Search - Jack the Giant Killer on DVD

Content Advisory: Excellent For Children Movie Release: 1962 DVD Release: 09/04/2001 Format: DVD SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 36 mins Studio: GT Media Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure See Also: Jack the Giant Killer

Nathan Juran, director of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, tries to make the magic happen again on a much more attenuated budget in Jack the Giant Killer. Torin Thatcher, another Sinbad alumnus, plays a wicked wizard who kidnaps toothsome-princess Judi Meredith. Kerwin Mathews, still another veteran of Sinbad, plays Jack, who rescues Meredith and promises to escort her to safety. Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth creates several fire-breathing perils along the same lines as Ray Harryhausen's special effects in Sinbad; happily, Danforth emulates the Harryhausen style without stooping to imitation. Prominent among the supporting actors is Don Beddoe as an impish genie. In the recently reissued prints of Jack the Giant Killer, most of the original voices have been dubbed over, and incongruous musical numbers added. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kerwin Mathews - Jack
Judi Meredith - Princess Elaine
Torin Thatcher - Pendragon

This movie occupies an odd place in the history of fantasy films, as a sort of busted (or, to hear some of those involved tell it, stolen) Ray Harryhausen project. Harryhausen, the renowned stop-motion animation virtuoso, had evidently met with producer Edward Small about this project, then parted company, and the next thing he knew, Small was doing the film with director Nathan Juran (who had worked with Harryhausen prior to this), leading man Kerwin Matthews, villain Torin Thatcher (both Harryhausen alumni), and with Jim Danforth handling the stop-motion work. Danforth, then at the outset of his career, does a competent job, though his work seems clunky at times and lacks the poetic element to be found in Harryhausen's output. His fantasy creations are scary enough when they have to be, but lack the haunting elements of humanity that made even most of Harryhausen's monsters memorable. This DVD is a bit mysterious, appearing on the Goodtimes label despite the fact that MGM Home Entertainment, which owns the picture, generally doesn't license to outside DVD producers (and it comes out of Hong Kong as well). There is also a disclaimer at the introduction to the disc stating that the producers have utilized the best elements available on this title, as though it were some lost 1920s silent. In point of fact, the producers have nothing to apologize for -- the image is full-screen, but not much detail from the sides seems lost, and the color is rich and robust, at least a match for the laserdisc edition of the movie and perhaps superior. The picture, though perhaps slightly soft, is very easy on the eye if not exactly spectacular in every detail. There are no special features of any kind on the disc, and the menu is as simple to use as could be imagined, with choices of "play" and "scene selection." The movie has been broken down into 12 chapters that are easily accessible and nicely represented by the still shots linking them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide