Hammer Films - U.S. Buyer's Guide

[cakefactory]

HAMMER FILMS: A US Completist's Guide

I went through an intense Hammer phase about a year ago and tried buying all of their movies that were even slightly horror-related, and thought I'd impart my (limited) wisdom. Hammer produced a gigantic number of films, and is widely thought of purely for their horror films, especially the ones with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. However, they dabbled in nearly every genre. I'll simply include the more "horror" films in the first post, while the second post will include fantasy, action movies, war movies, etc for those who are interested in going deeper into the catalog. It was too hard to decide which sci-fi films and thrillers were "horrific" enough so I just left some of them in this list according to my own opinion; the likes of Paranoiac and Quatermass & the Pit are pretty deeply creepy IMO, and Captain Clegg/Night Creatures certainly isn't a horror film but was marketed as one so hey, I threw it in.

I listed what's been released in the US first, with the import options afterwards. I tried to make notes if there's a very significant difference in quality between versions (ex, many extras, aspect ratios). The general rule of thumb is that for multi-region releases, Shout Factory>German>UK>Australia. There are a couple exceptions, with the biggest one being Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell, where the Shout Factory version is vastly inferior to all other releases - these are noted below. The other US releases are all over the map, with the Synapse versions arguably being the best of those films, but the Millennium/Elite versions arguably being the WORST of those films! Details like HD Audio or better compression or whatnot can be checked elsewhere, the zetaminor link is a good place for the older releases.

Films released or announced for release on Blu-Ray in the US are underlined. I will edit this post regularly to make it more nice over time, so any updates/corrections are welcome!! I will also try and link to all the blu-rays, so let me know if any are missing.

Here is a useful link:

https://www.zetaminor.com/roobarb/sh...d-known-issues

This is an EXCELLENT rundown of the differences between available blu-rays, and has links to discussions about the individual releases. If you only care about blu-rays and are region free, check that topic.

THE LIST:

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) 4K Blu-ray: UK (upcoming); Blu-Ray: Kino, German/Australian Blu-Ray
X: The Unknown (1956) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Upscaled version available on Australian Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray as an extra, UK DVD
The Abominable Snowman (1957) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (full length, but Shout rejected some HD footage in favor of extra poor SD inserts surrounding some of the reinstated footage), Japanese Blu-Ray (edited and several minutes shorter, but fully HD)
Quatermass II: Enemy from Space (1957) 4K: UK (Pending), Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Upscaled version available on Australian Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray as an extra
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Blu-Ray: Warner Archive, UK Blu-Ray (Warner has a newer, better transfer and more extras)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK-Blu-Ray has a new scan and extras
Horror of Dracula (1958) Blu-ray: Warner Bros., UK/German Blu-Rays have Japanese footage reinstated and extras, US version's transfer is less blue than the newer UK transfer, German Blu-Ray has a split-second more Japanese footage and also includes both the US and UK transfers, with less black crush than the US disc.
The Mummy (1959) Blu-Ray: Warner (UK Blu-Ray has a lot of extras lacking from the US release)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) 4k: Vinegar Syndrome (announced), Blu-ray: Legend Films (OOP), Kino Blu-ray and UK Blu-Ray with superior PQ/AQ
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) Bluray: Twilight Time, UK Blu-Ray (UK has more extras)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK-Blu-Ray has a new scan and extras
The Brides of Dracula (1960) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal (wrong aspect ratio, duller color), UK/Australian Blu-Ray (wrong aspect ratio, duller color), French/German Blu-Ray (correct aspect ratio, duller color), Shout is the best for extras and PQ
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) Blu-Ray: Universal (wrong aspect ratio, no extras), Shout Factory, UK Blu-Ray (wrong aspect Ratio), French/German/Australian Blu-Ray (correct aspect ratio) - (Shout has most extras and correct AR)
Shadow of the Cat (1961)Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK Blu-ray (both blu-rays are in expensive 4-film sets, Indicator has more extras)
Scream of Fear (1961) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, Australian Blu-Ray, UK-Blu-Ray has a new scan and extras
The Phantom of the Opera (1962) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal, French/German/2 UK Blu-Rays (US/French/Indicator UK have better transfer than Final Cut UK, Indicator has most extras, Shout, Indicator have right AR/best transfer)
Night Creatures/Captain Clegg (1962) Blu-Ray: Universal (barebones, wrong AR), Shout Factory, French Blu-ray (wrong AR), 2 UK Blu-Rays (Indicator UK has more extras and correct AR, Final Cut has wrong AR), German Blu-Ray (has most extras and also has correct Aspect Ratio). Shout Factory release is the only one with a new transfer and thus is the best.
Kiss of the Vampire (1963) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal, UK Blu-Ray (Shout has best transfer, most extras)
Paranoiac (1963) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal, UK Blu-Ray (Shout has newer transfer, most extras, but is slightly horizontally stretched)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray (UK has extras, better PQ)
The Gorgon (1964) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, Australian Blu-Ray, UK Blu-Ray (UK has extras, better encoding)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal, German Blu-Ray (Shout has most extras and different transfer showing more picture)
Nightmare (1964) Blu-Ray: Universal, Shout, 2 UK Blu-rays (Shout is only edition with a new transfer)
The Witches (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory; UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (UK, US, Aus have defective audio, German is only fixed release)
The Reptile (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Millennium; UK/German/Australian Blu-Rays higher quality than Millennium, Shout Factory has a second transfer included and more extras, German Anolis has a tweaked version of the older transfer that looks slightly better than the other releases, as well as the rougher alternate Shout transfer.
The Plague of the Zombies (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Millennium (OOP), UK/German/Australian Blu-Rays: Shout/German have a newer, much higher quality transfer and more extras - German Anolis has most extras.
The Mummy's Shroud (1967) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) Blu-Ray: Warner, German Blu-Ray
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays (Shout has original effects and more extras; other releases have some re-done special effects)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Blu-Ray: Warner
Scars of Dracula (1970) 4K Blu-ray: Kino (upcoming), Blu-Ray: Shout, UK DVD, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) Blu-Ray: Shout, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
The Vampire Lovers (1970) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (2 releases - second has more features and a new transfer but has a censored shot of nudity), Australian/UK/German Blu-Ray, (German integrates the 1 second of decapitation footage and is thus only fully uncut version)
Crescendo (1970) DVD: Warner Archive
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) Blu-Ray: Warner, German Blu-Ray
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Hands of the Ripper (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, French/German/UK Blu-Ray (Synapse has more muted color-timing)
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Twins of Evil (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, French/German/UK Blu-Ray (Synapse has more muted color-timing)
Countess Dracula (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, French/German/UK Blu-Ray (Synapse has more muted color-timing)
Lust for a Vampire (1971) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
Vampire Circus (1972) Blu-ray: Synapse, French/German Blu-Ray (Synapse has more muted color-timing)
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) Blu-Ray: Warner Bros, German Blu-Ray
Straight On Till Morning (1972) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Fear in the Night (1972)Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Demons of the Mind (1972) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) Blu-Ray: Warner Bros, Snappy Video (OOP - yanked)
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974) UK 4K pending. Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Australian Blu-Ray, German Blu-Ray (German has best transfer/most extras, Shout has older, inferior transfer to the other two)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Ray (German has best transfer/most extras, Australian is interlaced) - NOTE: Shout version is heavily censored and has an inferior transfer to European releases
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
To the Devil a Daughter (1976) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)

LINKS TO ALL US/UK/AU/GER/FRE HAMMER BLU-RAYS:

US Releases:















(OOP)


See the more comprehensive list of films post below for the complete list including all the fantasy/sci-fi/action/thrillers missing here.

[cakefactory]

International Releases:

[Show spoiler]
UK Releases:


















Australian Releases:






German Releases (see this thread for announcements and updates from Anolis, and some explanation on their releasing - most are limited and most have 3 different packaging options: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=259855 ):
















French Releases:





Spanish Releases (confirmed non-bootlegs only):

Japan Releases (I only have one here, I haven't done research, I just know this one has only come out in Japan so far!):

See the next post for the complete list including all the fantasy/sci-fi/action/thrillers missing here.

[cakefactory]

More comprehensive list of films:

Four-Sided Triangle (1953) 4K: UK (Pending), DVD: Anchor Bay (OOP), UK DVD
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) Blu-Ray: Kino, Australian/German Blu-Ray
X: The Unknown (1956) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Upscaled version available on Australian Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray as an extra, UK DVD
The Abominable Snowman (1957) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (full length, but Shout rejected some HD footage in favor of extra poor SD inserts surrounding some of the reinstated footage), Japanese Blu-Ray (edited and several minutes shorter, but fully HD)
Quatermass II: Enemy from Space (1957) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, Upscaled version available on Australian Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray as an extra
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Blu-Ray: Warner Bros., UK Blu-Ray (Warner has newer, better transfer and more extras)
The Snorkel (1958) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-ray has new scan
Horror of Dracula (1958) Blu-ray: Warner Bros., UK/German Blu-Rays have Japanese footage reinstated and extras, German Blu-Ray has a split-second more Japanese footage
The Camp on Blood Island (1958) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Stranglers of Bombay (1959) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Mummy (1959) Blu-Ray: Warner, UK Blu-Ray (UK Blu-Ray has extras)
Yesterday's Enemy (1959) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Ugly Duckling (1959) Blu-Ray: Sony
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) Blu-ray: Legend Films (OOP), Kino, UK Blu-Ray with superior PQ/AQ
Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) Blu-ray: Kino
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) Blu-ray: Twilight Time, UK Blu-Ray (UK has more extras)
Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) Blu-Ray: Twilight Time, Mill Creek
Stop Me Before I Kill!/The Full Treatment (1960) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-ray has new scan
The Brides of Dracula (1960) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal (wrong aspect ratio, duller color), UK/Australian Blu-Ray (wrong aspect ratio, duller color), French/German Blu-Ray (correct aspect ratio, duller color), Shout is the best for extras and PQ
Hell Is a City (1960) DVD: Anchor Bay (OOP), R2 UK DVD
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) Blu-Ray: Universal, German/UK/Australian Blu-Ray (US/UK have wrong aspect ratio, German has most extras)
Shadow of the Cat (1961)Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK Blu-ray
Scream of Fear (1961) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, Australian Blu-Ray, UK Blu-ray has new scan
The Terror of the Tongs (1961) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
Passport to China [Visa To Canton] (1961) No release since VHS in US, UK Blu-Ray
The Phantom of the Opera (1962) Blu-Ray: Universal (better transfer than UK, wrong Aspect Ratio), UK Blu-Ray (UK has extras), German Blu-Ray (best transfer, correct Aspect Ratio, extras)
Night Creatures/Captain Clegg (1962) Blu-Ray: Universal, Shout Factory, 2 UK Blu-Rays (Indicator has best extras and correct Aspect Ratio, still old transfer), German Bluray (has most extras, and correct Aspect Ratio). Shout Factory is the only one with a new transfer.
Cash on Demand (1962)Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
The Pirates of Blood River (1962) Blu-Ray: Twilight Time, UK Blu-Ray (UK has extras)
The Old Dark House (1963) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek
Kiss of the Vampire (1963) Blu-Ray: Universal, UK Blu-Ray (UK has a few extras)
Maniac (1963) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras
These Are the Damned (1963) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has extras and its own disc
Paranoiac (1963) Blu-Ray: Shout, Universal, UK Blu-Ray (Shout has most extras)
The Secret of Blood Island (1964) No release since VHS
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray (UK has best PQ, extras)
The Gorgon (1964) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, Australian Blu-Ray, UK Blu-ray (UK has best encoding, extras)
The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) DVD: Sony, UK Blu-ray
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) Blu-Ray: Universal, German/UK Blu-Ray, German has slightly better aspect ratio and most extras, UK Blu-Ray has more extras than US and is region free
Nightmare (1964) Blu-Ray: Universal, Shout, UK Blu-ray (Shout has most extras)
The Crimson Blade/The Scarlet Blade (1964) DVD: Sony MOD, UK Blu-Ray
The Nanny (1965) DVD: Fox Video, Australian Blu-Ray, French Blu-Ray
The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) Amazon instant video in US, UK Blu-Ray
Hysteria (1965) DVD: Warner Archive (MOD)
She (1965) DVD: Warner Archive (MOD)
Die! Die! My Darling!/Fanatic (1965) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-Ray has better encoding/extras
One Million Years B.C. (1966) Blu-Ray: Kino, UK Blu-Ray - Kino includes US edit
The Witches (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays
Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays
The Reptile (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Blu-Ray: Millennium, Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays (Shout Factory has most extras and an alternate scan is included)
The Plague of the Zombies (1966) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras)
A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) VHS: Anchor Bay, UK Bl-ray pending
The Viking Queen (1967) DVD: Anchor Bay, UK DVD
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) Blu-Ray: Millennium, Shout Factory, German/Australian Blu-Rays (Shout has most extras and best transfer)
The Mummy's Shroud (1967) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian/German Blu-Rays
Prehistoric Women (1967) DVD: Anchor Bay (OOP), UK DVD
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) Blu-Ray: Warner, German Blu-Ray
The Devil Rides Out (1968) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/Australian Blu-Rays (Shout has original effects and more extras; other versions have re-done special effects only)
The Lost Continent (1968) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK DVD
The Vengeance of She (1968) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
The Anniversary (1968) DVD: Anchor Bay (OOP), UK DVD, French Blu-ray
Moon Zero Two (1969) DVD: Warner Archive (MOD)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) Blu-Ray: Warner
Scars of Dracula (1970) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) Blu-Ray: Warner
The Vampire Lovers (1970) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (2 releases - second has more features and a new transfer - has a replacement plan to fix censored shot), Australian/UK/German Blu-Ray, (German integrates the 1 second of decapitation footage and is thus only fully uncut version)
Crescendo (1970) DVD: Warner Archive
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) Blu-Ray: Warner, German Blu-Ray
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Hands of the Ripper (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, German/French Blu-Ray
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Twins of Evil (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, German Blu-Ray
Creatures the World Forgot (1971) Blu-Ray: Mill Creek, UK Blu-ray (UK has extras)
Countess Dracula (1971) Blu-Ray: Synapse, German/French Blu-Ray
Lust for a Vampire (1971) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
Vampire Circus (1972) Blu-ray: Synapse
Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) Blu-Ray: Warner Bros, German Blu-Ray upcoming
Straight On Till Morning (1972) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Fear in the Night (1972) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK/German Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
Demons of the Mind (1972) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (Pending), UK/German Blu-Ray
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) Blu-Ray: Warner Bros, Snappy Video (OOP - yanked)
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory (Pending), Australian Blu-Ray, German Blu-Ray (German has best PQ/most extras)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, German/UK/Australian Blu-Ray (German has best transfer/extras, Australian is interlaced, US Shout Factory is censored with an inferior transfer and should be avoided)
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
Shatter (1975) UK 4K, Blu-Ray: Shout Factory
To the Devil a Daughter (1976) Blu-Ray: Shout Factory, UK Blu-Ray (Shout has extras)
The Lady Vanishes (1979) Australian Blu-ray (pending), DVD: VCI Entertainment

Here are links to posts I did with screenshots from various releases:

The Gorgon: Mill Creek vs Sony DVD: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=274
Two Faces of Dr Jekyll: Mill Creek vs Sony DVD: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=300
Curse of the Werewolf: Universal (with an AR comparison between other discs on one shot): https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=243
Brides of Dracula: Universal vs Anolis (Germany): https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=248
Kiss of the Vampire: Universal: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=249

[mrjohnnyb]

Wow! You must really love Hammer Films! Great lists!

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Wow! You must really love Hammer Films!

You could say that! I bought a bunch of the books off Amazon at the same time. The most comprehensive is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Films-F...5708898&sr=1-1

And the best is obviously this one (kidding....sort of)!

http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Glamour...5708940&sr=1-1

[Show spoiler]

[Brett C]

I would list the UK BD of The Mummy as an option. I doubt the Warner BD will include anything other than the trailer for extras.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Brett C

I would list the UK BD of The Mummy as an option. I doubt the Warner BD will include anything other than the trailer for extras.

You're probably right about that, unfortunately. I might wait for confirmation the US one is bare-bones before putting the UK one on the main list. It is linked in the spoiler, though.

[MifuneFan]

Very helpful, thanks.

[Martin_31]

Thanks! I was going to ask if there was a forum on Hammer Films. I refreshed the page and it came up.

[javi92]

Thanks for compiling. Wonderful list.

[cakefactory]

I posted a version of this in the Warner thread, but this would be my recommendation for getting the most bang for your buck if you are also trying to be frugal and don't mind DVDs:

Here's the Ultimate Hammer Collection UK DVD box:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Col...ammer+ultimate

There's a version that's got more of a box set look instead of this, which is like a massive DVD case with a flipper for all 21 discs, but it costs 10 pounds more. Here's a link to the fancier version, since it's actually listed on this site:



It contains 21 films: 'Blood From The Mummy's Tomb', 'Demons Of The Mind', 'The Devil Rides Out', 'Viking Queen', 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness', 'Fear In The Night', 'Frankenstein Created Women', 'The Horror Of Frankenstein', 'The Nanny', 'One Million Years BC', 'The Plague Of The Zombies', 'Prehistoric Women', 'Quatermass And The Pit', 'Rasputin The Mad Monk', 'The Reptile', 'The Scars Of Dracula', 'She', 'To The Devil A Daughter', 'The Vengeance Of She', 'Straight On Till Morning' and 'The Witches.' Naturally, it is Region 2 and PAL.

If you get the Australian box set of blurays, you get blu-rays of several of the very best movies from the set, but the DVD set is so cheap that you'd still be getting several more good movies that are unavailable in the US at a reasonable cost, especially if you go with the cheaper packaging.

Here's the Aussie bluray set. It is all region locked, besides the two Frankenstein movies (one of which is in 1080i/50hz), so be warned if you aren't region free. It contains both of the movies that Millennium released here in the US, and even has the same special features on them, so if you get this you wouldn't have to buy them. It also has Quatermass Xperiment, which contains both Quatermass 2 and Creeping Unknown upscaled as bonus features - depending on how much you like it you wouldn't have to get the Kino release here (which looks better and has different bonus features).



I got it off JB-Hi Fi shipped to the US for ~45 dollars. Discussion in the other thread seems to suggest it has gone OOP and now has roughly doubled in price, but it's still much cheaper than buying the singles of all the films. This will get you: Dracula: Prince of Darkness / Plague of the Zombies / Quatermass and the Pit / Rasputin: The Mad Monk / The Devil Rides Out / The Mummy's Shroud / The Reptile / Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell / Frankenstein Created Woman / The Quatermass Xperiment / The Witches / X the Unknown [SD] / Quatermass 2 [SD]

For the most bang for your buck with hammer flicks, I'd suggest getting the two things mentioned above, and then getting the following US DVD sets:

Hammer Horror 8 film collection (Universal US set - no overlap with the above at all) (Brides of Dracula / Curse of the Werewolf / Phantom of the Opera (1962) / Paranoiac / Kiss of the Vampire / Nightmare / Night Creatures / Evil of Frankenstein)

Sony Icons of Horror collection (4 more movies with no overlap above) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / Scream of Fear / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / The Gorgon)

Sony Icons of Suspense collection (6 more movies with no overlap) (Stop Me Before I Kill! / Cash on Demand / The Snorkel / Maniac / Never Take Candy from a Stranger / These Are the Damned)

Sony Icons of Adventure collection (4 more movies with no overlap) (The Pirates of Blood River / The Devil-Ship Pirates / The Stranglers of Bombay / The Terror of the Tongs)


I would suggest getting the two super-cheap four movie DVD sets which will get you Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula AD 1972, but you'll end up with many copies of the same movies, and I remain hopeful that they'll be released by WB in a volume 2 at some point. Satanic Rites of Dracula is probably the most difficult of the major "series" to come by a decent version of thanks to its public domain status - Anchor Bay released a non-anamorphic version which is unfortunately still the best out there, but it's been OOP for quite a while and you are playing russian roulette if you try and order it off amazon marketplace since sellers love to list crappy public domain versions under the Anchor Bay product page.

This gets you almost all the essentials, along with a ton of the really great hidden gems (The Gorgon, These are the Damned, Cash on Demand and Never Take Candy from a Stranger are particularly great).

EDIT: There's a newer version of the Aussie Blu-ray set in print now with four more films added (Brides of Dracula, Captain Kronos, Hound of the Baskervilles, Curse of the Werewolf):

[willtopower]

Excellent thread. Definitely appreciated.

[Brett C]

Some information I think people might want to know from that link. Lossless vs lossy audio and interlaced transfers.

The Mummy's Shroud
Australian BD: Dolby Digital Mono/ UK release features LPCM audio.

The Devil Rides Out
Australian BD: Dolby Digital Mono/ UK release features LPCM audio.

Rasputin: The Mad Monk
Australian BD: Dolby Digital Mono/ UK release features LPCM audio.

Dracula - Prince of Darkness
US BD: Dolby Digital Mono/ UK/Australian release features LPCM audio.

Frankenstein Created Woman
US BD: Dolby Digital Mono/ Australian release features LPCM audio.

Captain Clegg
UK BD:1080i50 Interlaced transfer. Cropped to a 2.00:1 ratio.

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
Australian BD 1080i50 Interlaced transfer. Momentary video glitch at 29m20s. UK release: 1080p24, video glitches corrected with second pressing.

The Brides of Dracula
UK BD: Cropped to a 2.00:1 ratio. Announced for release in Australia.

The Quatermass Xperiment
Australian BD: 1080i50 Interlaced transfer. US release is 1080p24.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by LuckyDragon

Nice thing about this set: commentaries on all four movies! Pretty sweet. The two pirates movies with Lee as a villain are great fun, and Terror of the Tongs is basically a ptorotype Fu Manchu movie, but actually better than the official Fu Manchu movies Lee made later. I haven't watched The Stranglers of Bombay yet, but it's famous for having giant heaving cleavage, if you're into that.

Stranglers of Bombay is really interesting since it's about the same cult (Thugees) that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is "based on." I had no idea they were a historical thing. It's a VERY lurid movie and has a few scenes that are still rather sickening today.

And yeah, the cleavage is really only in one scene (it's this mean Thugee girl that likes to tease the prisoners, she mostly is just standing around in the way back of the frame), but it's SO ridiculous that it always gets mentioned when the movie comes up.

Here, I'll take a screencap:

[Brett C]

Although not on BD, I recommend fans of Hammer grab these DVD releases if they can be found at a reasonable price.

[Clark Kent]

Thank you for this thread.

[lilboyblu]

Very informative!

The Man Who Could Cheat Death is getting a stand alone release by Eureka in the UK in September too.

[Show spoiler]Amicus' The Skull is also getting a stand alone UK release in October.

[The Great Owl]

Thanks for a great thread!

I'm going to continue to scream at the sky in rage until These Are the Damned is released on Blu-ray.

In addition to the above Icons of Suspense DVD set, I've got these two Hammer Film Noir DVD collections...

[Akijama]

Originally Posted by Brett C

I would list the UK BD of The Mummy as an option. I doubt the Warner BD will include anything other than the trailer for extras.

According to the Warner press release, the US titles are all barebones. Not even the trailers.

Btw, a cool thread. There was/is another one, but it's practically abandoned, so the king is dead, long live the king.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Thanks for a great thread!

I'm going to continue to scream at the sky in rage until These Are the Damned is released on Blu-ray.

In addition to the above Icons of Suspense DVD set, I've got these two Hammer Film Noir DVD collections...

Yeah, there are a ton of noirs and comedies and things before they found their "niche." I tried to keep the list down by starting it with their sci-fi breakthroughs. Their non-genre pictures post 1957 fit more since you'd see the same cast people in all of them. I listen to the podcast "1951 Down Place" sometimes which I know covered Bad Blonde, but I must confess I'm ignorant about the other movies in those sets. Are those sets good?