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starring: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliottdirected by: Jack Arnold
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302763836
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
ISBN: 6302763835
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Release Date: May 26, 1994
Running Time: 81 minutes
Sales Rank: 232
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: December 14, 1955
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
When the radiation-spawned giant ants of Them! swarmed over American screens to become one the most successful films of 1954, it didn't take long for the rest of the insect kingdom to follow suit. The best of these mutant bug movies is Jack Arnold's giddy Tarantula, with Leo G. Carroll as a scientist whose experimental, radiation-treated nutritional supplements transform the title creature into a rampaging monster. The hungry arachnid graduates from rabbits to cattle to people as it grows and creeps across the barren countryside in search of food, dwarfing the desert hills in simple but unsettling special effects shots. John Agar plays the square-jawed doctor who tries to warn the local populace of the impending menace and Clint Eastwood has a bit as an Air Force pilot called in to bomb the now mountain-sized spider. It's an essentially silly story with plenty of heroic dashing about and monster-movie tropes ('See its mandibles crush cars like a tin cans!'), but Arnold, one of the most talented and thoughtful genre directors of the 1950s (It Came From Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man), creates a surprisingly eerie mood with his austere visual style and winds the film up with his tension-building rapid pacing. Composer-playwright Richard O'Brien liked the film so much he immortalized it in the Rocky Horror Picture Show: 'Leo G. Carroll was over a barrel when the Tarantula took the hills.' The film still straddles the line between nostalgic goofiness and smart sci-fi thrills. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - CLINT EASTWOOD VS TARANTULA THIS IS ON DVD!
This is a classic 50's sci-fi movie about a giant tarantula terrorizing a small town. Very good special effects and a very well written story make this one a top notch sci-fi adventure! Look close in the final moments of the film as it is a young Clint Eastwood who saves the day as the jet squadron leader who saves the day! Even when he was just starting out he was a hero! This is a must have movie and is part of a 5 movie collection called Classic Sci Fi Ultimate Collection! Don't confused this ... Read More
Rating: - FINALLY -- OUT ON DVD
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Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection: There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide as five incredible science fiction films crash down on DVD for the first time ever in The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection! This fascinating, collectible set will shock, terrify, and captivate you with film favorites from the golden age of Hollywood including Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, and Monster on Campus. Featuring amazing, ground-breaking special effects, these ... Read More
Rating:  - A 1950'S CLASSIC!
Sometimes I really wish I had been born 15 years earlier so I would have been able to enjoy great films like "Them" and "Tarantula" at a drive-in movie. That really would have been fun. Tarantula has always been one of my favorites in the Giant insect genre of films and I rank it right up there (almost) with "Them".
Professor Deemer is working on an experimental nutrient to solve the worlds hunger problem. During a fight with an assistant, a Tarantula that had been injected with the experimental ... Read More
Rating: - CLASSIC SCI-FI THRILLER*****DVD PLEASE ********
So when is this great old film coming out on DVD?????? Many of us are eagerly waiting for this one to add to our library. I put this one right up there with "The Day the Earth Stood Still" & "Creature From the Black Lagoon". These are always great for repeat viewings on Sunday afternoons..
Rating: - Ultimate 50s sci fi!
Tarantula is a highlight of the continuous stream of monster B movies produced in the 50s and 60s. This is the story of a lifelong scientist (Leo Carroll), who is attempting to produce technology for the world to benefit from. When he is attacked one night by one of his former partners, a mutated tarantula is set loose in an Arizona town. The town medical doctor (John Agar), realizes that life is at stake, and must find a way to destroy this creature before it is too late. The formula used to mutate the arachnid ... Read More
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