Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Revenge of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 21, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Hammer Volume Four: Faces of Fear.

Powerhouse Films has already delighted fans of a certain iconic British studio with Hammer Volume One: Fear Warning!, Hammer Volume Two: Criminal Intent and Hammer Volume Three: Blood & Terror, all of which offered an admittedly sometimes odd grabbag of films. This fourth volume of offerings from Hammer is itself kind of an odd grabbag of sorts, with two more “traditional” Hammer opuses, at least in terms of offering a recognizable genre character like Frankenstein and/or Dr. Jekyll, included with two other, more contemporary, outings that at least may arguably offer some Gothic content in their own way.

While not entirely germane to the era when The Revenge of Frankenstein was released, the appealing (if apparently hard to find) documentary Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros. Years charts how Hammer could kind of stumble into some of its most renowned properties, and one wonders if that may have been the case with 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein, which became a perhaps unexpected worldwide phenomenon for Hammer and which helped launch what many probably consider to be the Golden Age for the studio’s horror output (at least in terms of its iconic Gothic films, as opposed to the somewhat earlier The Quatermass Xperiment). It’s notable that while The Curse of Frankenstein connected pretty viscerally with ticket buying customers, it tended to disgust some in the pundit class, who found it too graphic and salacious by half (it may seem considerably more quaint to more jaded modern day eyes and sensibilities).

In some ways The Revenge of Frankenstein moves rather smartly beyond the confines of The Curse of Frankenstein and kind of nicely reimagines the good (?) doctor (played by Peter Cushing) as good, or at least attempting to atone for any perceived past misdeeds. As the film progresses, Frankenstein has reinvented himself as Dr. Stein with a little help from his deformed assistant Karl (Oscar Quitak). Unfortunately, Stein and/or Frankenstein is recognized by another doctor named Hans Cleve (Francis Mathews), who more or less blackmails Frankenstein into going back to the drawing board (so to speak) to create life. An interesting twist which is somewhat like the Faustian bargain detailed in John Frankenheimer’s intriguing Seconds ensues when Karl volunteers to let his brain be transplanted into a healthy body, in the hopes of attaining a more normal life (and maybe a little romance to boot).

The Revenge of Frankenstein is arguably more multilayered than its immediate Hammer predecessor, and while it certainly offers some spectacular traditional Hammer gore, this is a somewhat more ruminative film, with some relatively nuanced interactions between characters who all have competing motives. This film probably only ups the already pretty lush (for Hammer) production values of The Curse of Frankenstein, and there’s a really sumptuous burnished, tufted quality to the production design that makes the film consistently visually interesting.

The Revenge of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Powerhouse provided only check discs for purposes of this review.

The Revenge of Frankenstein is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse's Indicator imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Since I'm working from check discs without the benefit of any supporting documentation, I can't include any verbiage from Powerhouse about the transfer, other than their website's statement that it is a "new 4K restoration". My colleague Martin Liebman reviewed the Mill Creek Entertainment release of the film for the North American market, and while Marty's review only contains seven screenshots, a cursory comparison shows what a noticeable improvement this Powerhouse version is when compared to the Mill Creek. Colors on the Mill Creek release often looked muddy, and there was a lack of clarity throughout the presentation. Things are much better here, with color timing that looks correct (if noticeably skewed more toward yellow than the Mill Creek), and with a similar uptick in clarity and detail levels. Grain is also better resolved on the Powerhouse version, with a more organic overall appearance. There are a few minor variances in density, with a kind of gray undertone that can creep into a few scenes, but any fans of this film will most likely be gobsmacked by its general appearance here.

The Revenge of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This release easily ups the ante from Mill Creek's lossy Dolby track with an LPCM Mono track that capably supports the film's sound design. Both the occasional effect (mostly lab related) and score are rendered with fine fidelity and decent depth, and dialogue also is presented cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation. Things are obviously inherently narrow on the track, but prioritization in the few "noisier" scenes is typically excellent, and I noticed no issues whatsoever to age related wear and tear.

The Revenge of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries

  Audio Commentary with Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby

  
  

  Audio Commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman

• Back from the Dead: Inside The Revenge of Frankenstein (1080p; 21:21) is an interesting and informative retrospective, with a number of fun talking head segments by Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, background information and archival stills.


• Hammer's Women: Eunice Gayson (1080p; 7:58) features Pamela Hutchison discussing the actress.


• A Frankenstein for the 20th Century (1080p; 26:37) is another really interesting video essay by Kat Ellinger and Dima Ballin which gets into some of the differences between this version of the story and others, as well as its place in the Hammer canon.


• Arpeggios of Melancholy: Huckvale on Salzedo (1080p; 12:57) features David Huckvale discussing the film's score by Leonard Salzedo.


• Outtakes Reel (1080p; 11:43)


• Super 8 Version (1080p; 8:17) is the charmingly old school "home movie" Super 8 truncated version of the film. It's in black and white, is silent and plays with captions. Video quality is pretty iffy, but still watchable.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:17)


• Joe Dante Trailer Commentary (1080p; 1:59) is culled from Trailer from Hell.


• Image Gallery (1080p)

Powerhouse only supplied check discs for the purposes of this review, so I can't comment authoritatively on non-disc swag, but Powerhouse's website mentions a poster (exclusive to sales from the website) and a booklet with essays.

The Revenge of Frankenstein Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Revenge of Frankenstein rather smartly recasts several elements of Mary Shelley's original story, including by having the "monster" in this case be a man in search of a kind of redemption, even if his murderous tendencies finally take over. Typically handsome in the Hammer Gothic fashion, though perhaps less graphic than some fans of "Hammer red" blood might prefer, this is a film that goes a long way on mood and character. Powerhouse's release easily tops some of the earlier home video offerings in the technical merits department, and the supplemental slate here is outstanding. Highly recommended.