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Boris Karloff’s monster turns 95 this Halloween, and every Frankenstein film from Universal’s classic run is now on 4K Ultra HD in one box. We opened the Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection on camera alongside three more Universal horror releases out this fall: the seven-film The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection, the 45th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook of An American Werewolf in London and a Limited Edition 4K SteelBook of Van Helsing. All four are available now.
All Eight Frankenstein Films
James Whale’s Frankenstein opened in 1931, and Universal kept the Monster walking for 17 years. The Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection puts all eight of those films on 4K Ultra HD together for the first time, from Karloff’s first turn through Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. The films are presented in native 4K with HDR10 across five discs, and the set comes in an embossed slipcase with a digital code. Bela Lugosi, whose cape opened the Academy Museum’s new horror exhibition, takes his own turn as the Monster in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
The films: Frankenstein (1931), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
Bonus features: The extras carry over from Universal’s earlier releases, and the first two discs are stacked. The Bride of Frankenstein disc is the one to start with: Whale’s sequel is the best film in the box, and She’s Alive! Creating The Bride of Frankenstein is a fine companion to it.
- Frankenstein: The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster; Karloff: The Gentle Monster; Universal Horror; Frankenstein Archives; Boo!: A Short Film; Monster Tracks; 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics; trailer gallery; commentaries with film historian Rudy Behlmer and historian Sir Christopher Frayling
- The Bride of Frankenstein: She’s Alive! Creating The Bride of Frankenstein; The Bride of Frankenstein Archive; 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics; trailer gallery; commentary with Scott MacQueen
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters; 100 Years of Universal: The Lot; 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters; theatrical trailer; commentary with film historian Gregory W. Mank
- Theatrical trailers for The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula
Seven Wolf Man Films for the 85th Anniversary
Lon Chaney Jr. first changed under the full moon in The Wolf Man in 1941, which makes this his 85th anniversary. The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection brings all seven of Universal’s werewolf films to native 4K disc for the first time, spread over four discs with HDR10, an embossed slipcase and a digital code. The set reaches back to Werewolf of London from 1935, six years before Chaney’s Larry Talbot, and ends with She-Wolf of London in 1946. Jack Pierce’s yak-hair makeup gets its own documentary here, and the studio’s theme park tribute to that craft, the Horror Make-Up Show, closed this year after 36 years.
The films: Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), She-Wolf of London (1946) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
Bonus features:
- The Wolf Man: Monster by Moonlight; The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth; Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr.; He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce; The Wolf Man Archives; 100 Years of Universal: The Lot; trailer gallery; commentary with film historian Tom Weaver
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters; 100 Years of Universal: The Lot; 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters; theatrical trailer; commentary with film historian Gregory W. Mank
- Theatrical trailers for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Werewolf of London and She-Wolf of London
An American Werewolf in London Gets Dolby Vision at 45
John Landis sent David Naughton and Griffin Dunne onto the Yorkshire moors in 1981, and Rick Baker’s transformation scene won the first Academy Award ever handed out for makeup. For the 45th anniversary, the film arrived on October 6 in a two-disc 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release with a Dolby Vision and HDR10 presentation of the 4K restoration, a Dolby Atmos track and a digital code. The Limited Edition SteelBook puts the snarling werewolf in front of a full moon on the cover, with more art inside. Baker’s work is a big part of why practical effects still set the bar for horror, and the disc gives him his own featurette.
Bonus features:
- Feature commentary with cast members David Naughton and Griffin Dunne
- Beware the Moon
- I Walked with a Werewolf
- Making An American Werewolf in London
- An Interview with John Landis
- Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London
- Casting of the Hand
- Monster by Moonlight, hosted by John Landis
- Outtakes, storyboards and a photograph montage
Van Helsing Returns in a Limited SteelBook
Stephen Sommers’ Van Helsing threw Hugh Jackman’s monster hunter at Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and a werewolf in 2004, which makes it a natural fit next to the Legacy sets. Kate Beckinsale co-stars as Anna Valerious. The Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD SteelBook also landed on October 6, with the film on 4K Ultra HD with HDR10 and a DTS:X track, plus a Blu-ray and a digital code. The discs match Universal’s earlier 4K release of the film, so the new part is the SteelBook, which has art on the front, back and inside.
Bonus features:
- Feature commentary with director Stephen Sommers and editor/producer Bob Ducsay
- Feature commentary with Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley and Will Kemp
- Van Helsing: The Story, The Life, The Legend
- Bringing the Monsters to Life
- Track the Adventure
- The Masquerade Ball Scene “Unmasked”
- Dracula’s Lair Is Transformed
- You Are in the Movie!
- The Music of Van Helsing
- Bloopers, The Art of Van Helsing and hidden Monster Eggs