Allison Hayes stars in this enduring classic of 1950s science fiction, as a beautiful, wealthy young woman–trapped in a loveless marriage to a philandering husband who only wants her money–exacts a terrible vengeance when exposure to radiation from an alien UFO causes her to grow into a 50-foot-tall monster!

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[youtube https://youtu.be/Y08eFDia-wI?t=3027]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. This has been one of the most highly requested titles from fans for some time, and Warner Archive has delivered a presentation that is nothing short of stunning. This black and white feature has sumptuous natural film grain throughout that provides a terrific amount of detail to the image. The film features some visual effects shots which are not exactly the most convincing, but they are completely natural to the original look of the film and never stand out as something of substantial deficit.

When not dealing with these special effects, every shot comes through beautifully. The presentation has a pleasing amount of depth to it including in the shadows where there is no evidence of any black crush. Print damage is downright nonexistent to these eyes, which shows how much care has been put into the preservation. It is doubtful the film looked better even during its initial run. Warner Archive has knocked it out of the park by every metric.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that nearly matches the perfection of the visuals. Even during the most chaotic of moments of oversized attacks, the dialogue comes through crystal clear. None of the sound effects or the music ever overpowers the dialogue on this release. The more kinetic and thrilling sequences are appropriately lively in the speakers. There does not appear to be any damage or age related wear and tear to the track. This is a stellar audio presentation that gives the material the life it deserves. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc for those who need it.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historian Tom Weaver and actress Yvette Vickers provide a warm and engaging commentary track in which they offer ample details about the production of the film including memories of the ensemble, the frustrations over some of the special effects, Vickers’ penchant for nailing things in one take, inspirations for the characters, the costumes, the legacy of the film and more. Vickers is whip-smart and recalls things with great clarity from beginning to end.

Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman has a title which you want to pay attention to just to see if the movie can match your imagination. The film does offer some larger-than-life experiences which stretches the limits of technology for the time. Getting to this section of the film does reward quite a bit. What does not hold up as well is the frustrating depiction of women, which misses the mark even when it believes it is striking a blow on their behalf. The narrative is not the most even-handed or compelling thing, but it works decently as a conduit to the titular destruction. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a standout A/V presentation and a great supplemental commentary. If you are a sci-fi fan, there is no reason to pass up this top-tier release. Recommended

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.