DRACULA (1931) / FRANKENSTEIN (1931). This is the third DVD go-round for both these landmark films, following the Classic Monster Collection box set released in 2000 and the Legacy Collection packs issued in 2004. The selling point this time? Both films are three-quarters of a century old, thus allowing Universal to promote these as 75th Anniversary Editions. Served up in handsome cases, these two-disc efforts combine bonus features from the previous DVD incarnations with new extras.
As for the movies themselves, they remain staples of any serious film fan’s education. Dracula hasn’t aged as well as Frankenstein, although Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the Count arguably remains the definitive screen Dracula (though Christopher Lee comes close). The picture was adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel by way of the popular stage play, and the latter’s influence is discernible in the talky (and creaky) second half. The first portion, set in Transylvania, is riveting, thanks largely to the interplay between Lugosi’s bloodsucker and Dwight Frye’s Renfield, Todd Browning’s moody direction and Charles D. Hall’s magnificent gothic sets. It’s when the action switches to England that the film bogs down, though Edward Van Sloan provides some lift as the sage Dr. Van Helsing.
Charles Hall was also responsible for the superb art direction in Frankenstein, which, while hardly the letter of Mary Shelley’s novel, proves to be a rich and satisfying screen experience. Extremely well-directed by James Whale (who would then top himself with 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein), the film was so potent in its day that audience members shrieked at the first sight of the Frankenstein monster, the film was banned in some cities, and one scene (the drowning of the little girl) was removed (it was reinstated decades later). As the misshapen, misunderstood creature, Boris Karloff is astonishing in a role that, ironically, Lugosi had turned down.
Extras in the Dracula package include a look at Lugosi’s career and the Spanish-language version of the story that was filmed simultaneously on the same sets but with different actors. Extras on the Frankenstein edition include a feature on Karloff and a look at the making of the film. Both sets include audio commentaries by film historians, Monster Tracks (pop-up facts about the movies) and the 1998 Turner Classic Movies documentary Universal Horror (narrated by Kenneth Branagh).
Dracula: ***
Frankenstein: ***1/2
Extras: ***1/2
THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989). The Golden Age of Disney feature-film animation ended a few years before Uncle Walt’s death in 1966, and it wasn’t until 1989 that a new (if short-lived) renaissance took place. After approximately a quarter-century of modestly amusing but imminently forgettable toon flicks, The Little Mermaid single-handedly jump-started the genre, leading to several more gems (including Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King) before the glut of increasingly mediocre titles as well as the shift to computer imagery all but killed off the traditional hand-drawn form. This new Platinum Edition allows us to again indulge in old-school pleasures, aided by enhanced picture and sound that make the film pop off the TV screen. Everything is just right in this cheerful adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen tale: Ariel makes for a lovely heroine as the perpetually inquisitive mermaid who longs to be human; Ursula the sea witch provides boisterous villainy; and Sebastian, the cautious crab with the Jamaican accent, ranks with Disney’s all-time great scene-stealers. In addition to reviving the animated art form, The Little Mermaid also brought melody back to the movies, thanks to the terrific song score by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Fittingly, Menken earned the Best Original Score Oscar, while both men were honored with the Best Original Song Oscar for the infectious “Under the Sea.” Extras in the two-disc DVD set include audio commentary by Menken and co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker, a 45-minute making-of feature, deleted scenes, a piece on Hans Christian Andersen, and an educational short titled DisneyPedia: Life Under the Sea.
Movie: ****
Extras: ***1/2
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974). It’s probably putting it mildly to note that when this horror flick was first released back in 1974, it caught audiences completely off guard. Even coming on the heels of The Exorcist, which did its own share of theater-clearing, this one emerged as a lightning rod of controversy; like the earlier Night of the Living Dead, it succeeded largely because of its gritty, low-budget shooting style, and its influence on subsequent (and inferior) slasher flicks cannot be overstated. Loosely based on the real-life exploits of serial killer Ed Gein (whose sordid tale also served as the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho), it centers around five college-age kids whose ill-advised road trip through a desolate part of Texas puts them in contact with a murderous, cannibalistic clan whose most terrifying member, tagged Leatherface, is a silent, hulking psychopath with a nasty habit of peeling off his victims’ faces and wearing them as masks. The movie itself has worn many faces over the years, representing the disillusionment of the nation after Vietnam and Watergate; pushing a pro-vegetarian stance by decrying the brutality of eating meat; serving as a bastardization of the comforting image of the all-American family as a wholesome, reliable entity; and further supporting the big-city mindset that views rural America as a haven for inbred illiterates. The bottom line is that the flick remains a genuine classic of the genre, a punishing, unrelenting nightmare that never allows viewers even a moment of sanity or security. Much of the credit goes to lead actress Marilyn Burns: There’s a touch of madness in her third-act emoting, and her wide-eyed terror — as primal as anything I’ve ever seen in a motion picture — remains with you long after the film is over. Ignore the 2003 remake, a feeble retelling that guts the integrity of the original and wears its own cynicism like a ragged mask. Extras in the two-disc DVD edition include two separate audio commentaries featuring Burns, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), director Tobe Hooper and other cast and crew members, two comprehensive documentaries (each over an hour in length), a tour of the film’s house by Hansen, and deleted scenes.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: ***1/2
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2006.
