Jack Pierce: The Man Behind the Monsters

First of all, what a deserving subject; and secondly, a truly original showcase for the man and his many talents and interests!

Scott Essman and his stellar production crew at Visionary Cinema literally bring the artist and many of his most memorable screen creations to life in a fantastic one time only multi-media stage performance from Pasadena, CA. that took place on 6/17/2000.

The play running a brisk 72 minutes, (which is a ballpark length for many of Universals' Monster Classics!) was captured with 3 cameras then edited without any re-dubbing or "cheating".. To this reviewer, the play basically divides into 2 sections: the "one man show" motif where Pierce (wonderfully portrayed by Perry Shields) reads from his scrapbook of press clips, with certain recollections triggering unbelievable spot on recreations from some of Universal Studio's greatest Horror Classics.

All of the make-ups are truly amazing in regards to recreating Pierce's original conceptions, but the scenes featuring the Frankenstein's Monster, The Bride, and the Mummy are so convincing it's like watching scenes from the original film productions; a testimony to the loving care shown by the 100 plus member crew employed by Visionary Cinema to produce this piece.

Both picture & sound rank high on this disc, especially when one remembers that this is a ONE TAKE stage production. Plus, the disc is LOADED with bonus features. In fact, I spent a full 90 minutes in the MEMORABILIA section of the dvd before even watching the main feature.

It goes without saying, that this disc is a must have for anyone with even a passing interest in the Classic Universal Monsters that Jack Pierce helped bring to life.

This is a great tribute to the man responsible for the look of many of the iconic movie monsters. Great care went into this DVD, and it shows. The special features are also excellent. Get this if you're a fan of the classic horror films!! I purchased the film from jackpierce.com and am very pleased with it. The re-enactments of the makeup are at times extraordinary. The film deserves more attention than it has gotten just based on everything it has to offer to fans of the genre, and even just fans of makeup work in general. The lead who plays Jack looks a lot like him in the makeup, as well. I don't know a ton about him, but I suspect that Jack Pierce would be proud of this work!