Brides of Dracula DVD
 

This is an old one I know, but is anyone intrested in getting this DVD like me? Just about every Hammer Dracula title is out except for this one. I'm a big fan of alot of the Hammer movies. Any possible news on this title comming soon?

Yes, I'd love to have this Hammer classic. I'm not sure who the rights are held by, but it seems as though they're not much interested in the Hammer films.

I'm guessing Universal, as Warner have been quite good about the ones they hold, like the recent Dracula ones.

At least we here in r2 can get Twins of Evil and Vampire Circus...

me too....next time question marks though....

Moreover, you can't get Dracula A.D. 1972, and the decent (Anchor Bay) version of Satanic Rights has gone OOP as they have lost the rights to the Hammer titles. The inprint ones are terrible public domain copies. Euww!

We never even got Satanic Rites in R2...!

Aren't a whole bunch of Hammer titles going to be released by Blue Underground at some point? Anchor Bay's OOP titles aren't even on their website anymore. I really want to pick up some titles that I've missed but don't want to have to double dip once the rights have changed hands.

This is a must-have for me, as well as "Curse of the Werewolf" and "Phantom of the Opera (1962)", both also owned by Universal.

Here is some info on the Hammer titles. Taken from Mobius:

BTW, the most recent LIITLE SHOPPE OF HORORS mentions Universal has been working on it's Hammer material and has uncovered extra footage for BRIDES OF DRACULA and KISS OF EVIL. They also recently made restored theatrical prints of CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF which have played here and there around the country.

Also, Evil Of Frankenstein played on one of the Hi-Def channels last weekend. Hopefully all 3 will be coming to DVD soon.

As for the Anchor Bay titles, unfortunately William Lustin has made a 180 and decided not to re-do them. He has stated that they have been done(to death already I guess), and says there is nothing he can add.

I think that he thinks they won't sell. They definitely need upgrading, at least anamorphic enhancement on some of them.

I can't find the link to the interview, maybe somebody else has it.

I just saw a couple of titles from Blue Underground just yesterday in Best Buy, one was from the Hammer group called The Bloody Judge with Christopher Lee, which looked pretty good but I didn't pick it up, not yet that is.

Well lets hope Universal come through then...


Yes I'd heard that Blue Underground has changed policy on the ex-Anchor Bay Hammer titles as well. They don't think there'd be enough sales to justify doing them again.

I suppose it;s fair enough; the Hammer titles will mostly go to collectors, and they will have got the AB releases which while not perfect are pretty good.

Thats a promising sign(about the Universal titles) Hopefully we'll see these in 2005.

Actually that's not a Hammer film. It was directed by Jess Franco, and was a continental production consequently. English producer, but he wasn't affiliated with Hammer. I don't think BU has released any Hammer content to date.

Incidentally, it's a pretty good movie, it's along the lines of Witchfinder General and Mark of the Devil.

So what's the deal with Blue Underground's Hammer films...they're not going to re-do them with new transfers or are they not going to release them at all? I'm a little confused on the matter. If they're not going to release them at all, I'll just go and try to pick up all the OOP Anchor Bay releases right now before they're gone.

This was the exceprt from the recent interview mentioned above.
The full interview.

Might as well grab them while you can or get some of the German Anolis releases if you're region free.

Pity he didn't add that

"they're out there"

but you can't buy them as they're out of print and no more can be made as I now have the rights

The Hammer films from AB were quite a minor release, and many of them never made it outside of r1, either.

Typical business move...he doesn't care if the films will be available or not just as long as his profit and loss statement improves. In which case I hope he gives the rights up to somebody who does care about Hammer films.

Well, can you really blame him.
Did HORROR OF DRACULA dvd really sell?
When ever I look at the dvd sales charts it's always movies that came out a year or so ago that are always in the top 10.
Once in a while like STAR WARS, or a Disney cartoon will land there.
But other than that you are more likely to see a Vin Diesal dvd in the top 10 instead of a good old movie that came out the same week on dvd.

No, you can't. But if you're just going to sit on the rights, might as well pass it on to somebody else who'd be willing take on the job. And how many copies does a title like Tenebre sell...it can't be that much. There's a niche market for everything, you just have to control the amount of product produced.

The problem is the people under 30 don't watch old movies.
I know this 21 year old babe who won't watch a black & white movie no matter how great the movie is supposed to be.
And this one 21yr. girl I know says her boyfriend won't watch anything before 1990.

Hammer re-invited the horror movie genre so anything that they put out early on(late 50's-early 60's)should be well respected.

worthless...

I'm not really sure what Lustig means... since the rights have reverted to him, will BU just be re-releasing the current AB Hammers, or not release them at all?

Those movies got horrendous treatment from Anchor Bay. Shitty covers, high prices, middling transfers, spotty distribution. I don't think I saw any of the early Hammers in stores anywhere. And then, instead of reducing the prices, they tossed them together in those stupid "Double Feature" packs.

I have to wonder... is there really less of a market for the Hammer movies than the rest of the shit BU releases like Mondo Cane or Conquest?

My impression is that BU will not be re-releasing any of the Hammer titles at all. But that's just a hunch garnered from the context and other comments by Lustig in the aforementioned interview.

Collecting the Hammer titles has been a project of mine the second half of this year. Mostly going through Ebay, I have been able to get almost all of the OOP Anchor Bay and Paramount releases, to go with the relatively easy to find Warner and MGM titles. I still haven't gotten hold of To the Devil, a Daughter or Satanic Rites of Dracula, but I have all of the rest of the reputable ones.

Anyway, for anyone who is interested, here is my list of the prominent Hammer horrors that haven't been released in R1 yet. Hopefully, Universal will get it in gear and release the ones they have the rights to.

Brides of Dracula (1960)
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
Dracula, AD 1972 (1972)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
The Gorgon (1964)
The Hands of the Ripper (1971)
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
Twins of Evil (1971)
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)

Maybe someone can fill in the blanks if they are aware of other unreleased classics that I don't know of. Vampire Circus was mentioned in one of the posts above, but I am unfamiliar with it, so haven't listed it.

Can anyone post a link or a list of the Anchor Bay Hammer DVDs that will be affected by Blue Underground's decision not to re-visit them? I did a quick search and couldn't find a list, and I'd like to make sure that I've got all the movies I'm interested in...

Thanks!

The Hammers that Anchor Bay originally released are:

Dracula Prince of Darkness
Frankenstein Created Woman
Plague of the Zombies
Mummy's Shroud
Satanic Rites of Dracula
Rasputin the Mad Monk
Devil Rides Out
Quatermass 2
Quatermass and the Pit
X The Unknown
Four Sided Triangle
Prehistoric Women
Lost Continent
Viking Queen
Vengeance of She
Shatter
Abominable Snowman
Witches
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires
The Reptile

These are all in the "Double Features" that were released about a year ago. Most of them are still available, with the possible exception of "Dracula POD/Satanic Rites of Dracula" and "Quatermass2/Quatermass and the Pit."

I love that Mondo shit....and even though the Fulci film sucks, I feel it is still essential for Fulci completists. not as good as Hammer....but hell, release it all! :D

it's been too damn long since I saw Brides.....can't wait to add it to the collection.