Dracula 75th-Should I buy? (1 Viewer)

I'm so confused by all of the reviews of this title on Amazon. Some say it is the best version yet, and others say that it has been brightened to the point of destroying the mood. There are also comments on the cropping...some say it is excessive and others say it is more centered. Can some of you who own this comment...I love the Universal monsters and I want to own the best version. I know that this film will never look perfect (and maybe it shouldn't..kinda adds to the atmosphere and charm.) Thanks.

Well it depends what You want. Dracula - The Legacy Collection (2004) contains all dracula movies, but some documentaries from 75th Edition are not present.
75th Edition has some brighter and sharper picture and extra documentary material, and one additional commentary track.

If You want all movies go for Legacy (2004), if You want more documentary stuff go with 75th Edition.

The old version is also missing the music at the end of the theater scene, after Drac says "There are far worse things...awaiting man...than death." The Legacy version restores this music, as does the 75th. So, if you want the absolutely completely complete soundtrack, you gotta go for the 75th.

You are correct, the Dracula Legacy Collection is on DVD-18 type discs (double sided, with two layers on each side).

It's a great value set, and the only way to get all the movies ("House of Dracula" was previously not released, although "House of Frankenstein" was - you'd have thought they'd be paired with each other but there ya go) BUT you do need to check you don't have problems with playing them. Don't leave it til after the 30 day returns window is over.

AFAIk all the Legacy Collections are on that type of disc, excluding the Creature set.

They're amazing value for the films you get, shame about those crummy DVD-18's though.

I have it and am generally pleased with it. (I also have the original dvd release from way back, but not the Legacy collection.) The clincher for me was the complete soundtrack. The detriments that others have complained about (soundtrack hiss, picture supposedly too bright, framing issues, etc.) don't bother me, but maybe I am less discerning than other folks.

The one thing that kinda bothers me about it is that the only English subs for the Spanish version are for the hearing impaired, so there's unnecessary (for me, as I hear just fine) descriptions of the sound effects.

Oh, and something about Steve Haberman in the new Lugosi documentary kinda creeps me out ...haven't sampled his commentary yet.

Thanks guys for all of your help. I think I will go with the 75th after all!

The 75th version is definitely the best for Dracula. I think the picture looks amazing compared to what we've had in the past. As far as the audio, the hiss is pretty bad, but I've found playing around with the audio output on my DVD player a little bit helps.

As far as the Legacy version goes, yes Universal has had numerous problems with their DVD-18's in the past. I've found, however, that if you just let the disc sit on your shelf for a month or two, it will eventually play fine. I went through three copies of the Lugosi collection that all tripped up on some point. Finally I gave up returning it and just let the third copy sit on my shelf, figuring I'd get around to e-mailing Universal and asking for an exchange through them. After a couple of months I took a look at it out of curiosity and it played fine. Same thing happened with one of my discs in the second season of Murder, She Wrote as well as one of the discs in the Hammer collection.

While the video quality was improved, I didn't think the 75th Anniversary release was so much better. I had all three -- the original single, the Legacy Set, and the 75th. What really annoyed me with the 75th edition was the overly noisy soundtrack hiss which was distracting for me, so I actually sold off this DVD.

I did a comparison for myself (it's all a matter of opinion) and I have found I prefer actually watching/listening to the original '90s single DVD of DRACULA even though the music cue is missing. While it is missing the music in that one moment, it does contain Renfield's screams as he's being killed (NOT on the Legacy Set).

Is the music missing from the '99 DVD huge or is it just a few notes at the end of the cue?

I am deeply bothered by the missing screams of Reinfield and Dracula listed for the '04 Legacy.

So I don't know what to buy. The 50th Anniversary seems a shame due to its technical faults.

I am all the more interested by Dracula (and the Spanish version), Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. I wonder what is better: buying the three individual DVDs or the Legacy sets? I don't know if the sequels are worth it: I read one time in a French review that each sequel of each franchise is a masterpiece in itself, but I more often read that they are quite bad.

May I have some advice, please? Thanks!

For what its worth, the 2002 UK DVD of Dracula has the original transfer but intact audio. BUT the Spanish version was missing entirely

When the Spanish version turned up in the UK Monster Legacy Set, sharing a disc with Dracula's Daughter, its subtitles were HOH only

Thanks for the answer.
The UK sets look nice, and the Legacy one seems to include some movies of other franchises too, like Invisible man and Mummy.
Is it the case for the US set?
Do you know if the screams are also missing from the UK Legacy editions?

The advantages the UK set has over the US is that the discs are on DVD-9s rather than the faulty DVD-18s. Dracula is not missing the screams, However it is a lot more pricey than the US set and the only extra films you get are The Mummy, Invisible Man, Phantom of the Opera (1943) and Creature From The Black Lagoon.

However, Universal UK has just released some of them on their own so there's now a cheap way for everyone to pick up House of Dracula, which was absent from the original US lineup

And are the sequels any good to justify the buying of the whole set?

I'd say yes. Even the worst is terrific fun!

I think Dracula's Daughter is good, and Son of Dracula is terrific. Re: the latter, I'm glad no one let on to Robert Siodmak that he was just making a B-movie "spooker", 'cause he infuses it with some of the best visuals and themes of any of the Universal horror canon. Well acted, too. It's very much worth your time.

House of Drac is pretty bad, on the other hand...

I just picked up a sealed 75th Anniv. edition on eBay for $13.99, shipped - a pretty good deal. Looking forward to checking it out. Though it garnered some controversy on DVD Beaver, the screen caps they posted look quite a bit better to my eyes than the Legacy Collection ones.

Has anybody gotten the 75th Anniv. Frankenstein? I've never heard anything re: that.

Thanks. And how good are the sequels to the Frankenstein and Wolf-man sets?

I've never watched any of the other wolfman movies, but for my money "Son of Frankenstein" is the best of all the Frankie movies and is heavily referenced in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein"

Frankenstein and Wolf Man official sequels are all worth it, especially as they tie in with the Dracula series (well, sort of!)

The Wolf Man set also includes two other werewolf movies: Werewolf Of London (1935) with Henry Hull, which is interesting and has an effective and creepy makeup, and She Wolf Of London (1946), which is utter tosh!

Thanks a lot guys, I think I'll try the Legacy sets so. Now I just have to make up my mind: R1 (but screams are missing on Dracula) or R2 (no French subtitles)???
I wonder...
Is there a website which sells the UK Monster Pack for less than £75.00- (more or less €100.00- or $130.00-)?