Special Effects Collection

Four vintage monster movies make their Blu-ray debuts in this boxed set, which spotlights the craft of special effects filmmaking in the era before computers. Director Ernest B. Schoedsack's Son of Kong (1933), a sequel to the original King Kong, was rushed into production and made on a much smaller scale. Robert Armstrong (star of the first film) returns to Kong Island in search of treasure and finds Kong's offspring, a sweet-tempered white ape. While this follow-up has none of the sweep and grandeur of the original, Willis O'Brien's special effects work on the creature is charming. Also featured here is Schoedsack's Mighty Joe Young (1949)—for which O'Brien won an Oscar—telling the story of a humongous African ape brought to New York City as a nightclub attraction, with disastrous consequences. Joe is a marvelous creation and the climax, in which he risks his own safety to rescue children trapped in an orphanage fire, is a magnificent set piece that remains as touching as it is thrilling. Eugène Lourié's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), inspired by a Ray Bradbury short story, centers on a prehistoric giant—awakened by nuclear tests—that lays waste to Coney Island (it also marks the first solo creature feature work by the legendary Ray Harryhausen). Lastly, Gordon Douglas's Them! (1954)—arguably the most famous giant insect movie of the classic era and certainly the most serious of the 1950s atomic creature features—sports ants the size of tanks that swarm the desert. Intelligently scripted, with adult characters and at least a modicum of research into ant behavior, Them! inspired dozens of similar but lesser giant insect and atomic mutation films. Extras include audio commentary on Mighty Joe Young and behind-the-scenes featurettes spread across the discs (which are also available individually). Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)