Reviews & Ratings for
Mermaids of Tiburon More at IMDbPro »

8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
There's something about it..., 15 August 2006

Author: kirksworks from Marin County, California

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

There have only been a handful of good live action movies with a mermaid as a central character. The black and white "Miranda" and its color sequel "Mad About Men," British films starring Glynnis Johns, are recommended, but very difficult to see. The best of the older American bunch, however, is "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid" from 1948. William Powell plays a man going through an old age crisis who catches mermaid Ann Blythe on a fishing trip. It's a bit dated, but still quite appealing. "Night Tide" (with Dennis Hopper) is a more nightmarish take on the idea, and "Splash" with Darryl Hannah and Tom Hanks is a more humorous take. More recently "Aquamarine" successfully reinvented the myth for a younger female audience, and it's probably the most successful mermaid story other than "Peabody." I even prefer it to "Splash."

What all these movies have in common, however, is that they find ways to keep the story on dry land. What distinguishes "Mermaids of Tiburon" is that it takes place mostly in the ocean, and often underwater. It was directed and photographed by John Lamb, who clearly knew how to shoot underwater scenes. And although it was low budget, the choice of location and clever imagery give it a bit more polish. Of course the infamous Tim Carey as the bad guy doesn't hurt, but considering his wonderfully characteristic voice, he could have used more dialog. Diane Webber was pretty impressive, however. She must have been quite a good swimmer. In most, if not all of the underwater scenes it was actually her. Her Queen Mermaid character doesn't have much development, but her performance has a lot of simple charm. There are a number of shots showing her interacting with the fauna of the area, including a particularly remarkable shot of her with a large puffer fish, and another showing her feeding an absolute swarm of small fish.

I remember seeing "Tiburon" when it first was released and loving the wonderful COLOR photography. Until recently, it has only been available as a bad black and white dub. Finally, the full color version has been released on a DVD called PSYCHOTRONICA VOL 3, paired with another film. This DVD promotes the nude version of the film, where many shots of topless girls (not even wearing mermaid tails!) are inserted into the story. This version also reduces the role of Diane Webber. But the really good news is that the original version with Diane Webber's performance in tact is also included on this disc in the Extras! Subsequently, I read that Webber had passed away the day I ordered the disc. A sad coincidence.

Having viewed the color version after living with the bad b&w dub for so long, "Mermaids of Tiburon" is a revelation. It's true the narration is very corny, and the voice-over performance of the lead was stiff, even somewhat amateurish, but color adds an abundance of atmosphere to the underwater scenes, which were even more impressively photographed than I'd remembered. The scenes between Carey and Jose Gonzales-Gonzales sometimes grate, but the Mexican's pet Mina bird adds a nice touch and they followed through with it all the way to the end.

Lastly, the score by Richard LaSalle adds immeasurably to the mood of the piece. As would be expected, the strings suggest a siren call in the underwater sequences, but the music for the action sequences are equally effective.

"Mermaids of Tiburon" is no classic, and there is an element of amateurishness to the whole affair, but there's something about its magical atmosphere that other mermaid movies don't capture as successfully. It's unlikely that anyone will take the time and care to make a mermaid film that takes place almost completely under water ever again, so in that regard, this film will probably remain a one of a kind. It was great to see it in color again.

5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
An adventure in enchantment, 30 July 1998
Author: Matthew Ignoffo (mermatt@webtv.net) from Eatontown, NJ, USA

This is one of those films that gets passed off as a silly fantasy or sci-fi flick. It isn't either of those things. It is a bittersweet story of man's desire for something beyond the ordinary.

Like the film on which the mermaid costumes in this film are modeled (namely, MR. PEABODY & THE MERMAID), the story is about a man who meets a mermaid (in fact, a whole pod of mermaids) and thus learns that there is something in life that is invisible but valuable beyond sunken treasure. He learns that there really is a touch of magic and beauty in the world which science and technology have too often harmed.

If you see this one, make sure you see the original and not the silly sexed up version which is called AQUA SEX and totally loses the point.

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A nifty nudie fantasy romp, 8 June 2008

Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Young marine biologist Dr. Samuel Jamison (a likable performance by director George Rowe in his only acting gig) discovers a bunch of lovely and enticing lady mermaids while searching for buried treasure located deep in the ocean nearby an isolated Mexican island. Writer/director John Lamb gives this simple tale a certain sweet and strangely innocent charm. Moreover, Lamb also maintains a steady pace throughout and brings a sense of genuine awe to the fantastic subject matter. The actresses who portray the titular topless sea sirens are quite attractive and well-endowed; Diane Webber and Gaby Martone in particular are totally ravishing. Popping up in cool supporting roles are the singular Timothy Carey as nasty no-count criminal creep Milo Sangster, Jose Gonzales-Gonzales as excitable Mexican fisherman Pepe Gallardo, and John Mylong as weird old gent Ernst Steinhauer. Lamb's beautiful bright color cinematography offers a wondrous wealth of stunning visuals (the underwater photography is often very striking). Richard La Selle's lush, stirring orchestral likewise hits the melodic spot. An enjoyable little flick.

4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Someone please help me find a CLEAN COLOR version of the movie, 8 August 2005

Author: collegemermaid from United States

The visuals were beautiful. Having different mermaids other than the mermaid queen, made the movie exciting. They were au naturel too, not that I'm trying to be nasty, but that's how one would imagine mermaids to be in their natural habitats. Not wearing silly flower or clam shells. It is really the only real mermaid movie I've seen besides Splash. That movie was very disappointing because there were only couple seconds where she was really a mermaid. I don't know why they call it Aqua Sex, because it says "Mermaids of Tiburon" in the beginning, I have a color version but I cannot enjoy the movie because it has big white letters in the middle of the screen that it is not for public distribution.

2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A low-budget SF flick that just misses being a true classic., 6 January 1999
Author: anonymous

With just a shade more imagination, this could have been a truly beautiful piece of work. It is very effective and thought provoking despite its surface appearance of cheapo trash. Its details have been very carefully worked out to the point where you can almost believe in the existence of the mermaids. The story is a simple but believable conflict of good and evil set against a gorgeous background. It's also a story of nature threatened by greed. If the mermaids had been just a little more mysterious and less obviously girls in mermaid costumes, it would have been perfect.

1 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Description, 17 March 2009

Author: Douglas Gordon from United States

Alluring but mysterious females come to rescue of a man on a mission in this beautifully photographed underwater adventure. Dr. Samuel Jamison (George Rowe) is a marine biologist on the staff at an aquatic theme park who one day receives a visit from an elderly gentleman named Ernst Steinhauer (John Mylong). Steinhauer shows Jamison some remarkable specimens of "flame pearls," rare jewels of the sea that change color in a prismatic fashion, which he discovered during a recent visit to the island of Tiburon; he wants to know more about them and invites Jamison to his home to discuss his find. However, when Jamison pays Steinhauer a visit, he finds the place ransacked, the pearls gone and old man missing. Jamison charters a boat to Tiburon in search of the pearls, but he's not the only one who knows about the treasure; Milo (Timothy Carey), a vicious gangster, stole Steinhauer's maps and killed the old man, and is now sailing to Tiburon to claim the valuables. Jamison discovers the pearls are being guarded by a handful of beautiful mermaids who are determined to see that the treasure doesn't fall into the wrong hands. The original version of The Mermaids of Tiburon featured noted pin-up model Diane Webber as the queen of the mermaids, complete with a fishy tail; when the movie failed to do much business, director John Lamb added new footage in which the queen is joined by a bevy of other underwater beauties, who mysteriously have legs but also swim topless through the ocean depths.

Any interested party can obtain a copy of this film by writing to me at: iamaseal2@yahoo.com

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