The Bride of Frankenstein [Blu-ray] - Classic Horror Movie for Halloween Nights & Film Collector's Edition

I thought this release wouldn't be able to stand up with my 75th Anniversary Dracula and Frankenstein DVD'S from Universal. Whilst The Bride isn't given the classical treatment with a fancy DVD case like the aforementioned titles, it still has a couple of great features on it.She's Alive! CREATING THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is a great retrospective featurette that takes you on an informative escapade on the "how's" and "why's" of the making of the film. The commentary might be worthwhile, but I rarely watch those. Pretty much everything you get out of featurettes is on the commentary tracks. The only thing that you'll get out of commentary, tends to be anecdotes, and jokey comments or playful banter between actors. Those are usually good if you have absolutely nothing interesting to do, so I don't check them out nowadays, because the novelty is gone.The movie itself is one I haven't watched since I was 10, staying over at a relatives house, and watching a late night back to back showing of the original Karloff Frankenstein, and The Bride Of Frankenstein, with my cousin. A Universal monster movie with a midnight snack, was a great way to spend a summer night way back then, and this new viewing in October with my adult mind was just what I needed. I was able to fully appreciate the style, and substance of this film. All of the subtleties of the characters and story were more apparent and I have to agree with all of the film historians, this film is much better than the first, and I highly disagree with Boris Karloff; having the creature speak was a perfect opportunity for much pathos. I remember when I viewed the remake that Kenneth Brannagh directed, that one of the best things of the film were the two scenes when DeNiro's creature had conversations with the blind man, and then Victor Frankenstein towards the end in the snow cave. Brannagh did a great job with that iteration, against what critics and audiences said about it. I actually like it alot. But upon watching The Bride Of Frankenstein, one really sees the wonderful job that Karloff does with his creature. The performance sits among a cast of typical Hollywood acting for its time, and rises above all. He was a genius performer and understood just how much to give when necessary and what to with hold in other scenes. His vocal performance was astonishing, considering he had a lisp, and that the risk of coming off deadpanned and silly was always present. A much finer tuned performance in my opinion.Let's not forget Elsa Lanchester as both the Bride and Mary Shelley. I was in awe of her unique beauty in the film opener, but her jerky and twitchy performance at the end as the Bride, really struck a chord in me. Getting to a point in my age where I'm starting to have nerve pain, really made me twitch along with Elsa's facial twitches and ticks. Her vacant but somehow "aware" glares and glances, also add to the character and portrayal. I really enjoyed the anecdote in the featurette, where Elsa Lanchester reported in an interview about where she got the inspiration for her monstrous HISS at the end. Apparently, there was a pond near her house where the swans would land and raise their young. It was fine to feed them, but once they would try to approach them or the young, the primary swan would let out a "gawdawful hiss". Watching the film with this in mind, I was actually more charmed by Elsa's hiss when it happened.All in all, a great buy and one of the best, if not THE best of the classic Universal horror monster films from the Thirties.