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

ADDITION: Shout! Factory Blu-ray (March 2020): Shout! Factory have transferred the 1973, 2-part, TV Movie Frankenstein: The True Story to 1080P Blu-ray. It is advertised as a "NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements To The 2-Part 3 Hour And 6 Minute Version Including The Introduction By Actor James Mason". You also have the option of seeing it without the 5 3/4 minute introduction. We've compared it to 2, vastly inferior, DVD versions. The higher resolution dominates over the SD - especially the soft Second Sight accentuating the 1080P which exports tighter colors, a warmer palette, depth, detail, contrast, the image is brighter - and in, pretty much, every visuals facet.

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Shout! Factory use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are the expected laboratory and experiment effects plus a great score by Gil Melle (The Andromeda Strain, The Deliberate Stranger, 7 episodes of Kolchak the Night Stalker and The Organization), sounding occasionally ominous and atmospheric. Shout! Factory offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Shout! Factory Blu-ray has a new audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Sam Irvin (author of Little Shoppe of Horrors: The Journal of Classic British Horror Films) and he is well-prepared talking about a variety of topics including director Jack Smight (The Illustrated Man, Harper, Damnation Alley), he identifies similarities and differences between this film and the novel by Mary Shelley. Sam can talk - he fills the 3-hour film with plentiful data and I thought it was very valuable to fans of this 70's TV horror classic. Shout! add three new interviews; Off With Her Head spends 25-minutes with lovely Jane Seymour, Victor’s Story is an interview with Leonard Whiting for shy of 20-minutes and Frankenstein’s Diary is a 41-minute conversation with writer Don Bachardy who has also has credit work from The Stepford Wives (1975) to A Single Man (2009.) I found this interview quite... interesting.

Frankenstein: The True Story was one of my favorites TV experiences as a child. I guess I was 10 and waited with great anticipation to see part 2 - two nights later. I loved the Arctic ending. Yes, for its time it was surprisingly graphic and the, perceived, authenticity of the Frankenstein story gave it immense appeal.  I'm so glad that Shout! Factory brought it to Blu-ray looking and sounding significantly improved and with the inclusion of a commentary and 3 new interviews. Great stuff! An easy recommendation! 

Gary Tooze

ON THE DVDs: Both discs of this surprisingly grisly - for seventies network TV - two-part miniseries are dual-layered, but the UK release offers individual play and scene selections for each of the two parts as well as a "play all" option. From the screen captures, the US disc appears to be a shade more detailed, sharper, and with slightly more picture information on the sides. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track is in good condition. The only extra on the UK set is the introduction by James Mason which is incorporated into the film itself on the US version.

 - Eric Cotenas