3D Blu-ray Review: ROBOT MONSTER

Home » 3D Blu-ray Review: ROBOT MONSTER

Jul 30, 2023 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

The 1953 3-D film Robot Monster (also known as Monsters from the Moon or Monster From Mars) has arrived on 3D Blu-ray for the first time in a wonderful-looking new restoration from the 3-D Film Archive. Aliens from the planet Ro-Man have scanned the galaxy and have found that the planet Earth is the only one that contains intelligent life that could rival their own. They have attacked Earth, and wiped out nearly all of the Hu-Mans with their Calcination Ray. However, a handful of earthlings have managed to survive. An ape-like creature wearing a space helmet, Ro-Man (voice of John Brown), has received orders from his similar-looking commander, Great Guidance, to kill these remaining Hu-Mans. What he doesn’t know is that in his quest to cure the common cold, The Professor (John Mylong) had tested a serum on his assistant Roy (George Nader), himself, and his family—his wife Martha (Selena Royale), young children Carla (Pamela Paulson) & Johnny (Gregory Moffett), and adult daughter Alice (Claudia Barrett)—and this had made them immune to the affects of the death ray. With threats from his commanding officer, Ro-Man emerges from his cave, and starts to hunt down these hiding survivors, planning to kill them by hand if necessary, though he’s starting to have a crisis of conscious, blurting “I cannot, but I must not”. However, the family starts to put together their own plan to lure Ro-Man into a trap.

I had never heard of Robot Monster before this disc was announced, but as a big 3-D fan, I am always excited for new 3-D content to watch on my 3-D TV, and the 3-D Film Archive usually puts out a quality product, this time in conjunction with a company called Bayview Entertainment. I won’t pretend that Robot Monster is a “good” movie. Some of the writing makes no sense, the acting is a bit amateur, scenes will just suddenly fade to black, it will inexplicably cut to footage of dinosaurs fighting, and some of the dialogue is ridiculous. As some characters die, other family members seem to get over their grief within a second, and are cracking jokes about the situation in their next breath. That said, there are some things that happen at the end of the movie that help to explain these seemingly-off moments. Overall, the film is unintentionally humorous—one of those it’s so bad it’s entertaining type of experiences. And clocking in at just 58 minutes, it’s not a long watch.

While the movie itself isn’t a masterpiece, the restoration and 3D presentation is fantastic. The disc offers both Blu-ray 3-D and Anaglyph 3-D options (a single pair of red/blue carboard glasses is included for the latter). Since I still have a 3-D TV, I watched the Blu-ray 3-D version. For a film that’s 60 years old, it looks quite good. The film primarily takes place at Ro-Man’s cave, or in the surrounding rocky, deserted terrain. The film doesn’t really go for cheap pop-out effects, instead making nice use of the natural structures to help provide a solid level of depth throughout. The flashing effects of the death ray and the depth of Ro-Man’s communication view screen are also well-integrated. When Ro-Man is showing the Hu-Mans the destruction his people have caused, director Phil Tucker makes use of “Double Film” (aka “3-D Blinkey”) technology, which helps give the viewer a sense of uneasiness from the shocking, contrasting images in each eye. The restored audio track is also quite good, with clear dialogue throughout, as well as the constant crackling of Ro-Man’s death ray.

Bayview Entertainment’s Blu-ray release also restores the film’s original 3-D prologue, “Stardust in Your Eyes”, which plays before the movie. Entertainer Slick Slaven (Trustin Howard) warms up audience with some gimmicky 3-D pop-out gags, singing, and some impressions. The disc also contains more than an hour of other 3-D content related to the film/era it was released. This includes 3-D trailers and vintage 3-D shorts, a 3-D memorabilia gallery, a 3-D interview with star Greg Moffett (“Johnny”), a look at some vintage 3-D photos and comic books, some 3-D fan films related to the movie, and more. There’s also over an hour of 2-D bonus content, including a newly-restored 1953 appearance by Bela Lugosi on You Asked For It (with optional commentary), a feature commentary, short documentaries about the movie, trailers, and more.

The Blu-ray disc is packed on the right side of a standard clear Blu-ray keepcase. The contents of the disc are detailed on the rear side of the cover insert. A single pair of cellophane-wrapped red/blue carboard 3-D glasses is also included in the case for those who wish to watch the anaglyph 3-D presentation. There is no digital copy or slipcover included.

What’s Included:

Film: (58:47)

1080p / Widescreen 1.37:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English SDH

Extras :

Stardust in Your Eyes (1953) (6:36)
Robot Monster‘s original prologue has been fully restored and plays before the film (in 3-D or 2-D). Entertainer Slick Slaven (Trustin Howard) warming up audience with some gimmicky 3-D pop-out gags, singing, and some impressions. This is not selectable from the menu—it automatically plays before the film.
Was I A Man (2022) (3:49)
After, the original film credits, new song “Was I A Man” (The Other Favorites) plays over the new restoration credits and a memorabilia gallery. This is presented in 3-D or 2-D, depending upon which version you are watching. This is not selectable from the menu—it automatically plays after the film.
Feature Commentary Track (2022) (58:47)
Eric Kurland & Lawrence Kaufman of the 3-D Space Museum in Los Angeles, Greg Moffett (“Johnny”), and author Mike Ballew (“Close Enough to Touch, 3-D Comes To Hollywood”) discuss the film as they view it in 3-D. The men share some trivia and behind-the-scenes tidbits, discuss the filming locations, the 3-D technology and equipment that was possibly used, and more. Moffett also talks about his acting career, and working on the set of this film. I wouldn’t say this is the greatest commentary I’ve listened to, but there’s some interesting stuff here. The commentary only appears over the film itself, not the prologue or 3-D restoration credits.
Bela Lugosi – You Asked For It (7:54)
In this newly-restored live television performance from July 27, 1953, Bell Lugosi appears on You Asked For It, playing himself dressed as Dracula performing a magic trick to transform a woman into a bat. Author Gary D. Rhodes provides optional commentary about the performance, discussing Lugosi’s history with magic, some brushes he nearly had with some 3-D projects, and more.
3-D BONUS FEATURES: (1:03:52)
All items play back-to-back with chapter stops to select the various items.
- 3-D Trailers (2023) (1:41)
  New trailer for the restoration that uses elements from the original trailer.
- Memories of a Pooped-Out Pinwheel (2022) (18:10)
  In this interview with star Greg Moffett (“Johnny”) recorded in 2022, the actor talks about how he got into acting, some of his earlier roles, working on this film, seeing the 3-D restoration, and how he’s surprised by the popularity of this hokey movie.
- Travels Through Time & Space (2023) (20:52)
  Stereoscopic anthropologist Hillary Hess narrates this slideshow of vintage stereo camera ads and stereo photographs.
- Side Streets of Hollywood 3-D Insert (1953) (8:25)
  Two newly restored 3-D shorts featuring pin-up girls. In the first, “Dance of the Blonde Slave’s Revenge”, a man unchains a woman and they dance together, before she gets her revenge. In the second, “Madonna and Her Bubbles”, a woman lays on ground blowing bubbles at the camera and then dances to some sultry music before returning to her bubbles. The latter goes more for the gimmicky 3-D pop-outs, while the former is more depth-focused.
- Adventures in 3-D (1953) (2:15)
  A look at a newly-restored Golden Age 3-D Comic Book, Adventures in 3-D #2 by Harvey Comics, released around November 1, 1953. Two comic book pages are displayed at a time for 5 seconds each.
- Return to Bronson Canyon (2006) (4:06)
  Bob Furmanek, founder of the 3-D Film Archive, talks about finding the last surviving print of Robot Monster, and revisits the Bronson Canyon filming location to recreate a scene with some friends.
- Whatever Happened to Ro-Man? (2009) (6:58)
  In this humorous fake news report, a reporter visits the home of reclusive 3-D film star Ro-Man to find out what he’s been up to.
- Before/After Restoration Demo (1:04)
  Side-by-side comparison between the raw film scans and the restored version of the film’s opening credits.
2-D BONUS FEATURES: (37:34)
All items play back-to-back with chapter stops to select the various items.
- Saving Slick (2023) (7:38)
  Bob Furmanek, CEO of the 3-D Film Archive talks about working as Jerry Lewis’ archivist, and how he got into 3-D films. He also discusses how he found the reel for Stardust in Your Eyes and discovered it was a prologue for Robot Monster, looking into what happened to “Slick Slaven”, and more. Includes footage of a 2003 interview with Trustin Howard.
- Robot Monster (1953) (1:29)
  The original coming attractions trailer for the film.
- 3-D Movies in Los Angeles (2023) (15:46)
  Collection of movie trailers for other 3D films screening in Los Angeles on June 24, 1953 when this was released. Includes “It Came From Outer Space”, ads for RKO Theatres, “Side Streets of Hollywood”, “Hannah Lee”, “House of Wax”, “The Charge at Feather River”, “Inferno”, and “Second Chance”. Also includes a gallery of newspaper ads for the films.
- Monster From Mars (1956) (:32)
  Opening titles from the 1956 reissue of the film, which used the title “Monster From Mars”.
- Joe Dante, Trailers From Hell (2013) (2:00)
  Director Joe Dante talks about the trailer for the film on Trailers From Hell, providing commentary over the trailer about the history of the movie.
- Mistakes & Innovations (2023) (4:09)
  Bob Furmanek narrates this look at how the Robot Monster filmmakers originally filmed day-for-night but never actually color-graded the scenes into nighttime, and how director Phil Tucker pioneered the use of “Double Film” (aka “3-D Blinkey”) to show different, contrasting images in each eye.
- Robot Monster Diaries (:22)
  Short promo for a book about the film.
- Rescuing Ro-Man (2023) (5:38)
  Bob Furmanek talks about his search for the 3D elements for Robot Monster, and gives some history on the film. He also talks about the restoration process.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

3-D:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Robot Monster may not be a masterpiece, but the new 3-D restoration and 3D Blu-ray release from Bayview Entertainment may just be. The film looks fantastic with a clean, solid 3-D presentation. The disc is also loaded with hours of bonus material, both 3-D and 2-D, that will give Golden Age 3-D fans lots of great material to sift through. I wish all 3-D films would get the kind of loving care and 3-D release that this film got. This is an easy recommendation for fans of this film era, and a must own for Robot Monster fans, or 3-D collectors/fans in general.