Frankenstein (1931) - Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection – Universal Pictures (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1931
Director: James Whale
Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff, Edward Van Sloan, Frederick Kerr, Dwight Frye, Lionel Belmore, Marilyn Harris

Release Date: October 5th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 70 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono Spanish (Castilian), DTS-HD Mono German, DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $79.99 (Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection)

"Tampering with life and death, Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) pieces together salvaged body parts to bring a human monster to life. The mad scientist’s dreams are shattered by his creation’s violent rage as the monster awakens to a world in which he is unwelcome." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Frankenstein (1931) comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD. 

Disc Size: 61.6 GB

Feature: 49 GB

When Universal Pictures released Frankenstein (1931) on Blu-ray in 2012 for Universal Pictures 100th anniversary. The source used for that transfer looked fantastic. For this new release Universal uses that transfer as its source.

For a ninety-year old film Frankenstein (1931) the source used for this transfer looks exceptionally good. Contrast, black levels and image clarity look solid throughout. I did not see any compression related issues and there are no issues related to noise reduction, this transfer retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

Frankenstein (1931) comes with five audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD mono mix in French, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish (Castilian), a DTS-HD mono mix in Dutch and a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian. For this review I listened to the DTS-HD mono English track. There are no issues with distortion or background hiss, dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and ambient sounds/the score are well-represented. That said, for a film that’s ninety-years old, this audio track sounds excellent. Removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Chinese subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for Frankenstein (1931) include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background titled Frankenstein Archives (posters/lobby cards/stills), a trailer gallery: Frankenstein (1 minute 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), The Bride of Frankenstein (1 minute 27 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1 minute 55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1 minute 36 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), House of Frankenstein (1 minute 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), House of Dracula (1 minute 26 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1 minute 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a short film titled Boo! (9 minutes 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a featurette titled 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics (9 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a featurette titled Karloff: The Gentle Monster (37 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a featurette titled The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (44 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a documentary titled Universal Horror (95 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese subtitles), a fact track titled Monster Tracks and two audio commentaries’ - the first audio commentary is with film film historian Rudy Behlmer and the second audio commentary is with film historian Sir Christopher Frayling.

Included with this release is a Blu-ray that has all the content on the 4K UHD except House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein trailers. Also, the Blu-ray only comes with two audio options, DTS-HD mono English and DTS-HD mono French. There are only two subtitles options, English SDH and French.

Also, the Blu-ray is the same as Universal’s 2012 Blu-ray.

Frankenstein (1931) is part of Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection, a box set that also has Dracula (1931) , The Invisible Man (1933) and The Wolf Man (1941).

Summary:

Universal Pictures quickly followed up the box office success of Dracula (1931) with another horror film Frankenstein (1931). And though Frankenstein (1931) would keep many of the elements that made Dracula (1931) a success. The result is another revolutionary film that would leave its own mark on horror cinema.

From its opening moments Frankenstein (1931) has a much darker tone than Dracula (1931). Where Dracula (1931) had a menacing protagonist, Frankenstein (1931) had a morbid premise that featured grave robbing and playing god by resurrecting dead flesh.

When discussing Frankenstein (1931) there are three elements that make this film an undeniable classic. The first element is Mary Shelley’s brilliant novel. The second element is James Whale’s masterful direction. James Whale was a director who’s legacy for a long time was vastly underrated. Fortunately, over time he’s rightfully gained his place as one of cinema’s great auteurs. The third element is Boris Karloff’s (The Old Dark House, The Body Snatcher) perfectly toned portrayal of the monster. He delivers an iconic performance without ever utterly a word, grunts and his body language are his characters only means of expression.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where Frankenstein (1931) does not excel. The premise is superbly realized and a well-executed narrative does a good job balancing its moments of fright with exposition. Other strengths include Gothic infused cinematography that’s reminiscent of German expressionism and a solid cast of actors, most notably, a maniacal performance from Dwight Frye (The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man) in the role of Fritz, Doctor Frankenstein’s assistant. Ultimately, Frankenstein (1931) is an exceptional film that far exceeds the sum of its parts.

James Whale’s Frankenstein gets a solid 4K upgrade, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer