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.

Where to start ... If you are a fan of the Universal monster classics, this is the starting point for expansion of these kinds of films in your DVD collection. I received the 8-pack as a Christmas present and it's one of the best gifts I ever received. All the films in this collection are perfectly restored and there are special documentaries on the making of each film included on each DVD. I already owned most of these films on VHS, but it is well worth upgrading to DVD. The restored version of "Frankenstein," for instance, not only contains the scene where the monster tosses little Maria into the lake, but the dialogue where Henry Frankenstein declares that he knows what it feels like to be God is restored, as well. The clarity of all the films is stunning. The "Phantom of the Opera" with Claude Rains, while it doesn't compare to the 1925 Lon Chaney version, is still a pretty good shocker. There could have been a little less singing in it, but it does contain a fine performance by Rains, nonetheless. I do wish "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" was offered in 3-D, but it still remains a fine film without the effect. "The Invisible Man" is one of my favorites of the collection and it never looked better. Rains is superb as the manaical scientist who goes insane along with being invisible after experimenting with a radical drug. "The Mummy" is great. Boris Karloff is superb as the revived Egyptian priest Im-Ho-Tep. Fans of the new Mummy films should see the original with Karloff to be surprised by the source of the original concept. My very favorite film is "The Bride of Frankenstein." This is not only the greatest horror film of all time, it's one of the best movies of all time, period. An exciting score, lots of monster action, crazed scientists ... this one contains it all. "The Wolf Man" and "Dracula" round out the rest of the films offered here to make it the best monster movie DVD collection ever.

Great classic Monster movies. This was a great era the actors were great, special effects were made diferent than now. I highly recommend all this classic Monster movies. You need to own these for your collection.

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!

After buying these movies on every format released, Universal has finally done justice to these classics. Top notch, beautifully detailed quality in picture and sound unlike anything I've ever seen before. If you love these movies and want to enjoy them at their best, this collection is worth any price you might pay. Yes - any price, because there has never been a release this excellent. As you watch each movie, you tend to get used the the quality of picture and sound. I did by the time I got to the technicolor Phantom of the Opera. I even started to think Phantom always looked that good - until I watched the extras with the non-restored clips. What an amazing difference. The booklet form with the discs in the sleeves is very nice. There is a brief synopsis of the films and some photos of posters and move. Additionally, a nice book is included with even more information about each movie. This makes the collection much more attractive than just purchasing the individual movies. One extra special treat for those who have 3D TVs is the 3D version of Creature From The Black Lagoon. Unfortunately, I don't have a 3D TV, but both versions are on the same disc. On just this disc, however, the regular movie had pauses which began about the second half and lasted through the rest of the feature. I don't know if this was just my player or if there is a flaw in the disc. The player did seem to do a lot of searching during this part of the film. I may simply need an upgrade on the player. Even with that technical glitch, I love this collection for its sharpness and clarity. Watching these restored versions is like watching a whole new movie with more detail and clear sound - even some sound surprises you never heard before - especially in Dracula. Universal Pictures - you are awesome!

The Universal Monsters box set is among the best I've ever bought, right up there with ALIEN and STAR WARS box sets. The video and sound quality is great, video being the best I've seen (esp. on DRACULA) and the sound is good to great throughout. If you own them on DVD, I'd say it's still worth the purchase. If I had any criticisms it would be: 1) Phantom felt out of place and shouldn't be in here, 2) a couple of more new extras would have made this an easier sell. Overall an amazing package. However...ironically, the original Legacy box sets WERE BETTER overall packages because they included SO MANY MANY MORE MOVIES. So, this is a perfect start, but now I'd like to see the rest. I mean, this box only covers less than a third of the classic monster movies - and Universal is really dragging it's feet bringing out the rest of their classics. SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, WEREWOLF OF LONDON, and many others will hopefully be released soon in another box set, or perhaps two box sets. These aren't the kinds of films Universal will make millions on, but hopefully they'll make enough off of this box to invest in bringing the others out in HD as well. Please buy this box set, so that Universal will continue to release these undying classics! Highly recommend. You will be very happy. Final note: I've heard about problems with Creature disc, but haven't had any myself. I think if your blu-ray player is updated you'll be fine. Don't let it scare you off. Universal did this one right. Now - More please...

I'm a horror fan. Always have been, probably always will be. My forte runs to the 80's icons, such as Freddy, Jason, Michael and the like. For years I've been trying to get into the classics. I remember owning the original Mummy after the remake was released, and I liked it, but didn't love it. Throughout the years I've picked up the other originals, such as Dracula and Frankenstein. I decided to give this set a chance, and despite paying too much for it, I'm ALMOST completely satisfied with set. The picture quality is incredible. They all almost look brand new. The amount of new things I've noticed in every film is really great. Same goes for the audio, really sounds excellent. I don't see how anybody with an interest in these films could not love how well these were remastered. I mean no more light flickering in the image, and that alone does so much for these films. But the set isn't perfect. Aside from the rehashed special features, they actually recycle alot of the same features on different films, which is pretty lazy. I can deal with that though, but the case for this set is where i draw the line. The box looks cool, but Universal really dropped the ball there. When you hold the average boxset in your hands with the cover facing you, the opening should be on the right side of the box. For some reason, Universal saw fit to have to box open on the left, which is silly. I end up having the digibook fall out constantly because I'm not used to the set opening on the left. Also the digibook itself sucks pretty bad. The Alien and Star Wars digibooks have a kind of bind at the end so you have to slight bend the sleeve to get the disc out, but that totally prevents the disc from falling out. Not the case here, the discs could literally slide out at any time, except the disc are almost impossible to get out, at least without marking up the disc. For the kind of money they are asking for for this set, you would think a slight amount of extra care in the set would have been required, but not so. Regardless, I'm still more than satisfied with this and more than impressed with the films. I can truly say that I always liked these films, but because of how great the picture and sound are, I can now say I love these films.

Just as with "Jaws", Universal did it right with the Blue-ray treatment of its "Monsters Collection". Even if you own these films in the "Legacy" collections, it's well worth it to get this package. The difference between the standard dvds and the Blue-ray discs is phenominal. Also, with the new Blue-ray box set you get the 1943 Technicolor "Phantom of the Opera" and the 3D version of "Creature from the Black Lagoon", which are not in the "Legacy" collections. The 3D "Creature" is wonderful to watch. Processed in Blue-ray, the 3D effects are very good. The extras on each disc are fun to watch too. They give some "behind the story" tidbits of information, like how some of the actors got the parts after others were first considered (Boris Karloff as the Invisible Man, Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein, Lon Chaney Sr as Dracula, etc.) There is one major flaw with the set however. It is with a segment in the Spanish version of "Dracula". The segment starts with the ship voyage in the storm and continues all the way through the scene at the ballet where Dracula first meets Dr. Seward and his party. This entire segment if full of scratches, lines, faded spots, and white specks throughout. It's as if they missed an entire reel when they remastered the film. After the ballet scene, you see a stark difference in the print. It becomes crisp and sharp and all cleaned up. I'm looking forward to the next Blue-ray collection, maybe titled "Son of Universal Monsters Collection", featuring other titles as well as sequels. The films I'd recommend in the package would be "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Werewolf of London", and the sequels: "Son of Frankenstein", "Ghost of Frankenstein", "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man", "Dracula's Daughter", "The Mummy's Hand", "The Invisible Man Returns", and "Revenge of the Creature" (in 2D and 3D).

Raccolta vintage deliziosa e godibile in un bel cofanetto. Perfetta! Classici imperdibili.

This is an amazing box set. Beautiful presentation. I would definitely recommend it. Z

10/10 Rotten Tomatoes Flawless Victory

Son verdaderas joyas de la historia del cine!! Lástima que algunas no tienen la versión en Lengua Española, esto le resta cierto encanto pues me acuerdo, desde mi infancia, de la versión en Español de todas esta películas! Muchas gracias!

For around $50,you get an iconic package of true horror originals with terrific bonuses such as the spanish version of Dracula ( not a dubbed version but a DIFFERENT version ), the 3D version in stunning B/W of the creature, a lavish and comprehensive booklet on the movies.