Frankenstein and Wolfman legacy collections on Blu Ray

[Anthony Caranci]

Hopefully in the new set something will be restored to Son of Frankenstein that's been missing on all the DVD releases but is actually present on the VHS editions. Its when Wolf climbs out of the floor hatch while looking for Ygor. The VHS actually cuts to him climbing out while on the DVD editions it cuts to him already out. About 3-4 seconds of footage is lost here. Below is a screengrab from the VHS edition showing part of the missing footage.

I never owned the VHS of Son of Frankenstein, and I don't remember it ever being released on Beta. However, I do have the 12 inch laserdisc released in 1989 from MCA/Universal Home Video.  That 4 seconds of footage you spoke of is there. I checked my Legacy Collection DVD (2004), and the 4 seconds is gone like you said. I even have a 720p version given to me by a friend (I don't know where he got it), but it is the same as the Legacy Collection.

So the big question: Why? Was it a case of space on the DVD to cram SOF & TGOF on the same side?

Now, when I worked for Universal, I went down to the back lot store and purchased the VHS of The Mummy's Tomb 1942. When I got it home -- the scene where Kharis strangles Jane Banning is missing! I still have this damn thing. The Legacy DVD shows it. It does make you wonder just what in the Hell is going on!

[Anton Phibes]

The Mummy Legacy set shows Ms. Banning get strangled in Mummy's Tomb? Dang---I am gonna have to watch that tonight. Thats a big scene that I never remember seeing. I always thought they just kipped that because it was too brutal to show him strangling a female. Hmmmmnnnn.....

[Mike Scott]

I can't help but wonder if we will ever see a BD release of The Black Cat 1934, The Raven 1935, The Invisible Ray 1936 and Dracula's Daughter.

I assume "Dracula's Daughter" will be in the Dracula set, assuming they are going to keep doing these in Blu-ray. But I would like to see the 5 Lugosi collection movies in BD, too!

[crissrudd4554]

SOF was on Beta. I have a copy The missing part was something someone on bluray.com brought up so I decided to check it myself. Yep the footage was missing on my 2001 and 2014 DVDs. Haven't gotten around to checking my 2004 DVD but I'm sure it's probably missing there too. It might have been the person who originally posted about it but someone suggested it might be due to a reel change. Someone on CHFB mentioned the cut part from The Mummy's Tomb. I guess Universal quickly caught on to that because my copy of that tape has that scene! Very strange. Many of Universal's releases of these films raise eyebrows to some degrees. There was a glitch on the 2001 and 2004 DVDs of House of Frankenstein where a shot of Karl running repeats itself which wasn't fixed until the 2014 DVD. There's also the matter of the audio for Frankenstein which I mentioned a few posts back as well as the horrible editing to the shot of the Monster approaching the hermits cabin in Bride. Originally it began in a somewhat wider shot which cut to a somewhat closer shot. On the BD they enlarged the farther shot to match the closer shot so the entire sequence almost looks consistent. But the editing is really bad and a tree branch in the foreground now magically disappears midway! Lastly the VHS and DVD editions of Draculas Daughter has two different opening credit sequences. The listing is in a somewhat different order and the DVD gives John Balderston a screenwriting credit which the VHS does not!

[Monsters For Sale]

People ask me why I have so many DVD's.  Why don't I just watch movies that are stored "out there" in the ether of the Internet.

Partly, I am old-fashioned and like having a personal library to browse.

Partly, it is because the studios will simply NOT stop fiddling with old movies.  And the ones I have are frozen in time.

My best example is the Director's Cut of "THX 1138".  It has supplanted the superior original cut (which is no longer available) with something I find unwatchable.

[crissrudd4554]

I assume "Dracula's Daughter" will be in the Dracula set, assuming they are going to keep doing these in Blu-ray. But I would like to see the 5 Lugosi collection movies in BD, too!

Or at least reissued as single sided DVDs!

[crissrudd4554]

Speaking of the edited Mummy's Tomb tape apparently the uploader of this video had the same tape!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cch6z97bBY

I guess I lucked out since my tape has the corrected film. For collecting purposes though I would one day like to get my hands on one of these 'incorrect' tapes!

[Mord]

Or at least reissued as single sided DVDs!

Aren't the new DVD sets one-sided?

[crissrudd4554]

Aren't the new DVD sets one-sided?

Yes but I was referring to the Bela Lugosi collection which was a double sided DVD and as a result was prone to skipping.

[Mike Scott]

Yes but I was referring to the Bela Lugosi collection

On the failed DVD18 format.

[Anton Phibes]

Speaking of the edited Mummy's Tomb tape apparently the uploader of this video had the same tape!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cch6z97bBY

I guess I lucked out since my tape has the corrected film. For collecting purposes though I would one day like to get my hands on one of these 'incorrect' tapes!

Holey Crummy Cropping, Batman......you're right. I haven't watched The Mummy's Tomb in awhile and never noticed the restored sequence. It boggles the mind: but its possible I never watched this flick on ym legacy set, because I was phasing out my vhs at the time. Either that or I "watched" it while painting a model (IE I wasnt paying attention). The dvd does have the missing sequence restored to it. Astounding! I am gonna watch that scene another 20 times, just to make up for having missed it all this time lol. Thats a pretty major scene. Why cut it?

[Mord]

Yes but I was referring to the Bela Lugosi collection which was a double sided DVD and as a result was prone to skipping.

I've never had a problem with my Bela collection. Has anyone else out there? It's my favorite set, so I have played it many times without a problem.

[crissrudd4554]

I had to get the Lugosi set three times because it skipped. My third set I havent even played all the way through yet so Im not even sure if thats a keeper or not.

[geezer butler]

I'm tempted to buy these sets, but I don't like paying for multiple versions of the same movie. Presumably they'll release a Dracula version and A & C meet Frankenstein will be on that too. So I already own that film on Blu-ray. I also own the A & C meet the Monsters set on dvd. So if I buy the blu-ray sets of Frankenstein, the Wolfman and Dracula, I'll have five copies of the same movie. I love that film as much as anyone, but I don't need five copies.

I wish they would release the double-features on blue-ray. You know like the dvd double-features. I already own the coffin box set, so double features would be the most economical way to collect the films on blu-ray.

I guess I'll wait and see if they do that. Or just wait for a comprehensive blue-ray set like they did on DVD. In the meantime I'll stick w/my legacy collection dvds.

[Anthony Caranci]

I had to get the Lugosi set three times because it skipped. My third set I havent even played all the way through yet so Im not even sure if thats a keeper or not.

I'm not a big fan of those one sided DVDs. My Munster's Season 1 had an episode that would freeze up in the same place, and my Season 2 had a few of them. I just replaced Season 1. I can hold off on Season 2 until after Halloween.

It must have been too simple to release a Universal Monsters Essential Collection Volume 1: 1931 - to ?.  Then a Volume 2, and they could have even milked a Volume 3. It's amazing how much of a "money making machine Universal Monsters still are.

Still, (and I may be in the minority on this), I want to give credit to Universal for shelling out the dough to restore these films. Outside of the problems we've already mentioned (and probably more to come), the films have never looked or sounded better. I remember watching Dracula and Frankenstein on television in the early 1960s. The  were prints were crappy and almost unwatchable. Dracula had so much noise in the soundtrack you could barely hear the wolves howl! Frankenstein was a butchered mess! Even the end credit music was butchered! It was only my love for them, that keep me glued to the screen.

Yes, Dracula's Daughter on BD would be pretty nice. The Bela Lugosi Collection needs a BD release - The Black Cat 1934, The Raven 1935 and Invisible Ray on Blu-ray would be so awesome.  I'm not really a fan of Murders in the Rue Morgue or Black Friday - but I'll take them on BD.

September is almost here and I'm looking forward to the Frankenstein BD Collection.