Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I will refrain reviewing the film here (as obviously it's one of my favorites or I wouldn't have purchased it on Blu Ray) but instead concentrate on the transfer and content, which I found satisfactory but not exceptional.
Firstly, the deleted scenes were a great addition to the Blu Ray disc. I only wish there were more! Being the nerd that I am, I had purchased a companion book to the film back in 1992 that had the whole script and now finally I get to see those scenes I had only previously been able to imagine.
The transfer was decent, but honestly I would have wished for a little more in the way of brightness. I ran this simultaneously with my old Superbit DVD and kept switching back and forth to compare. Now while the obvious clarity and sharpness of HD, along with greater color depth was apparent, I did notice that the Blu Ray was markedly darker. Some shadow detail was lost as a result, and oddly enough I found myself seeing small details in the DVD that were rather obscured on the Blu Ray. Somewhat disappointing.
The other thing was odd - the English subtitles that are displayed in the opening sequences had changed in font from the original. On this version they are in a very standard looking font, whereas the old VHS and DVD versions had a more old fashioned style font that I personally feel matched the look of the film more effectively. A very minor gripe but still, stylistically speaking it seems a little incongruous and unnecessary on the whole.
Part of me hopes that perhaps a special edition or director's cut may lie in the future. I'd love to see the deleted scenes restored, a slightly brighter transfer, and those original subtitles back in action.

If you're a vampire legend fan this is a must see. With an all star cast, sets, music, direction and costumes to boot, this is about a close as you're going to get to the real tale of the Prince of Darkness.

Gary Oldman is outstanding as the old and young Vlad Tepes III (Dracula) and Sir Anthony Hopkins is at his usual best as Professor Van Helsing. Keano reeves and Winona Ryder are great as the two lovers stalked by the count...

What makes this DVD set even more fantastic is the bonus DVD that take you behind the scenes and into the making of this epic historical and fictional account of how love can transcend good and evil...Francis Ford Coppola and his son explain in great detail how many of the visual effects but more importantly the thinking, skill and artistry behind the making of this classic. What most of us would pass off as computer generated effects were, in fact, painstakingy crafted actual set pieces and old fashioned film making techniques applied to modern day cinematography of a centuries old tale. The result is visually breathtaking, errie, sensual and often terrifying scenes that bring you right into the world of the living battling among the undead.

Once you see the behind the scenes DVD you'll appreciate even more the true artistry that went into the realism of this classic.

PN