Universal Monsters: Undo BD 'fixes'

[crissrudd4554]

I checked the '99 and '04 DVDs. The sound effects there.

[monks19]

I checked the '99 and '04 DVDs. The sound effects there.

Ok, good. Do you know if that user who "fixed" the foliage thing on BOF (back on the monsterkid forum) can do the same thing on Frankenstein (if he hasn't done it already) ?

I think it'll be a nice addition to the Frankenstein project. While you're at it, can you send me a AVI copy of the messed up shot in invisible man ? I might be able to fix this part of the audio myself.

BTW, have you found anything wrong with The Mummy & The Wolf Man ?

[crissrudd4554]

Only other thing Ive noticed is the Universal logo fades in about a second later on The Mummy compared to the previous DVD releases. For more details feel free to check out the list Ive made on CHFB. Keep in mind Ive continually updated the list since first making it.

http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku..._wWv3IpBoM

As far as the user who 'fixed' the shot in Bride, Im assuming you mean the custom shot he posted where he customly put the branchs in the second half of the sequence?? If so I dont know what he'd be able to do with the shot in Frankenstein. Something was either cut, lost, or wasnt filmed and hence why the jump cut occurs. The BD only repositions the sequence so the scenery flows by seamlessy but the people pushing the slab still jumps a short distance.

Later tonight I'll get you the shot from The Invisible Man.

[The Aluminum Falcon]

Dracula is also on Cinemageddon. I'm having trouble getting on, though...

Anything you can tell about this one ? Pre-restoration or not (or anything else) compared to the Blu-Ray ?

Furthermore, I've managed to get a copy of a Fanedit of a restoration of Dracula. If there's any interest, I can share it there or just give you the download link where to get it, but you'll need JDownloader for that, I'm afraid (policy of the website hosting it). For more information about this: https://ifdb.fanedit.org/dracula-restored/

IIRC, the version of Dracula is the 2004 restoration, complete with missing sound effects. The quality is far better than the DVD, but it is rougher in comparison to the BD, which it considerably predates. So, if anything was changed for the BD, then it should be intact there (unless they dropped the ball in 2004).

That restoration you mentioned is wonderful- a lot like what Universal officially did for Orson Welles's Touch of Evil. The only trouble is that the fan editor's BD, for some reason, is low-bitrate 1080p with a resolution of 1440 x 1080p (automatically displayed in widescreen).

I did a frame-accurate custom 1920 x 1080p BD25 version, virtually lossless from the original Universal BD source having a high bitrate, with both his lossless WAV soundtrack and the Phillip Glass score (a personal favorite) as an added bonus. The Spanish shots and the repeated Mina footage are color-corrected and resized for better integration.

Original Restored BD:


My Custom Restored BD:


Universal Commercial BD:


Worth a share? (I'm still trying to figure out how to upload this, as well as other custom BDs.)

[crissrudd4554]

That looks pretty interesting. Since this topic now is leaning towards other Universal Horror classics I decided to change the thread name. I may post screengrabs later but perhaps a regrade of The Wolf Man. The VHS was a noticeably brighter compared to the BD particularly the night scenes so perhaps some exploring can be done here.

[monks19]

Dracula is also on Cinemageddon. I'm having trouble getting on, though...

Anything you can tell about this one ? Pre-restoration or not (or anything else) compared to the Blu-Ray ?

Furthermore, I've managed to get a copy of a Fanedit of a restoration of Dracula. If there's any interest, I can share it there or just give you the download link where to get it, but you'll need JDownloader for that, I'm afraid (policy of the website hosting it). For more information about this: https://ifdb.fanedit.org/dracula-restored/

IIRC, the version of Dracula is the 2004 restoration, complete with missing sound effects. The quality is far better than the DVD, but it is rougher in comparison to the BD, which it considerably predates. So, if anything was changed for the BD, then it should be intact there (unless they dropped the ball in 2004).

That restoration you mentioned is wonderful- a lot like what Universal officially did for Orson Welles's Touch of Evil. The only trouble is that the fan editor's BD, for some reason, is low-bitrate 1080p with a resolution of 1440 x 1080p (automatically displayed in widescreen).

I did a frame-accurate custom 1920 x 1080p BD25 version, virtually lossless from the original Universal BD source having a high bitrate, with both his lossless WAV soundtrack and the Phillip Glass score (a personal favorite) as an added bonus. The Spanish shots and the repeated Mina footage are color-corrected and resized for better integration.

Original Restored BD:


My Custom Restored BD:


Universal Commercial BD:


Worth a share? (I'm still trying to figure out how to upload this, as well as other custom BDs.)

Sure. Why not. You may upload your project on mega.nz (you have to create an account first though). How heavy is the final project/file ? You might need to compress and cut the whole thing with 7zip before uploading. The website allows only 50 gb per account unless you pay their available plans (which I dont, personally). Also, you have an upload & download manager (Megasync) that comes with the account, which is quite handy. Otherwise, you may want to try to upload the project on a private torrent tracker like myspleen, which most of the members use here. If you don't have an account the spleen, that can be arranged by PM only (normally, it shouldn't be mentioned here).

Speaking of Dracula, can anybody access the original shooting script (either online as a download or get the Book and scan it) ? Also, if this film is becoming one of our projects, I think we should add the bonus videos that came with the Fanedit project ("You asked for it" and "Hollywood on Parade"), unless we can find them in better quality/higher resolution. The same should be done for the original trailers of Dracula, the 1938 re-issue of Frankenstein (unless something else from the original release year can be found) and for the original "Bride" trailer (I'm looking for it right now).

[The Aluminum Falcon]

That looks pretty interesting. Since this topic now is leaning towards other Universal Horror classics I decided to change the thread name. I may post screengrabs later but perhaps a regrade of The Wolf Man. The VHS was a noticeably brighter compared to the BD particularly the night scenes so perhaps some exploring can be done here.

Possibly. Far be it for me to stifle a potential project, but keep in mind, though, that many VHSes were brightened during the transfer stage to accommodate the CRTs of the day. The transfer of the Wolf Man is generally disappointing to my eyes, looks a bit too scrubbed of grain. Is there any alternative?

What could be really interesting is a transfer/preservation of the Discovision releases of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein. Those were taken from original nitrate prints and excepting adjustments (as noted above) made during the transfer process should be very accurate. A regrade following these could be a prime project. Note that Frankenstein is censored, however...

[crissrudd4554]

So I have a few screengrabs below from The Wolf Man. Sources are the 1991 VHS and the remastered version. The VHS as you can see in some instances is somewhat brighter than the remastered print. This doesn't bother me much since the tone of the remastered print is for the most part nice and even and does fit with the mood and tone of the film but this has caught my attention particularly with the last example. So I figured I'd post and get some opinions. What do you guys think??

[monks19]

Solehow, the Blu-ray pictures are at some point too dark. Maybe they were filmed like this on purpose or the material is in really bad quality to the point that even the restorers couln't do much and over brightening the image wasn't really an option (which surprise me, normally they would have been able the correct this accurately).

That looks pretty interesting. Since this topic now is leaning towards other Universal Horror classics I decided to change the thread name. I may post screengrabs later but perhaps a regrade of The Wolf Man. The VHS was a noticeably brighter compared to the BD particularly the night scenes so perhaps some exploring can be done here.

Possibly. Far be it for me to stifle a potential project, but keep in mind, though, that many VHSes were brightened during the transfer stage to accommodate the CRTs of the day. The transfer of the Wolf Man is generally disappointing to my eyes, looks a bit too scrubbed of grain. Is there any alternative?

What could be really interesting is a transfer/preservation of the Discovision releases of Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein. Those were taken from original nitrate prints and excepting adjustments (as noted above) made during the transfer process should be very accurate. A regrade following these could be a prime project. Note that Frankenstein is censored, however...

Indeed it could very interesting (and helpful) in our case for the project. Now we have to find a way to get those LDs, though, (and get them transferred appropriately).

[crissrudd4554]

I don't have a LD player but if its any help I have the Japanese LDs for Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Invisible Man, Wolf Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon. I also have German and UK LDs for Creature as well. Maybe lilbrutto will lend his services again like he did for the Frankenstein audio should we need capturing again.