Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection (Dracula / Frankenstein / The Mummy / The Invisible Man / The Bride of Frankenstein / The Wolf Man / Phantom of the Opera / Creature from the Black Lagoon)

This is one of the few box-sets that contain only very good-to-great films and all with very good-to-excellent transfers.1.The oldest (from February of 1931) is the original "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi, and it is a wonderful experience --Not only is Lugosi the perfect vampire, but Dwight Frye is marvelous as the mad Renfield and Edward Van Sloan is perfect as Van Helsing.Outside an excellent 35mm film print (a perfect film print that was printed in 1996) of this classic -- that I saw projected in Durham, NC, early in 2012,this Blu-ray high def transfer is the best way to see the movie.Despite this restoration on this disc, I do think the 35mm print was slightly superior, and that really surprised me as I had been told that all elements of this film were in terrible shape --Well, there must have been some better materials around when the 1996 film print was made.2."Frankenstein" (from November of 1931) with Boris Karloff looks excellent here (and I have seen a 35mm film print of it as well -- And it was excellent -- but this is a match for it in quality).3."The Mummy" is a big pleasant surprise here, as this transfer looks as good as any film that I have ever seen from this era. This is the 1932 original with Boris Karloff, and I was not expecting such a fantastic restoration!4.Perhaps my favorite of the movies here is the 1933 original classic with Claude Rains as "The Invisible Man" (and this Blu-ray high definition transfer is the best that I have ever seen this film look). It is a real pleasure to see such a great film looking this good, and it was badly in need of a restoration effort.5.1935's "Bride of Frankenstein" also looks great, and better than a 35mm film print that I saw of it this year (2012). Yes, this is the best that I have experienced this film. This film would be my 2nd favorite film in this set. As an incredible and exciting monster movie, there is nothing else like it, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. This is the only Frankenstein film that really gets you in touch with the monster (again played by Boris Karloff), and the entire cast is amazing. Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius is the most perfect mad scientist of all time.6.1941's "The Wolf Man" has a great cast: Not only is Lon Chaney Jr excellent in the title role, but, from Claude Rains playing his father to Bela Lugosi in a small part as the Gypsy who puts the curse upon Chaney, this is great stuff. I saw a 35mm print of this film earlier in 2012, and it was somewhat better than this high def version. This looks to be the only film in the set that did not get a new high def transfer -- It looks to be an older high definition transfer that was used for earlier standard def DVD mastering. Still, it looks very good.7.Some people have complained about the transfer on the next film in this set, the 1943 version of "The Phantom of the Opera" -- Well, the green is slightly out of registration, but, for the most part, this film looks excellent. It is the only color film in this set, and it is glorious Technicolor. While this film may not look good projected large on front screen home projectors, it looks incredibly good (for most shots, no, not all) on my 55" Panasonic Plasma. In fact, while this film is not anywhere near the classic status as are the previous 6 films listed, it now looks so good that one (such as myself, that was always disappointed in it), well, one has to somewhat re-evaluate the movie. Realizing the desire for such high-brow music/sets/staging as audiences craved in the 1940's, one can really come to appreciate this film with its gorgeous colors. This is somewhat how a good (no, not perfect) Technicolor print would have looked at the time. I think most people with an HDTV no larger than 65" will really find themselves capitivated by the beauty of this Technicolor image, and I have never seen this film look anywhere near as good as it looks here -- Some shots are really beautiful eye-candy.8.The final disc/film is 1954's "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" -- Well, my Panasonic 55VT30 is a 55 inch 3D HDTV, and I have watched this film that way several times (yes, with friends) since getting the disc. There is also a standard 2D high def version for those who cannot see it in 3D (And note that this is not the anaglyph red/blue or pink/green glasses 3D: This is 3D Blu-ray that is shown like the film originally looked when it was released in Polarized 3D back in 1954). Now, a note here, there were red/blue anaglyph 35mm prints of this movie made in 1972 and they did show in theaters (and I have seen it that way a couple of times, as well as an awful looking 16mm print with red/blue glasses), and that is a very poor experience compared to Polarized 3D (as I did see it once in 35mm Polarized 3D) -- Seeing the film on this 3D high definition Blu-ray is pretty much the way that audiences saw it nearly 60 years ago (likely, it is better here than most people saw it even then), and it is a real thrill. While it is not a perfect 3D restoration (and a few tweaks by Universal's people could have made it so), I still like it so much that I have yet to watch the regular 2D high definition version that is also included. The Creature is not in the classic class of the first 6 films of this set, but it is still a fun movie. The Creature costume remains pretty high tech even compared to the 'man-in-a-suit' things we get today, as it just looks so darn good: No seams, no zippers, no nonsense. The Creature really is a classic monster.8.1.Note that the Dracula disc also contains the 1931 Spanish language version of Dracula (which is a half hour longer than the Lugosi version and with an entirely different cast). For me, it pales in comparison to the Bela Lugosi version (although there are a few shots that are a bit better and provide some interest, and the ending has a more satisfying statement from the Van Helsing character that makes you understand why he is remaining behind while the others leave -- I mention this because it seems a bit odd in the Lugosi version that Van Helsing remains behind, and the last line(s) given here by Helsing help to end that bit of confusion at the end).Also, the Lugosi version has the option of listening to an alternate music score while watching the movie, but I wish Universal Pictures would get rid of that awful droning thing (and never before have I asked for less and not more). It is terrible and totally destroys the mood of the film, and, therefore, I recommend you watch the movie only with the original soundtrack.Okay, all that said, this is the best box set of films that I have ever purchased. Classic movies with great looking high definition transfers. Yes, you can buy it cheaper at Amazon.uk, and it will play in the USA (since it is not region locked) as a friend of mine purchased the UK version and brought it over to compare with my USA version purchase -- Yep, they play and look the same regardless of the region or the packaging. Anyway, this is a great package and I hope that Universal will continue doing this kind of excellent work.

These movies, made in the 1930's, are a part of movie history! If you want to see 5 of the original Warner Bros. Horror films that formed the basis of ALL similar pictures to follow, I'd recommend this set of movies. It contains the 'original' Frankenstein, Dracula, Invisible Man, etc. And after being blue laser digitized, the picture and sound quality of these discs could NOT be better! I'm a movie buff and have an extensive collection of classic films that might even rival TCM. But, you don't need to be a film buff to enjoy these as they were originally created. These are an excellent buy and I highly recommend!

I have read some of these fan reviews and I can empathize that most people are down on Universal Studios about their ever-evolving corporate greed to hook fans on better technological standards of their massive film catalogue. However, a few years ago, when Universal released the Legacy Monster Collections, I was excited at that time about the films and I purchased the Frankenstein series. I had not watched these movies since I was a kid in the 1970s and I was very pleased with "Frankenstein" and "The Bride of Frankenstein", but less than thrilled with "Son of Frankenstein", "The Ghost of Frankenstein", and "The House of Frankenstein". It became clearly evident that Universal began selling out the Monster with "Son of...." and exploiting the talent of Bela Lugosi by putting a hump on his back, giving him a flute, and calling him Igor. The plot lines became very uneven and with "Son", "Ghost", and "House" and it was clear Universal was extorting money from the Universal Monster fans from the 1940s when these films were released. Alas, I was so disappointed in those three sequels that I decided to let Dracula and the Wolf Man sets remain in their respective graves and I did not purchase anymore Legacy collections.Thankfully, I saw that these classic films were being released on Blu-Ray and I jumped at the chance to pre-order these films....why? For one thing, I have seen a couple of black-and-white films on Blu-Ray technology and the viewing experince was very impactful and I really enjoyed the experience much more than regular DVD technology. (I cannot honestly comment on these particular films on Blu-Ray because they are not available to the general public until October 2nd, but I'm sure that the visual restoration will be extremely impactful and elegant). Secondly, I saw that there was not a stinker in the bunch. I mean, c'mon, "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Bride of Frankenstein", "The Mummy", "The Creature from the Black Lagoon", "The Wolf Man", "The Phantom of the Opera", my personal favorite the inimitable Claude Rains in the masterpiece, "The Invisible Man" - ALL classic monsterpieces! (I would have preferred Lon Chaney's "Phantom", but maybe the silent version could not be restored for Blu-Ray). With the exceptions of "The Werewolf of London" and "The Mummy's Curse", the rest of the sequels were stinkers in my opinion. I read one Amazon review that when Universal Studios realizes that fans will probably purchase a secondary Blu-Ray set of Universal Monsters, then this will be the respective place for some of the sequels.Make no mistake about it - these classic 8 movies are what all subsequent horror films (including Hammer Horror Studios) measured the standard upon for producing and creating great horror films. Yeah, sure, it's $111, but I would gladly plop down my hard-earned money for these 8 classic films in a boxed set with no stinkeroo sequels on it (Yes, I know "Bride" is a sequel, but it clearly stands on its' own merit). I hope there is much additional materials on the films like behind-the-scenes stuff or interviews, but I can hardly wait until October 2nd to come around for all of us Universal Monsters fans!