Search - The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday) on DVD


The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)
The Bela Lugosi Collection
Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday
Actors: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Sidney Fox
Directors: Arthur Lubin, Edgar G. Ulmer, Lambert Hillyer, Lew Landers, Robert Florey
Genres: Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
UR     2005     5hr 37min

INCLUDES: MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE BLACK CAT RAVEN INVISIBLE RAY BLACK FRIDAY

     
7

Larger Image

Movie Details

Actors: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Sidney Fox
Directors: Arthur Lubin, Edgar G. Ulmer, Lambert Hillyer, Lew Landers, Robert Florey
Creators: Clarence Marks, Curt Siodmak, Dale Van Every
Genres: Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Universal Studios
Format: DVD - Color,Full Screen - Closed-captioned,Dubbed,Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 09/06/2005
Original Release Date: 05/07/1934
Theatrical Release Date: 05/07/1934
Release Year: 2005
Run Time: 5hr 37min
Screens: Color,Full Screen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 12
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: Danish, English, French, German
Subtitles: French, Spanish

Similar Movies

The Boris Karloff Collection
Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key
Directors: George Waggner, Joseph Pevney, Lloyd Corrigan, Nathan Juran, Rowland V. Lee
6
   UR   2006   7hr 1min
Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive
The Black Cat / Man Made Monster / Horror Island / Night Monster / Captive Wild Woman
4
   NR   2009   5hr 26min
The Old Dark House
Director: James Whale
   NR   2003   1hr 12min
The Invisible Man - The Legacy Collection
The Invisible Man/Invisible Man Returns/Invisible Agent/Invisible Woman/Invisible Man's Revenge
Directors: A. Edward Sutherland, Edwin L. Marin, Ford Beebe, James Whale, Joe May
9
   UR   2004   6hr 26min

Similarly Requested DVDs

AVP - Alien Vs Predator
Widescreen Edition
   PG-13   2005   1hr 40min
   
The Magnificent Seven
Special Edition
Director: John Sturges
   NR   2001   2hr 8min
   
Alien 20th Anniversary Edition
Award Series
Director: Ridley Scott
   R   1999   1hr 57min
   
Drag Me to Hell
Director: Sam Raimi
   UR   2009   1hr 39min
   
The Constant Gardener
Widescreen Edition
Director: Fernando Meirelles
   R   2006   2hr 9min
   
Boogie Nights
New Line Platinum Series
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
   R   2000   2hr 35min
   
The Boondock Saints II All Saints Day
   R   2010   1hr 58min
   
Blade Runner
The Director's Cut
Director: Ridley Scott
   R   1997   1hr 57min
   
Stephen King's It
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
   UR   2002   3hr 12min
   
 

Movie Reviews

Lugosi (and Karloff) in some of Universal's best classics
pestcomics | Long Island, New York USA | 07/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have enjoyed the well-priced Universal Legacy Collections featuring their classic monster films of the 30s and 40s and have been waiting and hoping for them to release the balance of their classic horror titles. This DVD collection is the one I have been wishing for. Now I will finally have two of my favorite horror films of the 1930s, "The Black Cat" and "The Raven," on DVD.

As much as I am delighted by this set I find it an interesting and somewhat sad chronicle of Lugosi's early film career. The disc features an early 30s film following his success in "Dracula" where he is the main star ("Murders in the Rue Morgue" 1932), two films which team him in a role of equal stature with his rival, Boris Karloff ("The Black Cat" and "The Raven," 1934 and 35 respectively), a film which exploited the marquee value of his name but gave him a more minor role ("The Invisible Ray" 1937), and, finally, a film which saw him slip into a rather demeaning supporting role ("Black Friday" 1940) beside his old equal, Karloff.

Within eight years Lugosi had gone from full-fledged leading man to supporting actor. It must have compounded matters for Lugosi to have Karloff continue to receive leading roles while he was reduced to small supporting roles in Karloff's films. The duo would work again in 1945 in RKO's "The Body Snatchers" where Lugosi, again, played a minor role opposite Karloff's much meatier portrayal. Lugosi's career was on a steady downward slide by this point (with few exceptions like "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein") and would continue to decline through the next decade until his death in the mid-1950s.

The best part of this collection are the earliest films (pre-1937) which represent Universal's golden age of horror. This era saw the original "Dracula" (1931), "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Invisible Man" (1933), and Universal's masterpiece "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). In the early 30s Universal was a studio committed to making quality horror films. In fact, these horror films saved Universal from certain bankruptcy in the dark days of the Great Depression (Abbott and Costello and Deanna Durbin would do the same for the studio ten years later). With the support of Carl Leammle, Jr. they produced A films with good scripts, good directors (Tod Browning, James Whale, etc.), moody sets and photography, amazing makeup by Jack Pierce, and wonderful casts.

As mentioned earlier, "The Black Cat" and "The Raven" are the two films I will enjoy most on this set and they alone are well worth the $20 dollar price tag. Both films take their titles from the works of Edgar Allen Poe but, unlike "Murders in the Rue Morgue," that is where the connection ends. "The Black Cat" is a pre-code tale of revenge and Satanism set in a spectacular art deco mansion built on the site of a bloody World War I battlefield. Lugosi and Karloff are bitter enemies who meet for one final battle of wits. "The Raven" sees Lugosi as a demented, Poe loving, plastic surgeon who disfigures Karloff and blackmails him into aiding him in a plot to punish a woman who has scorned him. Both films are perfect vehicles for their two stars and represent the well-mounted, quality horror product Universal became famous for."
Four of five films great; DVD problems explained & solution
RES | Boston, MA, USA | 10/08/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"These represent the Universal films outside the "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" franchises that starred Bela Lugosi--or more accurately, Karloff and Lugosi in all but one. Once Karloff entered the Universal scene a few months after "Dracula" (1931) and created such a hit with the Frankenstein monster--eclipsing Lugosi's Dracula, the studio wasn't keen to feature Lugosi as their horror star any longer: very ungrateful of them. So it leaves a "Lugosi Collection" from Universal largely as pairings with Karloff. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932) is exclusively a Lugosi vehicle. In "The Black Cat" (1934), the two are matched. Lugosi dominates in "The Raven" (1935), while "The Invisible Ray" (1936) is more a Karloff vehicle. "Black Friday' (1940), by far the weakest film, shouldn't be here at all, as Lugosi only has a small role.

Since others have already spoken at length about the films, and since most people buying this two-sided disc know what they're getting, I want to address the DVD mastering problems experienced. Many have noted that, regardless of player, films on the disc pixelate and freeze at random points. This is a problem with Universal's DVD-18 mastering process, which has flaws that have since caused Universal to return to their earlier, more reliable DVD-9 process.

In the meantime, both this disc and the 2-DVD "The Hammer Horror Series" have more than their share of bad discs. Contacting Universal itself will serve no purpose: even though they are aware of the problem, the pressings are out there and are not being remastered. You just have to be persistent and keep exchanging defective copies at retailers--even if you have to get a refund and start again with another dealer; the films are worth it. Eventually, you *will* get one without glitches. It took me three copies from two places for both this and "The Hammer Horror Series." Importantly, you don't have to play through all the films in real time to know if you have a flawed copy: just scan through the films in the player at 4x-10x speed (no faster), and if there is a glitch, the player will freeze at the spot. That way, you don't have to watch through eight 90-minute movies on every copy you try out; it will take only 10% of the time to check the set, and you don't even have to be in the room. If you come back and the image is frozen, rather than having finished the film being scanned and having returned to the menu, then you have a bad one."
Great films but not a hint of restoration!
JasKing | USA | 09/20/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I will say right now I am a fan of Universal's classic horror product including their B-movies of the 40s as well as a lifelong Lugosi fan. I am also very happy Universal chose to release this collection containing some of their best titles of the 30s ("The Black Cat" and "The Raven" being the best on this set) and some of Bela Lugosi's best work on film. Unfortunately, I have mixed feelings about this set. Let me go over the collection:

THE FILMS THEMSELVES:
Not a hint of restoration on any of the films. This to me is a huge disappointment. As far as I know Universal made no claims of restoration so they have not falsely advertised or anything. I guess I am just so spoiled by Warner's classic releases which always seem to be restored and remastered.

The prints don't look horrendous or anything but they could have looked spectacular. The prints they used to make this collection are probably what they show in syndication (like you'd be likely to see on TCM). There is a lot of graininess in all of the films. "The Raven" even has some blotchiness (like dirt on the print) in some early scenes. You can also see lots of scratches all over the place.

If MGM can take a film like "The Ghoul" that was once considered lost and make it look brand new then Universal could have invested some cash in restoring these classic horror films. They did a much better job with their Monster Legacy Collections. I am surprised they put no effort into this set. These are some of the most famous films they ever made!

P.S.: I strongly advise old-time horror fans to buy "The Ghoul". Great film, great restoration.

THE EXTRAS:
All I can say to describe the extras in this collection is threadbare. All you get are some battered old trailers. They don't even have a trailer for every film! Glaringly omitted is the famous trailer for "The Black Cat". This is the one that had specially shot footage of Karloff and Lugosi in which they refer to each other as "Dracula" and "Frankenstein". I have seen this trailer on AMC and TCM, it could have easily been included.

Worst of all there is no featurette. Couldn't they have included even a little 10 or 15 minute feature to honor Lugosi?

PACKAGING:
I actually like the packaging here. There is a nice outer cardboard box that an inner cardboard holder fits into (similar to Warner's "Citizen Kane", "Casablanca", and "Adventures of Robin Hood" releases). In typical Universal style there is only one double-sided disk. I have read a lot of complaints on Amazon about shoddy disks from Universal. I have never encountered one yet (knock on wood) and this disk played well for me.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you have been wanting these films since you got a DVD player, like me, then I would suggest getting this set ASAP. You can't lose considering the price. If you want these films restored and looking their best then wait until the day Universal offers up new releases of restored and remastered prints of them. Who knows when that day will come?

I would give the films on this set 5 stars but can only give this specific release 3 stars."
Half assed dvd release - The best film of the bunch is the s
A. Bazin | NYC | 12/02/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)

"While it's great to see these films on DVD, once again Universal shows it's complete lack of respect and care for their own classic films. This should come as no surprise after Universal released the classic monsters film library via shoddy, pooly packaged DVD collections that were primarily designed to promote "Van Helsing," a film that crapped all over the original monster classics and stunk so bad audiences got a pre-emptive whiff without even buying a ticket. There must be no one left at the studio that gives a damn about these films, which is far more than simply just a shame. While "Murders in the Rue Mourge" (the second best film in the bunch) is a terrific print, "The Black Cat" has had ZERO efffort put into it's transfer - it is virually indistinguishable from the VHS tape (combo with "the Raven" which I've owned for over 10 years) when played side by side for comparison - no joke. The fact that Universal doesn't even seem to know that "the Black Cat" is such an amazing film irks me no end. Even the brief, generic capsules about each film inside the box refer to "The Raven" as a "horror masterpiece" while "Black Cat" is referred to as a "shocking horror classic." The Raven is a fun film but it is SO far from a masterpiece, as anyone who has seen it can tell you, while "The Black Cat" is one of the greatest horror films ever made. I haven't even had the heart to check out the other discs (all films I know well). The fact that the best film by far on the disc has been given such assembly line, shoddy treatment is unforgiveable. Universal should be ashamed of themselves, and as punishment should be banished to their vaults do immaculate digital transfers of all their early classic horror films. Then it would be nice to see them release those transfers in decent packaging, though the "The Bela Lugosi Collection" is at least a small step in the right direction, as far as the packaging goes!"