Value for your monster dollar

Universal has released one DVD set each of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man. They're being billed as "the movies that inspired Van Helsing", but that's just silly marketing opportunism. No, the thing you really should know is that each of these sets actually has either 3 or 4 other Universal horror movies on it.

Dracula also contains Dracula's Daughter, Son Of Dracula, House of Dracula, and a Spanish-language version of Dracula made with a completely different cast, on the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version, shortly after that one wrapped.

Frankenstein also contains Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, and House of Frankenstein.

The Wolf Man also contains Werewolf of London, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and She-Wolf of London.

This is really an amazing value. Each set is listed at $27 and I've seen them in stores for as little as $20. The 3 sets together contain all of the core movies of the loosely defined "Universal Horror Cycle", with the exception of Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein -- which is supposedly "in continuity" as it features Lugosi, Wolf Man Lon Cheney Jr., and mainstay non-Boris-Karloff Frankenstein monster Glenn Strange. (Daughter of Dracula, Werewolf of London, and She-Wolf of London are outside of this continuity.)

And as a final incentive, you can get all 3 sets together for $56 at Amazon here. That's 13 (ooooooo....) movies for $4.31 each, not even counting the Spanish Dracula.
- posted by Don Porges @ 5/01/2004 06:29:00 PM |