Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Raven Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 5, 2021

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Three Edgar Allan Poe Adaptations Starring Bela Lugosi.

Bela Lugosi may have sadly ended his life as a largely destitute, wasted drug addict consigned to wandering through films like Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space, but in the wake of the release of Dracula in 1931, for one brief, shining moment he was arguably the biggest star at Universal, at least within the studio’s horror output. Of course Lugosi soon had considerable competition from the likes of Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, which opened just a few months after Dracula and which arguably stole a bit of its thunder. That said, it’s important to note that Karloff got that iconic role only after Lugosi dropped out after what have been described as less than successful make up tests. Eureka Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema imprint has now aggregated three early Lugosi efforts, including his first two collaborations with Karloff. This set is at least somewhat similar to Shout! Factory's Region A release of Universal Horror Collection: Volume 1 , including not just in its inclusion of some of the same films but some of the supplements as well, so fans with region free players may want to do some contrasting and comparing between the two releases.

One of the funnier if more revelatory pieces of arcana I uncovered in my long trek researching the history of Frances Farmer was a letter sent by a law firm representing Edward Arnold to the offices of Sam Goldwyn informing Goldwyn he was in violation of his contract since Farmer's name was in the same size font as Arnold's in some print ads for 1936's Come and Get It. Billing in this film is perhaps equally revealing, in that Bela Lugosi is arguably the lead here, but by 1935 had been consigned in many of the film's posters and other key art to a "co-starring" status, with his credit listed beneath the title, and "Karloff" prominently featured above the title. The Raven in some ways combines elements of The Black Cat with perhaps just hints of Frankenstein. Lugosi is once again a seemingly heroic doctor, this time name Vollin, who is shown helping an injured young woman named Jean (Irene Ware) early in the film, reinforcing an ultimately debatable proposition about how heroic he is.

And in fact this film is probably a good deal more nuanced in characterization than The Black Cat, with an increasingly disfigured convict named Bateman (Boris Karloff) perhaps coming off as more honorable overall than the supposed "good" doctor. Bateman wants Vollin's surgical help, too, but Vollin by that point is intent on revenge against Jean's family, with a kind of cat and mouse game ensuing. In that regard, this film adds a rather fun conceit in that Vollin is supposedly obsessed with the writing of Edgar Allan Poe and has had reproductions of various torture devices featured in Poe's stories created. You can guess whether or not any of them are put to use.

The Raven Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Raven is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. While Eureka!'s press sheet touts the same "2K scan of the original film elements" verbiage that evidently accompanied the Shout! release on Blu-ray, I'm somewhat less generous in my scoring than Brian was of that version. While there's nothing significantly shoddier looking in this presentation than in the two others in this set, this is at times noticeably softer, with a somewhat "dupier" look, especially in terms of fine detail levels, contrast and thickness of grain. There are moments of excellent clarity and detail levels here, sometimes to the detriment of Jack Pierce's controversial makeup, but even some other close-ups can look a bit on the fuzzy side. There's once again pretty recurrent signs of age related wear and tear, but nothing out of the ordinary for an element this old. I'm scoring this at 3.0 to indicate it's less consistently pleasing than the two other transfers in this set, but I'd up my score to 3.25 if I were able to.

The Raven Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Raven features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track which is, like its sonic siblings in this set, kind of narrow and not especially deep, but decent sounding nonetheless. The score and occasional effects like stormy weather reverberate well enough if never overly forcefully. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Raven Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Eureka! has packaged this release with Murders in the Rue Morgue on Disc 1 and The Black Cat and The Raven on Disc 2. While there are some film specific supplements, as in the commentaries, there are also more generalist items, so here's a full list of the contents of both discs:

Disc One

• Audio Commentary by film historian Gregory William Mank


• Alternate Soundtrack is presented in LPCM 2.0 Mono and comes with a warning that it was supplied by Universal Pictures and adds music to scenes of the film, and that they recommend listening to the original track for a first viewing.


• Kim Newman Interview (HD; 28:49) is another enjoyable piece with Newman, who discusses the Universal "Poe adaptations".


• The Tell Tale Heart read by Bela Lugosi (HD; 13:21)


• Trailer (HD; 1:35)


• Stills Gallery (HD)


• Reconstructed Version (HD; 1:00:19) features an alternately structured version sparked by an article originally appearing in Video Watchdog. This is an old style "easter egg" that's hidden, but if you poke around the listing right above this one, you'll find it.

Disc Two

• The Black Cat Audio Commentary by film historian Gregory W. Mank explicitly references the Steve Haberman commentary that is included along with this one on Shout! Factory's release of The Black Cat, which makes it doubly odd that the Haberman commentary isn't included here.


• Cats in Horror (HD; 12:47) is a fun overview from Lee Gambin.


• The Black Cat Radio Adaptation with Peter Lorre (HD; 26:02) is a September 18, 1947 radio broadcast from Mystery in the Air.


• Vintage Footage (HD; 00:49) is a kind of hilarious brief silent snippet of kids parading their black cats past Lugosi and Karloff (I'll at least give Bela first billing).


• The Black Cat Stills Gallery (HD)


• The Raven Isolated Music and Effects Track is presented in LPCM 2.0 Mono.


• The Raven Audio Commentary by film historian Gary D. Rhodes


• The Raven Audio Commentary by Samm Deighan


• American Gothic (HD; 14:59) is an interesting exploration of various motifs by Kat Ellinger.


• The Tell-Tale Heart Radio Adaptation with Boris Karloff (HD; 26:42) is an August 3, 1941 episode from Inner Sanctum Mystery.


• Stills Gallery (HD)

While I don't yet have a final retail version, it looks like this Limited Edition also comes with Eureka's typically well appointed insert booklet.

The Raven Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For you lovers of Hollywood trivia, and vis a vis my comments above about billing, font size, and the rest, there are two other kind of interesting connections to Frances Farmer in this film courtesy of its colorful supporting cast. Lester Mathews, here the dashing hero, would be teamed with Farmer in her first Paramount picture Too Many Parents very shortly after this film, and Farmer's second outing for Paramount, Border Flight, would feature Samuel S. Hinds, Jean's troubled father in this film, in a supporting role. The Raven is another interesting pairing of Lugosi and Karloff, and in some ways it may satisfy the "traditional" horror yearnings of some fans more than The Black Cat did/does. Technical merits are generally okay, and the supplementary package enjoyable. Recommended.