Bride of Frankenstein 4K UHD - Elsa Lanchester / Boris Karloff

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

(aka "The Bride of Frankenstein")

Directed by James Whale
USA 1935

This greatest of all Frankenstein movies begins during a raging thunderstorm. Warm and cozy inside their palatial villa, Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton), and Shelley's wife Mary (Elsa Lanchester) engage in morbidly sparkling conversation. The wicked Byron mockingly chastises Mary for frightening the literary world with her recent novel Frankenstein, but Mary insists that her horror tale preached a valuable moral, that man was not meant to dabble in the works of God. Moreover, Mary adds that her story did not end with the death of Frankenstein's monster, whereupon she tells the enthralled Byron and Shelley what happened next. Surviving the windmill fire that brought the original 1931 Frankenstein to a close, the Monster (Boris Karloff) quickly revives and goes on another rampage of death and destruction. Meanwhile, his ailing creator Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) discovers that his former mentor, the demented Doctor Praetorius (Ernst Thesiger), plans to create another life-sized monster -- this time a woman! After a wild and wooly "creation" sequence, the bandages are unwrapped, and the Bride of the Monster (Elsa Lanchester again) emerges. Alas, the Monster's tender efforts to connect with his new Mate are rewarded only by her revulsion and hoarse screams. "She hate me," he growls, "Just like others!" Wonderfully acted and directed, The Bride of Frankenstein is further enhanced by the vivid Franz Waxman musical score; even the film's occasional lapses in logic and continuity (it was trimmed from 90 to 75 minutes after the first preview) are oddly endearing. Director James Whale was memorably embodied by Ian McKellen in the Oscar-winning 1998 biopic Gods and Monsters.

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

***

Tremendous sequel to Whale's own original, with a clever prologue between Byron and Mary Shelley setting the scene for the revival of both Frankenstein and his monster. Thereafter Thesiger's loony Dr Praetorius arrives on the scene, complete with miniaturised humans, and tries to persuade the good doctor to have another go at creating life, this time in the form of a female companion for Karloff. What distinguishes the film is less its horror content, which is admittedly low, than the macabre humour and sense of parody. Strong on atmosphere, Gothic sets and expressionist camerawork, it is - along with The Old Dark House, Whale's most perfectly realized movie, a delight from start to finish.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 21st, 1994

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Review: Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Only available, presently in Universal's 4K UHD Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection with *The Mummy* / *The Bride of Frankenstein* / *Phantom of the Opera* and *Creature from the Black Lagoon* Bonus Captures: Coming out individually in 4K UHD in October 20233:
Distribution	Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:14:45.189
Video	1.37:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 63,003,321,622 bytes Feature: 47,092,551,360 bytes Video Bitrate: 75.65 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 1774 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1774 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs: DTS Audio French 768 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 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 (SDH), French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal 1.37:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 63,003,321,622 bytes Feature: 47,092,551,360 bytes Video Bitrate: 75.65 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc Disc 1 - The Bride of Frankenstein: • Feature Commentary with Scott MacQueen • She's Alive: Creating The Bride of Frankenstein (38:54) • The Bride of Frankenstein Archive (13:11) • 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics • Trailer Gallery Disc 2 Blu-ray - The Bride of Frankenstein: • Commentary by Scott MacQueen • She's Alive: Creating The Bride of Frankenstein (38:54) • The Bride of Frankenstein Archive (13:11) • Trailer Gallery • 100 Years of Universal My Scenes Digital copy of The Bride of Frankenstein (Subject to expiration) 4K Ultra HD Release Date: October 11th, 2022 Black 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 2022): Universal's have released another Universal's 4K UHD Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection. This one has The Mummy / Bride of Frankenstein / Phantom of the Opera and Creature from the Black Lagoon. The first boxset had Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Invisible Man. Like the first set, the titles in the second boxset will also come out individually - probably next year. With the wonderful video appearance of the films in the first set - fans have high expectations for - notably this highly desirable title. While the 3840 X 2160 visuals appear darker - and they are with more pronounced with piercing black levels, the white parts of the image are also brighter, and more pure, than the Blu-ray. This HDR10 pass has exquisite contrast layering that gives the perception of a sharper image that it is also infused with abundant, rich, grain. This notably enhancing Frankenstein's double monster's scars, pale face, shadows (far more than the BD could render with efficiency) etc.. The lab, mansion, Bride's hair - all look superior. The 4K UHD presentation is gorgeous and allows a new, more impressive, viewing of this classic in your home theater. NOTE: If you decry detail being lost - I didn't find it that way in my viewing and the simulated captures can't do the subtly justice. Please keep that in mind. We are doing the best we can.

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: 56 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: The Amityville Horror (software uniformly simulated HDR), The War of the Worlds (1953) (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Incredible Melting Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cloak & Dagger (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR), Out of Sight (software uniformly simulated HDR), Raging Bull (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shaft (1971), (software uniformly simulated HDR), Double Indemnity (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Untouchables (software uniformly simulated HDR), For a Few Dollars More (no HDR), Saboteur (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marnie (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shadow of a Doubt (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Fistful of Dollars (no HDR), In the Heat of the Night (no HDR), Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), 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 Helsing (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 is very effective and remains highly supportive in the lossless even with the limitations of the era it was produced. What is added are a three foreign language DUBs (French, German, and Italian.) There is memorable score is by Franz Waxman (Fury, Untamed, Rebecca, Dark Passage, Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard etc.) often with violin strings seething under the surface. 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 2012.

Included on both discs is the previous commentary by Scott MacQueen. As well as She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein from 1999 - another excellent David J. Skal documentary - running almost 40-minutes. It's hosted by Joe Dante and is well worth re-watching. We also get The Bride of Frankenstein Archive, a trailer gallery, another 100 Years of Universal video piece and the Blu-ray disc is 'My Scenes-capable'. Bottom line - no new extras... but these are very good.

Universal's 4K UHD release of James Whale's "Bride of Frankenstein" is one of the more desired titles for vintage horror fans - it is often considered one of the greatest sequels ever made. It goes beyond Whale's own Frankenstein from 1931 which also stars Boris Karloff as 'the Monster'. It realizes a subplot from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein: Or The Modern Prometheus; Henry Frankenstein is coerced by his mentor Dr. Pretorius into constructing a mate for his first creation. Elsa Lanchester stars in the dual role of Mary Shelley and "The Bride". It is frequently sited as Whale's masterpiece and an improvement on the original film. The manner that the 4K handles the ominous darkness and film grain add an effective fresh layer to the viewing. It significantly augments the horror aspects in shadow - the stormy night, the blind hermit's abode, the crypt, the lightening and, of course, the torch-lit laboratory. I compare seeing the Bride's iconic bandage-wrapped body in 4K to the opening of Vertigo in this format. A new, awesome, impression of exemplary film images. This is a must-own.

Gary Tooze

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