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

ADDITION: Anolis Blu-ray (April 2021): Anolis, out of Germany, have transferred Terence Fisher 's The Revenge of Frankenstein to a stacked mediabook Blu-ray. Colors match up very well with the 2019 UK 1080P release looking a shade green/blue compared to the Millcreek. It is on a dual-layered disc but has a lower bitrate than the Indictor and shows a few instances of macro-blocking (see example below.) It is not egregious or invasive but does exist, in a couple of dark background, for those sensitive to it. On the positive this 1.66:1 aspect ratio presentation shows consistent, prevalent, grain texture and looks wonderful in-motion.

Michael Brooke in our FB Forum says: "It (the Millcreek) uses the ancient HD master that looks even worse in motion than the screencaps suggest. To date, Anolis and Indicator (whose own edition is getting a separate release imminently) are the only versions of ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ to use Sony’s 2019 4K restoration."

NOTE: We have added 28 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Anolis offer DTS-HD Master dual-mono tracks (16-bit) in the original English or a German language DUB. It is a slight notch below the 24-bit Indicator in terms of depth but Leonard Salzedo's (who did a few Hammer Noirs - Race for Life, Blonde Bait etc.) score still supports the film's Gothic milieu well. Anolis offer optional German subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Anolis add three commentaries! Two are in the German language - first by Dr. Rolf Giesen and a second by the pairing of Uwe Sommerlad and Volker Kronz. My German is far too rusty and they speak too quickly for me to impart any details. The third commentary is in English by Dr. Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr. Steve explains his early remark about The Revenge of Frankenstein being a drama of 'Cartesian duality, and divine intervention'. He and Constantine work well together referencing other, often related, Hammer horrors - notably the preceding Curse of Frankenstein, noting the actors - major and minor parts - the Leonard Salzedo score, Kurt Siodmak's interested in 'brains', Terence Fisher and much more including the morality undercarriage of the film. It's very enjoyable and at their usual high standard - the most knowledgeable for this Hammer genre. Notable also included is Dima Ballin 's 3/4 hour 2020 The Birth of Hammer Horror - a Diabolique Films documentary. It has input from Gavin Baddeley, Joe Dante, Kat Ellinger, Steve Haberman, David, and Constantine Nasr that digs deep into Hammer's first Gothic horror sequel, The Revenge of Frankenstein, which changed the course for the company, and gave birth to the "Hammer Horror" brand. Also include are trailers (German and US), a Super 8 version of the film (also on the Indicator), a few minutes with David Huckvale (different than the one on the Indicator), the same Trailer From Hell with Joe Dante also on the UK edition - these offer German subtitles. Plus there are a film programme, Pressbooks and an extensive gallery. The Mediabook as a 32-page segment with essays (in German) and photos.

Okay, this Anolis is a very handsome package and, currently the Indicator Boxset is waaay out-of-print without their individual Blu-ray release of Terence Fisher 's The Revenge of Frankenstein scheduled yet. The a/v may be a notch below the UK transfer but is far ahead of the Millcreek, and it is loaded with extras including the valuable Haberman / Nasr commentary, Impressive Diabolique Films documentary and more. The packages themselves have appealing covers. It's very desirable - no doubt. Collectors and devout Hammer lovers will want to get their hands on this Anolis Blu-ray.            

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ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (October 2019): Indicator have transferred Terence Fisher 's The Revenge of Frankenstein to Blu-ray in a new 4K restoration. It is part of Indicator's Hammer Volume Four: Faces of Fear with THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, TASTE OF FEAR, THE DAMNED: There is some blue and green in the 1080P image, and this may very well be accurate, but the detail handily advances over the softer Millcreek regardless. Skin tones warm on the UK HD presentation and it shows distinctly more texture. The Indicator is vastly superior with double the bitrate. 

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. It is another advancement over the lossy Dolby transfer of the Millcreek. This is highly notable in the score by Leonard Salzedo sounding a bit deeper with more cleaner dialogue. Indicator offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Indicator Blu-ray has a plethora of supplements. I loved both, new, audio commentaries - the first with film historians Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby who know heaps more than they can export about The Revenge of Frankenstein during the running time but they work great together and provide a lot of Hammer anecdotal data that keep the film fresh and enjoyable. I really enjoyed the second audio commentary with horror and fantasy authors Stephen Jones and a very enthusiastic Kim Newman as they talk a lot of about other Hammer efforts and the lack of sexualized women in Revenge of Frankenstein. These are both fabulous additions to the disc. Back from the Dead: Inside ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ is a new (2019) and exclusive documentary featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, exploring aspects of the film’s production. It runs 21-minutes. We get another chapter of Hammer’s Women. This one on Eunice Gayson - a profile of the Hammer star by film historian Pamela Hutchinson running 8-minutes. A Frankenstein for the 20th Century is a wonderful new video essay by film historian Kat Ellinger and Dima Ballin that runs 26-minutes. It explores many facets including discussion of the Gothic period and is an essential watch. Arpeggios of Melancholy is a new 13-minute appreciation of composer Leonard Salzedo’s score by David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde. There is a sound-less Outtakes reel with rare, unseen on-set footage. Another Super 8 (also mute) cut-down (8-minute) home cinema presentation, an original theatrical trailer plus a Joe Dante TFH trailer commentary (from 2013) as a short critical appreciation. Lastly is an image gallery of promotional and publicity materials and the package includes a limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Marcus Hearn, Kieran Foster on Hammer’s unrealized Tales of Frankenstein television series, Jimmy Sangster on The Revenge of Frankenstein, a selection of promotional materials, an overview of contemporary reviews, and film credits

One of the more re-watchable 'Hammer' films (although - aren't most?) - and it has a uniqueness that is analyzed in the commentaries and extras. The Revenge of Frankenstein has Fisher's fine genre storytelling and abundant Hammer charisma. It's another Blu-ray package that will go in the 'rewatchable shelf'. Indicator just keep impressing - 'WOW'.

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ADDITION: Mill Creek - Region 'A' - Blu-ray September 16': Like Hammer Film Double Feature - The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll & The Gorgon (compared HERE), Mill Creek's 2016 Blu-ray transfer is also technically underwhelming - the two features share a single-layered Blu-ray disc supporting a modest bitrate (16 Mbps) and only lossy audio (no improvement). There are no extras and no optional subtitles. To be fair The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb does, visually, look better than the old DVD. We lose the orangey-ness of the SD flesh tones and film textures, on both titles, looks much better.

We only compared The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, part of the old Sony DVD set - reviewed HERE, to this Blu-ray. We are anxious to obtain and review Universal's 2016 Hammer Horror 8-Film Blu-ray Collection.

Big bonus here, though, is the price. Fans should probably nab it - for me the inclusion of Revenge of Frankenstein in 1080P was appreciated as I really like this particular Hammer film. Fans should nab this at the low price. 

Gary Tooze