The Universal Monster Movies had everything from Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and more. Dan Curtis brought his unique style to those classic monsters in Made-For-TV movies. Kino Lober under the division Kino Cult released Dan Curtis' monster movies to Blu-ray for the first time ever.
Let's take a look at the three films that are included on this 2 Disc Blu-ray release.
Movie Ratings:
**** = Must Watch
*** = Worth A Look
** = An Okay way to spend an evening
* = You haven't missed anything
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself. ***
Frankenstein (1973) A scientist obsessed with creating life steals body parts to put together his "creation." ***
Dracula (1974) Dracula (Jack Palance) is searching for a woman who looks like his long dead wife. ***
Jack Palance is absolutely wonderful as Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. His unique take is so refreshing to what we see normally. And Bo Svenson brings a great sympathy to the creature in Frankenstein. Dan Curtis really knows how to make a good horror film!
These films have been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein are presented in 1.33:1 while Bram Stoker's Dracula is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The audio tracks are English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. There are also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Now these are made for TV movies, so they were not shot in HD quality. But when screening these TV Movies on Blu-ray. I must say I was thoroughly impressed with how great that look. Kino Lorber made sure that what was put on Blu-ray was the best quality possible. There is not digital artifacts or audio anomalies.
Now in addition to 3 classic Dan Curtis monster features in great quality. There is a lot of fun Blu-ray extras Kino Lorber added to this 2-disc set. Tak a look at what is included.
Special Features:
• Introductions to All Films by Jeff Thompson, Author of The Television Horrors of Dan Curtis
• Dracula Audio Commentary by Mark Dawidziak
• Dracula Interview with Actor Jack Palance
• Dracula Interview with Producer/Director Dan Curtis
• Dracula Spanish language soundtrack
• Dracula Alternate Footage and Scenes
• Frankenstein Audio Commentary by Film Scholar Rodney F. Hill (Hofstra University)
• Frankenstein Audio Commentary with Actors Robert Foxworth (Victor Frankenstein) and John Karlen (Otto Roget)
• Frankenstein ABC-TV Wide World Mystery Promos
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Audio Commentary by Author, Artist and Film Historian Steve Bissette
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Interview with Makeup Effects Artist Dick Smither
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the introductions by Jeff Thompson. He really knows his stuff! The commentaries are filled with great information about these films and defiantly worth a listen. bonus interviews and promos are also great bonuses.
If you love classic monster movies as much as I do, this new Blu-ray of Dan Curtis' Classic Monsters is an absolute must add to your home video library. Head over to Amazon and order your copy of this 2 Disc Blu-ray set. You are really going to love the way these Dan Curtis monster films look in HD.
Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) Dan Curtis' Classic Monsters Blu-ray receives...
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