Comments on: Universal's classic monster flicks in Blu-ray box set

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 09:17:00 +0000

Vasaria, the most unlucky village in the world, is my dream home. It’s always night. It’s always foggy. All the buildings look like horror movie sets. There are lots of winding roads through deep forests. Semi-ruined castles galore. Vardo traffic jams.

By: B E Pratt

B E Pratt — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:50:00 +0000

One, Vasaria looks mighty intriguing. And two, that set had better have Creature From the Black Lagoon in3D!! Not to mention throwing in some vintage red/blue glasses.

By: Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:26:00 +0000

Sure, but they won’t look like film when you project them.

By: Ladyfingers

Ladyfingers — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:13:00 +0000

Blu-ray players can play DVDs. Actually, they play DVDs a lot better than DVD players, as a rule.

By: ashypete

ashypete — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:51:00 +0000

While both are awesome, I think House of Frankenstein has the edge (because Karloff, like you need another reason)…

By: ashypete

ashypete — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:47:00 +0000

Gill man, as mind bending as the last 2 movies are (Let’s give him lungs and put him in trousers!), really isn’t in the same league as the originals… If his presence in the 80′s Monster Squad is his legitimacy you’ll find that he’s noticeable absent from the first and my personal favourite iteration of the Monster Squad…

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:42:00 +0000

Many of those likenesses were actually created (or augmented) by makeup artist Jack Pierce. It was he who created the iconic looks of the Karloff Mummy and Frankenstein's monster, as well as Chaney's Wolf Man and (to an understandably lesser extent) Lugosi's Dracula. Universal cut Pierce loose in 1946 since he was unwilling to change his ways and adopt faster and cheaper methods. He didn't get a red cent of royalties or residuals for his creations either; just a weekly paycheck while he was working. But that was characteristic for Hollywood before 1960, when even movie stars were paid a flat fee for their work and received no residuals thereafter, even for highly profitable movies. Universal was not alone in this treatment of their creative types.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:27:00 +0000

Nailed it! That's Universal in a nutshell. In the mid 90s, my brother was attached to write and direct a reboot of The Mummy for Universal. His script was literate and intelligent, moody and atmospheric, much like the Karloff original. Around this time, Universal was bought by Seagram, and Sid Sheinberg stepped down as head of Universal. He started his Seagram-funded production company The Bubble Factory and assigned himself to The Mummy. And then he wanted someone to rewrite it. And then he wanted another director. And then The Mummy was shelved for a couple of years. And then Universal made Stephen Sommers' version, which made Universal buckets of money. Even my brother will concede that that was certainly the right financial choice for Universal, though he's understandably not of the opinion that it was a superior creative choice. But between his two Mummy movies, Van Helsing, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, all of which made well over $300 million worldwide, the world has profited from the career of Stephen Sommers. Well, Universal and Paramount have, anyway.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:25:00 +0000

They both have most excellent trailers.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:21:00 +0000

Thus, it’s based on marketing rather than content.

By: jerwin

jerwin — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:19:00 +0000

But they won't be as sharp VHS? Are you trying to save money by not visiting the optometrist?

By: helvispresley

helvispresley — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:09:00 +0000

universal never payed any royalties to the stars or their estates and appropriated their likenesses.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:07:00 +0000

Nah. Take the Universal tour. When you get on the tram, you'll see guys dressed up as the famous Universal monsters: the Karloff Frankenstein's monster, the Lugosi Dracula, the Chaney Wolf Man, the Karloff Mummy, and the good ol' Gill Man, shaking hands with the kids in a genially terrifying way. (I presume there isn't much point in including Claude Rains' Invisible Man at the meet & greet for obvious reasons.) Though the Gill Man is nearly a generation younger than the others (and Chaney Sr's Phantom of the Opera is literally a generation older), he's still been a card-carrying member of the Universal monster stable for over fifty years, with three Universal films to his credit (and one perennially on the way). The first seven glow-in-the-dark monster model kits Aurora produced between 1961 and 1977 were the Universal versions of Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. You Baby Boomers grew up with the Universal pantheon of monsters. That studio has been exploiting those properties for every nickel they could wring out of them since House of Frankenstein in 1944, and though the Gill Man was created a bit late in the game compared to the rest, the Universal Monsters thing has been a Thing for decades now. Check out 1987's The Monster Squad if you disbelieve.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:51:00 +0000

With House of Frankenstein, you get Dracula, the Wolfman, a mad scientist with concomitant hunchback and Consuelo from Marcus Welby, MD. It's my favorite, and very campy.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:23:00 +0000

I really don't understand the inclusion of the Creature. All the other characters are famous from movies from (or series that started in) the 30s, and he's from the 50s. All the other characters are human, and he's something else. It's completely weird to include him. Vasaria or bust.

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:50:00 +0000

And that one’s a good time. Technically superior, although the acting tends to the telenovela-esque. And the good Count kinda looks like Harpo Marx to me.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:15:00 +0000

Or your local library. Although I’m glad that the set is also available on DVD. Not that I have anything against Blu-Ray, but I’m not inclined to get rid of my DVD player just yet.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:48:00 +0000

Alternatively purchase “House of Dracula” and get Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and Wolfman in one handy 67 minute long package.

By: annoyingmouse

annoyingmouse — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:37:00 +0000

Of course, as someone always inevitably points out, there’s actually nine films in the box because you also get the Spanish version of Dracula.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:36:00 +0000

I see it now. Of course not including him would have been such an unforgivable crime that you would have mentioned it.

By: technogeekagain

technogeekagain — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:26:00 +0000

Want the films… but it’s a lot cheaper to get them used on DVD, or on VHS…

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:25:00 +0000

Huh? The Wolf Man is included.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:25:00 +0000

Awesome. Thanks!!!

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:24:00 +0000

So the Wolf-Man gets mentioned but isn’t included in the box set?

I’ve heard that Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Mummy, and the Wolf-Man get together they refer to the Creature From The Black Lagoon as “the Aquaman of Universal monsters”.

By: technogeekagain

technogeekagain — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:24:00 +0000

Iconically ironic?

By: hypnosifl

hypnosifl — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:21:00 +0000

This collection is awesome, but note that if you want them on blu ray it's vastly cheaper (around 42 bucks) to go for the same set on amazon.co.uk instead of the overpriced US version (the UK set is region-free so the discs play on US players).

By: Gyrofrog

Gyrofrog — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:20:00 +0000

“…Hollywood’s most iconic horror talent…”

That truly was iconic use of the word “iconic!”

Now if y’all will excuse me while I use the iconic urinal and make an iconic cup of tea. Have an iconic weekend!