Tweet Universal horror legends on Blu-ray in Oct - one in 3D!

[Christopher Jacobs]

Last week's big news for collectors was the announcement of Universal's 15-film Blu-ray set of Alfred Hitchcock classics plus Warner Brothers' upcoming releases of DIAL M FOR MURDER in 3D and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN.

Today Universal has finally announced its long-rumored Blu-ray set of classic horror titles, now confirmed as eight films (nine if you include the Spanish version of DRACULA), and the biggest surprise being a 3D Blu-ray edition of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON in addition to a standard 2D Blu-ray.

The set is scheduled to come out October 2nd, and includes DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE MUMMY, THE WOLF MAN, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1943), and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, with most if not all of the bonus features ported from the DVD editions plus the new featurettes for Universal's 100th anniversary that show up on all their classics coming out this year.

More details can be found at http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=9036" target="_blank

It's gonna be an expensive fall (especially if rumors of an impending 20-disc Woody Allen collection from MGM/Fox are true).

I'm assuming all these will be available individually as well. Would love to see The Bride of Frankenstein restored. After seeing what they did with All Quiet on the Western Front, I'm expecting a lot.

Who cares, I have all the classic Universal horror films in triplicate. Milk it, Universal, milk it!

This is blue ray maybe it restored in time for Halloweennnnn

I hear Spanish version need good restoration before they put out Spanish version of Dracula

Who cares, I have all the classic Universal horror films in triplicate. Milk it, Universal, milk it!

I have to agree.

And in other news, I'm looking forward to them.

And in other news, I'm looking forward to them.

That's fine, congratulations! I've bought these things so many times that they are going to have to come up with something REALLY special from the vaults to make me buy them again.

[Christopher Jacobs]

And in other news, I'm looking forward to them.

That's fine, congratulations! I've bought these things so many times that they are going to have to come up with something REALLY special from the vaults to make me buy them again.

I guess there's some sort of point of no return, but it's not really so much a question of buying the titles over again as obtaining the best available picture quality. This argument really belongs in the "Tech Talk" forum (and has already been gone through there somewhat).

Essentially, it's the difference between owning a nice Castle Films-quality 8mm print of something or a beautiful 16mm Kodascope original printdown off the camera negative, or maybe a good 35mm release print. If you're perfectly satisfied with 8mm or VHS or DVD quality (and there are some very good-looking DVDs out there) there's absolutely no need to upgrade when a better version comes along, and you'll save yourself a ton of money. And for anyone who only watches movies on a TV set that's 40 inches or smaller rather than projecting them five to ten feet wide, the difference in Blu-ray and HDTV quality probably isn't worth the investment. However, for those who like big pictures and/or sitting closer to the screen than across the room, watching a properly transferred and encoded Blu-ray is like wiping the vaseline off your glasses so you can finally see the details and textures that were originally photographed -- details that very often are an integral part of getting the most enjoyment out of a film no matter how great the story or performances may be.

I guess there's some sort of point of no return, but it's not really so much a question of buying the titles over again as obtaining the best available picture quality. This argument really belongs in the "Tech Talk" forum (and has already been gone through there somewhat).

Essentially, it's the difference between owning a nice Castle Films-quality 8mm print of something or a beautiful 16mm Kodascope original printdown off the camera negative, or maybe a good 35mm release print. If you're perfectly satisfied with 8mm or VHS or DVD quality (and there are some very good-looking DVDs out there) there's absolutely no need to upgrade when a better version comes along, and you'll save yourself a ton of money. And for anyone who only watches movies on a TV set that's 40 inches or smaller rather than projecting them five to ten feet wide, the difference in Blu-ray and HDTV quality probably isn't worth the investment. However, for those who like big pictures and/or sitting closer to the screen than across the room, watching a properly transferred and encoded Blu-ray is like wiping the vaseline off your glasses so you can finally see the details and textures that were originally photographed -- details that very often are an integral part of getting the most enjoyment out of a film no matter how great the story or performances may be.

I've bought these titles at least 3 times. On VHS, the first time they were released on DVD, then when they had those nice slipcased editions which were supposed to be upgrades of the first DVD's. Unless Universal wants to give me some kind of discount for supporting these releases in the past, I'll never buy these new editions UNLESS there is something on them which makes them worth buying, and I'm not talking about 2cm of extra footage around the frame that was cut off last time they did the transfers.

This will be my 4th time buying Dracula...2nd for the rest in the set. Don't have a 3D tv so not too excited about that one but can't wait to see the films in HD, especially the Bride!

Essentially, it's the difference between owning a nice Castle Films-quality 8mm print of something or a beautiful 16mm Kodascope original printdown off the camera negative, or maybe a good 35mm release print.

In my case, my anticipation largely concerns the restorations of the films; I particularly look forward to Dracula and Bride, which I've always found particulary disappointing. If it was just the previous DVD versions, only now in HD, I'd be thinking twice.

Does anyone know if the Spanish Dracula will be in HD or will they hatefully SD 480i it like the 'All Quiet' silent version?

[Christopher Jacobs]

Does anyone know if the Spanish Dracula will be in HD or will they hatefully SD 480i it like the 'All Quiet' silent version?

I get the impression from the Blu-ray.com description that it's most likely HD even though it's on the same dual-layer disc as the English DRACULA, as the English one is pretty short and the Spanish one is still well under two hours. The 2D and 3D CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON are also both on the same disc, and it's also fairly short. Besides, there are quite likely more Spanish-speaking horror fans in Hollywood than there are avid silent movie fans in the entire North American market.

I'm incredibly excited about the 3D CREATURE! It'll go very nicely with my 55" Samsung 3D LED LCD beauty. As for the rest, I'm always looking to upgrade the Universal monsters, and will use my DVDs as gifts to other monster fans.

[Mike Gebert]

Here's a little film on the restoration of Dracula. To my mind the clips where they've made it darker are too dark, I hope the blu-ray is somewhere in between.

There is already controversy and disappointment with this one...

Universal's attempt to repair the audio glitch in the Swan Lake overture for Lugosi's DRACULA
has been done with not an identical track say from THE MUMMY or MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE,
But from the Spanish Version of DRACULA which is a different version of the piece entirely.

For those who say "What's the difference...?", This edit no longer represents the original soundtrack
for Lugosi's DRACULA as heard in 1931.

Shame.

Yep, you're right. I really hope they correct this blunder before the release; otherwise, fans and historians (who should be consulted on things like this to avoid these sorts of avoidable screw-ups) will be all over them like a cheap suit.

From the looks of it, it's already started:

http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/reply/843755/Universal-Horrors-Blu-Ray-Collection-combined-discussion-#reply-843755

[Mike Gebert]

Seriously? We're going to battle stations because it replaces a note or two and doesn't preserve the artistic integrity of a glitch?

It's not about the repair, Mike.

It's about the way it was done.

Instead of using an identical intact piece of the original Heinz Romfeld score, Universal used the Spanish track
which was a rerecording made for the purpose of securing copyright for the Spanish Dracula restoration in 1992.

To me it's the same philosophy as a rock star re recording their original hit single.
it's a falsehood that does not represent the original item.

I'm not looking for the glitch, but the original, identical piece was available intact..and Universal chose NOT to use it.

[Mike Gebert]

I defy anyone to listen to the replacement bit and say "Oh my God, for half a second there it sounded like 1992!"

I would be upset if they replaced the whole thing with their recorded-in-1992 version. But a fraction of a second? I cannot see getting bent out of shape by a tiny patch job like that, that you cannot hear unless you make the effort to remember where it is.

To me it's the same philosophy as a rock star re recording their original hit single.
it's a falsehood that does not represent the original item.

That's a terrible analogy. You're aware of that, right?

" I defy anyone to listen to the replacement bit and say "Oh my God, for half a second there it sounded like 1992!"

I would be upset if they replaced the whole thing with their recorded-in-1992 version."

That's the point....That's what they did. ( 1:40 - 2:05 )

Not just one note,but the entire whole overture.

Or can't you tell the difference..?

[Mike Gebert]

Okay, it's not clear to me now which is the case.

I saw them isolating bits on the soundtrack in the previous example (something I do on my own projects) and there they are clearly just cleaning up small portions of the track there.

When he talks about the wow in the original score, he says (1:47): "Fortunately this music cue existed in the Spanish Dracula. So we were able to go back and find a matching piece of the same music of the same quality..."

I took that to mean he just replaced the half second of wow within the original track-- a bit of aural touch up paint. (Using the term "piece" as in "a small portion," not as in "complete musical piece.") But if people are saying that the Spanish one never had the music, and they put a whole new recording into the English Dracula, okay, yes, it's strange and wrong that they replaced the whole track with a new one— and even stranger that they call attention to it in a video by giving an incorrect account of how it happened.

"The Mummy" and some other films have a short introduction to the "Swan Lake" piece that was probably composed by Heinz Roemheld as an intro to the original main title to "Dracula." None of the cue sheets for the Universal films that tracked the piece identify it. I presumed that Universal, when first releasing the video of the Spanish version, replaced the original music with a modern classical recording because it included the introduction - and they couldn't identify it to clear music rights.

I'd much rather have the original recording, even the truncated version glitch and all, than any modern recording replacement. Another such travesty is "The Invisible Man," for which Universal replaced Paul DuPont's "La Rosita" (when Kemp is listening to the radio) with a generic, and totally inappropriate piano rendition of "Hearts and Flowers." Even when the film is telecast it includes this musical anomaly. Only the laser disc included the original piece - which I learned was a "mistake."

There is already controversy and disappointment with this one...

Universal's attempt to repair the audio glitch in the Swan Lake overture for Lugosi's DRACULA
has been done with not an identical track say from THE MUMMY or MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE,
But from the Spanish Version of DRACULA which is a different version of the piece entirely.

For those who say "What's the difference...?", This edit no longer represents the original soundtrack
for Lugosi's DRACULA as heard in 1931.

Shame.

Hey, I liked that little audio glitch! Long-time fans of the movie are used to it. It gave the opening score some distinction! I'm not in favor of them feeling they needed to go back and "fix" it.

And, from the clip in the above YouTube link, did they really also feel they had to fix the misspelling in the opening titles? (The word "Presient")

(See the Aug. 9, 2011 post here):

http://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10002
(Third clip here):