Great Dracula Collection
Added 11/7/2009
"Creatures of the night" and "Children of the night" are featured on this nice package. Formidable movies, considering that most of them were filmed in the early thirties. I used to watch the classic Dracula movies in my younger years, I really loved them, and still do. This is a great collection, well worth having. Also recommended are Frankenstein the Legacy Collection and The Mummy Collection.
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A Long Search Has Ended
Added 10/18/2009
I spent decades trying to find the Spanish Language version of the original Dracula Movie (starring Bela Lugosi) that was filmed at the same time as the original, even using the same sets. This DVD Collection was all that I could have hoped for.
Excellent Transaction, Excellent Service, and of course Excellent Product.
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Great set - great value - but Universal could have done more...
Added 10/8/2009
Lot of reviews here and everyone knows the story, so I'll comment on some things from a different angle. You have the option of watching Dracula with an optional soundtrack by Philip Glass performed by the Kronos Quartet. Having studied Philip Glass while majoring in music composition at a music conservatory, I am familiar with many of his works, and was curious to see if his style of composition would work with this movie. I'm sad to say it does not. Glass is known for repetition and variation of motifs. I first thought it might just work with the film because his music, with all of it's repetitive eighth notes might coincide with the hypnotic state cast by Dracula over his subjects. But there are only certain scenes when Dracula actually performs his hypnotic casting, but Glass' driving eighth notes repeating over and over with very little relief just amounts to driving you mad -- I could only take about 20 minutes of it and had to switch back the original sound track. It's not just Glass' style, it just doesn't sound like it was composed to "add" emotional depth to the scenes; instead, it is in the foreground and is almost constantly playing and comes across like a contemporary musical composition being showcased with the movie Dracula projected in the background. To make matters worse, it is very loud compared to the actor's speech, so there are some quite scenes where you actually miss what the character is saying because the string quartet drowns them out.
Here's the sad part: for this optional soundtrack, Universal cleaned up the noisy background hiss of the original and processed it in Digital Dolby, but did nothing to clean up the original soundtrack -- how lame is that? Well, I'm willing to listen to the noisy background of the original just to be rid of a very unsuccessful "soundtrack" that draws attention to itself and actually detracts from the movie instead of enhancing it. Isn't it a mystery how Hollywood operates? You just gotta wonder sometimes. I understand there are costs and profits at stake for everything you do, but wouldn't you think for a classic like this they would run the film through one of the many computerized digital correction facilities that are available these days to correct, cleanup, and enhance both the visual and audio aspects of these old, historic films? Instead, they blow the money to have someone compose a contemporary soundtrack!?! Crazy, isn't it?
This review is already too long, but let me just mention that I had been curious for awhile to see the Spanish production that I've heard so much about as being superior. Personally, I did not think it was superior. The actor that plays Dracula has big ears and always seems to have some sort of goofy smile - I found nothing sinister, suave, or hypnotic about him. Nor did I find the lighting or camera angles more dramatic. The actor who plays Renfield, while found in the cargo section of the boat is just laughing like he heard a really funny joke, nothing scary there or implication that he's insane, whereas, Dwight Frye's acting in the same scene (in the American production), when the police open the hatch and look down into the cargo area, there's Renfield staring up at them with eyes wide open in a trance and he's letting out a frighting half groan, half laugh as only someone who is deeply demented and raving mad would do. What I did find interesting about the Spanish version was that it contained more dialogue and explained some scenes in greater detail. I think part of the mystique that makes the American version so eerie is it's silence and minimal dialogue. Remember, it's director, Tod Browning had just come from directing silent pictures where visually the set and actors had to convey what would be normally be revealed through dialogue. And it's this "non-wordiness" that is very effective in adding mystique and suspense that culminates in a film that penetrates a deeper and lingering horror that is so much more successful than the graphic slice-n-dice, blood, gut and gore movies that comprise the horror movies of today.
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universal series dracula classic!!!
Added 9/12/2009
it is great that universal finally released these classic monster movies a few years ago.this is a great series.all the classics are here.whether you like bela lugosi, lon chaney jr or john carradine as dracula,this package won,t disappoint!!!the documentaries are interesting also!!overall i really like these universal monster compilations.so if you are a fan grab a bite of these!!
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CAUTION: Flawed DVD discs, not the motion pictures themselves
Added 7/19/2009
I love the classic Universal black and white monster movies---not sure why they manufactured and sold flawed discs. My discs (unlike many reviews) were not scratched, but pristine. The first disc (containing Dracula) worked fine. But the second disc is flawed. "House of Dracula" starts to skip and lock up just after the 58 minute mark, when Talbot comes in to confront the doctor. Same thing occurred on two different DVD players of mine which are cleaned regularly. So don't get too upset as it seems many people have received flawed copies of these "Legacy" collections. A recall is in order. I hope Universal releases fully functional Blue-Ray discs of these.
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Absolutely great. Like revisiting an old fiend
Added 11/17/2009
First, my copy of this did not "jump around" and audio & video were clear as a bell, just perfect. I've not yet watched the Spanish language version, but I'm looking forward to it "Buenas tardes, Mina, donde esta Lucy?" "Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do". Sorry, all of a sudden I thought of the classic TV show, I Bite Lucy.
Anyway, the Phillip Glass accompaniment was kind of disconcerting, simply because it is so clear! When I think of watching classic monster films, I think scratchy: scratchy films, scratchy sound, and scratchy upholstery on the couch while I watch KTNT Channel 11 on Saturday night.
So far, the extras are just great, and the "Universal Horror" feature is wonderful, especially the visits with the mayorr of Metropolis, Forrest J. Ackerman. It's been more than 30 years since I picked up a Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine, but seeing the artifacts gathered around FJA took me right back, sort of like the opening scenes of Matinee did.
While I REALLY enjoyed this, I'll probably never watch it again, but it was sure nice to see.
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Bravo to Bela Lugosi and Philip Glass!
Added 10/30/2009
This set is so inexpensive, yet you get such a great bang for your buck!
Lugosi is mightily impressive as Dracula. No Dracula since has been anywhere near as good. He's tall, he's from Romania, he's imposing, he has a piercing stare - what more could you ask?
The new music score by Philip Glass is a fine complement to Lugosi's great performance. For some reason, maybe because of tight money in the early years of the Great Depression, the initial release featured no original music at all. Glass's score enhances the drama and makes the film far more exciting than the music-less version.
Glass is one of the best living composers in the world and he shows why with this score. His repeated patterns build a high level of tension and he elevates the tension brilliantly during the big moments.
The music is performed by the Kronos Quartet, one of the finest string quartets in the world. Glass and the Kronos Quartet show that you don't need a studio orchestra to make great film music. Unless you don't really like music at all, you will want to watch the film with this magnificent score.
As for the other elements of the film, the other actors are fine, though not special, save for the wonderfully campy Dwight Frye as Renfield and Charles Gerrard providing comic relief as Martin. The cinematography is great, the sets are great, the script is good and Tod Browning's direction is at least adequate.
Still, the main reason to watch this production is for Lugosi's iconic performance, brilliantly complemented by Glass's music. Bravo!
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Dracula (1931)-Lugosi defined Dracula!
Added 7/14/2009
Dracula was filmed in 1931 and really started the Universal tradition for great horror. I rate this grand old film at five stars and it is really the "gold standard" against which to rate all Dracula remakes. This film introduced me to the Dracula legend as a kid in the late 50's. The only thing I can think of that might have made this film a bit better is the beautifully composed and tailored music we all loved so much in later Universal horror movies. I feel to this day that the art work for Castle Dracula, and the approach to the castle via Borgo Pass were absolutely magnificent.
Lugosi helped define the role of Dracula, and everything you may find endearing about him and his acting style I consider a vital part of that wonderful character. He honed and refined his Dracula characterization on stage in the many theatrical performances he delivered and then brought this iconic character to the big screen for Universal. By the way, the DVD was a wonderful transfer in glorious B&W.
I am a great fan of Lugosi and remember him for much of his work for Universal and other fine film companies. Again, Lugosi defined Dracula for many of us!
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