In the fall, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will bring the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection to Blu-ray. This eight-disc, limited-edition box set compiles nine films from the studio's venerated horror movie catalog, all of which make their respective U.S. Blu-ray debuts through this package.
The films include:
Dracula (1931)
Drácula [Spanish-language version] (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
The Invisible Man (1933)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
While the exact technical specifications are still unknown for the individual discs, Universal's press release notes that the nine pictures have been "digitally restored from high resolution film elements." The set also includes over twelve hours of bonus supplements, such as:
Both versions of Dracula (on a single BD-50) -
Introduction to the Spanish language version by Lupita Tovar Kohner
Audio commentaries:
Film historian David J. Skal
Dracula: Dead and Loving It screenwriter Steve Haberman
Alternate Philip Glass score performed by the Kronos Quartet
Monster Tracks interactive pop-up feature about the making of Dracula
Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
The Road to Dracula
Lugosi: The Dark Prince
Dracula: The Restoration featurette
The Dracula Archives feature
Trailer gallery
Frankenstein -
Audio commentaries:
Film historian Rudy Behlmer
Historian Sir Christopher Frayling
Monster Tracks interactive pop-up feature about the making of Frankenstein
Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
Karloff: The Gentle Monster
Universal Horror featurette
The Frankenstein Archives feature
Boo!: A Short Film
100 Years Of Universal featurette: Restoring the Classics
Trailer gallery
The Mummy -
Audio commentaries:
Rick Baker, Scott Essman, Steve Haberman, Bob Burns, and Brent Armstrong
Film historian Paul M. Jensen
Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art Of Jack Pierce
Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy
The Mummy Archives feature
100 Years Of Universal featurette: The Carl Laemmle Era
Trailer gallery
The Invisible Man -
Audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed behind-the-scenes featurette
100 Years Of Universal featurette: Unforgettable Characters
Production photographs
Bride of Frankenstein -
Audio commentary with Scott MacQueen
She's Alive! Creating The Bride Of Frankenstein behind-the-scenes featurette
The Bride of Frankenstein Archives feature
100 Years Of Universal featurette: Restoring the Classics
Trailer gallery
The Wolf Man -
Audio commentary with film historian Tom Weaver
Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth
Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art Of Jack Pierce
The Wolf Man Archives feature
100 Years Of Universal featurette: The Lot
Trailer gallery
Phantom of the Opera -
Audio commentary with Scott MacQueen
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked behind-the-scenes featurette
100 Years Of Universal featurette: The Lot
Theatrical trailer
Production photographs
Creature from the Black Lagoon -
2D and 3D versions of the film
Audio commentary with Tom Weaver
Back to The Black Lagoon behind-the-scenes featurette
100 Years Of Universal featurette: The Lot
Trailer gallery
Production photographs
In addition, the collection comes with a forty-eight-page book featuring behind-the-scenes photographs, original posters, and rare correspondences.
Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection streets on October 2nd and is available now for pre-order from Amazon for the price of $111.99.
Im going to be SOOOO broke this year: Aug: Jaws, Halloween 4 & 5; Sept: Halloween 2 & 3; Oct: Cinderella (dont laugh), Funhouse, Terror Train and now the Universal Classics Collection. Im in heaven though. The UCM series seems to have ported over all the special features from their DVD releases which is good. I just checked Frankenstein's 75th Anniversary DVD and compared.
I didn't think Universal would release Creature in 3-D! Thanks so much, Universal! Day 1 purchase, and I hope more classic 3-D films will be released soon!
Universal seems to be getting better about not slathering their catalog titles in DNR, so provided that doesn't happen here, I'll be more than happy to pick it up.
There will need to be several follow ups to incorporate all of the sequels for each of these films. Hopefully they are in the works for next year.
I would have loved to have the whole Universal monster "universe" in chronological order so that they could be viewed in their release order, but this is a good start.
Dang this fall is going to be expensive.
Indiana Jones
Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection
Now this.
Well, that is what we have money (and obsessive collecting habits) for I guess.
Looking at the picture, I am hoping that the discs are not going to be stored within the cardboard pages. I think that there will be many scratches if they are stored that way.
Im thrilled that these are coming out (FINALLY) but I, too, would have preferred individual Monster sets (i.e Frankenstein Legacy Collection, etc). I love Son of Frankenstein, House of, etc.
Im sure they will be released somewhere down the line.
I too really want a restored FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, as well as many other Universal horror movies such as THE OLD DARK HOUSE, THE BLACK CAT, and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, restored and remastered on Blu-ray disc. Let's hope this sells very well, and then you who buy it, let Universal know YOU WANT MORE, and sooner rather than later. Perhaps every October for the next few years we get presents (which we have to pay for, of course) like this one. Can't wait for October 2, 2012. It's a great day in the history of Blu-ray releases.
Really nice set. I haven't seen any of these films but they look interesting. Will buy it with the right price and if "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" also comes with a 2D version.
Oh, that's nice, they even included the 3D version of Crea....Holy freakin' WHAT???????
(Since they haven't warned us, looks like it'll be on a 2D/3D hybrid, so as not to put off the regular set buyers who think 3D's "icky", but a good chance at a single release later. It could happen.)
This is absolutely fantastic, right after an announcement of the Hitchcock collection. Wow I have my work cut out for me on The Silver Screen column! Hats off to Universal! The only thing I would love to see from them now for their anniversary is a musicals collection which would include Flower Drum Song, Sweet Charity, Thoroughly Modern Millie in one set of classic musicals, and Pirates of Penzance, Xanadu, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Jesus Christ Superstar in a 70's and 80's set.
man this is insane! so many awesome BD sets coming out this year! what will i do? i already have so much on preorder, but i really can't do this one this year. i hoe i will be able to get it for christmas perhaps along with hitchcoc set.
on preorder i have Bound, Total Recall, Butterfly Effect (1+2,) Game of Thrones Season 2 and the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary set. my wife is just about had it and says she will kill me if i dar order anything else. man...so many awesome sets to choose from this year.
I am so damn happy! I never mind the double or quadruple dip in the case of the classic horror. Game changing films, all of them. Looking forward to seeing how much of an upgrade the Blu's will be compared to the last couple of DVD releases. The DVDs look beautiful when played through the blu-ray player. We have a 60' Sony plasma flat screen and Lugosi, Karloff, Chaney and all those other wonderful monster folk and villagers never looked better. Well, at least until October 2nd? Hopes are high.
HAVE MERCY ON MY WALLET!!! James Bond set in September, the Hitchcock set and now this??? Are you trying to make me go bankrupt?? What a terrific year for Blu-ray 2012 is turning out to be!!
I'm excited about this set. It's not just the monsters that scare me though; I'm also afraid of the price (especially after seeing how much the Hitchcock set is going for).
whats the difference between the Draculas?
Also, why if no difference do they go out of thier way to announce a second language version.
No other movie is like that, unless it's made in a different language originally.
@Kinetic_Blue: both versions of Dracula were filmed using the same sets, but with different directors and casts. Reportedly the Spanish-speaking cast & crew started work at night after the English-speaking cast & crew wrapped for the day. So they are entirely different films.
Unless this set sells well enough, I don't see the sequels coming out - it was probably expensive enough as it is to make this set, and this is just a small fraction of what the set would have contained had it contained everything. Presumably if they have any plans at all to sell the sequels, they're going to use some of the money from selling these more well known movies to go toward any restoration/remastering costs. I do have to say, though - the fact that the sequels don't seem to be included, even as standard definition special features, tells me that maybe they do have plans to release them in the future, and kept them off this release for that reason.
FINALLY! Very excited. RORY - I saw the HD restoration of the BLACK CAT and yes, it looks fabulous. However for THE OLD DARK HOUSE< the George Eastman house may have the only surviving negative, and it is a dupe at that. And if my memory serves, either Universal sold all rights to the film to William CAstle for his remake, or they failed to renew their copyright (my memory is fading).
@lordmorpheus72, I feel your pain, literally. I'm getting married November 3rd and feel the strain to the wallet. Have any individual annoucements been made? Maybe just Dracula and Frankenstein??
Nikka488: "I wonder if the 3D version of Creature will be red/blue original 3D or updated for new 3D tvs.."
Nikka488, Creature From The Black Lagoon and almost all 3-D theatrical movies used the Polarizing (neutral grey glasses) 3-D method, not anaglyph red/blue 3-D.
I am eafer to hear the audio on Dracula. As far as i am concerned the audio track on the Legacy collection and the previous release years ago was positively brutal. I saw the film theatrically back in 2010 and the audio was clear and distinctive! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
So now we have this, Bond, Hitchcock and other big new releses in like a 2 week window... Like this is honestly crazy. I'm speachless.. Happy.. But.. wow??!!
I hope I can afford this when it comes out, but I can wait till the price becomes reasonable. I'm really stoked they've included the Spanish language version of Dracula, I've never seen that one.
Looks like we have some serial minus clickers here clicking red on everything...
Yes this fall is going to be brutal, but the last couple of years has already been brutal on my wallet building my collection, so what's new.
Creature From The Black Lagoon in 3D!!! NOW I will buy a 3D projector and a 3D bluray player!! (I had a twenty minute super 8 sound version in 3D and it looked awesome! I can't wait to see the bluray!)
They should've included Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, since Lon Chaney, Jr. is Frankenstein, and Bela Lugosi is Dracula in this movie.
Yes yes yes....but the scary part is going to be finding out the price. I had to forgo the Hitchcock box due to finances, but I hope I can afford this.
So awesome that Creature from the black lagoon is going to be in 3D, that along with the WB Hitchcock classics in 3D are a big deal, for those of us who are classic 3D film fans.
XjokerX the Spanish language version of Dracula is an entirely different cast, shot on the same sets as the English version.
its not a simple dubbing. Historically the Spanish language version of Dracula is just as important and the English version.
RickBond007 see my response to joker. The Spanish language Dracula, is not just a redubbing, its an entirely different cast shot on the same sets as the English version.
I was really praying that Universal would do a blu ray of 'The Black Cat'. But since it's not officially a monster movie, that might be the reason it was not included in the upcoming release. So perhaps there's still hope!
For those of you who are not familiar with this Universal masterpiece, it was written and directed by an import from Europe, Edgar G. Ulmer, and was Universal's 1934 box-office hit of the year. It stars both Karloff and Lugosi, in a tale of struggle between two life-long enemies.... one a doctor returning from extended political imprisonment, and a Satanic,, brilliant architect in his art-deco home built on the ruins of a fort on the site of a massive, bloody battle.
The cinematography, directing, and art direction (all modernistic art-deco), are the very best that Universal ever put out. No monsters here...... both Karloff and Lugosi have bona fide characters and a chance to show their acting abilities.... which are absolutely superb. Make sure to see this..... you will be fascinated. One of the best Universal films of the Karloff/Lugosi genre.
I've been a lurker on this site for a long time now, and after reading this news, I finally had to create an account to simply say this - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This is the holy grail of classic horror films! I've been waiting for the Universal monster films in hi-def since I first got a Blu-ray player. August, September and October 2012 will positively break my wallet. What an amazing year this has turned out to be.
Just when I didn't think anything could top the release calendar in 2011, 2012 strikes again! Universal with the Hitchcock and Monsters collections plus Jaws & ET are at the top of their game. This one could be the release of the year. WOW.
Any word on audio specs? I hope it's lossless and not another unintelligible Dolby Digital Disappointment. I really like how Disney uses 320kbit/sec audio on their supplemental audio; I hope universal does the same here.
Tuesday oct.2 10am Best Buy paramus, n.j....... it's MINE !!!!! Sept. 25 Bond 50, Hitchcock collection Ditto.........MINE !!!!! That's what $$$ is for to buy whatever i want !!!!! 2012 best bluray year ever, and about time !!!!
Pleasantly surprised at Black Lagoon getting a 3D release. I like it when old 3D films get BD 3D releases. Just so cool that the old 3D classics are getting a facelift for the 21 century (my guess is the 3D will be the new 3D: I doubt Universal wants to show off the less successful 3D).
I really hope that this time the film transfer will be in widescreen because this movie was shot in that way in open frame. The DVD version is 4:3 and this is wrong!!! Sometime it seems that Hollywood don't know their self history (same error in many '50 movies DVD, like Them!(WB).
monkeyjb, Creature was originally presented in theatres in Polarized 3D, it was not anaglyph.
I really wish people would at least do a little research if they are going to post about something they know nothing about.
This is a must-have release..... but I do suspect they'll make it redundant in a short time by releasing the Legacy collections. Oh well, such is life....
Personally and even though it's not a great film, I would have included "Son of Frankenstein" rather than "Creature From the Black Lagoon", which was a cheaply made and badly written film of a completely different era, but as per the above posters, many people obviously wanted "Creature".
I also think this should have been priced at $89.99 - $10 per film, but there's no doubt I'll be buying. The interior art looks very nice - I like that they used that old Frankenstein poster. I think the slipcase art could have been a little classier. It does look like cardboard sleeves, but I've never had a problem with that in other packages.
And yes, according to IMDB, aspect ratio of Creature is supposed to be 2.0:1. But I doubt it will be that. They'll probably crop the sides a bit and make it HDTV AR of 16:9.
About ten years ago, a 35mm 3D print of Creature played outdoors at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, with a live score and actors doing the dialogue - only it was newly written and very funny dialogue. It was one of the best nights of entertainment I've ever had. Too bad Universal couldn't put that on there as an extra soundtrack.
You cannot beat the classics! I bought this same box set when it came out on DVD (except for the 3D part of The Creature from the Black Lagoon). Many years ago, I saw The Creature from the Black Lagoon on VHS in 3D. The bad part is that you have to wear the 3D glasses to watch the movie, or else you see the movie as a fuzzy multi-image shifted picture. Fortunately it will include both the 3D and regular 2D versions because sometimes you don't want to wear the glasses, and sometimes there are more people watching than there are glasses.
I hope they eventually release the others in the Universal Monsters series in BD -- Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, House of Frankenstein, and House of Dracula.
The ignorance regarding the Spanish language version of Dracula is astounding. There's a freaking trailer for it on this page that clearly shows it has a different cast. And anyone who bothered to buy the original Legacy colletions on DVD should know this, so clearly those who are asking aren't even Universal Monsters fans. And anaglyph 3D on Creature? Seriously, do some research. That being said, I can't wait for this.
As nice as this is - it's pretty stupid and will likley ruin any future releases of each film's sequel. Universal has stated that these films have not sold well. With Blu-ray able to hold so much one disc it's actually a rip-off that only one film is on a disc since some have short running times. All three CREATURE films could fit on one disc - plus the 3d version as well. Even with Dracula being restored the studio has made HD transfers for HD cable cast. Nope a complete release of a box set containing all the monsters and their sequels should have been dine - not this half baked edition that will probably leave fans in the cold.
ditcin: I don't consider a boxed set with nine restored films to be "half baked". And if they added 5 to 10 more films, it would have been extremely costly. The only problem is that if they do release additional boxes for each "monster", they'll inevitably have to be double-dipping.
Besides, most of the sequels are actually pretty bad. As I've written in another thread, Universal went into receivership in 1936, the Lammelles lost control of the studio and even though the 1936 film "Three Smart Girls" restored the studio to solvency, Universal became pretty much a low-budget studio for decades, producing the Dead End Kids, Francis the Talking Mule, Ma and Pa Kettle, Abbott & Costello (funny, but still low production values), etc. Only occasionally did they do something classy like "Great Expectations" or "Hamlet". It's really too bad. Imagine if all the subsequent horror films had the quality of "The Bride of Frankenstein".
My only complaint however is the sequels. Those are going to be out of print unless you can still get them with the Universal Legacy collection dvds released to promote Van Helsing (and most are still in print I believe).
Oh and I wouldn't be shocked at some point to see these individualy released.
$112 for that? I'll wait until the release... it may drop down a few notches... if not, I'll wait until Universal get their thoughts together... with any luck, after their 100th anniversary, prices should go down quite a bit. Here in Canada, it shouldn't be called an anniversary, it should be called "we-rip-you-off" for the price they're asking. (example: American Pie: $18 for the Blu-ray)...
Based on that restoration promo, though, seems like Universal just can't seem to keep their hands off the dials...
And it also looks like they've succumbed to some form of no-hub cardboard packaging garbage crap. Really pulling out all the stops to make me not want to buy it.
@davidthenikonuser - Tell that to my Star Wars disc that was scratched and didn't play right; had to replace the whole box to get one that wasn't scratched and did play. And the other discs that have pits and whatnot on them. Ditto with Alien, though the movies did play all right. Still haven't found time/inclination to get to the special features.
I think i want to buy this movies. This monsters were my favorities as a kid. I hope that universal put subtitles in spanish or better put the dialogue in spanish. Remember that this are old movies.
@cyberglyph - The Black Cat was definitely not to my tastes. Glad it's not part of this set. (Usually don't throw around the word overrated, but once in a while...)
I am thrilled and I too am hoping for a $90.00 price tag before I purchase. Creature belongs in it as much as he did in my Aurora model kit collection!
9 movies, 1 sequel, 1 in color, 1 in Spanish, 1 in 3D---all classic!
@fdm, how can a 1936 horror film that's managed to survive almost 80 years be overrated? It's also signifigant historically due to it's taboo content and was largely responsible for the creation of the early movie ratings system and censorship of horror films. The ban of horror films in England, which was a substantial market at time, meant a three year gap until horror was revived in 1939. The Black Cat is a masterpiece. Well, to each his own.
I will buy this day 1 (but I hope the price decreases) and moved the Hitchcock set to Christmas. After all, I already have the Masterpiece Collection in DVD so I can wait a few more months but I don't have any of these monsters films so I'm really interested in how they are.
Check this terrific blog post for the best collection of high quality scans of vintage Universal Monster movie posters. I couldn't think of anyone who's missing and the artwork is stunning... http://magicmonkeyboy.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/universal.html
@ Simonbergeron, r u really complaining about $12.44 per blu-ray ? ? ? Those are great prices on a set such as this, and, it will probably be lower on release day. This is day one for me !
I, too, am in the Day 1 purchase camp (in fact, I've already pre-ordered the set) but I admit to being a little disappointed by the very limited amount of *NEW* supplemental material. While I'm glad to see that all of the supplements from the 75th Anniversary DVDs of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Wolfman were ported over to these new BDs, I guess I was hoping for some new commentary tracks and/or new documentary features / featurettes. Still, that's a comparatively minor quibble overall, as I'm thankful to finally get (what I expect to be) significantly upgraded video - particularly for Dracula, which has traditionally fared worse than the others on home video.
@Zetmoon: If you look at the 1st video above, about the restoration, the examples provided show just how much better these can look. They would look better on DVD as well, but only if they make new DVDs from the restoration. I have Dracula and Bride of Frankenstein on DVD and they look remarkably good for their age, but I really think these BDs are going to be far better. But if you're happy, keep the DVDs.
I just hope that book packaging is "safer" than it looks. I had one heckuva time getting "Star Wars" and "Alien" sets that weren't scratched from the manufacturer by their cardboard pages.
My solution to protect the discs from future scratching was Mini-LP sleeves I imported from Japan (like the old "elephant condoms" on LaserDiscs). I hope the same answer is applicable for this collection.
I skimmed through the details. Does anyone know if all of the films on this set are getting the same white glove digital restoration treatment that DRACULA is getting? I'm so onboard for this...
Anyone who loves these old b&W 4:3 movies and isn't going bonkers bananas about the promise of a blu-ray ungrade has never beheld the wonder of the Twilight Zone blus. And yes, Creature very much belongs in this set.
Heres another great link to a blog that focuses primarily of Forest J Ackerman's Famous Monsters magazine so naturally there's a lot of content to do with Universal monsters. Check the stunning art of Daniel Horne... http://classicmoviemonsters.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Daniel%20Horne
I don't know about those paper cases, I owned a couple of similar digipacks of the beatles remastred cds that came out a couple of years ago, every time I took a disc out the case it scratched a little bit against the paper, after a few times I could see small scratchs marks. I know that BD discs has better surface protectiob, but this kind of packaging should be avoided.
I can't wait for this set! I only wish they would have fully restored and included the original silent Phantom of the Opera as well. I'm guessing that's one that Universal still owns the rights to?
The UCM series seems to have ported over all the special features from their DVD releases which is good. I just checked Frankenstein's 75th Anniversary DVD and compared. 
