{"product_id":"0014381870329","title":"Robot Monster","description":"\"Robot Monster is usually grouped among the worst movies ever made and has been called the worst science-fiction film ever made, but this reviewer has long believed that the criticism is not only unfair, but misguided. What critics fail to recognize is that, though it has elements of science-fiction in it, at its heart, the movie is supposed to be a young boy's dream. If viewers go in recognizing this, and also are aware that dreams are, by their nature, irrational and inconsistent, then Robot Monster suddenly seems a lot better as a movie. However one feels about the movie, this DVD is the way to see and hear Robot Monster. Originally a release of the low-budget Astor Films (which was also responsible for movies like She Demons and Missile to the Moon), Robot Monster has existed in fairly substandard editions in recent decades, but this release makes up for those deficiencies. Apart from a few long shots that still look soft, the image is crisper than this reviewer (who first saw the movie in 1967) ever remembers it being, so sharp that one can actually make out elements of George Barrows' features, obscured behind a mask in a diving helmet atop his gorilla suit. Even more important is the sound, which is the clearest ever heard on this movie, and what is essential about this is the sharpness with which it presents Elmer Bernstein's score. Robot Monster, along with Cat Woman of the Moon, is one of two low-budget sci-fi features that Bernstein scored at the outset of his career, and they're usually referred to as humorous footnotes to a very successful film music career. But his music for Robot Monster is surprisingly sophisticated and ambitious. Using a small orchestra of mostly horns and percussion, with some piano (perhaps played by Bernstein), he delivers a very melodic, inventive, and playful body of music that effectively underscores the action and carries large parts of the movie. There are an ample number of chapter markers and a trailer at the end, which isn't in as good condition as the movie itself, but looks better than many tape dubs of the complete film that have been circulating; the trailer isn't as easy to access as it ought to be. The film begins automatically on start-up, and the menu must be accessed manually ahead of it, although it pops up automatically once the movie ends. The notes are reasonably thorough, although this is an interesting enough movie that it could have gotten fuller, better treatment as part of the Wade Williams Collection from Image Entertainment.\"","brand":"SONY PICTURES HOME ENT\/IMAGE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47095556767984,"sku":"0014381870329","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/0014381870329_p0.jpg?v=1763766540","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/0014381870329","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}