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(aka "House of Fright")
Directed by Terence Fisher
UK 1960
In Victorian London, Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with drugs in an attempt to separate the good and evil natures of man. One night he injects himself with his personality-changing serum, and the somber Jekyll is transformed into the debonair Mr. Hyde. He visits the Sphinx, a West End nightclub, where he encounters Jekyll's neglected wife, Kitty, dancing with his close friend, Paul Allen, an inveterate gambler. Though Jekyll tries to submerge the evil nature of Hyde, he cannot prevent himself from plotting Paul's death, and he lures his former friend into the dressing room of Maria, a snake dancer. *** Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself. *** Fisher's The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), a revamp of the Stevenson story with Paul Massie as the dour scientist whose personality experiments unleash a virile but unhinged alter ego. Hardcore Hammer aficionados will be thrilled to discover that the Blu-ray version is uncut and preserves much of the (mildly) salacious material trimmed for its release in America under the title House of Fright. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: August 18th, 1960
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Sony - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Millcreek - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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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: Released individually on Blu-ray by Indicator in July 2021: or buy directly from Indicator: |
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Distribution | Sony - Region 1 - NTSC | Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:28:06 | 1:28:16.708 | 1:28:16.332 |
Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.14 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,415,797,068 bytesJekyll Feature: 11,951,990,784 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 17.00 Mbps |
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 41,354,586,646 bytesFeature: 25,993,406,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate DVD: |
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Bitrate Millcreek Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate Indicator Blu-ray: |
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Audio | English (original mono) | Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB |
LPCM
Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | English, None | None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details:
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Release Information: 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,415,797,068 bytesJekyll Feature: 11,951,990,784 bytes Gorgon Feature: 11,291,541,504 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 17.00 Mbps
Edition Details:
• None
Chapters: 4 + 4 |
Release Information: Studio: Indicator
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 41,354,586,646 bytesFeature: 25,993,406,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• Audio commentary with film historians Josephine Botting and Jonathan
Rigby (2019)
Custom Blu-ray Package (see below) Chapters 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
On their
Blu-ray,
Indicator use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English
language also advancing over the puny lossy Dolby of the Millcreek. The
soundtrack is credited to David Heneker (Bongo Boy) and Monty
Norman (Expresso
Bongo,
From Russia with Love,
The Day the Earth Caught Fire) - best known for his "James
Bond Theme" from
Dr. No (1962), which is used in every James Bond Movie as part
of the opening credits.) It sounds very clear and flat
carrying minor depth. Indicator offer optional English
(SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
The Indicator
Blu-ray has
extensive supplements starting with another, new, expert audio
commentary with film historians Josephine Botting and Jonathan Rigby
(author of English
Gothic.) They starts with discussing the lurid opening credits
giving an indication that it was not a standard
Hammer Horror - a motion picture of many moods, the costuming,
stars etc.. They include another new and exclusive documentary;
Identity Crisis: Inside ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ a 19-minute
2019 video featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby,
exploring aspects of the film’s production. We get another chapter of
Hammer’s Women this one about Dawn Addams (Kitty Jekyll) . It is a
new 10-minute profile of the Hammer star by British cinema expert, the
enchanting, Laura Mayne giving some interesting background on the
actress. There is an archival audio recording (10-minutes) with the
film’s star Paul Massie from 1967. Now and Then: Wolf Mankowitz
is a 1/2 hour, 1968, archival interview featuring the screenwriter in
conversation with broadcaster Bernard Braden. Mauve Decadence is
a new 10-minute appreciation of composer Monty Norman’s score by David
Huckvale, the author of
Hammer Film Scores and
the Musical Avant-Garde. The Many Faces of Dr. Jekyll is
a new 7-minute overview of the censorship history of The Two Faces of
Dr. Jekyll. There is an original theatrical trailer and a 'TFH' Sam
Hamm trailer commentary from 2013, as a short critical appreciation.
Lastly is an image gallery of promotional and publicity materials and
the package has a limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new
essay by Kat Ellinger, a selection of promotional materials, an overview
of contemporary reviews, and film credits.
This is another of the
infinitely
Gary Tooze
ADDITION: Mill Creek - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
September
16':
Does it look better? - yes, it does but far from the best it
could. The US remains indifferent to the Hammer Films archive where in
region 'B' you can get many of the studios desirable titles. I'm 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. We reviewed the 2 disc Sony DVD
HERE - which still has value.
We have reviewed/compared Mill Creek's
Blu-ray of
Hammer Film Double Feature - Revenge of Frankenstein & The Curse of the
Mummy's Tomb,
HERE.
***
ON THE DVD Boxset: Much in the vein of
Sony's
Icons of Horror - Boris Karloff
or
Sam Katzman collections,
the four feature films of this boxset are shared, two each on two
dual-layered, progressive DVDs with all 4 widescreen features
being anamorphically enhanced. All have original aspect ratios - 2:35:1
for The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) + The Curse of the
Mummy's Tomb (1964), 1:66:1 for The Gorgon (1964) + Scream
of Fear (1961).
Each disc is coded for Region 1 in the NTSC standard.
They have original mono audio (or 2.0 channel stereo) and the dialogue
is supported by optional English subtitles. The 2 DVDs are
housed in one keep cases and they are not sold separately at this time.
I believe these particular NTSC editions can only be obtained in Sony's
Icons of Horror - Hammer Films collection at present.
Image quality: The three color features look quite strong and fairly consistent.
Scream of Fear seems the weak link with a strange softness at
times that may very well be part of the original presentation. But the
prevalent noise I'm sure is nt and contrast can be a bit muddy. I have no
adamantly strong complaints
with the way these, essentially single-layered, transfers look as my
expectations were not astronomic. There is some minor
digital noise throughout but, except for Scream of Fear, nothing distracting.
There are
no overt damage marks - just some minor light speckles here and there. I
think the captures below give a fair representation of how the DVD
package looks. They are certainly very watchable.
Audio was acceptable if unremarkable. It was
consistent and clear enough and the dialogue is supported with optional English
subtitles.
Unfortunately there are no extras save some
trailers which are both intense and amusing!
I love sinking into these genre efforts - no matter the
'cheese factor' - Hammer always had a slight edge in quality over a lot of
similar, more exploitation based, horror films.
This package is fun but I'd recommend Universal's
The Hammer Horror Collection over it by a mile (8 super Hammer Horrors
in one package for about $2 each). Still for new fodder, I immersed myself in
this one and admit to enjoyment. Fans have an idea what they are in for - and
this package shouldn't disappoint despite the lack of supplements. The Gorgon
was especially pretty cool! |
Sony - Region 1 - NTSC
Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC TOP2) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC TOP2) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC TOP2) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC TOP2) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP2) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP2) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP2) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
1) Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP2) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
Box Cover |
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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: Released individually on Blu-ray by Indicator in July 2021: or buy directly from Indicator: |
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Distribution | Sony - Region 1 - NTSC | Mill Creek Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |