Rating: NR
Genre:
Horror
Release Date: 09/06/2005
SubTitles: Espanol/French
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDM2.0
Run Time: 337 min
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
This single-disc/five-movie DVD release is a bargain and then some. Two of the movies,
Edgar G. Ulmer's
The Black Cat (1934) and
Robert Florey's
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), are brilliant pieces of
horror filmmaking, while the others are very nicely made and satisfying entries of somewhat variable quality in the same genre. Two of them,
The Black Cat and
The Raven, were paired together in the 1980s on opposite sides of the same laserdisc release, in time-compressed editions mastered from what looked like second- (or third-) generation materials. This DVD utilizes a better transfer of the same quality materials on those two movies; the digital video format eliminates many of the defects that marred the laserdisc edition, so that on
The Black Cat, in particular, sections of the film -- most especially the section depicting the Black Mass -- look quite stunning. There is still some lingering graininess, however, which leads one to ponder just how good proper preservation materials of these movies would look if properly transferred. Of the remaining titles,
Murders in the Rue Morgue is the best of the three and looks very good despite some staining and artifacting, owing to the sheer age of the 1932 film. This movie, although a full talkie, bears the closest resemblance to a silent movie in its acting and visual styles, and is the most beguiling on that level -- resounding with echoes of late silent cinema in its look, editing, and visual language -- as well as generally looking astonishingly good. Of the remaining titles,
The Invisible Ray was widely available in a laserdisc release, and it looks very good in most spots, despite some vertical scratches in the film element. The newest of the movies in the package,
Black Friday, isn't much more than a footnote to
Lugosi's career; whereas he was either a star or co-star in the other four movies, he isn't much more than a supporting player in this film, with
Boris Karloff and
Stanley Ridges getting the best roles and screen time. The film does look gorgeous, however, without any undue scratches or other excessive blemishes, and the contrasts and details are very rich. Each movie has been liberally chapter-encoded, there are reissue trailers for three of the five films here, and the sound is good throughout. The two-sided disc opens automatically to a simple, easy-to-use menu on either side, each leading to a simple dual-layer submenu for the individual film. There are optional English and French titles available on all five movies.
~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
;)
