Of
Hammer’s Frankenstein series, I have to rate THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
($20) as my personal favorite. THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN brings
the story of Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) full circle, with a stunning
climax that gives the good doctor a taste of his own medicine. Jimmy Sangster’s
screenplay contains more than a touch of irony, while Terence Fisher’s
solid direction strikes the perfect balance between atmosphere and gruesome
horror. Of course, it is Peter Cushing’s fine performance as the driven
scientist that makes THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and all the other
films in Hammer’s Frankenstein series, the genre classics that they have
become.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN picks up
the story shortly after the events depicted in CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN,
with Frankenstein on his way to the guillotine for the murderous crimes
of his monster. Of course, Frankenstein manages to escape his execution
and flees to a new community, where he sets up a medical practice on the
assumed name of Dr. Stein. After three years in practice, "Dr. Stein"
has become a successful physician, who has managed to lure away half of
the patients of every doctor in the community.
Thanks
to his lucrative practice, "Dr. Stein" has the funding needed
to set up a charity ward, which has its own benefits- namely the spare
parts required for his medical experimentation. With the aid of his new
pupil, Dr. Kleve (Francis Matthews), "Dr. Stein" transfers the
brain of his crippled lab assistant into a "perfect" body that
he has created. The "procedure" goes perfectly and it would
appear that Baron Frankenstein’s work will finally be vindicated, however
fate steps in to destroy what the good doctor has created. The cast of
THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN also includes Eunice Gayson, Michael
Gwynn, John Welsh, Lionel Jeffries, Oscar Quitak, Richard Wordsworth,
Charles Lloyd Pack, John Stuart, Arnold Diamond, Margery Cresley, Anna
Walmsley, George Woodbridge and Michael Ripper.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
available in a 1.66:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. Columbia’s transfer does look nice, but
it isn’t going to win any awards. The biggest problem with the presentation
stems from the fact that Columbia Pictures released THE REVENGE OF
FRANKENSTEIN in Eastmancolor in 1958, while British prints were in
IB Technicolor. I’ve been fortunate enough to see a Technicolor print
of THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN and can say that the differences
between the two are like night and day. In Technicolor, THE REVENGE
OF FRANKENSTEIN had colors that were dripping off the screen, especially
the reds. Eastmancolor mutes all of the hues and makes a marked change
in the overall atmosphere of the film- rendering it more somber than it
appears in Technicolor.
The
image on the DVD is reasonably sharp, although there are a good number
of shots that appear mildly soft. Film grain is noticeable throughout
much of the presentation and the print used for the transfer does display
minor age related blemishes. Blacks are accurately rendered, while whites
appear clean and completely stable. Additionally, contrast is generally
smooth. Darker scenes can appear a bit murky, although the depth of the
image remains pretty good. The cleanly authored DVD doesn’t display any
signs of digital compression artifacts.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN is offered
on DVD with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Most traces of background
hiss and surface noise have been cleaned form the track, making it sound
more than satisfactory with a modest amount of amplification. Fidelity
is rather limited, giving the sound effects and music something of a hollow
sound. The dialogue is crisply reproduced and intelligibility is limited
only by performance. There are no additional language tracks on the DVD,
although English and French subtitles have been provided. The basic interactive
menus provide access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a theatrical trailer and photo gallery.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN is a Hammer
classic and one of the best entries in their Frankenstein series. Columbia’s
presentation is nice, but could have been better if the studio could have
secured an original Technicolor print from Hammer. Still, I think Hammer
fans and horror fans are going to want to own this DVD, just so they can
have this marvelous genre entry in their collection. Hopefully Columbia
will follow the release of THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN with THE
GORGON- another great Hammer film that stars both Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee.
Of
Hammer’s Frankenstein series, I have to rate THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
($20) as my personal favorite. THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN brings
the story of Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) full circle, with a stunning
climax that gives the good doctor a taste of his own medicine. Jimmy Sangster’s
screenplay contains more than a touch of irony, while Terence Fisher’s
solid direction strikes the perfect balance between atmosphere and gruesome
horror. Of course, it is Peter Cushing’s fine performance as the driven
scientist that makes THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and all the other
films in Hammer’s Frankenstein series, the genre classics that they have
become.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN picks up
the story shortly after the events depicted in CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN,
with Frankenstein on his way to the guillotine for the murderous crimes
of his monster. Of course, Frankenstein manages to escape his execution
and flees to a new community, where he sets up a medical practice on the
assumed name of Dr. Stein. After three years in practice, "Dr. Stein"
has become a successful physician, who has managed to lure away half of
the patients of every doctor in the community.
Thanks
to his lucrative practice, "Dr. Stein" has the funding needed
to set up a charity ward, which has its own benefits- namely the spare
parts required for his medical experimentation. With the aid of his new
pupil, Dr. Kleve (Francis Matthews), "Dr. Stein" transfers the
brain of his crippled lab assistant into a "perfect" body that
he has created. The "procedure" goes perfectly and it would
appear that Baron Frankenstein’s work will finally be vindicated, however
fate steps in to destroy what the good doctor has created. The cast of
THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN also includes Eunice Gayson, Michael
Gwynn, John Welsh, Lionel Jeffries, Oscar Quitak, Richard Wordsworth,
Charles Lloyd Pack, John Stuart, Arnold Diamond, Margery Cresley, Anna
Walmsley, George Woodbridge and Michael Ripper.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN
available in a 1.66:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced
for playback on 16:9 displays. Columbia’s transfer does look nice, but
it isn’t going to win any awards. The biggest problem with the presentation
stems from the fact that Columbia Pictures released THE REVENGE OF
FRANKENSTEIN in Eastmancolor in 1958, while British prints were in
IB Technicolor. I’ve been fortunate enough to see a Technicolor print
of THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN and can say that the differences
between the two are like night and day. In Technicolor, THE REVENGE
OF FRANKENSTEIN had colors that were dripping off the screen, especially
the reds. Eastmancolor mutes all of the hues and makes a marked change
in the overall atmosphere of the film- rendering it more somber than it
appears in Technicolor.
The
image on the DVD is reasonably sharp, although there are a good number
of shots that appear mildly soft. Film grain is noticeable throughout
much of the presentation and the print used for the transfer does display
minor age related blemishes. Blacks are accurately rendered, while whites
appear clean and completely stable. Additionally, contrast is generally
smooth. Darker scenes can appear a bit murky, although the depth of the
image remains pretty good. The cleanly authored DVD doesn’t display any
signs of digital compression artifacts.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN is offered
on DVD with a Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack. Most traces of background
hiss and surface noise have been cleaned form the track, making it sound
more than satisfactory with a modest amount of amplification. Fidelity
is rather limited, giving the sound effects and music something of a hollow
sound. The dialogue is crisply reproduced and intelligibility is limited
only by performance. There are no additional language tracks on the DVD,
although English and French subtitles have been provided. The basic interactive
menus provide access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a theatrical trailer and photo gallery.
THE
REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN is a Hammer
classic and one of the best entries in their Frankenstein series. Columbia’s
presentation is nice, but could have been better if the studio could have
secured an original Technicolor print from Hammer. Still, I think Hammer
fans and horror fans are going to want to own this DVD, just so they can
have this marvelous genre entry in their collection. Hopefully Columbia
will follow the release of THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN with THE
GORGON- another great Hammer film that stars both Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee.
