THE BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, is the first Universal DVD I have bought in a while that was a dual density single disk with no technical problems. After having to return two different copies of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS to Amazon.com because of technical glitches from two-sided printing, this technically flawless disk is a most welcome addition to the home of anyone who loves Mr. Lugosi. But I am still knocking it down one star because of laziness on the part of Universal in not having Sara Karloff or Bela Lugosi, Jr. chatting about their fathers. Or not having any real bonus material. Boris Karloff stars in three of these five movies, including one that has Lugosi in only a small role. Visual and sound quality are outstanding on all... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Boris Karloff - Bela Lugosi - David Manners - Julie Bishop Director(s): Edgar G. Ulmer DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Why would Universal previously distribute a superior DVD and then repackage the same film but decrease the quality???
The Legacy Collection of the original Dracula movie from 1930 is a lesser quality DVD than it's predecessor from the Classic Monsters Collection set. The image quality is blurry and fuzzy - I'll take film grain and hairs over blurred out images anyday. The audio is also muted and soft as compared to the earlier released DVD.
I've compared both DVDs side by side, and the previous "Classic Monsters Collection" DVD won out in DVD quality.
My suggestion to all customers is to avoid these lesser quality (but newer) releases of Dracula and buy the earlier release instead. More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Bela Lugosi - Helen Chandler - David Manners Director(s): Tod Browning DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I ordered this movie because I'm a dedicated fan of actor David Manners. Instead of receiving the Gotham Distribution version pictured here, I received the Alpha Video DVD release of "The Moonstone". This version of the film is *not* worth adding to your collection, at least as presented on this DVD. The original running time of "The Moonstone" was 62 minutes; here it runs only 47 minutes, meaning that one-fourth of the movie is missing! And the footage that remains is scratchy and jumpy, with grade Z contrast ... not even remotely worth watching for a glimpse of cult actor Manners.
The Alpha Video DVD does contain a second feature, a creaky 1931 mystery named "Murder at Midnight". Unfortunately, it also is a bottom-of-the-barrel transfer of a film that wasn't any too interesting to... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): David Manners DVD Release Date: Released the 22 July 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The Death Kiss (1933) is actually a fairly interesting little who-dun-it mystery. The drama unfolds on the set of a movie called-predictably-The Death Kiss. The big scene features a gang of thugs gunning down the character played by Miles Brent after he receives a Judas kiss from a stranger played, wouldn't you know it, by Brent's ex-wife Marcia Lane. To everyone's surprise, Brent doesn't get back up after the scene is finished; this is especially sad given the fact that his death swoon was not convincing enough to satisfy the director. An uproar ensues when it becomes clear that Brent was murdered. None of the eight guns used in the scene turns out to be the murder weapon, complicating matters for the police. Further complicating the work of detectives is the insinuation of studio... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): David Manners - Bela Lugosi Director(s): Edwin L. Marin DVD Release Date: Released the 30 July 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
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You have to hand it to the walking dead. What they lack in speed and agility, they more than make up for in sheer single-minded determination. Im-Ho-Tep is a case in point. He's an ancient Egyptian priest, cursed for his terrible crimes against the gods. A team of British archaeologists digs up his sarcophagus, along with a box inscribed with a warning that opening it will unleash death and destruction. You'll never guess what they do. Once freed, Im-Ho-Tep takes on the appropriately evil alias Ardath Bey and gets to the task of resurrecting his ancient lover--which will, of course, require a living human surrogate. While the premise may sound formulaic, The Mummy in fact turns out to be bracingly weird, relying on atmospheric creepiness rather than on jump-out-and-scare-you... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Boris Karloff - Zita Johann - David Manners Director(s): Karl Freund DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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When Universal Pictures picked up the movie rights to a Broadway adaptation of Dracula, they felt secure in handing the property over to the sinister team of actor Lon Chaney and director Tod Browning. But Chaney died of cancer, and Universal hired the Hungarian who had scored a success in the stage play: Béla Lugosi. The resulting film launched both Lugosi's baroque career and the horror-movie cycle of the 1930s. It gets off to an atmospheric start, as we meet Count Dracula in his shadowy castle in Transylvania, superbly captured by the great cinematographer Karl Freund. Eventually Dracula and his blood-sucking devotee (Dwight Frye, in one of the cinema's truly mad performances) meet their match in a vampire-hunter called Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). If the later... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Bela Lugosi - Helen Chandler - David Manners Director(s): Tod Browning DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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