Customer Reviews

Tales of Frankenstein

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yeah, the DVD isn't top-drawer, to be sure. But let's not forget the focus of this whole thing: the "lost" t.v. pilot TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN. The video quality is good, the sound is O.K. Personally, I enjoyed getting to see the show after reading about it for years. It would have made an interesting anthology-type series. The trailers are fun, but not from the best sources in many cases. For die-hard Hammer fans or Frankenstein enthusiasts, the disc's deficits are acceptable.

A two star rating is being generous. DVD's are meant to be something special. The special portion of this DVD is the pilot episode of "Tales of Frankenstein". The disc is filled with trailers and and the novel of the classic itself for your DVD-ROM. The menu screen started the trouble with the highlighted selection being hard to determine. The trailers seem to be from a bad source and do not flow within the DVD. The video interviews are cut short as they begin to get interesting, I have yet to sit down and listen to the audio interviews. Overall the production value of the disc is quite poor and the art for the cover and the insert looks as if it was done in two seconds. After releasing a nice hidden classic such as "The Asphyx", ALL DAY ENTERTAINMENT needs to take lessons from Anchor Bay in quality for your buck. For die hard collectors of horror only...

It is nice that this release has a few treasures to offset what is more or less a messy presentation. The treasures are: a couple of nice bloopers featuring A&C and Lugosi, The complete pilot for Tales of Frankenstein, and some interview footage that I've seen around before( they cut most of this footage short at very odd places- who made this decision and why?). There are a whole bunch of trailers-the b/w ones are almost always dupy and/or re-issues. A few are enjoyable. The infamous Lon Chaney jr. episode of Tales of Tommorrow is here in a condensed version- sad and interesting.

I thought TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN was a not a very good movie. The storyline is not very exciting. The actor of Frankenstein's monster is bad. Dr. Frankenstein himself is a boring one, compared to Colin Clive or Peter Cushing. I thought the make-up for the monster was good but he did not seen as human as Boris Karloff. I did not like the music or the introduction which has clips from other movies like Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dracula and The Raven. I would much rather watch the original Frankenstein or another Horror film.

This is a fun collection, but a terrible DVD. The video condition is pathetic, the menu is to difficult to navigate and the sound is murky. I did enjoy the audio commentary during "Tales of Frankenstein" and the audio interviews with Boris Karloff and Glen Strange.

I was really looking forward to this DVD and its sister production, "The Horror of Hammer." I will be holding off purchasing HofH until I read a few positive counsumer reviews.

The main attraction on this Alpha double feature is the tv pilot Tales of Frankenstein. A 25 minute episode filmed for television, it is a really condensed horror movie. Don't expect too much for the time allotted. It is a fun watch and it would have been neat to see what the show could have done if it was picked up and more episodes were filmed. Pretty good quality for this feature. The price is right since you get The Terror as a bonus!

Alpha video has it as a double feature but its only 25 min long with the terror.