Coming in time for Halloween this year is Kino Lorber's Blu-ray collection of Dan Curtis' trio of horror films, remakes much in the style of his DARK SHADOWS movies. The late, great Jack Palance stars in two of them.
No word yet on the price or extras, but I'm guessing it'll be in the $60 range.
DAN CURTIS' CLASSIC MONSTERS BLU-RAY
DRACULA (1974)
At the request of Count Dracula (Jack Palance), solicitor Jonathan Harker (Murray Brown) visits Transylvania in order to help the count finalize a real estate purchase. While there, he's bewitched by a group of female vampires, and is lucky to escape the castle alive. Meanwhile, back in England, Harker's fiancée, Mina (Penelope Horner), is taken ill, and the attending doctor, Van Helsing (Nigel Davenport), traces the sickness to the recent arrival of the mysterious Dracula.
FRANKENSTEIN (1973)
Producer Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker), faithfully resurrects Mary Shelley's Gothic classic in an acclaimed adaptation starring Robert Foxworth (Falcon Crest), Bo Svenson (Delta Force) and Susan Strasberg (Picnic). Fiercely devoted to the theories of extending and creating human life, scientist Victor Frankenstein and his assistants have secretly assembled an artificial man with human parts stolen from graves. Once he is brought to life, the enormous creature exhibits a child-like innocence. Unaware of his superhuman strength and frightful appearance, the Giant becomes hostile and demands that Victor create him a mate.
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR.JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1968)
In this Dan Curtis production of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Jack Palance stars as Dr. Henry Jekyll, a scientist experimenting to reveal the hidden, dark side of man, who, in the process of his experiment, releases a murderer from within himself.Also starring Denholm Elliott, Leo Genn, Torin Thatcher, and Billie Whitelaw.
I gathered these up on DVD some years ago. I rather like the Dan Curtis treatments, though to my mind the Frankenstein is the weakest. Palance is fantastic as Dracula!
ReplyDeleteI agree on all counts. Frankenstein comes in a distant third -- something didn't quite click for me. But Palance -- he picked the right actor for the other two films. People rave about Langella's Drac -- and it's very good -- but I think Palance has him beat.
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