Doctor Cíclope

It reminded me a lot to The Incredible Shrinking Man. As a result of the revenge of mad scientist Dr Thorkel (who looks like a bald Himmler), a bunch of other visiting scientists are miniaturized to the size of puppets by a special device and struggle for survival in the inhospitable environment of a house and the jungle. Somehow, Schoedsack's films have become synonymous with special effects feasts and the Master didn't disappoint here. There’s plenty to watch, lots of functional rear/front projections, optical wizardry and especially the studio's evocation of the smallness of the main characters – there are countless larger-than-life models of everyday objects: giant scissors, a squid, a table, books, chairs, a briefcase, a rifle and many, many more. And in the jungle there are giant roots, a rock garden, plants and a giant boat by the shore. There is also an attacking cat, a crocodile and a dog that looks at its miniature master with an expression of confusion. Perhaps only the disposal of the main villain I could imagine more spectacularly, as promised by the games with a giant rifle, but otherwise I have no major reservations. A very nice sci-fi flick. (08.03.2012)

It's a top-notch spectacle in terms of stunts, because after all, what could we expect from one of the creators of the immortal King Kong and the thrilling The Most Dangerous Game? The story may be simplicity itself, but it is the playful execution along with the beautiful Technicolor that gives it that hallmark of uniqueness. Moreover, some passages are decently atmospheric and suspenseful, and Albert Dekker clearly enjoyed the mad scientist. I'm just sorry to see it end. (29.08.2015)

One of the five most interesting film contributions to the topic of shrinking human protagonists, which is laudable, but at the same time nothing to celebrate, because for me, the only three truly good films in this category are Downsizing with Matt Damon, Innerspace with Denis Quaid, and the brilliant The Incredible Shrinking Man from 1957. Dr. Cyclops gets all my praise for the special effects, which leave almost nothing to be desired when compared to its aforementioned 16 year younger sibling, but the creative decisions of individual scenes, the intellectual insight and the sophistication and the discovery of the fictional world from the perspective of the physically altered heroes are much weaker in this case. That said, I highly recommend it to fans of classic film sci-fi; this film from the same year that gave us Citizen Kane does not deserve to fall into oblivion. 65% (12.02.2020)