The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Runtime: 81 mins
Synopsis: When an ordinary businessman encounters a mysterious radioactive mist during a boating trip, his life takes a bizarre and frightening twist. Soon he finds he is shrinking and within weeks he's just two inches tall battling cats and spiders. When an ordinary businessman encounters a mysterious radioactive mist during a boating trip, his life takes a bizarre and frightening twist. Soon he finds he is shrinking and within weeks he's just two inches tall battling cats and spiders. [More]
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Starring: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Raymond Bailey, Paul Langton
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Reviews
Notable for its relatively intelligent script, for some imaginatively amusing special effects, and for an existential streak which finally has our (tiny) hero pondering the meaning of existence.
Surprisingly provocative 50's sci-fi that goes beyond the thrilling spider battle
A moving, strangely pantheist assertion of what it really means to be alive. A pulp masterpiece.
Unless a viewer is addicted to freakish ironies, the unlikely spectacle of Mr. Williams losing an inch of height each week will become tiresome before Universal has emptied its lab of science-fiction clichés.
One of the best s-f flicks of the 1950s. A tragic story that is exciting and touching.
Sparse direction allows the tension to build naturally so that the terror and poignancy of the story work their way into the audience's brain without being forced. A total classic.
The special effects and trick photography are cleverly done (for its time). Also, the story is intelligently handled.
The surreal intensity of outsize objects that loom as the hero shrinks is handled effectively, and the mystical happy ending is a better payoff than one would expect of the genre.
News
posted by April 18, 2008
Brett Ratner is in talks to direct an Eddie Murphy-led remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man.
posted by Scott Weinberg April 26, 2006
Forgive me if this sounds like a broken record (er, corrupted MP3, sorry) but you know that big-screen adaptation of...

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