Frankenstein and Wolfman legacy collections on Blu Ray

[crissrudd4554]

I actually dont mind seeing wires and other gags. It may technically not supposed to be there but given the time these movies were made in we cant expect everything to be hidden. Funny Spielberg mentioned about five years ago he would not be tinkering any more with his films. He learned his lesson after the 2002 enhanced E.T. Despite this I noticed two digital 'tweaks' to the Jaws BD. First the wire balancing the buoy in the first scene is gone, second a sailboat on the horizon later on the film (very far off in the distance) was also removed. The cobra reflection is also missing on the BD of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[Anthony Caranci]

I dont recall seeing this on my dvd, but I just watched House of Dracula on the Wolfman blu set. You can see the wires manipulating the bat that turns into Baron Latos at the opening of the film. Right as he gets close to Marissa's window. I think I might have been tempted to digitally erase that were I in charge of restoring these,lol.

The wires have always been visible on the various video formats. VHS, 12 laserdisc, 2004 Legacy, and the 2014 Legacy DVDs. In fact, folks have been complaining about it for quite some time. But you don't have to take my word for it -- Google some reviews on House of Dracula 1945. Blu-ray does heighten the visuals. So you'll see those wires more now than you ever did before.

Every time I view House of Dracula and see the wires; my first thought (always) is: What in the Hell is the matter with Kenton. You know that at least the cameraman must have said something about it. If the bat had been further back - they might have gotten away with it. But I will give Kenton this -- the man to bat transformations in House of Dracula are just about best ever, until we get to 1948 and Bud Abbott & Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein.

My BD of The Ten Commandments 1956 is almost impossible to watch because "EVERY SFX SHOWS UP BE JUST WHAT IT IS -- A SFX! The purple outline was visible in the past, but not that much. The BD version puts that purple outline right in your face! I was so happy for the BD and disappointed as well.

[VoorheesPhan138]

Got mine in today:



Will let you all know how they are once I watch them.

[Anthony Caranci]

Got mine in today:



Will let you all know how they are once I watch them.

Yes. Please do. All additional information is always welcome.

[LugosiFan25]

Wires, strings, models, etc. don't bother me at all until I hear someone start complaining because they can "see the string" or "there's the zipper!" and they ridicule the film because of this. They just don't understand.

[Universal Steve]

Watched Werewolf of London today. It was really clear even though they did not restore it. There was one scene that was very grainy. Once again clear but noticeable.  Always a good movie to watch and an important one even though Universal doesn"t agree. It was the first werewolf movie ever made.

[Mord]

Watched Werewolf of London today. It was really clear even though they did not restore it. There was one scene that was very grainy. Once again clear but noticeable.  Always a good movie to watch and an important one even though Universal doesn"t agree. It was the first werewolf movie ever made.

So "Werewolf of London" isn't restored? I thought that someone earlier said it was. Was it just re-remastered?

[crissrudd4554]

So "Werewolf of London" isn't restored? I thought that someone earlier said it was. Was it just re-remastered?

That and She-Wolf of London are sourced from older HD masters.

[Anthony Caranci]

This is the post that I remember about the restoration of Werewolf of London.

BRICK---Werewolf of London has already been finished. That's my point of contention. The French already did it. Universal literally have to do nothing to it to release it restored. Because the work has already been done. While I agree Mummy, Creechie, etc are prime staples. those haven't been finished. WWoL is completely done already. Its mind boggling. Grabs of the restored WWoL:

[Anton Phibes]

It looks a heckuva lot better than the vhs or dvd. If thats not considered a restoration/upgrade, then what constitutes a restoration/upgrade?

[Joseph_Baeza]

It looks a heckuva lot better than the vhs or dvd. If thats not considered a restoration/upgrade, then what constitutes a restoration/upgrade?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this version of WoL is the cleanest version of the film I have ever seen.  There really is no distinction between the other "restored" films on this Blu ray set, and this one.

[Gory Glenn]

It looks a heckuva lot better than the vhs or dvd. If thats not considered a restoration/upgrade, then what constitutes a restoration/upgrade?

A true restoration entails a lot. If I recall correctly there's a feature on the original 8 movie Blu-ray set that shows what Universal did to restore the films and it's really impressive. A lot of work went into those restorations. One thing I particularly recall was how they got rid of the flicker caused by individual frames having different light levels. They digitally evened them out so all the frames were balanced. They showed a comparison and the difference was amazing and that was just one of the many things that went into those restorations.

[Joseph_Baeza]

A true restoration entails a lot. If I recall correctly there's a feature on the original 8 movie Blu-ray set that shows what Universal did to restore the films and it's really impressive. A lot of work went into those restorations. One thing I particularly recall was how they got rid of the flicker caused by individual frames having different light levels. They digitally evened them out so all the frames were balanced. They showed a comparison and the difference was amazing and that was just one of the many things that went into those restorations.

No question about the amount of work that goes into a restoration, GG.  Universal did a wonderful job with the restored films on this set.  The point I was trying to make is that to the naked eye, WoL is so clean that the casual viewer would not even realize it wasn't "restored."  In fact, if us hardcore fans had not been talking about it in this thread and others, WE probably would have assumed it was restored as well!

[Anton Phibes]

No question about the amount of work that goes into a restoration, GG.  Universal did a wonderful job with the restored films on this set.  The point I was trying to make is that to the naked eye, WoL is so clean that the casual viewer would not even realize it wasn't "restored."  In fact, if us hardcore fans had not been talking about it in this thread and others, WE probably would have assumed it was restored as well!

I did!

[Anthony Caranci]

Okay, the way I understand this is -- Werewolf of London has not been restored - but we do have a cleaner, better version than we've had on the previous Legacy Editions.

Well, I guess it's better than nothing. I do find it mind boggling though. if you're going to restore some sequels - then why not put forth the extra effort and cash to do it right? A lot of people love the 1943 Phantom of the Opera. A lot of others (myself included) think it sucks. But yet, we get a restoration of that!

Werewolf of London is the first Werewolf movie by the Studio -- and that alone warrants a restoration! Why did French restore it, and Universal did not?

I want to thank everyone for all the updates. Naturally, I'm still listening.