Dracula

Frankenstein (75th Anniversary Edition) (Universal Legacy Series) "It's alive! Alive!" shouts Colin Clive's triumphant Dr. Frankenstein as electricity buzzes over the hulking body of a revived corpse. "In the name of God now I know what it's like to be God!" For years unheard, this line has been restored, along with the legendary scene of the c...	The Mummy - Special Edition (Universal Legacy Series) You have to hand it to the walking dead. What they lack in speed and agility, they more than make up for in sheer single-minded determination. Im-Ho-Tep is a case in point. He's an ancient Egyptian priest, cursed for his terrible crimes against the gods. A team of British archaeo...	The Wolf Man Even a man who is pure in heart, And says his prayers by night, May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms And the autumn moon is bright. If you haven't heard this piece of horror-movie doggerel before, you'll never forget it after seeing The Wolf Man for two reasons: it's a...	The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection (The Wolf Man / Werewolf of London / Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / She-Wolf of London) For the first time ever the original The Wolf Man film comes to DVD in this extraordinary Legacy Collection. Included in the collection is the original classic starring the renowned Lon Chaney Jr. and three timeless sequels featuring legendary actor Bela Lugosi and others. These ...	Nosferatu (The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition) As noted critic Pauline Kael observed, "... this first important film of the vampire genre has more spectral atmosphere, more ingenuity, and more imaginative ghoulish ghastliness than any of its successors." Some really good vampire movies have been made since Kael wrote those wo...
Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Bride of / Son of / Ghost of / House of) Whale ushered in a new era of horror films and karloff was never quite able to shake his image as the frightening yet often sympathetic monster of dr. Frankenstein. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 07/08/2008 Starring: Pauline Moore Edward Van Sloan Run time: 71 min...	Bram Stoker's Dracula With dizzying cinematic tricks and astonishing performances, Francis Coppola's 1992 version of the oft-filmed Dracula story is one of the most exuberant, extravagant films of the 1990s. Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, as the Count and Mina Murray, are quite a pair of star-crossed l...	The Mummy - The Legacy Collection (The Mummy/Mummy's Hand/Mummy's Tomb/Mummy's Ghost/Mummy's Curse) Includes: mummy mummys hand mummys tomb mummys ghost and mummys curse. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 07/08/2008 Rating: Nr	The Bride of Frankenstein It appeared, at the end of the epochal 1931 horror movie Frankenstein, that the monster had perished in a burning windmill. But that was before the runaway success of the movie dictated a sequel. In Bride of Frankenstein, we see that the monster (once again played by Boris Karlof...	The Invisible Man Claude Rains practically owns his film debut in The Invisible Man, despite the fact that his face (let alone his body) is seen only for seconds in the final moments. As the brilliant scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility, Rains steps into the film wrapped up like a m...

Renfield
Guess who's a scarier actor than Bela Lugosi? Dwight Frye. I saw this when I was a little kid and I didn't even notice Mr. Lugosi. For all I cared, they could have cast Chico Marx or Lou Costello in the title role. I'm still having nightmares about the entymophage, his eyes protruding like Peter Lorre's, pleading for mercy in his husky falsetto.

"There are far worse things awaiting man that death"--Dracula
I bought this 2-DVD set for a friend and ended up liking it so much I got one for myself. It is an excellent tribute to the Bela Lugosi classic. You can watch this film many different ways on this collection. The classic version, one with a different musical score (by Philip Glass performed by the Kronos Quartet), with two different commentaries, and with "monster tracks" which are pop-up text of informational tid-bits on the different players and scenes. Not only that but this collection also includes the Spanish version which was filmed at the same time as the Tod Browning classic (Browning's crew filmed in the daytime, the Spanish was filmed at night using the same set). The quality of this set is superb down to every detail--including the appropriate music accompanying the selection screen and the case that looks like a handsome, hardcover book on the shelf. It offers additional documentary extras as well which I will describe in the review as most have seen the film and are probably wondering if this version is worth owning (IT IS!). The commentaries were conducted by film historian David J. Skal and author & screenwriter for "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," Steve Haberman. Both commentaries are very well-done and obviously were planned out, written ahead of time and rehearsed. I enjoyed the Skal commentary the most. He gives background information (sometimes gossipy) on many of the actors, production crew, and film techniques. He includes symbolism and cultural references used in the film and also reveals scenes that were cut from the original script. Haberman focuses more on motion picture politics which I did not find as interesting. He also does not follow the scenes like Skal does, except to point out the ways in which the Spanish version is inferior to the English version. The Spanish version here includes an introduction by Lupita Tovar Kohner, who played the female lead. In two main areas, Skal and Haberman disagree. Skal prefers the Spanish version for its innovative filming techniques while Haberman believes Browning's version is more effective on all levels. They also have completely different takes on a piece of cardboard attached to a lamp in Mina's bedroom. Skal believes it was an oversight while Haberman defends it as "set dressing." I tend to side with Skal as, if the item was used to show the character was shielding the light of the lamp as she slept, it probably wouldn't look so shoddy. This was a mansion with wealthy people. Why would this rich socialite use a ripped piece of cardboard to create a night light? Several documentaries are included in this set. The tribute to Bela Lugosi "Lugosi: The Dark Prince," covers his film career. It would have been better if it also presented some info on what he was like as a person and not just his characters, especially since his son is included in another documentary on this set and could have shed some light on his father's personality. "The Road to Dracula" was hosted by Carla Laemmle, the niece of Universal owner Carl Laemmle who spoke the first words in the film in the stage coach scene. It goes into the history of the novel by Bram Stoker and its adaptation to stage and screen. This documentary includes a recreation of sorts of Prof Van Helsing's final curtain speech that was later removed from the film. "Universal Horror" is a very interesting and rather lengthy documentary that covers many of the scary films put out by Universal in the 1920s and 1930s and includes freaky scenes from such films as "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Man Who Laughs," "The Black Cat," etc. I liked the inclusion of scenes from early silents. It also reveals secrets to special effects found in "King Kong" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and "The Invisible Man." Film historians who were kids back in the day talk about what these films meant to them and the reactions of audiences at the time. Bela Lugosi Jr. talks about his famous father in several clips in this documentary. And if all that were not enough, you also get to see a collection of posters and stills. This 75th Anniversary set has so much to offer and is so well-done that I recommend it to any Dracula/horror film fan even if they already have a copy of Dracula.

Piano Music on the Main Menu
I think the other reviewers have said it all about this edition. It's a solid version of a great film. Does anyone know what the piano music accompanying the DVD's main menu is (and where I can find it)?

Lugosi is inspired, but DRACULA S##KS
If Frankenstein gives you the underground creeps, and The Mummy keeps your nerves all wrapped up, while Creature From The Black Lagoon makes you search for dry land, this ancient version of Dracula has lost it's bite. Bela Lugosi literally sustains the sense of creepiness all by himself in one of the most unlikable casts ever assembled for a Universal horror picture classic. Nothing is deadlier for a horror tale where the so called good guys are achingly so intolerable in character and demeanor, it would be a virtual pity if Dracula didn't have his way with most of them indeed. Nina is a sniveling grown up woman with a childish wimpering voice that needs to be silenced by someone. Please help us here, Bela. The manly hero is a push over rich boy sweating beads for his dear Nina, while running amuk in the final scene calling her name in no uncertain terms. Van Helsing is why I stay at home in the states, I do not require an irritating foreign tongue which makes me long for home. His demise would be if Bela told him a hefty joke to crack that cemented mug of his. To top everything off, this tale is based and formed from a stage version, not utilizing the great cinema features of sight and sound. Walt Disney would have had a straight jacket fit! Some of the lighter sets appeared the future home of I LOVE LUCY. No doubt, Bela is unsurpassed in his Dracula facade, which made his presence and attitude legendary to everyone on planet earth, but the movie itself is grinding, even compared to much better hits of the day. A few key moments do not a movie make.

Gothic horror at its finest
Tod Browning did more than perhaps any other filmmaker to develop the "horror" genre, and this Gothic horror masterpiece is one of the crown jewels in his filmography. Perhaps the first genuinely "supernatural" American horror films (previous American horror films always explained away the existence of spirits or demons by attributing the scary goings-on to escaped mental patients or psychotics). Universal was perhaps the perfect studio to produce this film, as the large influx of German talent in the late 20s had created a house style at the studio perfectly suited to such a film. The atmospheric, Expressionist cinematography by Karl Freund is one of the most memorable aspects of the film. Browning's direction is solid, although he is still clearly uncomfortable with the requirements of making a sound film (his best work had been in silents, and his most memorable sound films were those in which he was able to direct non-talking sequences). Still, Browning's distinct touch is evident throughout the film, creating a much more genuinely terrifying, menacing sense of horror than the slightly more sympathetic and even at times campy horror found in the work of James Whale. As with many talkies made between 1930 and 1932, there is very little underscoring throughout the film ("Swan Lake" is used memorably under the opening titles). While some consider this a deficiency of the film, it's important to remember that Browning dictated the lack of music to heighten the atmospheric sound. There is a version with a score composed by Philip Glass, running under most of the non-talking scenes, which lacks the taste that one usually associates with that composer. "Dracula" stands as a seminal film in the development of the horror genre, of great interests to genre fans and film historians alike.