Rating: 
Summary: Now I know what it feels like to own Frankenstein!
Review: I missed buying Frankenstein (1931) when it was out 4 years ago and have been kicking myself ever since. Its been selling for $30 or more on ebay and then you're sometimes buying a Brazillian edition(!!!).-- I enjoyed finally seeing the original (twice) and then watching it with the commentary turned on. I then watched Bride the same way. (okay so I'm a DVD nerd). This set was a bargain. While I think the first 3 Frankenstein films are REAL Classics I prefer Son of Frankenstein just a tad over the other two for personal reasons.
"Son of Frankenstein" has glaring continuty flaws if one has just viewed the first two movies.
Why is the village that is home to The Family Frankenstein now known 25 years later as the village of Frankenstein rather than the village of Gestadt as in the first two? [There was a signpost which established this in the first movie] The lab was in an old watchtower (very much destroyed) not next door to the castle.
and so on and so on.... But Basil Rathbone's "Wolf" (Wolfgang von Frankenstein--notice the 'von' has been added) and the character of Inspector Krogh are superb.
Karloff's monster is actually better I think now that he is mute again. [Karloff always belived that the monster having speech in "Bride" was a mistake"].
Lugosi's Ygor is a true villain. He also set the benchmark for Mad Scientist Sidekicks that lives today. [Well you don't see a Mad Scientist's sidekick called Frtiz or Karl!] All 5 movies are treasures. Keep in mind that Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman leads into Ghost of Frankenstein.
(ha ha! see why you need to buy them all!)
Rating: 
Summary: THE MONSTER RETURNS - IN A DELUXE DVD EDITION!
Review: By now everyone should be familiar with Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's macabre tale of the doctor who created life by sewing together parts of dead bodies. That the movie "Frankenstein" (1931)has very little to do with the rest of the novel is a mute point. James Whale's masterfully directed film remains one of the high water marks of cinema in general and horror films in particular. Whale followed his original up with "The Bride Of Frankenstein", a film that many critics consider equal to, if not better than, the original. Sadly, the last three films in this series are pathetic B-pictures that do not capture either the essence or mood of the first two masterpieces.
TRANSFER: The original 1931 film looks very good for its age. Though age related artifacts exist they are not terribly distracting. There is also a considerable amount of film grain. The grain is more noticeable in "Bride of Frankenstein" than the original. The last three films in the series are rendered with a marked improvement in image quality. In all cases, the gray scale is properly balanced with deep, solid blacks and nicely balanced contrast levels. There is a bit of edge enhancement and some pixelization but never anything that terribly distracts. The audio for all the films is mono. The original 1931 film exhibits slightly more hiss.
EXTRAS: Two very concisely produced featurettes that discuss the making of the first two films, an audio commentary for the first two movies and theatrical trailers and production notes for all of the films.
BOTTOM LINE: While the transfer quality is somewhat inconsistently rendered, this is by far the best that these films have ever look. Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: The care and quality are obvious
Review: A few words of praise about a quality release at a reasonable price.
Such great care was taken in assembling and organizing the extras on this 2-disc set, I must assume the movies themselves are faithfully presented.
Though the 5 movies are split between 2 discs, one of them 2-sided, I've rarely seen such a good job of organizing. Frankenstein and Bride, plus trailers and publicity material are on disc 1. The posters and publicity stills for Bride are lavishly presented. Backed with Franz Waxman's errily beautiful score, the items are arranged to tell the story of Bride in a 9-minute montage like none I've seen or heard. The scores to all the movies are so brilliant and shrill you can picture a studio orchestra recording them. Even the subtitles have an unusual clarity. Their font and placement make them like none I've seen. The DVD box is a hard, snap container. Again, like none I've seen. This is why I say great care was taken with this collection, regardless of your feeling for the lesser sequels, Ghost, Son and House. One thing I must note, the outside box promises four Frankensein trailers, the original and three reissues. I've found only one, though the others might be within the documentaries on disc 2. This in no way mitigrates my admiration for this effort.
Rating:
Summary: better bride
Review: The old DVD of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN looked grainy and they zoomed in so much that you could barely see the crucifix in the hermit scene. This new DVD looks a LOT better, and you now see almost all of the crucifix,so this is well worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome back, Frankie!
Review: This is the second round on DVD for these films. Universal had them out earlier in separate cases. But this set is welcome, nonetheless. Frankenstein, along with Dracula, is one of the classics of all time in film and a must-have for all movie fans. To digress, the three sets released at the same time - this one, the Dracula movies, and the Wolf Man movies - are genuine treasures, if still B-movies. What's missing now are the Mummy movies in a box set to match these. They were released earlier in separate boxes but it would be nice to have them in a box that matches this set. And last, and most assuredly not least, there are the Creature movies that still need some attention from Universal. Creature from the Black Lagoon has been on a fine Universal DVD for some time. But where oh where are Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. You can get these on Universal VHS tapes, but no DVD has been done of them and truly needs to be. Even as campy as they may be, we truly need them to round out the Universal horror family. So, come on, Universal, you know what we want. How about soon, please.
Rating:
Summary: Monsters at bargain prices!
Review: I am very glad Universal has decided to re-release its classic horror films of the 30s and 40s. I am also glad that they are making them so much more affordable. Their previous releases, including the double-features, were very pricey and they are even pricier in the secondary market on eBay. Those DVDs will probably get cheaper with the release of these legacy collections. Have to admit though that I do like the packaging of the original DVDs over these new ones (I like the fact that they used the original poster artwork) but since I am buying these DVDs for the movies and not the boxes I will survive. And to think that I paid the same for two of the older DVDs on eBay that I will pay for the entire Legacy Collection of 13 films. 13 what a perfect number for this set! Note to Universal: How about a Legacy Collection featuring the Universal team-ups of Karloff and Lugosi ("The Black Cat," "The Raven," "The Invisible Ray," "Black Friday," etc.) and some of the other Universal horror films that never make it into collections such as "Man Made Monster"?
Rating:
Summary: You must buy this collection!
Review: Some may look at this 5 movie collection for such a cheap price and assume it must be crap quality, but you'd be badly mistaken. Universal is developing a great reputation for making tremendous amounts of material into a very low costing fantastic quality product. If you've seen their 8 movie Abbott & Costello collection, you know what I'm talking about, if not I recommend that too. These will truly be the best versions of any of the five films you could ever get, and for only $4.50 per film! Also check out the Dracula and Wolf Man collections as well.
Rating:
Summary: After 73 years, IT'S STILL ALIVE!!!!!!!
Review: Frankenstein (1931) is the second of many classic monster movies made by Universal Studios, and in my opinion it is simply the best. Although many people may argue that The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) was a better movie, I think Frankenstein is the best monster movie ever made! This film has lightning, atmosphere, plot, and character. James Whale directed this film (as well as Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man) and did a wonderful job with it. It is too bad Rowland V. Lee couldn't do the same for Son of Frankenstein (1939). It is pretty scary too. The scene where Frankenstein throws Little Maria into the water and drowns her is a very touching scene, because you really don't know who you want to feel sorry for more...Maria of Frankenstein. Sure Maria is a little girl and drowned, but Frankenstein didn't mean murder and now he lives with what he had done. Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) is a monster, created by Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), and doesn't really know his place in the world. The monster doe not even know who he really is. Despite warnings from Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), Henry Frankenstein lets his monster live, and the monster winds up murdering people. Henry Frankenstein joins a large group of people who set out to kill the monster. They wind up burning the building down, where the monster is hiding. They destroy the monster with murder on his hands, but innocence in the mind...for now. Frankenstein is really the film that got me into the Universal monsters. It is just pure perfection. Despite being somewhat funny and having a developed character in the sequal, the monster in this origional classic really makes you feel bad for him, because he does not mean any harm, but he simply does not know his own strength, at least in Maria's case.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful filmmaking!
Review: The problem with this film is that it's a very poor adaptation of Mary Shelley's gothic novel. If I recall, the first scene is of Dr. F-- at a cemetery to exhume body parts. There's no build up. The next scene or so sees Dr. F-- in his lab with the creature, and get this, he spills the beans of what he's about to do. It was at this point I stopped watching. Did the producers of this film actually read the book? Also, the acting is heavy handed and overwrought. Really, almost unwatchable. How did it ever become such a classic? The only thing I can think of is that most of the filmgoers have never read the novel.
Rating:
Summary: "Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not."
Review: James Whale's adaptation of "Frankenstein" is the most well-known version of Mary Shelley's tale. Purists have objected to the artistic liberties the filmmakers took with the original work, but the passage of time has firmly established the lumbering Boris Karloff as the definitive representation of the Frankenstein monster in the minds of the general public. Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) leaves medical school to pursue his experiments in re-animation. In the privacy of a Bavarian castle, the scientist pieces together a single body from assorted corpses and screams in ecstasy when he succeeds in brining it to life on a stormy night. However, his enthusiasm wanes when the brutish creature (Karloff) he created proves difficult to control. Doctor Waldman (Edward Van Sloan) eventually convinces his former student to destroy his creation but it escapes into the countryside. The creature is then hunted down by villagers after it kills a young girl (Marilyn Harris) and terrorizes Frankenstein's fiancée, Elizabeth (Mae Clarke). The story of "Frankenstein" is today more relevant than ever with the dramatic advances in the field of genetics and the ethical dilemmas that have accompanied them. Yet at its heart, the film is a good old-fashioned scare-fest full of creepy shadows and chilling images. "Frankenstein" is a not a slasher film that relies on gore to create cheap thrills. It generates its suspense by way of careful storytelling and it generates its scares by way of careful filmmaking craftsmanship. Clive delivers an amazing performance as the mad genius who is driven to prove his theories true. He is wonderfully complemented by Karloff who delivers spectacularly in the role of his career. Not many films contain a performance that becomes iconic in the annals of pop culture - "Frankenstein" has the good fortune of having a pair of them.
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