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

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1935
Director: James Whale
Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Gavin Gordon, Douglas Walton, Una O'Connor, E.E. Clive, Lucien Prival, O.P. Heggie, Dwight Frye, Reginald Barlow

Release Date: October 11th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 74 Minutes 45 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 German, DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $79.99 (Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection)

"Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) as a deranged scientist who forces Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) to help him create a companion for the monster." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

The Bride of Frankenstein comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD. 

Disc Size: 58.6 GB

Feature: 43.8 GB

When Universal Pictures released The Bride of Frankenstein on Blu-ray in 2013, the source used for that transfer looked fantastic. For this new release, Universal uses that transfer as its source.

For a film that is eighty-seven years old, The Bride of Frankenstein, 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 were no issues related to noise reduction. This transfer retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English; a DTS-HD mono mix in French; a DTS-HD mono mix in German; 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 and 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, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for The Bride of Frankenstein include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background titled Production Photographs (posters/stills), a trailer gallery: Frankenstein (1 minute 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles), The Bride of Frankenstein (1 minute 29 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1 minute 56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles) and House of Frankenstein (1 minute 43 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles), a featurette titled 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics (9 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles), a featurette titled She's Alive! Creating The Bride of Frankenstein (38 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian subtitles), and an audio commentary with Scott MacQueen.

Included with this release is a Blu-ray that has all the extras that are on the 4K UHD. Also, the Blu-ray only comes with two audio options: DTS-HD mono English and DTS-HD mono French. There are only two subtitle options: English SDH and Spanish.

Also, the Blu-ray is the same as Universal’s 2013 Blu-ray.

The Bride of Frankenstein is part of Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection, a box set that also has The Mummy (1932), Phantom of the Opera (1943) and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Summary:

Though sequels and/or film franchises were not part of the cinema landscape when The Bride of Frankenstein was unleashed on audiences in 1935, it is a film that can be seen as a forerunner of film franchises. With Universal Pictures churning out several sequels to their classic monster films in the decade after they released The Bride of Frankenstein.

Looking back on The Bride of Frankenstein, it is widely regarded as one of cinema's best sequels. And it is also a rare example of a sequel that equals or is better than its predecessor. The Bride of Frankenstein falls into the latter category.

That said, with a film like Frankenstein (1931), it was a film that had a clearly defined ending that left no loose ends. Where could a possible sequel go or what could it bring to the table that had already not been addressed in Frankenstein (1931)? The answer is companionship, something that even the dead desire.

Besides retaining all of the core elements of Mary Shelley's novel, The Bride of Frankenstein also sees the return of director James Whale (Show Boat 1936). Also, three key cast members return. Two reprise their roles: Boris Karloff (The Old Dark House) in the role of the monster; and Colin Clive (Mad Love 1935) in the role of Henry Frankenstein. And Dwight Frye (Dracula 1931) returns in a different role, albeit a similar character.

Though the entire cast is great in their respective roles, two new cast members leave an undeniable mark on The Bride of Frankenstein. Una O'Connor (The Invisible Man, 1933) in a role that feels like it might have inspired Cloris Leachman’s Frau Blücher from Young Frankenstein and Elsa Lanchester (Bell Book and Candle) in the dual roles of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and the monster's bride. Despite her limited screen time, her performance in the latter steals the show.

When discussing The Bride of Frankenstein, one must not overlook the contributions of James Whale. But he is most remembered for his contributions to horror cinema. He was a talented filmmaker who worked in a wide variety of film genres. And, despite his dislike of horror films, it is amazing what he has accomplished within this genre. Not only are all of his horror films filled with striking imagery and an abundance of foreboding atmosphere, the way he got performances out of his actors made his horror films sound different from his contemporaries. Ultimately, The Bride of Frankenstein is an exceptional film that has not lost any of its potency after all these years.

The Bride of 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