General Discussion Dracula (original) in 4K? (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

I just noticed that Cheap Charts shows Movies Anywhere is this as a 4K for $5. Is this really true, a movie that old has been upgraded to 4K?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Come on Johnny, since last week, we've been talking about it in this thread. Just do a search in that thread for any 4K upgrades regarding a specific movie.

Edit: By the way, "Frankenstein" (1931) is going to be 4K/HDR very soon too. Matter of fact, several of those classic Universal Horror films will most likely be upgraded to 4K/HDR in the next year or so.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Most all the classic Universal Monster films we saw released to Blu-ray are getting a 4k disc release later this year from what I am hearing.

Glad to see that the digitals are available so cheap as I really don't feel like repurchasing these on disc but happy to watch them streamed in the superior format.

And, yes, this discussion has been going on for at least a week or more now in the thread Robert mentioned.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Dracula 4K on Apple TV, Uni Monsters coming to UHD disc, KLSC bows more Leone in Ultra HD & Sony’s Underworld 4K box

We’re rounding out the week with a bit of new announcement news here at The Bits... I’ll have a review of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran in 4K Ultra HD for you later today as well, but first I wanted to jump in early with some breaking news. Universal Monsters fans may be pleased to learn that Tod...

thedigitalbits.com

 

[David Weicker]

Most all the classic Universal Monster films we saw released to Blu-ray are getting a 4k disc release later this year from what I am hearing.

Glad to see that the digitals are available so cheap as I really don't feel like repurchasing these on disc but happy to watch them streamed in the superior format.

And, yes, this discussion has been going on for at least a week or more now in the thread Robert mentioned.

I wonder what they will do with The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Are 4K (disc) and 3D compatible?

 

[TravisR]

Can someone confirm if the Spanish language version of Dracula is also included in 4K? I'm guessing it isn't (a 4K transfer of it probably doesn't exist) but I'm curious since it's always been included with the English language version since the late 90's.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

It's not included. In my experience, Universal rarely includes extra content with their digital releases.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I wonder what they will do with The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Are 4K (disc) and 3D compatible?

Not in the 4K specs. I would say highly unlikely.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Most all the classic Universal Monster films we saw released to Blu-ray are getting a 4k disc release later this year from what I am hearing.

My understanding is that they did 4K scans of the film elements and mastered those fully in 4K when they were preparing the BDs, so this is a relatively straightforward process of putting those masters onto disc. Good foresight!

 

[Lord Dalek]

My understanding is that they did 4K scans of the film elements and mastered those fully in 4K when they were preparing the BDs, so this is a relatively straightforward process of putting those masters onto disc. Good foresight!

Seems rather overkill for these films though. No camera negatives, 4th gen elements, pre-code censorship issues, I mean other than "OH ITS IN 4K!!!!" what's the benefit of Dracula in UHD?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s more important for the studio as a preservation asset - a 4K master can serve as a replacement negative of sorts, ensuring that the fragile and aging film elements no longer need to be touched. On the consumer level, there may be slightly more detail and better representations of the black and white imagery. Whether that’s enough reason to upgrade will be up to each individual viewer. (It’s available for digital purchase on iTunes for $5 right now so you can see for yourself if you’d like.)

These are titles which traditionally sell well for the studios, and studios are not non-profit entities. If they use these releases to recover funding they’ve invested in the asset preservation, more power to them.

 

[John Sparks]

I wonder what they will do with The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Are 4K (disc) and 3D compatible?

The only way to see this film (CFTBL) is in 3D, IMHO and many others.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Seems rather overkill for these films though. No camera negatives, 4th gen elements, pre-code censorship issues, I mean other than "OH ITS IN 4K!!!!" what's the benefit of Dracula in UHD?

I’m wondering that too.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’m wondering that too.

I don’t care because it looked beautiful on my 65” OLED. It was an enjoyable viewing experience.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I own the big Monsters Classics Blu-ray set but have watched none of the films as of yet.

I have never seen Dracula all the way through until today.

Just finished watching the 4k digital copy on my projector.

I was sort of wondering the same thing about the benefit of 4k for this title.

As the title cards began, I was pretty much in awe of how sharp and clean it looked.

However, the film itself doesn’t lend to the format. I could have opened up my Blu-ray and compared the two transfers, but Dracula, with the original quality of the photography, just doesn’t “pop” in 4k.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I don’t care because it looked beautiful on my 65” OLED. It was an enjoyable viewing experience.

The 4K or are you referring to the blu?

 

[Robert Crawford]

The 4K or are you referring to the blu?

Watching the 4K digital last week!

 

[Johnny Angell]

I don’t care because it looked beautiful on my 65” OLED. It was an enjoyable viewing experience.

OLED dropping.

 

[Lord Dalek]

However, the film itself doesn’t lend to the format. I could have opened up my Blu-ray and compared the two transfers, but Dracula, with the original quality of the photography, just doesn’t “pop” in 4k.

Early sound films are always pretty blah photography wise. They didn't have booms in those days so actors had to just stand around.

 

[Robert Crawford]

However, the film itself doesn’t lend to the format. I could have opened up my Blu-ray and compared the two transfers, but Dracula, with the original quality of the photography, just doesn’t “pop” in 4k.

If you compare the Blu-ray to this 4K digital, you will see a significant improvement. Anyhow, to expect this 1931 movie to "pop" in 4K isn't something I expected to see in the first place. My expectations were about how much more detail it would provide over the current Blu-ray.