The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 2, 2021

There was a time in the ostensible Dark Ages, meaning pre-internet, when those with an interest in this or that subject had to forage out into the big, wide world to satisfy their yearnings for knowledge, and in that regard, the anecdotes are legion as to what magazines like Forrest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland meant to any number of (then) young kids who went on to notable careers in horror, in any number of media ranging from writing, as in the case of Stephen King, to movies, as in the case of too many people to list individually. For more modern types wanting a really fun and interesting overview of the sorts of stories that used to define Ackerman's iconic publication, The Monster Collection should suffice more than well enough, bringing together two really excellent documentaries as well as a plethora of additional supplemental material.

Joe Dante interviewing Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet.

For reviews of the two documentaries included in this release, please click on the following links:

The Frankenstein Complex Blu-ray review

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters Blu-ray review

The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each documentary is assessed in the above linked reviews. Note that the screenshots accompanying this review are from some of the supplementary items contained on this set's bonus Blu-ray disc, and as can probably be made out some of the archival video as well as even some of the contemporary interview material can look a bit ragged at times.

The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality of each documentary is assessed in the above linked reviews. The Bonus Disc features a serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 track with optional English subtitles.

The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements included on the two discs featuring the documentaries are detailed in the above linked reviews. Additionally, this release comes with a third bonus disc which contains the following bonus features:

• Frankenstein Complex Conversations and Interviews

  Master Class with Guillermo del Toro (HD; 23:22)

  
  

  Extended Conversation with John Landis and Joe Dante (HD; 58:58)

  
  

  Extended Conversation with Mick Garris (HD; 26:52)

  
  

  Extended Conversation with Steve Johnson and John Vulich (HD; 28:49)

  
  

  Q & A with Joe Dante, Alexandre Poncet and Gilles Penso (HD; 19:52)

  
  

  The Lair of Rick Baker (HD; 9:27)

  
  

  The Lair of Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. (HD; 13:46)

  
  

  Paper Monsters: The Art of Charles Chiodo (HD; 12:52)

  
  

  Living With Monsters: The Art of Kevin Yagher (HD; 14:49)

  
  

  Sympathy for the Devil: Interview with Bernard Rose (HD; 9:41)

  
  

  The Gremlins Pool: Interview with Sacha Feiner (HD; 10:30) is in French with English subtitles.

  
  

  From Latex to Pixels: The Art of Gino Acevedo (HD; 8:57)

  
  

  The Beauty and the Beasts: The Art of Ve Neill (HD; 14:02)

• Mad Dreams and Monsters Interviews

  Joy of Working with Phil: Interview with Paul Verhoeven (HD; 5:53)

  
  

  Phil Will Fix This!: Interview with Joe Johnston (HD; 15:17)

  
  

  Animating with Phil: Interviw with Tom St. Amand (HD; 5:48)

  
  

  Phil's Vision: Interview with Chris Walas (HD; 9:03)

  
  

  Friendship, Robots, and Dinosaurs: Interview with Dennis Muren (HD; 14:28)

  
  

  From Stop-Motion to CGI: Interview with Craig Hayes (HD; 4:58)

  
  

  Memories and Archives with Phil Tippett (HD; 11:32)

  
  

  Dinosaur Supervisor with Phil Tippett (HD; 4:43)

  
  

  Starship Troopers 2 with Phil Tippett and Jon Davison (HD; 3:18)

  
  

  "Dinosaur!" with Paul Verhoeven and Jon Davison (HD; 4:44)

  
  

  Mutant Fish with Joe Dante (HD; 4:21)

  
  

  Modern Craftsmanship with Alec Gillis (HD; 7:38)

  
  

  Robot Design with Craig Hayes (HD; 15:34)

  
  

  Musical Storytelling with Alexandre Poncet (HD; 14:54) is in French with English subtitles.

• Phil Tippett Short Films

  Prehistoric Beasts (1985) (HD; 9:50) features an optional commentary by Phil Tippett.

  
  

  MutantLand (2010) (HD; 3:21) features an optional commentary by Phil Tippett (with what I'm assuming is one of the documentary's directors, who doesn't identify himself).

  
  

  Phil Tippett's Early Animation Tests (HD; 14:20)

• Virtual Museum of Phil Tippett's Creations

  Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back (HD; 1:19)

  
  

  Dragonslayer (HD; 1:04)

  
  

  Golden Child (HD; 00:29)

  
  

  Howard the Duck (HD; 00:37)

  
  

  Robocop (HD; 2:40)

  
  

  Willow (HD; 1:24)

  
  

  Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (HD; 00:32)

  
  

  Pinocchio & Gargoyles (HD; 1:07)

  
  

  Coneheads (HD; 00:57)

  
  

  Jurassic Park (HD; 1:28)

  
  

  Dragonheart (HD; 1:44)

  
  

  Starship Troopers (HD; 1:57)

  
  

  Evolution (HD; 2:18)

  
  

  Blade 2 (HD; 00:49)

  
  

  The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (HD; 00:46)

  
  

  Hellboy (HD; 00:46)

  
  

  Cloverfield (HD; 00:56)

Additionally, this is packaged rather handsomely, in a four fold cardboard sleeve that holds the three discs, each in separate sleeves with key art for the documentaries and drawings of monsters for the bonus disc and the fourth segment which does not hold a disc.

The Monster Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're old enough to have had a few issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland and other similar magazines in your collection at some point, this aggregation of two documentaries and a glut of bonus features should be right up your (dark and sinister?) alley. Both of the documentaries have a really appreciable level of "heart", which may seem odd that both films concentrate so heavily of horrifying beasts. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements are probably at least as enjoyable as the documentaries themselves. Highly recommended.