Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Blu-ray

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

Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
USA 1931

I'll show you what horror means... growls the hideous Mr. Hyde (Fredric March) as the helpless, terrified Ivy (Miriam Hopkins) cowers on her bed. And now you'll see too, as you watch this fully restored 1932 version of Robert Louis Stevenson's spine-chilling masterpiece. With the inclusion of 17 minutes of previously censored material, this is the definitive Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Director Rouben Mamoulian's choice of young, handsome Fredric March (known then as a comic actor) to play the lead raised studio hackles.

***

Story has it, that Stevenson, who suffered from nightmares throughout his life, wrote the novel in one session, only to have his wife throw it into the fireplace out of horror. Not so much because of the tone of the novel, but perhaps more, because Stevenson had this dual personality within him. If she, as some stories tell, later encouraged him to rewrite it, or if he did it by himself, is unknown. But rewritten it was and today it is considered one of the classic horror tales, alongside Dracula and Frankenstein.

Unlike the other tales, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based upon man himself, the duality of man, part good, part evil. As such, Mr. Hyde is a wordplay on the word “hide”, which again suggests repression of character, which again lead to various interpretations of the motif.

In Rouben Mamoulian’s 1932 version, the conflict is thus between the modern (civilized) and the primitive man, where Hyde was given the characteristics of a Neanderthal. This had nothing to do with the popularity of apes in 30’s horror, but was a visual representation of the primitive forces that drives man. Opposite of this, Victor Fleming’s 1941 version saw the conflict between good and evil, thus making it a matter of morality and reason. The opening sequences of both films stresses the approach: In the 1932 version, Jekyll lectures at the university, in the 1941 version, a priest lectures the congregation.

Excerpt from Henrik Sylow located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 24th, 1931

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Review: Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:36:02.756
Video	1.20:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,787,212,617 bytes Feature: 30,878,349,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1771 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1771 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1830 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1830 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Archive 1.20:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,787,212,617 bytes Feature: 30,878,349,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary by Dr. Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr • Commentary by Greg Mank • Hyde and Hare 1955 Cartoon (7:05) • 11/19/50 Theater Guild on the Air Radio Broadcast (52:06) Blu-ray Release Date: August 9th, 2022 Standard Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 27

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner Archive Blu-ray (April 2023): Warner Archive have transferred Rouben Mamoulian's 1931 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to Blu-ray. The 1080P image improves in the expected areas over SD - contrast (richer black levels), texture, detail - but the image shows a shade less in the frame (both sides) and is authentically a more faithful appearance with wider (fatter) faces. This looks more correct to me - but I can't figure out why the ratio has changed to 1.20:1*. Regardless the HD presentation is impressive with superior sharpness in the film's many close-ups. We reviewed the Warner DVD from 2004, HERE. That included the 1941 Spencer Tracy version. It's nolo contendere.

*NOTE: Peter tells us in email "Just a heads-up on the 1.20:1 aspect ratio of the BluRay disc. This is correct. Paramount were still using the sound on film system, which didn’t allow for 1.33:1 aspect ratio you got when sound was on disc (Warners Vitaphone system). I think that 1931 was the last year for the narrower format". (Thanks Peter)

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Warner Archive use a DTS-HD Master dual- mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows its age with slightly hollow-scattered dialogue but it is consistent and clean. The music comes from a lot of 'stock' by the likes of Herman Hand (I'm No Angel, Lives of a Bengal Lancer, The Song of Songs, A Farewell to Arms), Rudolph G. Kopp (The Sign of the Cross, The Woman Accused, 1934's Cleopatra, 1934's The Murder in the Zoo, 1950's Noir Mystery Street), John Leipold (Christmas in July, The Devil is a Woman, The Flying Deuces, Duck Soup) with Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 and Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ in F Minor, BWV 639, Schumann's Fantasiestücke, op. 12: II. Aufschwung as well as Champagne Ivy sung by Miriam Hopkins (twice!) The lossless audio transfer is another notable step beyond the previous DVD. Warner Archive offer optional English subtitles (yellow font - see below) on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray offers two commentaries. The older, informative, one is here from Greg Mank and a new one by Dr. Steve Haberman (Silent Screams: The History of the Silent Horror Film) and Constantine Nasr (Little Shoppe of Horrors: The Journal of Classic British Horror Films.) They discuss much of the pre-code horror film's similarities to the Robert Louis Stevenson literary source, the Fredric March - won the 1931-32 Academy Award for Best Actor for this film along with Wallace Beery (for The Champ) - supporting performances, cinematographer Karl Struss and art director Hans Dreier plus significantly more. It's very revealing. The 7-minute Bugs Bunny cartoon "Hyde and Hare" from 1955 is repeated from the first DVD and the Blu-ray includes the 52-minute, audio presentation of the November 19th, 1950 Theater Guild on the Air Radio Broadcast of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has the racy, pre-code-ness, pioneering make-up and effects and the inventive theory that man is composed of two intertwined halves - civilized and primitive. This is often considered the definitive version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It remains a memorable and effective horror. The Warner Archive Blu-ray does the HD image proud, offers two commentaries, cartoon and radio adaptation. It's one of the must-owns for early horror films and I'm happy to say the transfer package does it justice. Absolutely recommended!