A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Satan Bug -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris · Sep 18, 2015

John Sturges' The Satan Bug, which has been released to Blu via Kino Lorber is one of the better man vs virus films.

Probably a major part of the fact that the film works, is John Sturges' solid grasp of the production and his actors. For those unaware, Mr. Sturges directed The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, among many others.

He knows his "stuff."

As a Blu-ray, The Satan Bug is better than okay. The overall appearance of the film, at least to my eye, was ever so slightly soft. A less than stellar IP, possibly? Beyond that the normal minor problem of occasional dirt.

Overall, however, color and densities are quite good, and the disc is certainly works.

Image - 3.5

Audio - 4

4k Up-rez - 3.5

Pass / Fail - Pass

RAH

ahollis · Sep 18, 2015

Thanks for your thoughts. I enjoyed it first on one of the CBS movie nights, then owned a VHS copy, laserdisc, MOD DVD and now on Blu-Ray.

Gary16 · Sep 18, 2015

I'm ordering it. However it looks it has to be a thousand percent better than the DVD which was awful.

Richard Gallagher · Sep 20, 2015

I saw this at the movie theater in Mount Kisco, N.Y. when I was in high school. I've been waiting for a decent home video release, and this appears to be it. A great price, too.

Dick · Sep 20, 2015

Richard Gallagher said:
I saw this at the movie theater in Mount Kisco, N.Y. when I was in high school. I've been waiting for a decent home video release, and this appears to be it. A great price, too.

Holy moly! That is exactly where I saw it, Richard! I lived in Lawrence Farms East, technically in Kisco, (but attended the Chappaqua school system) until 1967 and rode my bike frequently to the theater, which was built in 1962. The first movie that ever played there was IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS that December. I can still remember the smell of the popcorn in the lobby, and I got to know the manager well enough that he let me come up to the projection booth a few times. I considered it to be "my" theater, and would often go back two or three times to see a single movie in those pre-video days. THE SATAN BUG was no exception. I saw that one twice. Not the best film of 1965, but it had it's moments. Glad to run into another person here from the area!

Powell&Pressburger · Sep 22, 2015

Transfer IMO is incredible it isn't perfect but I didn't expect it to look this good. Worthy purchase esp at the current Amazon price tag.

albert_m2 · Sep 22, 2015

Saw it on TCM a few years ago and enjoyed it. I never ordered the DVD because of reviews, so I preordered and it arrived today. Look forward to watching it again soon.

Richard Gallagher · Sep 23, 2015

Dick said:
Holy moly! That is exactly where I saw it, Richard! I lived in Lawrence Farms East, technically in Kisco, (but attended the Chappaqua school system) until 1967 and rode my bike frequently to the theater, which was built in 1962. The first movie that ever played there was IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS that December. I can still remember the smell of the popcorn in the lobby, and I got to know the manager well enough that he let me come up to the projection booth a few times. I considered it to be "my" theater, and would often go back two or three times to see a single movie in those pre-video days. THE SATAN BUG was no exception. I saw that one twice. Not the best film of 1965, but it had it's moments. Glad to run into another person here from the area!

Sure, that's near the Mount Kisco Country Club. I grew up in Katonah and I went to St. Mary's High School in Katonah and John Jay in Cross River. Katonah didn't have a movie theater so when I got to the movies it was in Mount Kisco or the Bedford Playhouse. I have a friend from Chappaqua who went to the Robert E. Bell School and one of my nephews just moved to Chappaqua earlier this year.

ahollis · Sep 24, 2015

Richard Gallagher said:
Sure, that's near the Mount Kisco Country Club. I grew up in Katonah and I went to St. Mary's High School in Katonah and John Jay in Cross River. Katonah didn't have a movie theater so when I got to the movies it was in Mount Kisco or the Bedford Playhouse. I have a friend from Chappaqua who went to the Robert E. Bell School and one of my nephews just moved to Chappaqua earlier this year.

Eastern NY? Lord I worked for Crown theatres back in the2000's, until we sold them to Bow-Tie. I was every familiar with those towns for we want to expand in to those areas. I loved that job.

Richard Gallagher · Sep 24, 2015

ahollis said:
Eastern NY? Lord I worked for Crown theatres back in the2000's, until we sold them to Bow-Tie. I was every familiar with those towns for we want to expand in to those areas. I loved that job.

The Mount Kisco Cinema is still owned by Bow-Tie. I haven't been there in years because I live about 40 miles northwest of Mount Kisco.

ahollis · Sep 24, 2015

Richard Gallagher said:
The Mount Kisco Cinema is still owned by Bow-Tie. I haven't been there in years because I live about 40 miles northwest of Mount Kisco.

I was going to those theatres for six years as the operator of the Crown Company because the theatres were owned by Clearview Cinemas until Bow-Tie bought. We had an interest in the theatres ourselves so I hit one every week to check it out. We may have passes in the night.

Dick · Sep 24, 2015

Richard Gallagher said:
The Mount Kisco Cinema is still owned by Bow-Tie. I haven't been there in years because I live about 40 miles northwest of Mount Kisco.

Getting a bit off-topic, but the Kisco theater, like so many wonderful venues, was chopped in half to become a double cinema with very tiny screens in the 80's. Broke my heart when I returned there after fifteen years to see THE ROAD WARRIOR. Good movie, bad theater experience.

The Bedford Playhouse divided its auditorium in half as well. That was way too beautiful a theater to be chopped in half. Saw ZELIG there and, again, was heartbroken.

Richard Gallagher · Sep 24, 2015

Dick said:
Getting a bit off-topic, but the Kisco theater, like so many wonderful venues, was chopped in half to become a double cinema with very tiny screens in the 80's. Broke my heart when I returned there after fifteen years to see THE ROAD WARRIOR. Good movie, bad theater experience.

The Bedford Playhouse divided its auditorium in half as well. That was way too beautiful a theater to be chopped in half. Saw ZELIG there and, again, was heartbroken.

The good news is that the Bedford Playhouse is being renovated, and Robert Harris is involved in the project. I expect that everyone will be very pleased when it reopens. It has a Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/BedfordPlayhouse

marshman1138 · Sep 25, 2015

I am grateful for the Glenn Erickson commentary. He makes a good film better! Very informative and entertaining!!

Charles Smith · Sep 25, 2015

Continuing the digression, ahollis and I also passed in the night, next door in Danbury CT.

There were a few decent independent theaters when I first moved here, most of which were shuttered the day Sony's first multiplex opened its doors. Fortunately, they (now AMC) do probably as good a job at the business of showing movies and the special events as can be expected these days.

Charles Smith · Sep 25, 2015

Richard Gallagher said:
The good news is that the Bedford Playhouse is being renovated, and Robert Harris is involved in the project.

https://www.facebook.com/BedfordPlayhouse

Good lord, yes, thanks for the reminder.

Eastmancolor · Sep 25, 2015

Ran THE SATAN BUG last night. Projected it and it looked excellent on a large screen. Miles ahead of that awful MOD DVD.

A friend ran a 16mm IB Technicolor print of the film a few years back (yes, it was a Tech print, I guess some were made) and the color here on the Blu-ray is actually better defined and, in my opinion, the stronger of the two presentations. Contrast, color and sharpness, all better than the print.

Quite happy to have this film for $11.99 from Amazon and in this quality.

Richard Gallagher · Sep 25, 2015

Charles Smith said:
Continuing the digression, ahollis and I also passed in the night, next door in Danbury CT.

There were a few decent independent theaters when I first moved here, most of which were shuttered the day Sony's first multiplex opened its doors. Fortunately, they (now AMC) do probably as good a job at the business of showing movies and the special events as can be expected these days.

I went to college at Western Connecticut and I lived in Danbury for a couple of years in the mid-seventies. I remember the Palace downtown and the Cine on Newtown Road. There was a third (Danbury Cinema?) on Padanaram Road, in the Danbury Shopping Center. The Palace is still open but it rarely shows films anymore.

The first film I recall seeing in the movie theater was Scared Stiff (Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis) at the Bedford Playhouse in 1953. It was somebody's birthday party.

Charles Smith · Sep 25, 2015

Crown Cinema Twin, I believe.

Hope reigns eternal that something will happen with the Palace. I dearly love that front corridor and lobby, and can't believe I took it all for granted back in '89-'92. Only one of the two small downstairs screens is open for use on occasion.

The Crown Cine must have been a fine example of a mid-century suburban theater in its day. It eventually got divided up horribly.

Flashgear · Sep 26, 2015

I'm very happy with Kino's new Blu-ray of SATAN BUG...I think it looks and sounds great...I do hope that Warner Archive Blu-ray gets around soon to giving us more of John Sturges body of work...BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK first and foremost, but also ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO and THE LAW AND JAKE WADE...I'd also like LAST TRAIN FROM GUN HILL, HOUR OF THE GUN and HALLELUJAH TRAIL...although we've heard that the latter film has problematic elements issues, besides representing the bottom end of John Sturges usually inspiring work...oh well...

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