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The Bride Of Frankenstein

post #1 of 41
12/10/08 at 3:45am
Thread Starter 
I'm really hoping that at some point in the near future someone will release the ultimate remastered version of one of my all time favourite movies
The Bride Of Frankenstein. I know Universal owns the movie rights , but I really wish that they would allow Warner Bros or Criterion tio do the remastering as they always do a much finer job than Universal ever has!

James Whales' masterpiece deserves the finest restoration available , it is a marvellous stylish movie by one of Hollywood's greatest maverick film makers openly gay at a time that this wasn't acceptable, and a free spirit amongst Hollywood's more staid characters.

The Franz Waxman score deserves a digital makeover too to bring out the richness of the orchestration , and take out as much of the distortion of 1935sound recording.

I for one would love a new DVD or preferably Blu Ray with crisp picture and sound quality of this major movie landmark movie!
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post #2 of 41
12/10/08 at 5:41am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Same here.
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post #3 of 41
12/10/08 at 8:04am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

My wish is that Universal will revisit all of its classic horrors and issue them in one big boxed set, a la the recent Abbott and Costello set. The fact that the company revisited A&C after issuing the films on DVD in substandard form gives me some hope that this could happen.
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post #4 of 41
12/10/08 at 9:42am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

BRIDE absolutely deserves a top notch restoration and release.
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post #5 of 41
12/10/08 at 10:57am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deco King
The Bride Of Frankenstein. I know Universal owns the movie rights , but I really wish that they would allow Warner Bros or Criterion tio do the remastering as they always do a much finer job than Universal ever has!

Personally, I think Universal has done some superb work, and not absolutely everything turned out by Warner or Criterion - as good a job as they usually do - is pristine.

If there's a better job to be eked out of Bride's exisiting materials, I'm positive Universal are capable of it. Whether they actually will is another issue.
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post #6 of 41
12/10/08 at 12:18pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

While Universal has gotten pretty stingy these days with extras for their older catalog films, they are doing an excellent job with their transfers of black and white films. I mean seriously, much of their black and white product is looking fantastic these days, with just the right amount of grain to give it that film-like appearance.

Robert Harris himself has said that Universal's restoration department is nothing short of top notch.
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post #7 of 41
12/10/08 at 1:07pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Actually, I've always been disappointed that the Universal releases always seem to have that "slight grain" appearance. I much prefer the "smooth as glass" approach. I know this is considered blasphemy by many, as they insist to me that "Grain Is Good!" but I don't like it. They also claim that the details are removed if too much grain is removed, but I've never seen MORE detail than ever before with these smooth, grainless transfers of old b&w films from other studios.
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post #8 of 41
12/10/08 at 1:24pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
If there's a better job to be eked out of Bride's exisiting materials, I'm positive Universal are capable of it. Whether they actually will is another issue.

It's one of the best and most important films in their library. I really hope they do this movie justice on DVD(and Blu-ray) one of these days.
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post #9 of 41
12/10/08 at 1:26pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
They also claim that the details are removed if too much grain is removed, but I've never seen MORE detail than ever before with these smooth, grainless transfers of old b&w films from other studios.
Applying too much DNR can remove detail so it's not like 'they' are making things up. I'm not saying that you have to hate grain but if you've seen an over-DNRed transfer that you thought was detailed, you'd have most likely seen even more detail if too much DNR hadn't been applied.
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post #10 of 41
12/10/08 at 1:28pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

"One of these days" should be its 75th anniversary in 2010.
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post #11 of 41
12/10/08 at 4:18pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Actually, I've always been disappointed that the Universal releases always seem to have that "slight grain" appearance. I much prefer the "smooth as glass" approach. I know this is considered blasphemy by many, as they insist to me that "Grain Is Good!" but I don't like it. They also claim that the details are removed if too much grain is removed, but I've never seen MORE detail than ever before with these smooth, grainless transfers of old b&w films from other studios.

Universal is one of the best when it comes to leaving B&W titles "as-is" in terms of inherent grain and other built-in issues. Take a look at the W.C. Fields box sets for gorgeous film grain and B&W contrast.
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post #12 of 41
12/11/08 at 3:43am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Grain is a Pain.
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post #13 of 41
12/11/08 at 4:05am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

I'd rather take the grain and have the opportunity of removing it myself with any sort of generic DNR built into most sets than to have it a permanent fixture.

FWIW, Monsters in HD runs an immaculate HD transfer of this title.
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post #14 of 41
12/11/08 at 2:53pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Actually, I've always been disappointed that the Universal releases always seem to have that "slight grain" appearance. I much prefer the "smooth as glass" approach. I know this is considered blasphemy by many, as they insist to me that "Grain Is Good!" but I don't like it. They also claim that the details are removed if too much grain is removed, but I've never seen MORE detail than ever before with these smooth, grainless transfers of old b&w films from other studios.

And you're comparing them to what exactly? An old VHS tape?
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post #15 of 41
12/11/08 at 5:55pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

greatest sequel ever
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post #16 of 41
12/12/08 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

I totally agree with the previous poster that the Bride Of Frankenstein is the greatest sequel EVER love the original Frankenstein as I do , he's quite right in my opinion to point this out!

Not only does it need a visual makeover , but in order to pass muster for the Blu Ray market it needs an audio remastering too , to get rid of the distortion in various sequences of the movie it needs a remastered audio makeover for the fabulous Franz Waxman score.

As a layman I don't understand what can and can't be acheived in audio terms . However I hope ,, if any of the original soundtrack master recordings can be located ( I hope that all is/was not lost when there was a terrible fire in the Universal Vaults a little while since? ) that a new master recording can be reassembled from the elements still around and that new clarity can be recreated!

The famous Creation Of The Bride music by Franz Waxman , I remember from reading the liner notes of the RCA recodings of Franz Waxman music , "inspired" ( read was plagirised ) for the famous Bali Hai song from a very famous later musical!!
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post #17 of 41
12/12/08 at 10:48am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

This "Bali Ha'i" story has been kicked around for years.

Richard Rodgers, the composer of "Bali Ha'i," might very well be the greatest composer of popular songs of all time. He wrote literally hundreds of great melodies. It is unlikely, in the extreme, that he needed to plagiarize anything.

But even if he did, is it believable that in 1949 he'd remember a theme from a movie from 1935? Is it even believable that "Bride of Frankenstein" would even mean anything to him? And even if he did decide to plagiarize it, wouldn't he change it a little, rather than using the same exact three notes?

It's a coincidence, and it's not unique in the history of music. After all, they only have so many notes to work with!
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post #18 of 41
12/12/08 at 11:06am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Personally, I think the version of Bride included in the Frankenstein Legacy Collection is a quantum leap over the original stand-alone disc. That said, I agree there is still room for further improvement and would welcome a remaster, and most especially, a Blu-ray version.
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post #19 of 41
12/12/08 at 1:27pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

"Audio restoration" usually means that someone has EQed the thing to death, which is what most studios do these days. It would be a novel approach to leave the optical track alone and encode it at a higher bitrate. Those optical tracks from the '30s really shine when played back correctly.
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post #20 of 41
12/12/08 at 2:31pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by James 'Tiger' Lee
And you're comparing them to what exactly? An old VHS tape?

No - I prefer the smooth look of similar vintage era films on DVD from other companies. Like Fox's DR. RENAULT'S SECRET, for instance.
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post #21 of 41
12/12/08 at 2:54pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

I agree, but I would want it in Blu Ray. I cant watch a regular movie anymore..haha i am a blu ray snob now.
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post #22 of 41
12/12/08 at 6:01pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
Grain is a Pain.

Does tape hiss on musical recordings drive you nuts, too?

I have no problem with a little grain. I agree with those who'd rather have the movie look the way it did when it was shot rather than have it tidied up with artifical techniques. I don't want to see excessive grain due to a bad print or whatever, but if it was there when the film was originally processed, then it's okay with me...
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post #23 of 41
12/12/08 at 8:11pm

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

respect the grain. Without it, there would be no image on the film.
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post #24 of 41
12/13/08 at 2:51am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

And wholegrain is rich in fibre!!!
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post #25 of 41
12/13/08 at 3:14am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey3rd
respect the grain. Without it, there would be no image on the film.

I respect grain making up the image. I get it. I understand it.

A film should still not look "grainy", though.

People can say that the type of smooth and glass-like images I love on old black and white films make the movie "actually have less detail". I don't buy it for a second, as I've never seen MORE detail in films that I have on the best authored DVDs. Something like DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (1942), as I mentioned already, never looked more striking and vivid, with tons of detail. And it's not grainy looking.
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post #26 of 41
12/13/08 at 3:15am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Jacobson
Does tape hiss on musical recordings drive you nuts, too?

Most of the time, sure. Why not? But then there are times where I love it -- like listening to old Bing Crosby Christmas recordings.
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post #27 of 41
12/13/08 at 4:03am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by bugmenot
I agree, but I would want it in Blu Ray. I cant watch a regular movie anymore..haha i am a blu ray snob now.
I would love it on Blu-ray, but I can watch SD DVD all day long because I'm in love with movies.





Crawdaddy
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post #28 of 41
12/13/08 at 5:49am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi
I respect grain making up the image. I get it. I understand it.

A film should still not look "grainy", though.

People can say that the type of smooth and glass-like images I love on old black and white films make the movie "actually have less detail". I don't buy it for a second, as I've never seen MORE detail in films that I have on the best authored DVDs. Something like DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (1942), as I mentioned already, never looked more striking and vivid, with tons of detail. And it's not grainy looking.

I think there's a distinction to be made between titles that were less grainy looking to begin with and those that have had the grain removed electronically. Also, take into account the generation of the materials used for the transfer
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post #29 of 41
12/13/08 at 8:27am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

I want the fine grain 35mm source for a DVD transfer. I don't want a 16mm bathtub dupe.

At this point, I hold people who complain about grain on the same level as folks who claim that all black and white films would be better colorized. It's on par with saying "I want to watch it like it was shot on video!" Sorry if the cinematic process hurts your delicate eyeballs, but I don't want to see a film that's ultimately a computer's reinterpretation of a movie.
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post #30 of 41
12/13/08 at 9:09am

Re: The Bride Of Frankenstein

The transfer on the Legacy collection doesn't look that grainy outside of the opticals and effect shots.

I think some people have unrealistic expectations. I'll take thicker film grain over it being filtered out. Take a look at the mess that was Universal's original transfer for The Invisible Man.
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