The Incredible Melting Man

[antnield]

THE FIRST NEW HORROR CREATURE

Before he turned his hand to lycanthropes in An American Werewolf in London, shuffling zombies in the Thriller music video and hostile extra-terrestrials in Men in Black, special effects legend Rick Baker lent his talents to the creation of another memorable horror creature. Step forward, The Incredible Melting Man!

When spacecraft Scorpio V returns to Earth following a mission to Saturn, two of the crew are dead and the third, astronaut Steve West, is in a critical condition. Critical, that is, until he rises from his hospital bed to bite chunks out of a nurse before escaping into the surrounding countryside. The authorities set about trying to track Steve down before he claims any other victims, but they don’t know the really bad news yet - Steve is also highly radioactive!

The Incredible Melting Man offers up a wealth of show-stopping B-movie moments in its relatively modest running time – chief among them, the scene in which a disembodied head floats down a river only to smash messily on the rocks further downstream – but the real star of the show here is Baker’s ultra-icky special effects work which let you see the Melting Man’s transition in all its gooey, glistening glory.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements
• Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio Commentary with William Sachs
• Super 8 digest version of the film
• Interview with Writer/Director William Sachs and Make-up Effects Artist Rick Baker
• Interview with Make-up Effects Artist Greg Cannom
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin

[EddieLarkin]

Nice art.

A great Criterion style bonus feature for this one would be the inclusion of First Man Into Space, which this film is essentially a remake of. It would add a ton of value to a disc that, let's be honest, features a pretty dire film. I don't think there's a chance FMIS would ever see a UK Blu-ray release otherwise (its last release in the UK was on VHS), and look, it's available from Hollywood Classics*, and runs barely over an hour! It makes sense to me anyway...

*Though their master is probably 4:3, like Criterion's presentation, which of course is incorrect. Then again, right there is an opportunity to present the film correctly for the first time ever.

[Cash Flagg]

A great Criterion style bonus feature for this one would be the inclusion of First Man Into Space, which this film is essentially a remake of. It would add a ton of value to a disc that, let's be honest, features a pretty dire film. I don't think there's a chance FMIS would ever see a UK Blu-ray release otherwise (its last release in the UK was on VHS), and look, it's available from Hollywood Classics*, and runs barely over an hour! It makes sense to me anyway...

It's actually 77 minutes, but I was wondering/hoping the same thing. I suggested it to Arrow via email.

[JamesF]

I'm not sure how possible this is given it's probably technically a different edit by a different company, but I'd love to see the Super-8 digest by Ken Films included as a bonus feature. Never seen it myself, but many of those who have claim it's a terrific, exciting cutdown for what is generally considered a fairly mediocre film.

[Koukol]

I can't believe I'm gonna buy this film AGAIN!
But I love this cheesy film.

Great cover.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

THE FIRST NEW HORROR CREATURE

Before he turned his hand to lycanthropes in An American Werewolf in London, shuffling zombies in the Thriller music video and hostile extra-terrestrials in Men in Black, special effects legend Rick Baker lent his talents to the creation of another memorable horror creature. Step forward, The Incredible Melting Man!

When spacecraft Scorpio V returns to Earth following a mission to Saturn, two of the crew are dead and the third, astronaut Steve West, is in a critical condition. Critical, that is, until he rises from his hospital bed to bite chunks out of a nurse before escaping into the surrounding countryside. The authorities set about trying to track Steve down before he claims any other victims, but they don’t know the really bad news yet - Steve is also highly radioactive!

The Incredible Melting Man offers up a wealth of show-stopping B-movie moments in its relatively modest running time – chief among them, the scene in which a disembodied head floats down a river only to smash messily on the rocks further downstream – but the real star of the show here is Baker’s ultra-icky special effects work which let you see the Melting Man’s transition in all its gooey, glistening glory.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements
- Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio Commentary with William Sachs
- Super 8 digest version of the film
- Interview with Writer/Director William Sachs and Make-up Effects Artist Rick Baker
- Interview with Make-up Effects Artist Greg Cannom
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film and more!
- Region: B/2

[JamesF]

Hells yes to the Super-8 digest! Ask and ye shall receive...

[antnield]

Packaging pics.

[MichaelB]

Hells yes to the Super-8 digest! Ask and ye shall receive...

And it's proper Super 8 too, not a recut of the HD master to conform to the Super 8 edit. So it looks properly grainy and grungy, just as it should.

[fuzzymctiger]

Hells yes to the Super-8 digest! Ask and ye shall receive... :D

And it's proper Super 8 too, not a recut of the HD master to conform to the Super 8 edit. So it looks properly grainy and grungy, just as it should.

I was just about to ask if it was proper 8mm! Was the scan done by Arrow, or was it already available by an outside party?

[MichaelB]

I was just about to ask if it was proper 8mm! Was the scan done by Arrow, or was it already available by an outside party?

As far as I recall, Arrow did the scan from a Super 8 print provided by a former BFI colleague of James White's (in fact, I think it was his successor Doug Weir). It was wonderfully nostalgic for me - I never had that particular edition, but I did have quite a few other cut-down Super 8 prints, and I remember the overall look vividly.

[L.A.]

DVDBeaver.