Product Details

• Actors: Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles
• Directors: George Waggner
• Format: Black & White, Dolby, Full Screen, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: February 2, 2010
• Run Time: 70 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002Y0KRDO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,252 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright”. In 1941, The Wolf Man introduced the world to a new Universal movie monster and the mythology of the werewolf was re-defined forever. Featuring a heartbreaking performance by Lon Chaney Jr. and groundbreaking make-up by Jack Pierce, this story of a cursed man who transforms into a deadly werewolf when the moon is full has not only become a masterpiece of the horror genre, but of all-time. Now, in this 2-Disc Special Edition, the classic film lives on with a digitally remastered picture and all-new bonus features.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monster Movie Heaven comes in a long-overdue deluxe edition, February 4, 2010

By 

A. Gammill (West Point, MS United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wolf Man (Special Edition) (DVD)

If you've been keeping up with the DVD releases of Universal Monsters, you might already know this is the 3rd time The Wolf Man has been released in the past 10 years. But this new deluxe 2-disc edition should prove to be the definitive release. In addition to a spectacular restoration (which is still not quite perfect, but probably the best the film will ever look on home video), there is an exhaustive array of bonus features. Actually, only two of them are new, but when added to the already excellent extras carried over from previous releases, this is simply a must-have for anyone with even a slight interest in the film.

But let's take a quick look at the film itself. The Wolf Man has always been my favorite Universal Monster. I think it's the combination of Curt Siodmak's poetic and gothically romantic screenplay, and the Everyman performance of Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot. Chaney will perhaps forever reside in the shadow of contemporaries like Karloff and Lugosi, but it's difficult to imagine either of those horror superstars bringing the same authenticity to the role of Talbot.

Chaney also gets winning support from Claude Rains, Patrick Knowles and Evelyn Ankers (whose well-documented dislike of Chaney also serves as a testament to her acting abilities...the two are charming together on-screen). Maria Ouspenskaya also appears in her signature roles as the gypsy Maleva, while Bela Lugosi has a too-brief but equally-memorable role as her son.

As for the bonus features, the two new ones are a brief (10 min.) overview of werewolf movies featuring the likes of John Landis, Rick Baker and several film critics, and a 36-minute documentary on Chaney's career. As a long-time fan of this fan and Lon Chaney Jr., I confess I didn't learn a lot of new facts about the actor; but for the uninitiated, it will no doubt provide some much-needed illumination into the man and his body of work.

Also, in case you missed the previous releases, here are the holdover supplements: "Monster By Moonlight" is a well-done look at the film and its sequels, hosted by John Landis. There's a documentary on makeup wizard Jack Pierce. A trailer gallery features previews for several werewolf films, including the new 2010 version of The Wolf Man (by the way, props to Universal for not making this set an extended commercial for the remake, the way some of the bonus materials in The Monster Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Dracula / The Wolf Man) did for Stephen Sommer's 2003 bomb Van Helsing (Widescreen Edition)). "Universal Horror" is a terrific feature-length documentary on all of Universal's classic horror output. Lastly, an audio commentary with Tom Weaver provides deeper insight into the film's production.

Now it must be said that this long-overdue set would probably not have been released at this time without the 2010 remake. And as of this writing, I have not seen the new movie. I do hope that--whether it is ultimately a success or not--it will inspire film fans to go back and take a look at this classic original. Certainly, this is a must-buy for anyone who loves the original film. And remember, Monster Fans. . .there are still many films of this kind that deserve the deluxe treatment. So before you complain about double (wait, make that TRIPLE) dipping to get your hard-earned bucks, remember that future releases are dependent on how well items like this sell. In other words, support your classic monsters! Enjoy the set; I give it my highest recommendation.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wolfbane and silver, December 9, 2009

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wolf Man (Special Edition) (DVD)

"Even a man who is pure in heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf/When the wolfbane blooms/And the autumn moon is bright..."

Sure, Dracula gave a face and a mythology to the vampire in the 1800s, but the werewolf didn't get similar treatment for quite some time. It was only with "The Wolfman" that the werewolf got his due, creating the template for lycanthropes everywhere -- a haunting, atmospheric story about a mildly creepy man who (through no fault of his own) turns into an unholy mixture of man and beast.

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) returns to his ancestral Welsh home after many years away, to reconcile with his estranged dad who looks nothing like him (Claude Rains). He immediately starts acquainting himself with his old home, including being rather creepy towards a lovely woman named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who is working at her dad's antique store. He even accompanies Gwen and her friend Jenny to a local gypsy camp to have their fortunes told.

But after having her fortune told, Jenny is horribly killed by a wolf; Larry beats it to death with his silver-topped cane, but not before being bitten. You can probably guess what happens next -- the wolf turns out to be the gypsy fortuneteller (Bela Lugosi), and Larry's bite mysteriously heals overnight. And after being warned by an aged gypsy woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) that he has now contracted the curse of the werewolf, Larry finds himself undergoing a terrible transformation at night... and killing.

It's a sign of how good "The Wolfman" is that its dated special effects (hello, lap dissolve!) and prosthetics don't hamper it as a story -- it's an intelligent, slowly-unfolding story about an ordinary man whose good deed backfires in a big way. It's also less "boo! Scary!" horror than psychological horror -- Larry is left wondering if the dead gypsy passed on his horrific curse, or if all the talk of werewolves has given him clinical lycanthropy. In other words -- is he cursed, or is he insane? Not a fun choice.

And George Waggner wraps the movie in suitable atmosphere -- lots of misty forests, quaint rural villages, shadowy chapels and the occasional outbursts of shrieking and offscreen violence. The beginning is a little awkward (enough canned father-son "reunion" conversations!) but kicks into gear when the characters go wandering off to see the gypsies -- and after that, it's a slow bloody build as all the scientifically impossible things come true, and Larry finds himself increasingly trapped.

And while some of the werewolf stuff (including the famous rhyme) was made up for the movie, it adds a note of mythological creepiness, as well as some lovely incantations ("The way you walked was thorny, through no fault of your own...").

And Lon Chaney Jr. did an excellent job bringing a sympathetic edge to the werewolf, turning convincingly from a jovial engineer/aristocrat to a man haunted by his horrific change. The one problem: he isn't very sympathetic at the beginning, since he basically stalks Gwen (looking in her window with a telescope?) and won't get lost when she tells him to. Ankers gives a good performance as a local love interest, and Ouspenskaya gives a spectacular performance as the old gypsy lady -- eerie, sympathetic to Larry's plight, and with a dry sense of humor.

This special edition will be released just in time for the Benecio Del Toro remake, and as such they're also giving it the two-disc treatment. Older features include a feature commentary, Wolf-Man Archives, "Monster By Moonlight", and there's also a disk full of new documentaries -- one of Universal Horror movies, a documentary on the life and movies of Lon Chaney Jr, the life and art of Jack Pierce, and one on werewolf legends throughout history.

Despite a slightly creepy lead character, "The Wolfman" is still an enduring classic -- it's no longer exactly scary, but it is deliciously spooky. Definitely a must-see.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Special Features, October 21, 2009

By 

Mark Martini (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wolf Man (Special Edition) (DVD)

Here are the features for the Legacy Series 2 Disc DVD Special Edition:

- Commentary by film historian Tom Weaver

* Featurettes:

- The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth,

- Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr,

- He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce,

- Monsters by Moonlight

- The Wolf Man Archives

- Universal Horror documentary narrated by Kenneth Branag