Curse of Frankenstein, The [Blu-ray]

The Curse of Frankenstein is one of the greatest horror movies ever made featuring two horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Lee and Cushing teamed in 24 movies together. Movies like Horror of Dracula and The Mummy are legendary. I think this is one of Cushing's finest performances. It certainly is one of his most famous roles. Frankenstein starts out as a nice kid who is ambitious, determined and a hard worker. As the story goes the deeper he becomes obsessed with recreating like the more mad he becomes and it takes over his life and changes him. Frankenstein in this is someone we don't see as a complete villain. He simply a man who has let his passion overtake his life and ignore the right and wrong aspects of his experiment. Robert Urquhart plays his teacher and mentor. He is a likable character and the good guy. Urquhart gives an excellent performances holding his own next to Cushing. We get a pair of beautiful women in Hazel Court as Elizabeth and Valerie Gaunt as Justine. They turn in great supporting performances. I liked them both. Finally the Great Christopher Lee as the Monster gives a legendary performance. Cushing and Lee play great against each other. The entire movie is great. There are no boring parts and the cast and story are strong. The ending was awesome. I strongly recommend this movie to horror fans and new horror fans. Taste the Blood of Dracula is a okay movie. Christopher Lee has brief screen time but his presence makes the film exciting to watch. The plot is about three elderly distinguished gentlemen who are searching for some excitement in their boring bourgeois lives and get in contact with one of count Dracula's servants. In a nightly ceremony they restore the count back to life. I liked this movie. I am a fan of the Hammer Dracula's and Vampire movies. This is not a bad Dracula movie it's just not as good as Horror of Dracula, Prince of Darkness or Scars of Dracula. It's a nice bonus film in addition to Curse of Frankenstein. Cheers!

Item arrived in good condition and on the day that was predicted. This is a terrible movie. It is so bad that I loved it.

Disc #1 has 2 remastered 4K scans in1.85 & 1.66 & with a audio commentary with Constantine Nasr & Steve Haberman on both versions, disc #2 has the " Open Matte " version like how it was on television, no commentary on this one. These are the best presentations of this movie you will see & Warner Bros should be applauded for this release, there are 4 other bonus features on disc 2 & the trailer. I would love to see 2-disc special editions of The Horror of Dracula & The Mummy put out by WB they easily rival what Shout/Scream has done with other Hammer titles & that is saying something. SPOILER ALERT, OK my little review of The Curse of Frankenstein, Peter Cushing is dominant in his role as Baron Von Frankenstein! Colin Clive is fantastic in the first 2 movies & I like Basil Rathbone as well but even if this was Peter Cushing's only portrayal of this role his performance is so frightening I don't know of another that is stronger. I will give the nod to Boris Karloff as a better Frankenstein monster but only by a smidgen Christopher Lee's body movements are riveting & his facial expression are more expressive than just a beastly monster, most touching to me is when the Baron is barking his orders at the monster to sit, just look at his face then it is truly heartbreaking. Hazel Court adds a much needed warmth to this very dark & serious movie & other than The Man Who Could Death I can't recall when she has looked this stunning, from top to bottom and all the way around a top notch 5 STAR MOVIE!

Shot in colour and released in 1957, "The Curse of Frankenstein" is, of course, the film that made Hammer Films a household name for horror/thriller movie fans all over the world. To fully appreciate the importance and impact of "Curse", you have to look at it in the context of the time when it was made. By the mid-fifties, horror films had long passed their peak in Hollywood--certainly in terms of quality. Black and white "quickies", with almost no budget, were being churned out for teenagers to watch at the drive-in ( at least, those who were watching the screen ! ) Shlock-masters like Roger Corman and Bert Gordon were turning out "masterpieces" like "The Wasp Woman" and "The Amazing Colossal Man". Suddenly, we have a small studio in England, making a horror film with excellent production values, gorgeously creepy sets, fine costumes, professional actors and a talented director, Terence Fisher. At the same time, along with a classy look, you add liberal amounts of gore ( certainly by 1950s standards ), and a couple of voluptuous "damsels in distress" who can scream lustily when they encounter the monster. It was a winning formula that Hammer would raise to an art form. Peter Cushing plays Baron Von Frankenstein, and his terrific performance dominates the film. His character goes through quite a transformation from curious scientist to an obsessive fiend, determined to "create life" at, literally, any cost. His mentor/friend Paul Krempe ( Robert Urquhart )is an enthusiastic assistant at first, but soon becomes alienated by the Baron's frantic and ultimately murderous behaviour. Sometimes body parts are easily available--sometimes you have to be "creative" in obtaining them ! Of course, this flesh and blood "jigsaw puzzle" comes to life in the form of a hideous, pathetic creature played by Christopher Lee, who soon breaks loose, displaying no appreciation whatsoever for being "born" ! As I mentioned earlier, two beautiful women "round out" the cast. Gorgeous Hazel Court is Elizabeth, the Baron's betrothed, and Valerie Gaunt is Justine the maid. Justine is, as they say in England, the Baron's "bit on the side"--when she threatens to spill all the Baron's secrets unless he marries her, you just know that her future is "cloudy". "Curse" may not be Hammer's best film, but it put the studio on the map and started an enduring partnership of two very fine actors--Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The DVD exhibits good colour, with occasional haziness and mono sound. The extras are sparse--a few notes on other Hammer films, and a trailer. I would have loved some comments from Mr. Lee--sadly Peter Cushing passed away some time ago. Still, if you like classic horror films, "Curse" has to be in your collection--its importance cannot be over-estimated. Recommended. A very sad footnote, dated 30 April 2008. Ms. Hazel Court has passed away at age 82. She was most famous for her roles in horror/suspense films produced by the Hammer Studios and also Roger Corman. A talented actress, she always brought glamour and a touch of class to any production she was involved in.

I was delighted to get this print of Peter Cushing's first time at bat as Dr Frankenstein. Hammer made a wise and at the time a completely different spin on the story, They made the doctor the villain rather than the monster. It played so well that they resurrected his character almost as many times as they did Dracula. And with deliciously ghoulish results. The Dracula film was one of the last in that series made quite some years later. So the time lines do not match up well at all. Not that it matters , because the story lines do not intersect in any way. For that matter, this Dracula film is one of the best in that series. The story and cast are all top notch. So , forget being a purist. Turn off the lights, pop some corn and fasten your seat belts. You're in for a bumpy ride.

I've been trying to find different versions of Frankenstein to see something different and this version is real different. Not only the first Frankenstein movie to be in color but one of the essential films for the hammer film studio, it's a good watch I highly recommend.

A pivotal and important film in the Hammer film history, “Curse of Frankenstein” finally gets a worthy Blu-Ray release. Warner Archive improves on the washed out Blu-ray from the U.K. The detail is improved as are colors, depth and image stability. Dissolves are a bit more problematic with a drop in quality but that’s not a surprise. After the death of his mother, Baron Victor Frankenstein hires a tutor Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) who, eventually, ends up assisting Frankenstein in his experiments to bring the dead back to life. Paul realizes just how amoral Frankenstein is after he discovers that Frankenstein murdered a professor that Victor admires so he can use the professor’s brain for his experiments. Peter Cushing plays Baron Frankenstein as a sociopath here and would continue to play the role for Hammer (with the exception of one film) until “Frankenstein and The Monster From Hell”. Although the budget was small for “Curse” director Terence Fisher, director of photography Jack Asher and set designer Bernard Robinson make the most of what they have to work with. The gruesome make up by Phil Leakey adds to the creep factor and Christopher Lee still manages to exhibit a wide range of emotions in his unique portrayal. We get three different versions (in different aspect ratios-same film version) as the film was shown in a variety of aspect ratios when it had its original run. Spread over two discs we also get excellent supplements including a commentary by Steve Haberman & Constantine Nasir. There are featurettes and the film is presented at a good bit rate. Here’s hoping that Warner Archive revisits “Horror of Dracula” and gives region A fans the well known extended version as well as the discovered a Japanese reels with additional footage. Highly recommended.

I grew up with this movie, as well as the other early Hammer films of the late '50s and very early '60s. To this day, the dread-filled main title score evokes memories of Saturday nights watching the Chiller Movie Double Feature on our local UHF channel. There were only three networks back then, all of which signed off after the evening news. Our UHF channel was the only one broadcasting late Saturday night and somehow this made their films all the creepier. This blu ray is quite excellent - I'm delighted that they included the 4:3 full screen version, as well as the cropped widescreen version. For nearly 40 years beginning in 1953, low budget producers shot their films 4:3 without anamorphics and then cropped the top & bottom of the image off to simulate a widescreen. This insane practice meant that the resulting image was far less clear and detailed than a CinemaScope image, since 1/3 of the frame's resolution was being scrapped. It was also a spectacular waste of film. Because of this and also due to the fact that Eastman color stock was not very clear in 1956 (the year in which "Curse of Frankenstein" was filmed), one mustn't expect razor-sharp clarity on this blu ray. Density, color and contrast are all fantastic, but the film was a tad soft even when it was new. Don't let this spoil your enjoyment of the movie, though. There is much to relish here, such as: 1) The bone-chilling score, one of Hammer's all-time best; 2) Beautiful mid-Victorian sets; 3) Marvelous period costumes; 4) A powerful script; 5) Ghastly makeup effects; 6) Fine direction and performances from all. Truly, this is a Gothic horror classic, perfect for late-night viewing during the Autumn months. Its success launched a 16-year Euro-fright film cycle and made its stars icons for decades to come. Don't miss it.

This is a 2 disc blu ray with one disc just for the history of Hammer films and special features.

Excelente edição, com três discos, para esse clássico da Hammer. São nada menos que três versões do filme e um monte de extras. Essa é a edição definitiva do filme. Esqueça o blu-ray pirata com a imagem de DVD que foi lançado aqui no Brasil.

Edición sencilla de este clásico de los estudios Hammer. La imagen y el sonido es perfecto. Brillan los colores de la cuidada puesta en escena de Hammer. Colores que daban esa atmósfera especial que destaca en esta película y también la "La momia" y "El horror de Drácula" las tres películas que son la piedra angular de Hammer que fueron rodadas consecutivamente. ES BLURAY ORIGINAL. NO ES GRABACIÓN BD-R. Suele pasar con las ediciones de estos clásicos que las editan en discos grabables y hay que conformarse porque de otra manera son inencontrables. A los que les gusten las películas clásicas o muy frikis ya saben de lo que hablo... En fin... Pero no es el caso de esta edición. Es fácil detectarlo porque en el anverso del disco alrededor del agujero central viene grabado el nombre de la película, el n° de licencia, etc... Cosa que no pasa con los BluRay grabables. En fin. Un clásico imprescindible en una edición sencilla puesto que no ofrece extras pero sí muy cuidada y con una imagen y sonido estupendos. Recomendable e imprescindible para tu videoteca.

Brand new. Excellent condition and value for money. One of my favourite films. Great extras.

Une fois de plus Terence Fisher nous régale en réalisant avec le talent qui lui est propre ce film qui va bien plus loin que le classique film d'horreur. Au moyen d'une mise en scène très épurée et des images splendides où on retrouve un camaïeu de couleurs franches tel que le rouge, le vert, le bleu ou des teintes glaciales au fur et à mesure que l'action se déroule il fait monter chez le spectateur une sensation de malaise et même de rejet du Docteur Frankenstein dont les actions plus guidées par la gloire que par les progrès de la science. Il n'hésite pas à tuer de façon cynique et brutale ses "proies". Peter Cushing est magistral dans le rôle du Docteur Frankenstein. Quel grand Talent! Christopher Lee n'a quant à lui pas grand chose à défendre dans le rôle de la Créature et se fait voler la vedette par Robert URQUHART parfait dans celui de l'assistant écoeuré par les méthodes employées par le Docteur et qui va tout faire pour que son projet échoue. Hazel COURT apporte de la beauté dans cet univers si sombre. Un incontournable tout comme sa suite La Revanche de Frankenstein.