Dr. Cyclops
Director- Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast- Albert Dekker, Charles Halton
Country of Origin- US
Distributor - Kino Lorber
Number of Discs - 1
Reviewed by David Steigman
Date- 02/18/2020
After watching Doctor Cyclops on television in the middle of the night over thirty years ago, I instantly became of fan of this film and watch it often. I’ve had this movie on my shelf in all formats, twice on DVD and now on Blu-ray.
Based on a short story of the same name by fantasy and science fiction writer Henry KuttnerIt, Doctor Cyclops is the story of a mad doctor, Dr. Alexander Thorkel (Albert Dekker, Kiss Me Deadly) who is conducting shrinking experiments using radiation in a remote laboratory in the Peruvian jungle. He summons fellow scientists, biologists Dr. Mary Robinson (Janice Logan) and Dr. Rupert Bulfinch (Charles Halton, Stranger on the Third Floor, The Shop Around the Corner), and mineralogist Bill Stockton (Thomas Coley) to help him by looking through a magnifying glass to verify a specimen. While on route, they are also accompanied by Steve Baker (Victor Kilian, The Return of Frank James, This Gun for Hire), who ride his mules while in the jungle. Since he is responsible for the mules, Steve joins the other three. After the scientists do Dr. Thorkel the favor by looking at his specimens through the magnifying glass, the scientists are rather disappointed that they traveled 10,000 miles just to do that one small favor. Dr. Thorkel then reveals to them his top-secret experiments and, because he is mad after all, proceeds to shrinks them down to 12 inches, and keeps them trapped in his laboratory, so they will not escape the island to reveal his plans. Dr. Thorkel discovers that the shrinking is only temporary; he then plots to kill them before they grow back to full size. But the scientists have other ideas and plan an escape through the jungle filled with wild carnivorous animals.
Doctor Cyclops is a beautiful early technicolor classic that I feel doesn’t get the respect that it deserves. Dr. Cyclops features highly detailed sets and amazing ahead of its time special effects. It’s the first American horror / science fiction film made in full, three-strip Technicolor. On top of that, the movie has a great deal of suspense and is highly atmospheric, easily capturing a creepy mood, and moves at a steady pace, slowly building tension leading to the terrific climax.
The acting is top-notch, with the main lead and antagonist Albert Dekker going over the top as the crazed Dr. Thorkel. There is plenty of suspense throughout with him relentlessly chasing his shrunken captives, not holding back anything, even destroying his own belongings to find them. The remaining cast of mainly veteran actors also hand in excellent performances. The special effects by Farciot Edouart and Gordon Jennings for Doctor Cyclops were so outstanding that the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 13th Academy Awards. Henry Sharp was the man responsible for the excellent ‘sharp’ cinematography.
Merian C. Cooper, who co-produced the film along with director Ernest B. Schoedsack, the men responsible for the timeless, 1933 stop-motion monster movie thriller, King Kong have once again delivered a superior movie. Doctor Cyclops may remind you of The Most Dangerous Game, another superb classic to some extent with science fiction themes, and by substituting an insane game hunter with an insane scientist.
Previously released on DVD in a gatefold box set with other horror movies and later as a Universal Vault Series MOD DVDr, Doctor Cyclops finally arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The picture quality for this release has never looked any better. Presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 in 1080p and given a brand new 4K master, the image is just eye-popping with bright, polished, rich, vivid colors that are simply fantastic. Be it scenes taking place in the jungle to the clothes the actors wear or even shots taking in broad daylight, the clarity and details are outstanding. Sure, there’s a few speckles here and there but nothing even remotely close to be a distraction. Flesh tones appear accurate with great details to the characters during close-up shots. The first few minutes of the film look especially spectacular and will hook you in for the rest of this wonderful viewing experience. Most importantly, no DNR was applied for this release and remains filmlike throughout the presentation.
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 soundtrack is also terrific as the sounds heard during the film, dialog, animals roaring, or gunshots are crisp and clear without any distractions. English subtitles are available for this offering.
There are some bonus materials for this release. The key supplement is an audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith. His commentary clearly shows how much admiration and appreciation he has for Doctor Cyclops, and you can tell that he did a wealth of research on this film for this commentary. He talks about what went into the fantastic special effects, how the film was received at first and mentioned several interesting facts. One fact that stood out that I wasn’t aware of and caught my attention was a scene that had another creature in the jungle that was edited out of the final production.
Another fun supplement, Trailers from Hell features Jesus Trevino as he introduces and does a commentary during the trailer for Doctor Cyclops.
The last of the extras are a few trailers. The theatrical trailers for Doctor Cyclops Cobra Woman, The Undying Monster, and The Land Unknown are showcased here.
To say I’m thrilled to have Doctor Cyclops on Blu-ray is a great understatement. The picture now can be seen and heard in high definition, easily surpassing the DVD releases. Overall, this Blu-ray package is certainly recommended! Another DVD bites the dust!
