume everything and everyone in its path for all eternity. This makes it at once terrifying and unstoppable, yet humorous and presumably easy to avoid. Of course, if everyone managed to escape, it wouldn't make for much of a movie.

The story begins when a meteor crash-lands in a forest near a small town, prompting a curious old man to take up his lantern and do some investigating. Finding a steaming rock, he pokes it with a stick whereupon it splits open and reveals a glob of black goo that affixes itself to his hand. The old man understandably freaks out. By the time a romantically thwarted youngster named Steve (Steve McQueen in his breakout role) finds him, the old man is half-crazed. The quick thinking Steve heads over to Doc Hallen's and the good doctor agrees to take a look at the patient. The Blob's reign of terror has begun.

After feeding on and dispatching with the old man, the Blob turns blood-red and grows to a size capable of absorbing human beings whole. After ingesting an unfortunate nurse and the well-intentioned doctor, the Blob heads out on the town. Knowing something is terribly wrong, young Steve tries his best to convince everyone that there is a serious threat to their collective safety, a warning summarily ignored by any and all adult figures. Luckily, Steve's fellow teenagers are easily convinced of the problem and together they manage to stir up enough commotion to convince the chief of police that he'd better do something — and quick.

Despite its rather simplistic special effects, The Blob does a marvelous job creating suspense because it relies on the time-tested technique of portraying people in immediate peril going about their lives assured of their safety. When Steve and his friends attempt to spread the word about the danger, they are laughed at, ignored, or accused of playing tricks. It isn't until the sheriff of the town announces that there is, indeed, something to worry about, that a true sense of panic consumes the populace. By this time, of course, the Blob has expanded to catastrophic proportions and there is doubt whether it can ever be stopped. It is left to the resourceful Steve and the rest of the town's mistrusted youth to come up with a way to put an end to the terror.

The Blob was and is the quintessential science fiction/horror movie. A believable, suspenseful, and straightforward story centered on the most innocuous of adversaries, the film paved the way for innumerable imitations (not to mention two sequels) and introduced the world to both Steve McQueen and Burt Bacharach (who co-scored the title theme). But over and above its value as an influential piece of cinematic history, The Blob endures as a timelessly entertaining and well-crafted story, as worthy of praise today as it was nearly five decades ago.

[colinr0380]

The Criterion Contraption on The Blob.

[brendanjc]

Not sure if this was a recent change, but it looks like the MSRP on Criterion's site for this is now $29.99, though it still seems to be priced as an upper-tier title at the retailers I've checked.

[denti alligator]

It would be nice if they'd do that for Fiend without a Face and a dozen other pre-100 spines.

[HistoryProf]

why are all retailers still pricing this at the $39.95 msrp point? I'd love to get it, but it's just way overpriced at this point - they seriously need to re-evaluate pricing for these older discs...it's ridiculous to still charge so much for a 9 year old release.

[Minkin]

James Rolfe's wonderful documentary on Phoenixville locations, celebrations and more: Blob Town

[LQ]

James Rolfe's wonderful documentary on Phoenixville locations, celebrations and more: Blob Town

Thanks so much for sharing, it brought a huge smile to my face. I live very close to Phoenixville and absolutely adore the Colonial... not just for its niche place in cinematic history, but that certainly does up the cool factor! Rolfe does a great job of gathering how much the Colonial and The Blob mean to Phoenixville's inhabitants.

[Matt]

Blu-ray announced for March (link TK).

[JamesF]

Real shame Criterion couldn't license the Blobtown doc linked above, or perhaps even the late Larry Hagman's sequel Beware! The Blob. But hey, another hi-def monster movie in the Collection! How about an Equinox upgrade next?

[Minkin]

Real shame Criterion couldn't license the Blobtown doc linked above, or perhaps even the late Larry Hagman's sequel Beware! The Blob. But hey, another hi-def monster movie in the Collection! How about an Equinox upgrade next?

I'm going to try to pressure both Criterion and Mr. Rolfe into working out a deal. James Rolfe put in some great work for that documentary - it would be a shame for it to not make its way to Criterion.

Another fun supplement might be the inclusion of the cheesy Daughter of Horror movie that's playing in the theater when the Blob shows up.

I'm glad to finally right the wrong I made many years ago - when I walked into a Suncoast Video and bought the VHS rather than the Criterion DVD- thinking to myself "why would anyone pay $40 for The Blob?"

I just noticed that it looks like we will be losing the poster with the Bluray release. What gives Criterion? Didn't want to pull an Arrow Video with your cult releases?

[Saturnome]

The original narration-less Daughter of Horror is much less cheesy though, it's like a cheap David Lynch film from the 50s. You can't release this film without including the original version in my opinion.
Also we could easily push James Rolfe's fanbase into a campaign to include his doc on the Criterion ; )

[captveg]

Re: Rolfe's documentary. I can see there being music clearance as well as film clip property clearance issues with releasing it on the BD.

[Cash Flagg]

The original narration-less Daughter of Horror is much less cheesy though, it's like a cheap David Lynch film from the 50s. You can't release this film without including the original version in my opinion.

I emailed Kino about the possibility of a Daughter of Horror/Dementia BD a year ago, and never received a response.

[Peter McM]

The Blob was the stuff of my childhood nightmares (I was born in 1963, so this movie was already on its way to "cult classic" status by the time I saw it for the first time). It was the reason I went to bed with the lights on, so I could keep a watchful eye on the vents in my room. At the same time, I remember often humming that campy opening tune! Can't wait to revisit this, Criterion-style!

[manicsounds]

Blu-ray.com

[aox]

I don't think I have seen this film in over 15 years. I can't imagine what my reaction to this would be now. But, I do have a love for 1950s/early 60s horror/sci-fi, so I need to revisit this. I find the Blu-ray.com review puzzling. He writes nothing but praise for the film, but gives the film itself 3.5/5. His only complaint seems to be the ages of some of the actors.

[Gregory]

Then there is also the bad blob, which despite all the warnings in the film's original trailer isn't bad at all.

Sure, it eats several people alive as it relentlessly grows in size, but it's just misunderstood.

[manicsounds]

DVDBeaver comparison

Surprised how well the DVD holds up after all these years.

[aox]

Jeffrey Wells is having a weird meltdown over this release.

I guess this could also go into the "Why won't they release what I want them to release thread."

[colinr0380]

It is a silly argument - it would depend on Criterion having rights to Invaders To Mars/Them! (a Warners film)/etc; ignores the way that it is part of Criterion's ongoing Blu upgrades of the back catalogue (though I admit I would be jumping for joy if Fiend Without A Face had gotten an upgrade first!); and doesn't really acknowledge that the film has considerable cultural cache, even if that is just for the presence of McQueen.

The bizarre thing about the comments about McQueen's performance is that it actually seems to be one of McQueen's more casual and charismatic roles. If you can overlook the way that he (like the rest of the cast) is about a decade too old to play a teenager, he's great and really seems to be channelling a 'child-like' youthful excitement in some of his scenes. I especially like that moment after the early backwards drag race where the glee from winning the race turns to dismay at getting pulled over by the cops!

[TMDaines]

What fan of '50s alien-monster movies wants to shell out $30 for a Criterion Bluray of The Blob...

I stopped at the straw man.

[matrixschmatrix]

Jeffrey Wells is having a weird meltdown over this release.

I guess this could also go into the "Why won't they release what I want them to release thread."

If they're going to Bluray The Blob they might as well do it to Gorgo and The Mysterians.

I think VCI's putting out a blu of Gorgo next month, actually

[skuhn8]

DVDBeaver comparison

Surprised how well the DVD holds up after all these years.

Inspired me to put it in my amazon basket--the dvd version that is. I want the poster and the pic looks sharper, but I suspect in motion the blu would still trump it.

[Peter McM]

re: dvdbeaver review--I believe the poster in the upper left of the five they show is actually from the 1988 remake.