Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection (1931-1954)

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

wow, i missed this post entirely.

really excited for this rumor to come true. im with Cynthia though, i want an official statement.

this would be the year to do it. cmon Universal!

Well there's already been an official statement regarding Frankenstein, Bride, and Dracula.

[Cat III]

Oh, well, guess I might have to buy the box set to get Frankenstein (and Bride) and then sell Dracula, and possibly the others, on eBay. Then again I have The Alien Anthology and have still kept onto Alien 3, even though it's one of my most hated movies.

It's gonna be a long wait until Halloween...

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by Cat III

Oh, well, guess I might have to buy the box set to get Frankenstein (and Bride) and then sell Dracula, and possibly the others, on eBay. Then again I have The Alien Anthology and have still kept onto Alien 3, even though it's one of my most hated movies.

It's gonna be a long wait until Halloween...

Why on earth would you sell off the most important horror film of all time?

Plus its likely Frankenstein (and Dracula) will get its own release.

[Cat III]

Originally Posted by MykeHavoc

Why on earth would you sell off the most important horror film of all time?

Plus its likely Frankenstein (and Dracula) will get its own release.

I have no idea what you mean by "most important", but the reason I don't want it is that I found it to be boring and laughable. I also think The Wizard of Oz is godawful tripe and American Beauty is ridiculous. Puppies don't do anything for me either.

By the way, you in the market for a Dracula Blu-ray?

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Cat III

I have no idea what you mean by "most important", but the reason I don't want it is that I found it to be boring and laughable. I also think The Wizard of Oz is godawful tripe and American Beauty is ridiculous. Puppies don't do anything for me either.

By the way, you in the market for a Dracula Blu-ray?

Yeah, Dracula is certainly no Birdemic. Talk about boring and laughable...

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by Cat III

I have no idea what you mean by "most important", but the reason I don't want it is that I found it to be boring and laughable. I also think The Wizard of Oz is godawful tripe and American Beauty is ridiculous. Puppies don't do anything for me either.

By the way, you in the market for a Dracula Blu-ray?

Without Dracula, there would be no horror genre as we know it.

No. I will be purchasing the box-set.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Cat III

I have no idea what you mean by "most important", but the reason I don't want it is that I found it to be boring and laughable. I also think The Wizard of Oz is godawful tripe and American Beauty is ridiculous. Puppies don't do anything for me either.

By the way, you in the market for a Dracula Blu-ray?

what on earth do the Wizard of Oz and American Beauty have to do with eachother or anything at all?

anyone who considers the Wizard of Oz tripe and doesnt like puppies is not someone who's opinion can be trusted.

good day.

[tenderheartbear]

To be fair, just because something is seen as a classic, doesn't mean everyone agrees. If Cat III doesn't like or want to own Dracula that's fine, it's his choice.

I for one think it's fantastic and can't wait to see what the boxset contains in terms of both the film choices and features. Then it's just a case of seeing what the reviews are like to find out if Universal have done a good job or not.

[Lemmy Lugosi]

Originally Posted by Cat III

I found [Dracula with Bela Lugosi] to be boring and laughable. I also think The Wizard of Oz is godawful tripe and American Beauty is ridiculous.

Alllllrighty then.

Moving right along.....

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by tenderheartbear

To be fair, just because something is seen as a classic, doesn't mean everyone agrees. If Cat III doesn't like or want to own Dracula that's fine, it's his choice.

I for one think it's fantastic and can't wait to see what the boxset contains in terms of both the film choices and features. Then it's just a case of seeing what the reviews are like to find out if Universal have done a good job or not.

Be that as it may, it would appear to me that generally the posters here are hardcore film fans and have a love of cinema that most normal folk don't appreciate. So for someone to dismiss one of the definitive features ever shot with such a lack of respect actually offends me. Certain films may not be my absolute favorites, but to deny their importance to the history of film is just ignorant.

[tenderheartbear]

I'm not sure Cat III was dismissive of Dracula's importance (although doesn't seem to know about it) but even so, like any movie it's just not to his personal taste.

I have friends who don't understand my love of black and white movies in general, let alone 'creaky' horror movies and who's idea of a classic is American Pie. Now I can argue that without Porky's there would be no American Pie (be it true or not) but they're not interested in either its significance or the film itself. That's fair enough, and I suppose their loss. Is it ignorance or just personal choice?

Anyway, I'm really hoping the Universal Horrors get the respect I feel they deserve upon release, even the lesser sequels. In the past Universal has had a happy knack of just cramming them on as few discs as possible with little to no restoration or features. I'd like the Spanish Dracula to get its own box and cover art rather than be treated as a special feature as it has previously.

It's a shame that the recent(ish) book style DVDs weren't better sellers as I love those releases (except for the same doc featuring on every release), from the packaging to the transfers and I really wanted at least Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Invisible Man to get the same treatment.

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by tenderheartbear

I'm not sure Cat III was dismissive of Dracula's importance (although doesn't seem to know about it) but even so, like any movie it's just not to his personal taste.

I have friends who don't understand my love of black and white movies in general, let alone 'creaky' horror movies and who's idea of a classic is American Pie. Now I can argue that without Porky's there would be no American Pie (be it true or not) but they're not interested in either its significance or the film itself. That's fair enough, and I suppose their loss. Is it ignorance or just personal choice?

Anyway, I'm really hoping the Universal Horrors get the respect I feel they deserve upon release, even the lesser sequels. In the past Universal has had a happy knack of just cramming them on as few discs as possible with little to no restoration or features. I'd like the Spanish Dracula to get its own box and cover art rather than be treated as a special feature as it has previously.

It's a shame that the recent(ish) book style DVDs weren't better sellers as I love those releases (except for the same doc featuring on every release), from the packaging to the transfers and I really wanted at least Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Invisible Man to get the same treatment.

I'd imagine that if they press them on BD-50s, there's no issue putting the US and Spanish versions Dracula on one disc with all the features as well (the films are quite short by modern standards). I hope the same for Frankenstein and Bride. Anything to save shelf space.

[tenderheartbear]

Originally Posted by MykeHavoc

I'd imagine that if they press them on BD-50s, there's no issue putting the US and Spanish versions Dracula on one disc with all the features as well (the films are quite short by modern standards). I hope the same for Frankenstein and Bride. Anything to save shelf space.

I'm sure there'll be no loss of quality, it's just that I feel it should be treated as a separate movie in its own right. Currently it's a bit like only ever being able to buy a remake of any movie on disc 2 of the original versions release, if that makes sense?

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by HonestJohn

Outstanding! I was just hoping today that there was some more information these releases.

This is the first format I owned The Mummy on ....

[Show spoiler]

8mm yes 8mm film. My how times have changed. Had this as a kid and it wasn't even the full movie, maybe condensed to 30 min. No sound, just subtitles, yet I thought it was absolutely amazing I could own a piece of a movie for myself. So I guess I've been a collector for a very long time.

First in line for the Uni-Monster Blu's ....

Actually, it's amazing that you had 30 minutes of it. Fan magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland used to sell 5 minute silent versions made from a bad dup print for $5 to $10 in 1960 (IIRC) - the equivalent of $38 to $76 today for what amounts to a silent trailer. Sometimes we forget how great we have it today. Even in the 1970s (before microcomputers), I was working in a recording studio and we got in a bunch of trailers in 16mm to pull audio for a year-end documentary. It seemed so cool to have those trailers that I saved them all and would project them to friends before I'd show some 16mm obscure documentary I borrowed from the public library.

As for me personally, I think there's a big difference in quality between the Universal Films of the 1930s and later. For years, I didn't know why this would be until I did some research and found out that the Carl Laemmle and his son were forced out of Universal in 1936.

So aside from the silents, what I'd like to see in one set is Frankenstein, Bride of , the Mummy, Dracula and Dracula -spanish version. As far as I'm concerned, both the Invisible Man and the Wolfman are far inferior to those films. Maybe I'd throw Son of Frankenstein in there as well.

[NeoMaximuz]

Man, I'm compulsively checking the news section every day, hoping for news on this.

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

As far as I'm concerned, both the Invisible Man and the Wolfman are far inferior to those films. Maybe I'd throw Son of Frankenstein in there as well.

Woah, woah, woah...what?! Invisible Man was made right at the apex of classics under the Laemmle regime. Wolfman I can understand (although I personally still love it very much) and perhaps Creature, but Invisible Man is the tour-de-force performance of Claude Rains career, and Whale's direction is right at the quality of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. I'd go so far to say that Invisible Man is probably my favorite of the Universal clan.

To suggest that Son of Frankenstein is of superior quality makes my head explode from confusion. Everything from Dracula's Daughter onward suffers from sequelitis. Fun monster movies, but certainly not great films.

[tenderheartbear]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

As far as I'm concerned, both the Invisible Man and the Wolfman are far inferior to those films. Maybe I'd throw Son of Frankenstein in there as well.

The Wolfman is my favourite Universal Horror by far and one of my all time favourite movies in general.

It's not technically the best movie of the Universal Horror output, which I think is actually Bride of Frankenstein, but it is the one I watch and enjoy the most. The commentary is also well worth a listen, as are all the ones in the range.

Comparing the 2 different ones on Dracula is great, one is pro-Dracula and the other pretty anti-Dracula and I love the way one describes the infamous cardboard on light scene as set dressing (which I'm more inclined to believe) and the other as a mistake that apparently no one noticed! Go figure.

[Lemmy Lugosi]

"Which ones are best" is a rather moot point; at least, it is to me. Because each and every one of those films is miles ahead of the latest slasher junk the kids are watching. Not that I have anything against slasher films, mind you. In fact, I like several.

Just sayin'.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by MykeHavoc

To suggest that Son of Frankenstein is of superior quality makes my head explode from confusion. Everything from Dracula's Daughter onward suffers from sequelitis. Fun monster movies, but certainly not great films.

Yeah, my problem is that I prefer the fun monster movies to the classics. Roll on a Blu of The Son Of Frankenstein & a Mummy collection, ect.

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

Yeah, my problem is that I prefer the fun monster movies to the classics. Roll on a Blu of The Son Of Frankenstein & a Mummy collection, ect.

Don't get me wrong. I love'em all. I only feel compelled to draw a line between the quality films and the popcorn fluff.