The Wolf Man 4K UHD - Lon Chaney Jr.

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 50,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by George Waggner
USA 1941

"Even a man who is pure at heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms/And the moon is full and bright." Upon first hearing these words, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) dismisses them as childish folderol. After all, this is the 20th Century; how can a human being turn into a werewolf? Talbot soon learns how when he attempts to rescue Jenny Williams (Fay Helm) from a nocturnal attack by a wolf. Collapsing, Talbot discovers upon reviving that Jenny is dead-and, lying by her side, is not the body of a beast, but of a gypsy named Bela (Bela Lugosi). The son of fortune teller Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), Bela was a lycanthrope, or "wolf man." And now that he has been bitten by Bela, Talbot is cursed to suffer the torments of the damned whenever the moon is full. Arguably the best of the "original" Universal horrors...

***

It's only in your mind' says Claude Rains to his screen son Lon Chaney Jr, as he straps the suspected werewolf to a chair in Universal's second try at the Wolf Man saga. But he's three corpses too late, and we've already seen the transformation as Chaney stomps through a never-never land of foggy glades outside English villages set in Alpine scenery. Suspension of disbelief aside, this is interesting for its relatively modern equation between Chaney's wolfish desires and his unhappy fate, for its concern over the victims, and for the fact that - despite all odds - there's undeniable magic within the staid format.

Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 9th, 1941

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Only sold presently as part of Universal Classic Monsters 4K UHD: Icons of Horror Collection with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Invisible Man: Coming to a 'Stand Alone' 4K UHD in November 2022: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:09:55.190
Video	1.33:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 64,828,574,964 bytes Feature: 52,792,829,952 bytes Video Bitrate: 90.51 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1791 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1791 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs: DTS Audio French 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Spanish 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Spanish 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio German 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Italian 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal 1.33:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 64,828,574,964 bytes Feature: 52,792,829,952 bytes Video Bitrate: 90.51 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Commentary by Tom Weaver • Monster by Moonlight (32:38) • The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth (10:02) • Pure in Heart: The Life and legacy of Lon Chaney Jr. (36:53) • He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce (24:56) • The Wolf Man Archives (6:46) • Trailers for all the Wolf Man sequels • 100 Years of Universal (9:25 in 1080P) Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray • Commentary by Tom Weaver • Monster by Moonlight (32:38) • The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth (10:02) • Pure in Heart: The Life and legacy of Lon Chaney Jr. (36:53) • He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce (24:56) • The Wolf Man Archives (6:46) • Trailers for all the Wolf Man sequels • 100 Years of Universal (9:25 in 1080P) 4K Ultra HD Release Date: October 5th, 2021 Custom 4K Ultra HD Case Chapters 18

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Universal 4K UHD (October 2021): Universal's have released four of their Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection classics; Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Invisible Man to 4K UHD. At present they are not available individually but only in this set. We anticipate a similar package with The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera and Creature From the Black Lagoon. Then, I suspect they will be sold individually. These will be the oldest films I have yet seen that have been rendered to this format.

The 3840 X 2160 scanned image of The Wolf Man is darker and thicker than the 9-year old, glossy and slightly boosted, Blu-ray. Like Frankenstein, the 4K advances upon the 2012 1080P with contrast and heavy, film-like, grain support. The 4K UHD has more 3 X the bitrate. The visuals are appropriately darker - which suits the tone and locations of fog-shrouded forests. This notably enhances the impressive, eerie sets. The 4K UHD presentation is a notable step-up but, perhaps, not at the same level as Frankenstein, although the imposing textures are a huge part of the appeal. What I did appreciate is the improvement over the Blu-ray weaknesses which can tend to have made it look, even marginally, enhanced. Night lanterns now glow with subtle authenticity and much of the werewolf's visage is far more detailed (see last compared capture.) Overall, the darker, richer, look seems definitively suitable to viewing The Wolf Man. Yes, a notable upgrade.

NOTE: This package has eight discs - four 4K UHD and the four original 2012 Blu-rays as evidenced by the M2TS dates:

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 50 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR), Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc), Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR), Chernobyl (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR), Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR), Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsining (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot (software uniformly simulated HDR),, Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR), 2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Universal offer the same English-language track encode (24-bit) - a DTS-HD Master dual-mono as found on their 2012 Blu-ray reviewed HERE. It suits The Wolf Man well - balanced in the lossless even with the limitations of the era it was produced (higher end imperfect in spots.) What is added are a four foreign language DUBs (French, German, Spanish and Italian.) There is an uncredited score with selections by Charles Previn (The Strange Door, My Man Godfrey, The Flame of New Orleans), Hans J. Salter (The Incredible Shrinking Man, Jungle Queen, Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) and Frank Skinner (The Lady Gambles, The Sleeping City, The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City). The infrequent 'growls' and wolf-altercation(s) don't require, or carry, much bass. The effects still work wonders. Universal add optional English and many subtitle options on the Region FREE 4K UHD disc with still only English and Spanish on their included Region FREE Blu-ray from 2021.

There are extras on the 4K UHD disc - all highly relevant, same ones as found on the 2012 Blu-ray, that is also included in the package. Many of these supplements mirror the, previous, Legacy DVD edition including the detailed and fun audio commentary by Tom Weaver. Always a pleasure. Monster by Moonlight (32:38) is another David Skal documentary (from 1999) - this time hosted by John Landis who discusses the five Universal movies featuring The Wolf Man character portrayed by Lon Chaney. There is a 10-minute video entitled - The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth and a half-hour homage; Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr. We also get the 24-minute He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce as also found on The Mummy disc. Duplicating the others Blu-rays in the set this has a trailer gallery and another 100 Years of Universal piece. The Blu-ray disc is My Scenes capable.

Universal's 4K UHD release of George Waggner's "The Wolf Man" is a treat for fans to see this in a notable video upgrade. The film's simplicity is a hallmark and writer Curt Siodmak's touches of werewolf-incarnation (from being bit), and silver as its kryptonite advancing well beyond "The Wolf Man" 1941 classic lore. The small touches like Maria Ouspenskaya as mystic Maleva the gypsy and Bela Lugosi as the misfortunate fortune-teller add mythos to the experience that is steeped in heavy foggy atmospheres. Easy-peasy - this is the best way to see this Universal Monster Classic gem - one of my favorite of this cycle. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze

Menus / Extras