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Special Features
- Contains five films on two discs
- Original documentary on the making of the films
- Additional commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
- Original documentary "The Frankenstein Files"
Editorial Reviews
Customer Reviews
It is difficult to compare and contrast the different Universal monsters; my personal predilection draws me to Dracula, but I daresay Frankenstein's monster is the most successful, memorable, and influential of the Dracula - Frankenstein's monster -Wolf Man triad. The first two Frankenstein films are nothing short of brilliant (although I still regret that they did not truly recreate the monster of Mary Shelley's imaginative vision), with the sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, actually going one better than the original. When you think of Universal's Dracula, you think of Bela Lugosi; when you think of The Wolf Man, you think of Lon Chaney, Jr. When you think of Frankenstein, however, you think of Boris Karloff as the monster, Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein, Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale as the ingenious director, Jack Pierce as the legendary horror make-up artist, etc. Virtually every last detail of the first two Frankenstein films is perfect, unforgettable, and remarkably complex - the vision, the style of presentation, the iconic performances, the make-up, the special effects, everything. Not even Dracula is as memorable in half as many ways as both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein are.
Little more need be said of the first two Frankenstein films; they are the best of the Universal classics, and their complexity and appeal make them more amazing and impressive with each day that passes. But what of the other three films included here? Well, Frankenstein isn't what he used to be under Whale's direction. A lot of people seem to like Son of Frankenstein, but I see this is as the beginning of the big, dumb Frankenstein's monster stereotype that has stripped the monster of popular culture of the innocence and great human pathos that defined him early on. The film is most significant for being Karloff's last performance in the role he made his own, as the great horror actor wisely wished to have no part in the now-inevitable dumbing-down of the monster. Featuring Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, Bela Lugosi as Ygor, the broken-necked madman who befriends and to some degree controls the monster, and Lionel Atwill as the show-stealing Inspector Krogh, Son of Frankenstein robs the creature of his ability to speak and thus denies him the moving vestige of humanity bestowed upon him in the unsurpassed Bride of Frankenstein.
The Ghost of Frankenstein continues the story begun in Son of Frankenstein, this time introducing yet another Frankenstein son in the form of Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein (played most engagingly by Sir Cedric Hardwick). Incredibly, both Ygor (Lugosi) and the monster (now played by Lon Chaney, Jr.) survived the end of the previous film, and the pair set out to find yet another son of Frankenstein in hopes of restoring the monster's strength (long baths in boiling sulphur followed by radical ice therapy can get a monster down). Not surprisingly, the monster stirs up a little trouble in town, and Ludwig's attempt to undo his father's crucial mistake by replacing the monster's brain with a solid, non-criminal brain ultimately goes awry, thanks to Ygor and Ludwig's traitorous assistant Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill). I actually found Ghost of Frankenstein to be a major improvement on the Son of Frankenstein storyline, although most fans seem to prefer Son of Frankenstein over this film.
House of Frankenstein boasts all three of the Universal monster heavyweights: Frankenstein's monster (now played by Glenn Strange), the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney, Jr.), and Count Dracula (played by John Carradine - the world's worst Dracula). It also features Boris Karloff in the role of the mad scientist who causes all sorts of trouble. A sequel of sorts to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein is a major disappointment in my eyes; only the Wolf Man character gets a decent treatment in this fun but rather insignificant film.
The extras in this collection are wonderful. For starters, you get theatrical trailers for all the films except Son of Frankenstein, poster and photo galleries for Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, and a discussion by Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers of the pervading influence of Universal's Frankenstein's monster in the horror movie industry. Frankenstein comes with a commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer, while Bride of Frankenstein features commentary by film historian Scott MacQueen (one of the best commentaries I've heard). Then there are two significant feature documentaries: The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster looks back through the history of the Universal Frankenstein movies, while She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein examines the making of Bride of Frankenstein. Both of these features include wonderful interviews with the daughter of Boris Karloff and the son of Dwight Frye. Finally, there is a short film called Boo! I was clueless as to what this could be, and I am still unsure of its origins, but it is basically a slightly comical little film featuring footage from Nosferatu, Frankenstein, and at least one other film.
This collection is not perfect (beware in particular a dangerous little bump in the casing beneath each DVD, as each one is just dying for the chance to scratch a disc). Still, considering how much material is included here, the Frankenstein Legacy Collection DVD set is a bargain that all Frankenstein fans would do well to snatch up. Of course, if you are interested in Dracula and the Wolf Man as well as Frankenstein's monster, look into getting the all-inclusive Monster Legacy Collection.
As others have noted, there are two discs. One single sided that tends not to have any problems (Frankenstein and Bride are on that one), and the other double sided that tends to come lose during shipping and become scratched (it contains Son, Ghost, House and the bulk of the extras).
So far, I've gone through five copies of the set and I have yet to get one that works for all of the films. And the problem doesn't seem to just be scratches. The fourth copy I received didn't have a scratch on it, but Ghost of Frankenstein still got stuck at about the 35 minute mark. There seems to be a manufacturing problem with the discs. So I'm not convinced that the scratches are causing the problem. After all, I've bought other titles as used DVDs from my local rental place that look like a truck drove over them on a gravel road, and they played fine.
I initially bought the box set containing the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolf Man Legacy collections, and each one had at least one film that was marred. I've received the second copies of Dracula and the Wolf Man, but I haven't watched all of the films in them again yet; there's a good chance the second copies will have glitches there, too, since the packaging/manufacturing is identical, as it also is on Universal's Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Invisible Man Legacy Collections. I recently bought my first sets of those three, as well, but I haven't watched any of them yet. I'm almost afraid too. At this point, I tend to watch the films with a nervous anticipation akin to checking yourself for a tumor, and you keep finding one. Not exactly an enjoyable experience, even though I love the films.
You'd think by now I'd learn and wouldn't even be bothering--after at least 7 bad sets (the five Frankensteins and the one Dracula and Wolf Man) but I want these films on DVD! I just want a copy that works!
Last time Universal released them (the late 1990s or early 2000s) they were only on the market for 18 months before they pulled the plug. I didn't buy them then, and I regretted it. They pulled the plug to eventually release these more budget-priced but cheaply made replacements that won't work! I would have gladly spent twice the amount or more for these films if I could just have DVDs that don't get stuck.
I'm far from the only one experiencing this problem, and for some others who haven't noted the problem yet, I'm wondering if they tried watching all of the films--wait until a year down the road or so when they finally think, "Let's give House of Frankenstein a chance" and then discover that it gets stuck. With the amount of returns Universal must be getting, it seems like maybe they'd revamp the packaging/manufacturing as soon as possible. They must be losing money on these, or close to it. Maybe by my 50th time returning Frankenstein, I'll get one with new packaging that isn't flawed.
themselves.
I had heard people complain about the quality of these dvd's, but I am a huge fan of Bela Lugosi (Son of/Ghost of Frankenstein) as well as all the old Frankenstein movies & Boris Karloff. I couldn't afford to buy the earlier seperate dvd editions, so I bought this.
One of the dvds, due the the CHEAP cardboard packaging had come loose and was horribly scratched! The same thing happend to me with the Dracula Collection. Also, disk 2 in the set is a cheap double sided thing onto which Universal has crammed 3 movies plus extra features - this can often cause skipping and other problems.
I have taken back all 3 of the Legacy collectins that I bought.
AND I also had to return The Bela Lugosi Collection because it froze and skipped!
MY experiance with the NEW Universal horror releases has been so bad that I won't buy any of them anymore.
If you decide to take a chance on these dvds, be SURE you will be able to return them and get your money back.
Note: I have the original DVD release of Dracula. It is great.
You might consider these editions instead? It might be worth it.
Either way I recommend not buying the legacy sets....
This could have been an amazing set.
It is very sad how Horribly Universal treats it's classic Horror.
This is a classic collection. A "must" for any classic movie buff.
yes, go out and buy it now
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