Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection [Blu-ray]

Bought this for my dad, absolutely loved

Great

Fantastic set…classic horror has never looked better

The Universal Classic Monsters are among the finest cinematic masterpieces ever to grace the screen, and this collection represents a must-have in the libraries of both horror fans in particular and cinema fans in general. In fact, one could call it a near-perfect collection.To be sure, not all of these classic films are as fine of masterpieces as the most famous of them. We all know Dracula, Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the others, but we don't necessarily remember all of their sequels. Partly that's because the sequels don't quite live up (with a few exceptions) to the original films. But at the same time, the entire Universal Monsters franchise is so foundational to cinema horror that it's worth revisiting and remembering even the weaker entries in the collection (even the weakest of which is still quite a good film).The collection itself is the perfect addition to any horror film library even though it has a couple quirks. For one thing, this boxed set is just a repackaged collection of each individual monster's collection, which results in a couple of the films being duplicated within the collection. For example, the films House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein appear in both the Dracula and the Frankenstein cases because both monsters appeared in those films. That's certainly not a flaw in the collection (and one could even argue it's a virtue, because it means each monster's case is complete in case you wanted to watch through the entirety of one monster's films in order), but it does indicate that the discs themselves don't contain anything new to this particular collection that you wouldn't already have if you'd purchased the individual monster collections earlier.The one thing that is unique to this collection is the small booklet containing some of the history of the Universal Monsters. While I bought the collection for the movies and not for the extra booklet, I was quite pleased to find it's actually a well-produced little document and it was a pleasure to read through some of the history.Arguably the only flaw in the collection is that it takes certain liberty with the word "complete." For instance, this collection does not contain Lon Chaney's 1925 silent The Phantom of the Opera, though it does contain the 1943 technicolor remake starring Claude Rains. However, while it may not be complete by the strictest definition, it is certainly a near-complete collection, and well worth owning. It would make a perfect gift for any horror fan.

If you like your monster blu ray sets organized, then this is for you. All the Wolf Man movies are together, as are all the Dracula, etc. I love not waiting for late Saturday night to watch my classic black & white Universal monster movies. With this super blu ray set, I can watch them whenever I want. Even the Abbott and Costello ones are included.

Every one big thrill from my child hood! Relax and enjoy!

This review addresses some pros and cons of the Universal Classic Monsters Complete 30-Film Collection that I haven't seen discussed in other reviews yet, and answers some questions posed in some of the other reviews and comments.I haven't watched the whole set yet, but have watched everything (in order) up through Invisible Man Returns. Assuming the rest of the movies are done like the ones I have watched so far, here's the scoop: The nine films in the Universal Classic Monsters Essential Collection Blu-ray boxed set (Dracula, Dracula [Spanish version], Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein are included here utilizing the remastered and restored 2012 Blu-ray transfers, ported to DVD. While they do benefit from the extensive cleanup, reframing, and tonal corrections of the Blu-rays, they are, as expected, softer looking than the Blu-rays (I have done several direct comparisons), though they all blow the old DVD transfers out of the water. I also noticed that the tonal values are slightly off in places; for example, the writing on the scroll behind the opening credits sequence of The Mummy is not quite as dark and "readable" as on the Blu-ray, but you probably wouldn't notice without doing a direct comparison. The remaining 20 non-Blu-ray transfers in the 30-Film Collection are identical to the previous DVD editions, with no cleanup or remastering, and windowboxed opening credits, and so on (I did direct comparisons here as well), but are all now on single-sided discs.While I sympathize with those who were hoping for a Blu-ray release of all these films (as I am myself), I decided to take the plunge when the price was just over $90.00, and I'm not sorry I did. I really disliked the double-sided discs and packaging of the previous 2004 "green box" Legacy Collection sets, and even if I subtract the 10 films I already have on Blu-ray (the Essential Collection plus A&C Meet Frankenstein), the two Abbott and Costello titles that I own on single-sided discs in the A&C box set, and the two Creature sequels, which were already on a single-sided disc in the previous 2004 Legacy Collection set, I'm still getting 16 movies on single-sided discs for about $5.63 each, packaged in normal-sized DVD cases without the awkward cardboard-and-cellophane slipcases. They also use original poster art on the menus of the new discs--a nice touch that I wish they had carried through to the outer packaging--and the outer cardboard slipcase that houses the seven individual 2014 Complete Legacy Collection sets (Frankenstein, Mummy, Dracula, Invisible Man, Wolf Man, Creature, Phantom) that comprise this 30-Film Collection boxed set is plenty sturdy, though the booklet is neither here nor there to me.If you're not into Blu-ray, look at it this way: with the 30-Film Collection you get DVD editions of the 10 restored Blu-ray transfers for about $9.00 per film, and the rest of the movies are essentially free. If you haven't seen the Blu-ray of Frankenstein, you will be astonished at how much of the film frame was missing from all previous TV prints and DVD editions due to overly tight (and off-center) cropping. The framing of the other Blu-ray transfers isn't as drastic an improvement as with Frankenstein, but they all reveal more of the image than we've ever seen before. Knowing Universal's foot-dragging and penchant for endless repackaging, who knows how long it will be until the other 20 films are released on Blu-ray? In the meantime, we have this box--which is cheaper than buying all the new 2014 Complete Legacy Collections individually--and can finally dump all those cruddy double-sided discs from the 2004 Legacy Collection sets.The only minus I have found is that some of the lesser extras, like filmographies and still galleries, are missing, but that doesn't really bother me much with all that is good about this set. Personally, I rarely look at filmographies on DVDs (we have IMDb for that), and I was never fond of the still galleries on the previous Universal DVDs that panned and zoomed across the images (the "Ken Burns effect") anyway. Overall, this is what the original 2004 Legacy Collections should have been, so it appears that Universal has finally listened to the fans and is trying to make amends for their previous mistakes (the same with the Hammer Horror Series reissue). I'm also pleased to report that the nauseating Van Helsing promos that marred the 2004 Legacy Collections are nowhere to be seen. While I am a bit weary of the double- and triple-dipping, like everyone else, I'm glad to finally have all these movies on DVDs done correctly on single-sided discs.This would be a virtually perfect set if not for the few missing (minor) extras, the lackluster artwork on the packaging, and the redundancy of the multiple copies of House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (although I understand why this is the case), so four stars instead of five. Your mileage may vary.

Classic horror, Universal got it right oh so long ago