Directed by Terence Fisher
Starring Peter Cushing,Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling
Warner Archive is giving us all a terrific surprise for the holidays — bringing Hammer’s Horror Of Dracula (1958) to Blu-Ray. It’s the first of their Dracula series and certainly the best. Today, it’s hard to understand the impact these films had upon release — luckily they still hold up as great movies.
Here’s what Warner Archive had to say: “This is the UK version titled “DRACULA”, and featuring footage previously restored by the British Film Institute and Hammer Films. Warner Archive’s new release restores the original color palette of the film, using dye-transfer Technicolor prints as reference, and has been meticulously cleaned of film-related damage for a superior presentation.”
I saw a 35mm Technicolor print of this about 20 years ago and can still remember how gorgeous it looked. As soon as those red titles came up, we knew we were in for a real treat. The UK Blu-Ray is terrific, and this should be just as good, if not better. Essential — especially since most of the series has recently been resurrected in HD, too.
