Horror of Dracula (Dracula 1958)

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Hedji

I'm getting confused (sorry). I have the Anolis and the Warner US.

What advantage does this Studio Hamburg have over those?

The German disc is not the new WB scan, its the old DVD scan. Some people don't like the black crush in the WB disc but it still looks better than the German.

[The Batman Professor]

Ah, what the hell - I ordered it. Now I'll have all of 'em except the Anolis.

[Francisco73]

Just how collector's item there is a spanish release not on bluray.com database.

A bootleg/pressed disc limited number edition of 1600 unit
with very nice 8 large postcards of movie posters.
I think the master used is the BFI restoration.

https://www.amazon.es/Drácula-Dracu...s%2C343&sr=1-1

[oddbox83]

It's still a bootleg no matter how nice it's packaged. I wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole when there are decent in-print official releases to be had for not a lot of money (Studio Hamburg German and Warner US).

[The Batman Professor]

Studio Hamburg release is definitely worth having. The HORROR OF DRACULA cut looks better than the WB, and the BFI restoration looks slightly less robust compared to the Double Play edition. Nevertheless, it’s a region-free one-and-done.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

Studio Hamburg release is definitely worth having. The HORROR OF DRACULA cut looks better than the WB, and the BFI restoration looks slightly less robust compared to the Double Play edition. Nevertheless, it’s a region-free one-and-done.

LOL it doesn't look better, although it has less black crush. The overall scan is worse.

[The Batman Professor]

You're both right and wrong. I'll respond to that, without resorting to rudeness:

I've just spent a few minutes comparing specific scenes in-motion from all three discs. Watching them on the Sony 85X959G, The Double Play UK disc will still be my go-to for this title, as it has the best balance of picture and content for my taste. The cooler palette does not bother me as much as some posters here and I love finally seeing the bits cut by the censors. The WB disc has a sharper picture than the Hamburg, but the grain has a distracting amount of chroma in some shots, and the black crush is extremely distracting in others. The Hamburg has a very filtered appearance in some shots but the black crush is gone from the US cut. Unfortunately the Hamburg appears to have been subjected to some filtering, resulting in a largely grain-free image in the UK restoration that is less than optimal.

Unless I can get my hands on the Anolis at a decent price, I'm sticking with the Double Play for my home theater, The Studio Hamburg for our family room, and the WB for my studio.

[HuggyBear73]

amazon.de/Dracula-Blu-ray-Limited-Peter-Cushing/dp/B075V2S42V/ref=sr_1_16?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C 3%91&crid=DQ7XVJFBQDRR&dchild=1&keywords=dracula+l ee&qid=1599421011&s=dvd&sprefix=dracula+lee%2Caps% 2C229&sr=1-16

Which German edition is this, then?

[The Batman Professor]

It's the Anolis. "i-catcher media is the newly founded production arm from Anolis Entertainment," per Google.

Not worth $70 when the Double Play can be had for $25:

https://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Blu-r...9421923&sr=8-2

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by The Aluminum Falcon

It's the DVD master, finally presented at higher resolution. Very surprised at the detail on such a dated master.

Regardless, I think the cropping is slightly better but haven't done an A/B.

Comparison with the UK BD here - https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=12850&d2=12852&c=5033

Nice to see you on another forum, btw.

From memory, the 2002 DVD was cropped worse than what we see on the Hamburg, the top frame line was far too low.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...of_dracula.htm

I think what is on the Hamburg is Warner's HD master that was avaliable for streaming/download in the late 00s.

[GeoffOliver]

Only $13.49 on Amazon. I had to order it, and just got in my copy. The film looks pretty solid, about what I expected from a 62 year old technicolor film with less than ideal elements, although it’s far from any kind of revelation. I was mostly disappointed at the barebones treatment. The Lionsgate UK release has a treasure trove of extras, but this only has the US trailer.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Only $13.49 on Amazon. I had to order it, and just got in my copy. The film looks pretty solid, about what I expected from a 62 year old technicolor film with less than ideal elements, although it’s far from any kind of revelation. I was mostly disappointed at the barebones treatment. The Lionsgate UK release has a treasure trove of extras, but this only has the US trailer.

It's the best the film has looked on home media for sure.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

You're both right and wrong. I'll respond to that, without resorting to rudeness:

I've just spent a few minutes comparing specific scenes in-motion from all three discs. Watching them on the Sony 85X959G, The Double Play UK disc will still be my go-to for this title, as it has the best balance of picture and content for my taste. The cooler palette does not bother me as much as some posters here and I love finally seeing the bits cut by the censors. The WB disc has a sharper picture than the Hamburg, but the grain has a distracting amount of chroma in some shots, and the black crush is extremely distracting in others. The Hamburg has a very filtered appearance in some shots but the black crush is gone from the US cut. Unfortunately the Hamburg appears to have been subjected to some filtering, resulting in a largely grain-free image in the UK restoration that is less than optimal.

Unless I can get my hands on the Anolis at a decent price, I'm sticking with the Double Play for my home theater, The Studio Hamburg for our family room, and the WB for my studio.

Which Anolis edition of DRACULA are you wanting at an affordable price?

[yellowcakeuf6]

Check out CineSavant's Oct 3rd column for possible movement on Curse of Frankenstein Blu-ray.

https://cinesavant.com/

[jlp_nyc]

Amazon Prime Video is a selling an "HD" downloadable version of this for $5.99 (the Warner Archives Blu-ray is currently $17.95). Does anyone know if the downloadable version is the Dec 2018 WA BD print? Or possibly a newer/better transfer?

(I saw this on TCM the other night and the version they are showing is streamable on tcm.com until 11/18/20... I have no idea what version they are showing either!)

[happydood]

Well, I finally picked this up. I've been living with the Lionsgate for about 5 years and loved it, but...

THIS looks like what this movie should look like to me. The colors are much richer and much more in line with the available versions of sequels that we have and looks like it came from the same place where those were made. I may be mistaken, but I thought the sound was better as well, but after years of playing in loud bands, I'm probably not the one to make that distinction.

I love the missing footage in the Lionsgate, but I think I might like the flow of this cut more- the extra disintegration footage is extremely cool, but it also always struck me as a little awkwardly cut in the Lionsgate. The seduction scene is great and absolutely belongs, but it also looks pretty noticeably weak compared to the rest of the film. I will definitely miss it going forward and I'll be keeping the Lionsgate to have that footage as well as all of the wonderful extras since the WA is completely lacking in that regard... but overall I think the WA will be my go-to version to watch and I look at this title at least once a year...

[Partyslammer]

Originally Posted by happydood

Well, I finally picked this up. I've been living with the Lionsgate for about 5 years and loved it, but...

THIS looks like what this movie should look like to me. The colors are much richer and much more in line with the available versions of sequels that we have and looks like it came from the same place where those were made. I may be mistaken, but I thought the sound was better as well, but after years of playing in loud bands, I'm probably not the one to make that distinction.

I love the missing footage in the Lionsgate, but I think I might like the flow of this cut more- the extra disintegration footage is extremely cool, but it also always struck me as a little awkwardly cut in the Lionsgate. The seduction scene is great and absolutely belongs, but it also looks pretty noticeably weak compared to the rest of the film. I will definitely miss it going forward and I'll be keeping the Lionsgate to have that footage as well as all of the wonderful extras since the WA is completely lacking in that regard... but overall I think the WA will be my go-to version to watch and I look at this title at least once a year...

I hate to tell you this, but the version to get on Blu-ray is the German "Restaurierte Fassung" release of "Horror Of Dracula." It has both the original US version of "Horror Of Dracula" with the correct US opening credits title (the WA release has the UK title), proper color grading and features easily the relatively nicest image/transfer of the US version currently available worldwide that is superior to the Warner Archive release which has black crush. It also includes the UK version which is the 2012 restoration with the revised color grading and the few seconds of addition Japanese print footage for Mina's seduction scene and the finale.

Best of all, it's cheap, typically runs under $20 and it's region free.

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

I hate to tell you this, but the version to get on Blu-ray is the German "Restaurierte Fassung" release of "Horror Of Dracula." It has both the original US version of "Horror Of Dracula" with the correct US opening credits title (the WA release has the UK title), proper color grading and features easily the relatively nicest image/transfer of the US version currently available worldwide that is superior to the Warner Archive release which has black crush. It also includes the UK version which is the 2012 restoration with the revised color grading and the few seconds of addition Japanese print footage for Mina's seduction scene and the finale.

Best of all, it's cheap, typically runs under $20 and it's region free.

This one?

[happydood]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

I hate to tell you this, but the version to get on Blu-ray is the German "Restaurierte Fassung" release of "Horror Of Dracula." It has both the original US version of "Horror Of Dracula" with the correct US opening credits title (the WA release has the UK title), proper color grading and features easily the relatively nicest image/transfer of the US version currently available worldwide that is superior to the Warner Archive release which has black crush. It also includes the UK version which is the 2012 restoration with the revised color grading and the few seconds of addition Japanese print footage for Mina's seduction scene and the finale.

Best of all, it's cheap, typically runs under $20 and it's region free.

Thanks, I am aware of it. I still love the Lionsgate for the extras and additional footage if the mood strikes. I believe you that the German edition is the best and I've seen screen captures- it looks like a happy medium of the Lionsgate and WA, but between the two I have, I think I'm good for now. After all, I still have multiple other Scream Factory editions of movies I already have that I'll have to pick up!

[IdeaOfEvil]

I thought people were saying that the Anolis mediabook releases were supposed to be the ultimate Horror of Dracula bluray?

https://www.amazon.de/Dracula-Hammer...=UTF8&qid=&sr=