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Epicurus.com - Them (1954)
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List Price: $9.98
Our Price: $4.13
Your Save: $ 5.85 ( 59% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Starring: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens
Directed By: Gordon Douglas
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304437988
Format: Black & White
ISBN: 6304437986
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: 1993-12-13
Running Time: 94
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1954-06-19
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Editorial Reviews:
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That ol' cinematic devil the A-bomb has spawned a colony of giant murderous ants bent on destroying humanity in this, the seminal big bug movie (an obvious and oft-credited influence for Alien among countless others). The special effects may be dated, but this brilliantly rational-sounding film has held up wonderfully in all other regards, including some starkly effective location work in the high Arizona desert, a genuinely inspired sound design guaranteed to bring on the creepy-crawlies, and an unexpectedly dry sense of humor (mainly personified by Grade-A egghead scientist Edmund Gwenn). This is essential viewing for all those who consider themselves science fiction or horror fans. Heroic hardcase James Arness previously played for the other team as the titular character in The Thing from Another World. --Andrew Wright
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: LOVE THE OLD SCI-FI MOVIES...
Comment: And again, I love the old sci-fi movies that I grew up with and this one is the 2nd fave of mine...loved it!!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cool Big Ant Movie
Comment: This is a classic for all ages. Yes it is old, yes it is in black and white, but yes it holds up fairly well.
People start coming up missing and the police are there to investigate. Shortly after they find bodies and bags of sugar along with an occasional vibrating shrill sound that everyone swears is just the wind. Soon scientists are brought in to examine tracks they find in the sand and they soon deduct it is ant tracks of a very large scale. The reason... nuclear fallout of course.(the reason for ever mutation) Soon a group is formed to invade the nest and exterminate the giant ants.(You will see a trend with my reviews I give the cliff notes synopsis. Why tell you the whole story, then you won't have to watch the movie)
Other then the same ol' reasoning behind the mutation this film is very well done. In fact it was the largest grossing movie the year it came out. My twelve year old son loved it so it tells you even with all the video games, MP3, DVDs, CGI and the like this film can still captivate your attention.
Out of all the movies that fall into this genre I have to rank this movie #1. My suggestion though is to get the two movie set of THEM/THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, it is 3 bucks cheaper and great picture quality. Highly recommended for anyone that wants to watch the best of this genre of film.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: [4.5] A Metaphorical Version of Charlie Wilson's War. DVD features below.
Comment: I make the comparison to Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen) only conceptually. The Gov. experiments with the A-bomb have led to giant radiation mutated ants and now they have to fix a problem they created. This isn't The Blob - Criterion Collection or The Thing from Another World that is threatening man kind but man. It's our bad basically.
Them is a horror film that's basic premise could have been the influence for countless others in the genre, for example Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (2-Disc Edition).
Ranking 72nd on Bravo's Scariest Movie Moments list (good special, the 30 scarier movie moments not so much) and mentioned in Stephen King's Stephen King's Danse Macabre as one of the best horror films between 1950-1980. Them is a must see for Sci-Fi horror fans. Besides searching for deeper meanings and making a mountain out of an ant hill Them is an all around fun time which doesn't hesitate to push the limits for it's time. Also worth mentioning is Edmund Gwenn who won an Oscar for his role as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition). Gwenn provides the Sci Fi angle and some humor as Dr. Harold Medford while stealing the scenes he is in.
[4.5]
DVD FEATURES:
Has a great old school horror/ comic dvd menu worth noting.
Behind the scenes archive footage montage on the design and operation of giant ants
Interactive menus - case film highlights - theatrical trailer - scene access
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great Classic
Comment: Films of this quality should never die, and I hope they will always be available. I only wish I could see this film in a theater, although the DVD provides many extras the theater can't. Even though many viewers may consider it a B movie, it was and still is a great Sci Fi story with good solid acting. The sound effects are definitely chilling. I've only ever had a problem with the artwork in the "movie poster" used on the cover. The scenes depicted by the artist actually never happen. There isn't any scantily clad woman snatched up by any of the ants.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing DVD
Comment:
I am very surprised about the many positive reviews here.
Of course: the movie itself is a classic, and should not be missed in any "best of" ranking.
But we should rather assess, what the buyer of the product - the DVD - get's for their money. And this is from my point of view extremely disappointing. We are withheld a mere 24 % of the cinema movie - with no explanation or apology at all!
According to IMBD the original cinema film format was 1.75 : 1. This is quite the same as a modern TV-screen with it's 16:9 format.
On the DVD however the film comes in good old 4:3 format. That means, they have cut on each side 12 % of the original picture, leaving us just three quarters of what was shown in the cinemas!
Thus the judgment can only be: one star for Warner Home Video!
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