Warner Brothers Horror in October
06-23-06, 05:19 PM
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Warner Brothers Horror in October
News from DVD Drive-In that a 3-disc set will be coming out with the movies-Mark of the Vampire,Dr. X ,The Return of Doctor X,The Devil-Doll and Mask of Fu Manchu-can't wait.
07-27-06, 12:49 AM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
dvdaff has a release date
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection
- Devil-Doll, The (1936)
- Doctor X (1932)
- Return of Doctor X, The (1939)
- Mad Love (1935)
- Mark of the Vampire (1935)
- Mask of Fu Manchu, The (1932)
Release date: Oct-10-2006
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection
- Devil-Doll, The (1936)
- Doctor X (1932)
- Return of Doctor X, The (1939)
- Mad Love (1935)
- Mark of the Vampire (1935)
- Mask of Fu Manchu, The (1932)
Release date: Oct-10-2006
10-09-06, 10:13 AM
#5
Suspended
So it's called "Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection" and the titles are not available separately, which is the true horror of the thing, I guess. On the plus side, these five films are all rarities in their own right.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...W/imdb-button/
Features:
I will probably rent "Mark of the Vampire" and "The Devil Doll" and skip on the others.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...W/imdb-button/
Features:
DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Mark of the Vampire (1935) / The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Commentary by genre historians Kim Newman and Steve Jones (Mark of the Vampire)
Theatrical Trailer (Mark of the Vampire)
Commentary by Greg Mank, author of "Karloff & Lugosi: A Story of a Haunting Collaboration" (The Mask of Fu Manchu)
Doctor X (1932) / The Return of Doctor X (1939)
Commentary by horror scholar Tom Weaver (Doctor X)
Theatrical Trailer
Commentary by director Vincent Sherman and author Steve Haberman (The Return of Doctor X)
Theatrical Trailer
Mad Love (1935) / The Devil Doll (1936)
Commentary by Steve Haberman, author of "Chronicles of Terror" (Mad Love)
Theatrical Trailers
Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Mark of the Vampire (1935) / The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
Commentary by genre historians Kim Newman and Steve Jones (Mark of the Vampire)
Theatrical Trailer (Mark of the Vampire)
Commentary by Greg Mank, author of "Karloff & Lugosi: A Story of a Haunting Collaboration" (The Mask of Fu Manchu)
Doctor X (1932) / The Return of Doctor X (1939)
Commentary by horror scholar Tom Weaver (Doctor X)
Theatrical Trailer
Commentary by director Vincent Sherman and author Steve Haberman (The Return of Doctor X)
Theatrical Trailer
Mad Love (1935) / The Devil Doll (1936)
Commentary by Steve Haberman, author of "Chronicles of Terror" (Mad Love)
Theatrical Trailers
10-09-06, 10:25 AM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Warner seems to be going more with Universal's idea for these releases. With the Karloff and Inner Sanctum sets I had no trouble buying them at $20 each despite the fact some of the movies didn't interest me. At $28 this set is one I will pick up despite it being a mixed bag. It may even be cheaper than that at Sam's.
10-09-06, 11:09 AM
#8
Suspended
DVDbeaver review and screencaps: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...collection.htm
(Doctor X)
(Mark of the Vampire]
The 6 films are spread over 3 dual-layered - single-sided DVDs - each in their own slim transparent keep case with beautiful art reminding me very much of the covers used in the Val Lewton set. They are encoded in the NTSC standard in regions 1,2,3 + 4 except Disc 1 (Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu) which is only region 1. All are progressively transferred. All have trailers and each have a commentary except The Devil Doll. Each have original audio and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
These films are all very old and quality varies quite a little bit - Dr. X (in awkward looking 2-strip Technicolor) looks the worst with many scratches and damage marks visible. Looking better but still a shade worn is Mark of the Vampire which show a lot of digital noise and dirt. The remaining four look acceptable with The Return of Dr. X appearing as good as any recent Warner transfers of older films - strong detail and good contrast. Audio was at Warner's usual high standards and I noticed no dropouts and only minor background hiss in segregated moments of the oldest films. Subtitles seemed flawlessly done.
The commentaries are all very professional - Warner found some very knowledgeable sources. I think I enjoyed The Return of Dr. X commentary the most with Steve Haberman and a crackling voiced Vincent Sherman who passed away earlier this year at 100 years of age. His memory of events and the crew was extremely sharp. He detailed quite a bit about Bogart and his slow rise to become a leading man. Greg Mank's commentary (The Mask of Fu Manchu) was also very thorough and Steve Jones and Kim Newman (Mark of the Vampire) were very entertaining to listen to.
I was in absolute nirvana watching these films and then listening to the commentaries. Although I enjoyed The Boris Karloff Collection and the Inner Sanctum Mysteries I think this package is far superior. With talent like Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, Tod Browning, Boris Karloff, Myrna Loy, Peter Lorre, Maureen O'Sullivan, Fay Wray, Michael Curtiz, Vincent Sherman and Humphrey Bogart - you know you are in for a big treat viewing these (I watched all in one day!) Great stuff that we strongly recommend! (five stars) out of (five stars)
Gary W. Tooze
These films are all very old and quality varies quite a little bit - Dr. X (in awkward looking 2-strip Technicolor) looks the worst with many scratches and damage marks visible. Looking better but still a shade worn is Mark of the Vampire which show a lot of digital noise and dirt. The remaining four look acceptable with The Return of Dr. X appearing as good as any recent Warner transfers of older films - strong detail and good contrast. Audio was at Warner's usual high standards and I noticed no dropouts and only minor background hiss in segregated moments of the oldest films. Subtitles seemed flawlessly done.
The commentaries are all very professional - Warner found some very knowledgeable sources. I think I enjoyed The Return of Dr. X commentary the most with Steve Haberman and a crackling voiced Vincent Sherman who passed away earlier this year at 100 years of age. His memory of events and the crew was extremely sharp. He detailed quite a bit about Bogart and his slow rise to become a leading man. Greg Mank's commentary (The Mask of Fu Manchu) was also very thorough and Steve Jones and Kim Newman (Mark of the Vampire) were very entertaining to listen to.
I was in absolute nirvana watching these films and then listening to the commentaries. Although I enjoyed The Boris Karloff Collection and the Inner Sanctum Mysteries I think this package is far superior. With talent like Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, Tod Browning, Boris Karloff, Myrna Loy, Peter Lorre, Maureen O'Sullivan, Fay Wray, Michael Curtiz, Vincent Sherman and Humphrey Bogart - you know you are in for a big treat viewing these (I watched all in one day!) Great stuff that we strongly recommend! (five stars) out of (five stars)
Gary W. Tooze
(Doctor X)
(Mark of the Vampire]
Last edited by baracine; 10-09-06 at 12:00 PM.
10-09-06, 06:54 PM
#13
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Thread Starter
Don't forget that Sony has a Karloff set-said too be much better than the Universal set.
10-09-06, 09:03 PM
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I really wish they would have included the London After Midnight reconstruction from the Lon Chaney set as an extra for Mark of the Vampire. I will probably buy this box set, but not the Chaney set.
10-09-06, 10:54 PM
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The LAM reconstruction was an interesting and impressive effort. It's probably also essential viewing for Chaney/silent film fans. That said, it's not something I'd probably watch more than once; got a little tedious near the end.
10-10-06, 08:54 AM
#18
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Originally Posted by starecase
I really wish they would have included the London After Midnight reconstruction from the Lon Chaney set as an extra for Mark of the Vampire. I will probably buy this box set, but not the Chaney set.
10-10-06, 11:20 AM
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by baracine
I thought the only thing that survived were a few stills. Where did you see that LAM reconstruction exactly and how long does it run?
It's available on this DVD set: http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Collect...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd
10-10-06, 03:05 PM
#22
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Originally Posted by bboisvert
The LAM reconstruction is made up of stills. It's a valiant effort, but is ultimately a bit wobbily. Still, it may be the closest any of us get to actually seeing the film.
It's available on this DVD set: http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Collect...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd
It's available on this DVD set: http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Collect...?ie=UTF8&s=dvd
10-10-06, 04:55 PM
#23
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Using the following synopsis of London After Midnight, I have highlighted parts of the plot that are missing from The Mark of the Vampire, probably because of the 20-minute cuts to the original print. Of course, the names have also been changed, the setting has been moved to Czekoslovakia and the roles of "the man in the beaver hat", "Balfour's double" and Inspector Burke are played by three different actors, instead of by Lon Chaney. The remake is especially foggy when it comes to explaining what Count Mora and his daughter are doing in the murdered man's castle and how long they've been there. The part of the Professor (Lionel Barrymore) also seems to be a new element, in direct imitation of "Dracula"'s Van Helsing:
The cuts appear to have been made to simplify the story and make it more plausible, even if they in fact muddle it quite a bit. The Hays Code must have prevented any mention of suicide. (Murder is OK, but not suicide since you can't punish the culprit.) Also, by moving the action to Central Europe, the whole vampire thing is given much more importance: everybody believes in vampires, the murdered victim has been drained of blood, the peasants venture in graveyards to get their fresh supply of "bat thorn" to protect themselves, gypsies sing their colourful songs, men in shorts dance their thigh-slapping dances, etc.
Spoiler:
The cuts appear to have been made to simplify the story and make it more plausible, even if they in fact muddle it quite a bit. The Hays Code must have prevented any mention of suicide. (Murder is OK, but not suicide since you can't punish the culprit.) Also, by moving the action to Central Europe, the whole vampire thing is given much more importance: everybody believes in vampires, the murdered victim has been drained of blood, the peasants venture in graveyards to get their fresh supply of "bat thorn" to protect themselves, gypsies sing their colourful songs, men in shorts dance their thigh-slapping dances, etc.
Last edited by baracine; 10-10-06 at 05:18 PM.
10-10-06, 06:37 PM
#24
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I am now watching The Mask of Fu Machu (1932), which I had never seen before. The picture is very clear except for a few instances - sometimes just a few seconds - where the film seems to have been cut for censorship reasons and the missing footage and sound replaced by footage from a grainier copy, possibly in 16 mm. The cuts take out politically incorrect sentiments against the Chinese (in the mouth of the British Secret Service representative) and against the "Christian White race" (in the mouth of Fu Manchu), including one whopper about killing the White man to get at his women, as well as an instance of sexually-tinged sadism, when the Mirna Loy character (as Fu Manchu's daughter) urges on the whipping of the semi-naked studmuffin Charles Starret with a little too much enthusiasm. I don't know if those restored cuts are mentioned in the commentary yet. Uncannily, no one thought of cutting a bit where a muscular Black man in a diaper is killed off without a second thought as part of a medical procedure.
Last edited by baracine; 10-11-06 at 06:51 AM.
10-11-06, 12:01 AM
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Originally Posted by darkside
Warner seems to be going more with Universal's idea for these releases. With the Karloff and Inner Sanctum sets I had no trouble buying them at $20 each despite the fact some of the movies didn't interest me. At $28 this set is one I will pick up despite it being a mixed bag. It may even be cheaper than that at Sam's.
Family Video has this set on sale for $18.69. There is a $5 off coupon that brings it down to $14.68 with $0.99 shipping.
Coupon Code: NEWMEM96
Thanks to dizzlle01 for posting the code.