The Curse of Frankenstein 4K Review (Warner Archive Collection)

The Curse of Frankenstein is a 1957 horror film directed by Terence Fisher (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace, Horror of Dracula, The Brides of Dracula, The Mummy, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Frankenstein Created Woman, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, and The Revenge of Frankenstein). It was written by Jimmy Sangster (The Horror of Frankenstein, Scream of Fear, Nightmare, The Brides of Dracula, The Mummy, Fear in the Night, Horror of Dracula, The Revenge of Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper, and Dracula: Prince of Darkness). It’s based on the iconic story from author Mary Shelley. It was produced by Anthony Hinds (Horror of Dracula, The Evil of Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera, The Brides of Dracula, The Quatermass Xperiment, The Kiss of the Vampire, and The Curse of the Werewolf). It had an estimated budget of £65,000 and it grossed $27,368 worldwide at the box office. Baron Victor Frankenstein (played by: Peter Cushing from Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Asylum, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Dracula A.D. 1972, The House That Dripped Blood, Tales from the Crypt, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Frankenstein Created Woman, The Evil of Frankenstein, and Horror of Dracula) becomes friends with one of his teachers Paul Krempe (played by: Robert Urquhart from Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil, Dunkirk, Nightmare, and The Dogs of War). At first, they are both fascinated by the potential of their re-animating experiments. When things go too far, Krempe refuses to help with Frankenstein’s risky human experiments. He is forced to come back when Frankenstein’s creature (played by: Christopher Lee from the Dracula franchise, Star Wars franchise, Fu Manchu franchise, The Mummy, The House That Dripped Blood, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Wicker Man, Horror Express, and The Lord of the Rings franchise) murders a member of the house staff. Can he stop what he helped to create? or Is this nightmare going to destroy him first???? The Curse of Frankenstein really set the tone for Hammer Films early on. This Frankenstein adaptation really stands out from most of them. The iconic Terence Fisher was behind the camera for this independent production. He would go on to direct so many projects from Hammer after this. The script took that legendary story and made it’s own. I love the dilemma of morals here. Horror icon Peter Cushing is top notch as Baron Victor Frankenstein. It’s the first time that he played this classic character and he would reprise the role multiple times over the years. This is still my portrayal of Frankenstein from Cushing. He goes from a curious funder of these original experiments to a mad scientist. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals here. It’s some fantastic development and change for a person which is always fascinating to watch. Robert Urquhart as Paul Krempe is the one that makes it all work from the beginning. It starts out with studies that didn’t cross the line but he decides to walk away when it gets too extreme. He’s really good as the conflicted hero. Horror legend Christopher Lee is great as Frankenstein‘s monster. He’s one of the best versions of this known horror villain. I wish his role was bigger in The Curse of Frankenstein but he’s really important during it’s second half. His mannerisms and presence just takes over when he shows up in this. He’s very unpredictable and dangerous. The rest of the supporting cast includes Hazel Court (The Masque of the Red Death), Melvyn Hayes (Doctor Who), Valerie Gaunt (Horror of Dracula), Paul Hardtmuth (Doctor Blood’s Coffin), Fred Johnson (The Brides of Dracula), Raymond Ray (No Hiding Place), and Anne Blake (The Curse of the Werewolf). It manages to do something different and unique with Mary Shelley’s famous tale. It doesn’t try to remake the 1931 film, it goes for it’s own direction. The Curse of Frankenstein really put Hammer in the game. It really elevated the careers of both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. They would both become major stars in a good amount of their features after this. It basically created an entire universe that would change horror forever. It shows two men reacting completely opposite of each other with this ambitious situation that just goes way too far. The Curse of Frankenstein influenced various movies for the Gothic Horror sub-genre. It has attention grabbing production design, locations, and special fx. It’s true visual experience especially for the late 50’s. It takes a little bit to get somewhere but it’s highly entertaining and it’s a total blast when it’s finished. The replay value is still very strong to this day. It’s a straight up horror classic and it’s awesome to see it get this royal treatment on home video. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the Warner Archive Collection! These 2160p unrated transfers for both 1.66:1 / 1.37:1 aspect ratios with Dolby Vision and HDR10 look amazing in 4K. I’ve seen this one in several different formats and these are the best it’s ever looked anywhere on home video. It’s from the 2020 4K scan of original color separation elements but this restoration is in legit 4K unlike the previous blu ray release. This Hammer production looks so sharp on UHD. It has a few different audio options which includes English: LPCM 2.0 Mono and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on this 3 disc set. The audio is highlighted when all the chaos starts happening here. The tension and suspense really hits towards the end. All of the dialogue is crisp, the disaster is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles. This is one of the most impressive improvements from a late 50’s production when it comes to home video. Warner Archive Collection continues to pump out quality material for their back catalog from Warner Bros Pictures. Disc one has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Kim Newman, Barry Forshaw, and Stephen Jones. It has an archive “Audio Commentary” from 2012 with Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby. It has the brand new exclusive little over 50 minute “Beside the Seaside”. It has interviews with Wayne Kinsey and Madeline Smith at the UK’s Whitstable Museum and Gallery celebrating the career of horror icon Peter Cushing. This is a straight up tribute to the horror icon. It has the brand new exclusive little over 8 minute “Reviving The Curse of Frankenstein”.bIt has interviews with Anthony Badger and Ray King. This focuses on the the restoration. This is a fantastic inside look into this 4K transfer and all of the work it took to create this new vision of this classic horror feature. They bring up all the challenges and struggles they went through making this back in the day. It’s a very detailed behind the scenes glimpse at this process. It has the little over a minute brand new exclusive “Alternative Eye Ball Scene”. This focuses on the censorship of the original scene. It shows what was it edited and cut from back in the day. It has the brand new exclusive resurrection of the updated resurrected “Original U.K. Theatrical Trailer”. It has quick brand new exclusive “U.K. Censor Card”. Disc two has the archive 2020 “Audio Commentary” with Constantine Nasr and Steve Haberman. It has an additional brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Heidi Honeycutt and Toby Roan. It has the brand new exclusive almost 35 minute “Recreating the Monster”. It features Lou Elsey and Dave Elsey recreating the original special fx. It also has some archive audio from fx artist Phil Leakey. It has the brand new exclusive little over 10 minute “A Fitting Vocation”. Melanie Bell and Jo Botting pay tribute to costume designer Molly Arbuthnot. It has the brand new exclusive little over 16 minute “Topped and Tailed”. It’s an interview with actor Melvyn Hayes. Melanie Bell and Jo Botting return to show their appreciation for this Hammer production. It has the brand new exclusive little over 39 minute “Good or Tuesday?”. This documentary is focused on screenwriter Jimmy Sangster. It has interviews with Mark Gatiss, Dick Klemensen, Stephen Laws, Stephen Gallagher, David Pirie, and Wayne Kinsey. It goes through his career and work with Hammer over the years. They chat about his influence and what he added to it’s legacy. It has the brand new exclusive almost 12 minute “Painting with Fine Brushes”. It’s a conversation between Dick Klemensen and Jack Asher. They talk about Asher’s contributions to the Hammer studio back in the day. It has the brand new exclusive little over 24 minute “A Gothic Tribute to Frankenstein”. Writer Stephen Volk chats about a variety of subjects when it comes to Frankenstein. This includes Mary Shelley’s original concept, all kinds of different film adaptations, and this version for The Curse of Frankenstein. It has an almost 14 minute brand new unreleased “Photo Gallery”. Disc three has a variety of archive special features from past home video releases. It has the almost 35 minute “Frankenstein Reborn”. This is a look at the making of The Curse of Frankenstein and it’s production from Hammer. It has interviews with Melvyn Hayes, Denis Meikle, Jonathan Rigby, David Huckvale, Michael Carreras and Jimmy Sangster. It has the almost 13 minute “Life With Sir”. It’s a tribute to the late great Peter Cushing with Joyce Broughton. It has the almost 22 minute “The Resurrection Men: Hammer, Frankenstein and the Rebirth of the Horror Film”. Little Shoppe of Horrors own Richard Klemensen. He shows his appreciation and respect with all kinds of detailed information. He chats about Hammer, The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror, and other projects from the studio. It has the almost 23 minute “Hideous Progeny: The Curse of Frankenstein and the English Gothic Tradition”. (22:49) – Author and historian Christopher Frayling chats about Gothic Horror which includes Dracula and Frankenstein. He dives into Hammer films and The Curse of Frankenstein here. He brings up it’s special fx, budget, and it sticking to Mary Shelley’s original story. It has the little over 15 minute “Torrents of Light: The Art of Jack Asher”. David J. Miller pays tribute and talks about the late cinematographer Jack Asher. He goes over his unique style and his eagle eye that captured some high quality visual nightmares. It has the little over 17 minute “Diabolus in Musica: James Bernard and the Sound of Hammer Horror”. Composer Christopher Drake shows appreciation and discusses the iconic music of Hammer back in the day. It focuses on The Curse of Frankenstein. Plus it goes over other Hammer films including Dracula with director Terence Fisher. Lots of stories and interesting facts about the sounds of classic British Horror. It has the little over 10 minute new unreleased “8mm Cutdown”. This is a rare glimpse of stuff that hasn’t been seen in forever and never released until now. This comes with a slipcover. It’s a UHD and 2 additional blu rays with so many extras. Warner Archive Collection continues to kill it when it comes to home video, this is one of their best efforts so far. I love seeing Hammer Horror still getting the royal treatment after all these years. It’s one of my personal favorite releases of the year. It should be in every horror fan’s collection. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!