Island of the Fishmen [DVD] [1979] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I'm not writing this review so much for newcomers as for old fans of Island of the Fishmen ( aka L'Isola degli uomini pesce). If you've seen earlier versions of this film, you haven't really seen this film. This is the must see version for longtime fans.I've seen several versions of Island of the Fishmen (aka Screamers) over the past 30 plus years. The American TV broadcast version. The VHS version. But this restored DVD version has many differences:* This version is widescreen, and it makes a difference. The director has framed some beautiful compositions, which are lost on full screen.* Many restored scenes.* Earlier American VHS and TV versions (of what was originally an Italian film) included a new 10 minute scene (lifted from a Roger Corman film) and inserted as a new opening scene, retitling this film Screamers. This restored version of Island of the Fishmen drops that opening scene, which had characters that were (naturally) unrelated to the rest of the film's characters or story.* This version has done a beautiful job restoring the color and sound. Great music.So what's this film about? It's yet another 1970s Italian exploitation ripoff, of sorts. Richard Johnson is the usual rich white guy who rules an uncharted island and sponsors a mad scientist to conduct experiments. They're turning the native islanders into fishmen. Johnson uses them to salvage the lost gold of Atlantis.If you like Italian exploitation films, if you think Johnson is a great villain (though he was also a fine hero in 1963's The Haunting), if you think Barbara Bach is gorgeous, if you like killer fishmen and Italian exploitation films, you should love this one.The DVD has both Italian and English soundtracks, take your pick.There's also a one hour "making of" featurette, with interviews of the key creative people, but unfortunately, it's entirely in Italian. Not even any subtitles. The trailer is also in Italian.Director Sergio Martino, and actors Richard Johnson, Claudio Cassinelli, and Barbara Bach all collaborated on another Italian horror film that same year -- 1979 -- called The Big Alligator River (aka The Great Alligator). Coincidentally, Mel Ferrer appears in that film and in Screamers Corman prologue (but not in the original Italian version).So if you loved Screamers and /or L'Isola degli uomini pesce, you'll want to see The Big Alligator River..You will also want to read my review of Screamers, for a fuller comparison of both films, and the history behind each.

The film has been released in a number of 'versions', re-titled and played with/edited by the Corman company at one point, who felt it needed something 'more'. These alterations & subsequent lack of common release for many years has caused the film to have a reputation borne of either nostalgic memory lapses or random video rental of a tacky print.This release by MYA is actually colourful, widescreen and as good a version as is likely to be released. Certainly it doesn't have the choppy additional frames that add nothing to the overall film, and it isn't as popcorn tossingly barmy as the glorious gory monstrocity that appeared in 1980, Humanoids from the Deep with good old Doug McClure. However, it is a rollicking yarn, an adventure fantasy peppered with weird voodoo, mild depravity & the usual island-bound running around trying to evade capture. Throw in some mad scientist and the villain of the piece virtually twirling his moustache (he was in The Haunting & Zombi Flesheaters!) and this is mild italian exploitation.Eye candy and fairness of face is present, and Barbara Bach can be seen to balance the other very male pastimes of casual threats of violence & weird surgery. What may fail to draw in the crowd is perhaps lack of bloody excess, or the charming gradual decline into madness & chaos, which does seem to be one of the plot points but does take a while to go anywhere. The general theme remains similar to War Gods of the Deep, but is actually better than that, though lacking Vincent Price.So, italian, exploitation, good print, good sound, a bit more bolshy than say Lost Continent, fine cinematography, the director is Sergio Martino who knows how to use his limited budget. IF you want it stronger go see Humanoids from the Deep, avoid any altered print of this, like Screamers. This is uncut, clean & will actually live upto a nostalgic desire for mild aquatic shades of Lovecraft monstering, or perhaps a whiff or faint flavour of H G Wells polemics against tyrannical science.

Good to see this rather obscure Italian re-working of Island of Dr. Moreau making it's way to Blu ray in a restored HD print from the original 35mm negative, courtesy of the U.S. company, Full Moon Features.Comparing this new Blu ray version to the No Shame DVD of this film, which I own, the improvement in picture quality is immediately evident, which makes it worth the upgrade if you like the film.Richard Johnson, billed third, presides over a remote, uncharted Island, and for personal gain, uses an army of 'fishmen' created by disgraced scientist, Joseph Cotten, to plunder what he believes to be the lost city of Atlantis. Leading the cast is lovely Barbara Bach, playing Cotten's daughter, and Claudio Cassinelli, a military doctor, who is shipwrecked on the island with a group of convicts.Filmed in 1978, this entertaining, colourful Sergio Martino offering is certainly worth purchasing if you're either a fan of this kind of film or the attractive cast.The Blu ray is the original Italian version entitled, L'Isola Deglia Uomini Pesce, but has English dialogue.It's also attractively packaged, but sadly only contains a trailer.And, I can confirm that this Blu ray is Region Free, which is great, obviously, if you do not own a region free player.

a-ok

edizione full Moon features con solo audio inglese purtroppo per questo affascinante avventuroso di Sergio Martino,il restauro da una copia italiana e'davvero ottimo e ci si gode un video ben definito con i colori sgargianti.

Why does a Movie seem like it’s Aura and Effects are Not as Cheesy as it used to look, when the Imagery is so much Clearer?!I Really Enjoyed watching this Strange Barbara Bach Classic!

Fun "Island of Dr. Morreu" movie, with cool Lovecraft inspired fish monsters. Hot as ever Barbara Bach looking good. Look, any movie with fishmen and Barbara Bach......I shouldn't even have to try to convince you on.

The steam was gone from Italian cinema by the mid-70`s, and by this time (1979), it was just capitalizing on knocking-off whatever the 'flavor-of-the-month' movie was popular. Even directors who once did great flix like Sergio Martino ('Torso', 'All The Colors Of The Dark', 'Case Of The Scorpion`s Tail','Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh','Gambling City', 'Your Vice Is A Locked Room', etc.) had jumped on this bandwagon with varying degrees of success. Ruggerio Deodato struck gold with the original exploitation masterpiece 'Jungle Holocaust' in `77, based in part on a newly discovered cannibal tribe in South America (no joke), and Sergio struck w/ 'Slave Of The Cannibal God'/'Mountain Of The Cannibal God', the following year going back to the jungle to film both 'Big Alligator River' and 'Island Of The Fishmen', which both had the same actors and locations, for the most part. This one is less exploitive than the others mentioned, but it`s equal parts 'Creature Of The Black Lagoon','Island Of Dr. Moreau','Jungle Holocaust', and the creatures look like those from 'Horror At Party Beach' (1964). This is low-class-cheese-on-the-seas, for certain - bad acting,weak script,cheap sets,ridiculous monsters, you name it, it`s all right here. It`s good if you like campy monster flix and want a few laughs, but little else. The only real horror here is hearing Italian actors speak with British accents. These films proved Barbara Bach was no more than eye-candy, and the curse of being a 'Bond' girl struck again - no actress ever went on to become anything bigger after being in one. Sad but true.