It lives in the sewers of Chicago. It’s 36 feet long and weighs over 2000 pounds. This gargantuan is also very, very hungry. Its name is Ramon and, after being flushed down the toilet by an angry Dad, is now about to break out from beneath the city!
And Chicago will never be the same again!
Alligator is a movie which haunted my childhood. For good reason, too. I am forever scarred by the scene where the huge-ass alligator bursts out of the sewer interrupting some boys playing baseball in the street. The image of this monster parading around above ground was a bit frightful for me as a kid. It only got worse.
Beginning in 1968 when an alligator show goes wrong and, upon returning home from Florida, Ramon was originally flushed down the toilet, this movie takes its time to amp up the mystery as limbs are found in the sewer over a decade later. Rather quickly, this tale builds suspense as sewers become dumping grounds for limbs and half-eaten corpses. There are a lot of searches 50 feet beneath the city, but it is the light of day which reveals the truth that lurks down here.
Ramon has been growing for the past 12 years. His diet? The discarded animals from the secret experiments of Slade Laboratories. And thanks to their experiments, Ramon has grown rapidly and powerfully BIG. No one is safe.
Starring Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) as a burnt-out cop, Detective David Madison, who often loses the the policemen assigned to him and Henry Silva as Colonel Brock, a snooty hunter who hilarious thinks he’s better than everyone else, this creature feature is a certified cult classic thanks to its tightly wound script from John Sayles (Piranha, The Howling) and its sharp direction from Lewis Teague (Cujo, The Jewel of the Nile). And now Alligator and all of its clever POV shots can be seen like never before!
Is it frightening? No, but when a massive alligator crashes a garden birthday party, you’ll jump up and away from the screen faster than a toupee in a hurricane. The hunt is on as co-stars Robin Riker, as reptile expert Marisa Kendall, and Michael V. Gazzo as Chief Clark join the hunt to find out just what the hell is killing cops, crooks, and children down in the depths of the city!
When an investigative tabloid reporter (Bart Braverman) - who plays up the sensationalism angle of a meat-hungry animal deep in the sewer - hot on the trail of the police’s missed opportunities goes missing, time is running out! Just what will the boys in blue discover?! Call in the experts! Things are getting too weird here in the Windy City!
Alligator lives again! Now, thanks to Scream Factory’s impressive 4K scan from the original negative, this witty creature feature - which most of us saw on television - roars to life once again! You too can find out what happens in the sewers of Chicago! Alligator is now on a super slick Collector’s Edition release on 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory! Chomp! Chomp!
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Home Video Distributor: Scream Factory
Available on Blu-ray - February 22, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc; Three-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free. Blu-ray locked to Region A
From director Lewis Teague (Cujo) and screenwriter John Sayles (The Howling) comes an unstoppable thriller with bite. A family returning from Florida decides their pet baby alligator is too much to handle and flushes him down the toilet. Meanwhile, Slade Laboratories is conducting secret experiments with animals and disposing of them in the sewer. The alligator, fending for itself, begins to feed on the dead animals, and grows. Now, twelve years later, after several mysterious murders, David Madison (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown) is on the case to find out who ... or what ... is killing people.
Video:
Alligator is presented on 4K Ultra HD thanks to a stunning new 4K restoration from Scream Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a significant upgrade from the previous edition, with better clarity, improved contrast and more robust color. Oh, the neon! Colors are bold and energetic with rich saturation in the primaries, adding to the film's sly self-aware sense of humor. Black levels are true and accurate for the most part with some of the best moments taking place at night. Shadow details are very well-defined, allowing fans to really appreciate the sewer-bound exploits as baseball games are interrupted by the crunch and munch antics of a gigantic alligator. Generally speaking, this is a really nice-looking high-definition presentation that makes a few minor missteps, none of them fatal.
Audio:
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 gets the fur flying! Crank up those hisses and enjoy the solid sound design of a sewer dwelling alligator!
Supplements:
Commentary:
- See special features
Special Features:
This Creature Feature is loaded with the goods! With two discs of content, fans are going to be pleased. It also contains a reversible art wrap featuring the original theatrical poster artwork.
DISC ONE (4K UHD – Theatrical Version):
- NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary With Director Lewis Teague And Actor Robert Forster
DISC TWO (BLU-RAY – Theatrical Version):
- NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative
- NEW Everybody In The Pool – An Interview With Actress Robin Riker
- NEW Wild In The Streets – An Interview With Director Lewis Teague
- NEW It Walks Among Us – An Interview With Screenwriter John Sayles
- NEW Luck Of The Gator – An Interview With Special Makeup Effects Artist Robert Short
- NEW Gator Guts, The Great River, And Bob – An Interview With Production Assistant, Now Famous Actor/Director/Producer, Bryan Cranston
- Audio Commentary With Director Lewis Teague And Actor Robert Forster
- Alligator Author – An Interview With Screenwriter John Sayles
- Additional Scenes From The TV Version
- Teaser Trailer (NEW 2K Scan)
- Theatrical Trailer (NEW 2K Scan)
- Trailers From Hell – Filmmaker Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body) On ALLIGATOR
- TV Spots (NEW 2K Scan)
- ALLIGATOR Game Television Commercial
- NEW Newspaper Ad Still Gallery By Drive-In Asylum
- Still Gallery (Movie Stills, Movie Posters, Lobby Cards, And Behind-The-Scenes Photos)
DISC THREE (BLU-RAY – Television Version)
- The Extended TV Version In HD For The First Time (NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative With Additional Footage Scanned From An Internegative)
| Movie |  |
|
| Video | |
|
| Audio |  |
|
| Extras | |
|
|
Composite Blu-ray Grade
|
||
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 91 mins
Director: Lewis Teague
Writer: John Sayles
Cast: Robert Forster; Robin Riker; Michael V. Gazzo
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: Beneath those manholes, a man-eater is waiting ...
Memorable Movie Quote: "How about cats? I got plenty of cats. I also got a parrot I'd like to get rid of."
Theatrical Distributor: Group 1 International Distribution
Official Site:
Release Date: November 14, 1980
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 22, 2022.
Synopsis: A family returning from Florida decides their pet baby alligator is too much to handle and flushes him down the toilet. Meanwhile, Slade Laboratories is conducting secret experiments with animals and disposing of them in the sewer. The alligator, fending for itself, begins to feed on the dead animals, and grows. Now, twelve years later, after several mysterious murders, David Madison (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown) is on the case to find out who ... or what ... is killing people.
