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

ADDITION: Eureka Blu-ray (April 2021): Eureka have transferred six Boris Karloff films from the mid 30's to the early 40's to two dual-layered Blu-rays in a package entitled Karloff at Columbia. The films are The Black Room (1935), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), The Man With Nine Lives (1940), Before I Hang (1940), The Devil Commands (1941) and The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942.) Three per Blu-ray. They have supportive bitrates and show fine grain textures. We've compared some captures from past DVDs: Sony's Icons of Horror from 2006 reviewed by DVDBeaver HERE, and a 2005 Columbia DVD of The Man With Nine Lives, reviewed HERE. The 1080P transfers are a huge step forward - grain and contrast being the biggest beneficiaries, but detail also advances and some SD frame or compression anomalies have been eradicated. As with the DVD, the final 10-minutes of The Man With Nine Lives are compromised (see below) looking inordinately softer and muddy compared to the rest of the presentation - we presume this is on the best source available. Also The Devil Commands has some vertical scratches through a scene or two (also see below.) But the overall image quality is very appreciated - looking more film-like than ever before on digital. Very enjoyable on my system.   

NOTE: We have added 78 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Eureka use linear PCM dual-mono tracks (24-bit) in the original English language for all six films. There are effects of the production era - a lot of cathode-ray mad-scientist stuff and more. Most of the films have no music score credit but there are pieces utilized from the compositions of R.H. Bassett (Chandu the Magician, The Prisoner of Shark Island) and Milan Roder (The Sign of the Cross, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, The Song of Songs, Supernatural, Murnau's Tabu.) Before I Hang has Frédéric Chopin's Étude No 12 in C minor, Op 10 'Revolutionary' - audio is reasonably clean and the sound quality is another step up from the DVDs with the uncompressed transfers elevating the viewing experience. Eureka offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-rays.

The Eureka Blu-rays offers a new commentaries for all six films. On The Black Room, Before I Hang, and The Boogie Man Will Get You with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (author English Gothic: A Century Of Horror Cinema). On The Man They Could Not Hang, The Man With Nine Lives, and The Devil Commands we get commentaries from Stephen Jones (author of The Art of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History) and author / critic Kim Newman (many of his reviews compiled in text in Video Dungeon.) The pairing works for both as they share knowledge, discuss intimate production details and spot various performers citing previous and future films they were involved with. They are fun and educational - lots on Boris - well worth the indulgence for anyone keen. Also included are some radio programs; with Boris Karloff on the Road on the first Blu-ray we get The Corridor of Doom and The Wailing Wall - both running shy of 1/2 hour each and on the second Blu-ray under the title "Karloff on the Radio" we get Birdsong for a Murderer and Death For Sale. The package includes a limited edition O-ring slipcase and a collector's booklet featuring writing on all six films by Karloff expert Stephen Jacobs (author of Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster); film critic and author Jon Towlson; and film scholar Craig Ian Mann.  

Eureka's Karloff at Columbia Blu-ray package is a joy for fans of these slap-dash vintage horror cinema crackers with our protagonist usually playing an errant Doctor utilizing unaccepted methods to help humanity. With their short running times, generally just over an hour each, but packed with gripping storylines they reminded me of The Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Like that package, the vastly improved a/v and addition of new commentaries by mssrs. Lyons, Rigby, Jones and Newman, plus the radio programs and booklet give this immense value. I love the fashion and decor of this time period and could watch this all over again... after having just seen them! I really enjoyed my viewings, even the outlier comedy effort with Peter Lorre and Boris; The Boogie Man Will Get You. Eureka knows how to do it right - very strongly recommended.   

Gary Tooze