Latest DVDs & BDs in My Collection

[Mord]

 I have to agree with my brother, HH. I find Universal & Hammer to be about 50/50. I love both equally for different reasons. Universal made a horror legacy possible. They had the formidable team of Karloff/Lugosi (Hammer answered with Cushing/Lee). Both studios featured literate, innovative films soaked in terrific atmosphere. The Universal monster designs were more definitive (Pierce's Frankenstein Monster, the Wolfman...Westmore's Creature). Hammer got the heart pumping with more blood & (more importantly) more breasts. Universal's "The Black Cat"(1934) & Hammer's "(Horror of) Dracula" are probably my two all time favorite films. I really couldn't (and wouldn't) choose between the two. I feel that they both are my dearest friends from childhood to the present.

[jimm]

Is there a set that has most of these?

KARLOFF AND LUGOSI:
The Old Dark House (1932)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
The Black Cat (1934)
The Raven (1935)
The Invisible Ray (1936)
Night Key (1937)
Tower of London (1939)
Black Friday (1940)
The Black Cat (1941)
The Climax (1944)

[Mord]

Is there a set that has most of these?

KARLOFF AND LUGOSI:
The Old Dark House (1932)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)
The Black Cat (1934)
The Raven (1935)
The Invisible Ray (1936)
Night Key (1937)
Tower of London (1939)
Black Friday (1940)
The Black Cat (1941)
The Climax (1944)

Great selection of movies! Your best bet is the "Bela Lugosi Franchise Collection" from Universal. It includes: The Blact Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray, Black Friday, & Murders in the Rue Morgue. Night Key, Tower of London & The Climax are on the "Boris Karloff Franchise Collection". Both were released in 2006 & should be easy to find (the Bela collection is far superior, though). Old Dark House was restored & released by Image some time ago. I'm pretty sure it's out of production but probably not too hard to find. Good luck, Jimm.

[Mike Scott]

Good luck, Jimm.

You won't need luck, just go to Amazon and slap down 38 bucks.

[geezer butler]

I went to watch "Horror Express" the other night and couldn't believe how bad the quality was. I've had that DVD for years, but it never bothered me before.

So anyhow, I popped the disc out and ordered the blu-ray. And because I have no impulse control when it comes to buying monster movies, I added a few more to the cart and they arrived the other day:

Horror Express (1972)
Vampire Circus (1972)

I upgraded a couple of other films to blu-ray too:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Fly (1958)

Lastly, I picked up the Dan Curtis/Jack Palance Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde DVD (1968)

[Mord]

 I have the DVD of Vampire Circus. I really love that movie and am also ready for an upgrade. Tell me if the Blu-Ray is improved enough to warrant the purchase price. I hope you enjoy it.

[zombiehorror]

I have the DVD of Vampire Circus. I really love that movie and am also ready for an upgrade. Tell me if the Blu-Ray is improved enough to warrant the purchase price. I hope you enjoy it.

I actually bought the dvd/Bluray combo of these before I got a Bluray player.  I don't have the original dvd release but the transfer on this dvd looked great (I would assume it is just a highly compressed version of the HD print); I'll have to get this one back off the shelf and check it out.  I can actually watch the bonus features now.

One complaint I have read is that some folks feel the Bluray transfer is to dark.

[Mord]

I actually bought the dvd/Bluray combo of these before I got a Bluray player.  I don't have the original dvd release but the transfer on this dvd looked great (I would assume it is just a highly compressed version of the HD print); I'll have to get this one back off the shelf and check it out.  I can actually watch the bonus features now.

One complaint I have read is that some folks feel the Bluray transfer is to dark.

Thanks for the info. The DVD I have is the British one from a few years ago. My main complaint with this edition is that it's a little grainy (though too dark might be an even bigger problem). Tell me what you think (after you watch it again).

[zombiehorror]

Thanks for the info. The DVD I have is the British one from a few years ago. My main complaint with this edition is that it's a little grainy (though too dark might be an even bigger problem). Tell me what you think (after you watch it again).

The image looks good and I can only assume that the transfer is better than the old dvd release (Just about every review I've seen says so).  The grain is still evident and I'd say for the most part there wasn't a whole lot of extra work done on cleaning up blemishes on the print.  The picture is dark, I mean night scenes are definitely night scenes.  I keep my brightness relatively high (90 or so, most setting guides suggest 60max) and the night scenes are deep black still.  This may be the best Vampire Circus we get for now but I hope it isn't the last release we get of it; they could definitely put a little more work into it.  There are a few sights that compare screen shots of the old dvd and Bluray release that can probably give you a better idea of the two transfers.  I recall being hesitant about picking this up after reading reviews and only got it because I got for a good deal off of Deep Discount at the time; definitely not worth full retail....or god forbid some overpriced OOP price.

[Mord]

 Thanks for the review. I'll pick it up if I see it on sale.

[geezer butler]

Hey, Everyone

Hopefully be able to watch Vampire Circus in the next week or so and let you know how it looks.

In the meantime, I was (*at*) Best Buy today and picked up "Alien" (1979) and "The Terminator" (1984) blue-rays for $4.99 a piece. I'll upgrade for that price anytime. They had TCM and Halloween for $14.99 on BR. I was real tempted. May have to go back.

[Mord]

 looking forward to your review of Vampire Circus. Like I said, I have the old DVD release.

[neonnoodle]

"The Ghost and Mr. Chicken"
"Crystal Lake Memories" ...lots of fun, this documentary!

[geezer butler]

Watched that "Horror Express" blue-ray the other night. I thought it looked great. I was used to that awful grainy dvd version. There are some cool extras on the disc. Anyhow, they explained that because Horror Express is a public domain film, there are some pretty garbage quality VHS and DVD versions out there. I def recommend the Blue-ray though---never looked better.

I love this movie. Cool film score and just a great Gothic/sci-fi horror/Agatha Christie train mystery mash up. I love the claustrophobic vibe of the film. Not sure why, but setting the film in pre-revolutionary Russia adds to the creepiness. You have zombie Cossacks, Cushing and Lee, the freaky Rasputin monk character---what more can you ask for? Plus Telly Savalas is a scene stealer. 

[neonnoodle]

I love "Horror Express."  It's great fun all around, has so many good points. And yeah--Telly Savalas totally steals the movie during his scenes--and it's no small feat to steal a film from both Cushing and Lee!