Rating: 
Summary: Waiting each and every day for this!
Review: I can't wait until I get this dvd! On april 27th one of the best dvd box sets ever will be released! I am one of those poor souls that did NOT buy the other monster dvds but luckily according to davisdvd(a site)it will have some extra features that were available on the earlier dvds! Just to let you know I LOVE these movies. The reason why?...Atmosphere is the key word. Every single one had VERY good atmosphere even if it was not that good of a movie. I will be buying this on the FIRST day it comes out. and yes I will buy the monster legacy collection version. Cheaper AND you get figurines all in a nice spiffy box. go to davisdvd to check out the box (very sweet pic!)From what I already know this is going to be a kick-ass boxed set. Probably will be my Favorite EVER. and it helps I have not seen these movies in about 3-5 years. The only thing I am worrying about is the transfers and sound. Cramming all those movies and special features onto several discs. Geez. Most have 3 movies on 1 disc! But on the 2nd disc all of them have 2 movies so I bet they will put the special features on those 2nd discs I hope. But I am pretty sure Universal won't dissapoint their fans so I am pretty sure they have about everything licked...hopefully.
Rating:
Summary: It's All True, and All Good.
Review: I bought the gift set and, like others, ran into a problem with it. However, in my case, I didn't have any scratched disks, and the only problem was on disk 2 of the Dracula set. Specifically, Son of Dracula crashed about 53 minutes into the movie. It also crashed on attempting access to Spanish Dracula. Rather than substitute the Dracula set Amazon would only resend the entire set, but did so quickly. The replacement Dracula disk 2 was flawless, but ironically there was a similar problem with the new Dracula disk 1. So I ended up swapping out my disk 2 while keeping disk 1. If you elect to go this route, take a little time and save yourself more aggravation by scanning each disk, chapter by chapter, to make sure each chapter is accessible. Yes, it was a hassle to go through each disk chapter by chapter to ensure that all the disks played properly, but considering the value price and the bonus collector busts, it is a small price to pay indeed. I agree with those who say Universal went on the cheap, but the complete error-free set itself is great and well worth $60. If you can deal with the minor hassle, buy it from Amazon and save yourself some money.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: Wonderful films, magnificant music, fascinating documentaries - very high quality for a very low price. The commentary of AgeofAnxiety below says everything about the relative quality of the films. Only one complaint - the conclusion of this story is not in the collection. "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein" is the final masterpeice that brings Dracula (Lugosi), Frankenstein (Glen Strange), and Wolfman (Lon Chaney) together with far greater success than do the "House of Dracula" and "House of Frankenstein" films shown here. Buy this one as well and enjoy the entire saga!
Rating: 
Summary: Damn You, Universal!!!
Review: I ordered this dvd on Oct. 22nd and it came on Nov. 1st. All of the dvds work with the exception of the Dracula disc two, it only plays on 1 of the 3 dvd players that I have. I hope Universal doesn't want to get into a lawsuit. I might return it here i might just go to target. I think the dvd was loose is because it was packaged in newspapers, not packing beans. I wish the Laemmles hadn't sold the studio in 1936, things would have been much different.
Rating: 
Summary: STILL WAITING
Review: Yeah, like most everyone else I got a set with a defective disk--Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, one of my favorites. Contacted Universal, told I would hear back within a week, and receive a replacement disk--that was two days after this set was released. Still haven't heard a thing, still waiting for my "replacement disk." Just should have returned the set to Amazon and got it over with. I doubt I will purchase the next set. Well, Universal and NBC have merged, so you get lousy DVDs, Katie Couric, and The Left..er WEST Wing from the same source.
Rating:
Summary: KEEP EM COMING, AND DON'T FORGET THOSE BUSTS.
Review: It was fantastic to relive my childhood. I have waited for years for this collection. And i was not disappointed. They are classics each and every one of them. They never cease to amaze me. Now, i hear oct. 19, 2004 is the next big release date. The Invisible Man, The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Only one drawback, please tell me they will release it as the first collection was released with those busts. they are a big selling point with everyone i know. If they do not i will have to wait. Sorry guys you made the mistake in the first place so please keep the tradition going. Busts or BUST> TOMMY FROM B'KLYN.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm.....
Review: That's funny I just saw the last review and the same thing happened to my set. I ordered it and crossed my fingers but the only one that was messed up was the dracula disc. It was dislogged from it's incasement and was just brutally scratched. Looked like someone took the DVD and just put it on their shoes and skipped around all day. I wasn't sure if I should have ruturned the whole set because that was the only one. But why can't they just get it right and make those DVD's secure for transportation? If anything their probably getting more returns then sales. I really think the collection is cool but man if you could just get one that works. I am awaiting my second replacement now and we shall see....
Rating:
Summary: I'd rather have this set instead of Van Helsing
Review: And this is despite the fact that I also have trouble with freezing at times. I have not yet read a review that mentions a specific disc or movie that freezes - mine is Spanish Dracula at around 17:15 to 17:25 into the movie. This happens on three different players from three different manufacturers (though the Pioneer recovers gracefully and plays on). My box arrived in good condition without any loose discs as Amazon's packaging is above average for this type of item. It sounds like bad encoding at the source and I hope the next sets are not problematic. I'm grateful for DVD technology bringing so many classics into my home without breaking the bank and even enjoy the old silent horror movies and serials as well.
Rating:
Summary: The scariest thing about this is the packaging!!!!
Review: Somewhere down the list one reviewer said everyone giving this set a bad rating was merely whining. Angry would probably be more accurate. I exchanged sets three times before finally finding one that contained discs that were all playable (though even that set had three loose discs). Your best bet is to pick this up in a store so you can shake the box and listen for loose discs before purchasing---but even this method isn't foolproof: a friend bought a box that didn't rattle only to find that two of the discs were still scratched and another froze on every single DVD player he tried it in (six DVD players, just for the reviewer who said everyone with defective discs actually had defective DVD players).
As for the quality, the films are washed-out and nowhere near as crisp as the original DVD releases. The busts are cool, but the packaging is done in the funky green tint without reprinting the great original posters in color. And as everyone has pointed out, Drac's death groan is gone, and that alone should turn away all serious horror buffs. And you still have to buy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein to complete your collection (just as I had to buy this set to complete my collection since this is the first time House of Dracula has been released on DVD).
Yes, the price is low, but I would have been willing to pay more to get these classic movies in the the condition they deserve to be in. What I did was pay 60 bucks for a glorified Van Helsing trailer.
The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and The Invisible Man all get their Legacy treatment on Oct. 19. I hope Universal has learned its lesson and doesn't send out more rush-jobs!
Rating: 
Summary: superb collection
Review: nicely remastered and nicely priced. of course its all to coincide with the definitely mediocre van helsing, but who cares? take advantage of it.
there are of course the stand out gems, beginning with the 1931 dracula.
the philip glass score is a disservice. one of the problems with dracula has indeed always been its lack of a good score. the film is a bit too minimalistic to begin with but having a minimalist composer (and, sorry, a bad one at that)score this film only compounds the problem. it really needs something more dramatic.
but, you can opt out of the glass score anyway, so...
that said;
dracula is certainly flawed. at times lugosi is brilliant and at times much less so. the first half of the film is undoubtedly the best and its mood and atmosphere are most striking in the transylvania castle.
the spanish dracula, on the whole, is somewhat better.
helen chandler seemed a bit too vampiric even before she was bit.
her mexican counterpart is much better and oozing far more sexuality.
the mood and pacing is better. torches instead of candles. draculas emergence from his casket and the ships travel to london is far more effective.
but this dracula doesnt hold up to lugosi, and at times the spanish dracula seems to be aping lugosis performance and
it too loses some steam once being transplanted to england.
still, dracula started a whole new hollywood genre, which leads us to :
frankenstein and bride of frankenstein.
it really is apparent that the two whale films stand way apart from the rest. whales films possess an original style and art. even the mob scenes here seem genuine. in the later films the mob scenes seem paled down, weaker copies of what they are here.
karloffs pantomime performance is brilliant in frankenstein, but it is in bride that he surpasses himself. his monster is touchingly human.
as excellent as karloff is thesiger steals the show and his performance should have at the very least garnered an oscar nomination.
son of frankenstein is the last decent film with the monster. its also karloffs final turn at the character. but, karloff only has one good scene (when he finds the dead ygor). but it is lugosi and atwill who steal the whole movie.
lugosi is brilliant here, smashing the myth that he really couldnt act to smithereens. his ygor is gnarled, pathetic, evil, and charming. he would never top this performance and its a shame the universal execs didnt wake up to lugosis potential after this.
atwill gives a classic performance which was later spooofed by peter sellers in dr strangelove.
the scene when he is explaining his handicap to rathbone and crahes his false arm into the wall is milked for all the campy brilliance it can muster.
rathbone however overacts badly and his performance is at time embarrasing. originally peter lorre was wanted for the role and one can only imagine how much better lorre would have made it.
too, the kid is the worst sort of cutesy hollywood tyke and one keeps hoping the monster will dispose of the brat.
it is in the rest of the sequals that we start getting that sense of paled down copies.
draculas daughter however is a nicely paced sequal to dracula. gloria holden should have developed a following after this, but the film didnt take with a public who didnt want to see it without lugosi.
son of dracula also has a decent pacing,atmosphere, a badly miscast chaney and the quintessential whiny hero that you absolutely hate.
the wolfman was the 40s entry and it is a superbly cast film with chaney earning his place in horrordom.
everbody from claude rains to ouspenskia are excellent. the film has numerous loop holes in logic but none of that matters.
its a lesser classic but still a definite classic.
frankenstein meets the wolfman propels the story into the B category.
its a lot of fun and it moves along at a rapid pace. but lugosi was classically screwed over in this. at the end of ghost ygors brain had been put into the monster and the monster spoke again for the first time since bride (albeit briefly).
in ghost the sound of lugois raspy ygor voice coming out of the monsters lips actually worked and was one of the few interesting things about that movie.
and meets the wolfman was filmed that way, with lugosis blind monster speaking. but someone didnt like it so the voice was muted out and all references to the monsters blindness was eliminated, rendering lugosis performance ridiculous.
it was a cruel case of bad editing.
still, chaneys talbot is really a cool character here and if anything he is even better here than in the previous film.
the two house films are D grade. house of frankenstein at least has karloff and hes damned good. chaneys character is now starting to sound whiney but j carrol naish and john carradine are nice mixes to the brew and the scene were chaney gets put out with a silver bullit is classic.
werewolf of london is pre wolfman and stars henry hull. its mood is more subtle than the chaney one but its a very good film with more a sense of mythos and folklore than the wolfman.
the dog of the collection is she wolf of london (with house of dracula being a close second to the bottom) with the less said about it the better.
now if universal would put out a second collection with the black cat, the raven, black friday, the invisible ray, the invisisble man, the mummy and creature films then it would be a great round off. but then, unless van helsing returns to fight all these other characters, dont expect it to happen
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