(Terence Fisher, 1958)
Release date: 19 July 2021
Standard Edition Blu-ray
One of Hammer’s most enduring and successful releases, 1958’s The Revenge of Frankenstein was a swift sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein, their box-office smash of the year before. It ushered in Hammer’s most commercially lucrative period, and secured their new-found reputation as purveyors of gruesome Gothic horror.
Expertly and ingeniously re-working the classic tale, Jimmy Sangster’s script sees the titular doctor continue his grisly experiments under a new guise in a pauper’s hospital. Peter Cushing, in sparkling form, clearly relishes the role of Dr Frankenstein – creating an enduring anti-hero that would come to define both Hammer’s, and his own, on-screen personas.
INDICATOR BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES
4K restoration
Original mono audio
Audio commentary with film historians Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby (2019)
Audio commentary with horror and fantasy authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
Back from the Dead: Inside ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (2019, 20 mins): exclusive documentary featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, exploring aspects of the film’s production
A Frankenstein for the 20th Century (2019, 27 mins): video essay by film historian Kat Ellinger and editor Dima Ballin
Hammer’s Women: Eunice Gayson (2019, 8 mins): profile of the Hammer star by film historian Pamela Hutchinson
Arpeggios of Melancholy (2019, 13 mins): appreciation of composer Leonard Salzedo’s score by David Huckvale, the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
Outtakes reel (1958, 12 mins, mute): rare, unseen on-set footage
Super 8 version (8 mins, b&w, mute): cut-down home cinema presentation
Original theatrical trailer
Joe Dante trailer commentary (2013, 3 mins): short critical appreciation
Image gallery: extensive promotional and on-set photography, poster art and marketing materials
New and improved subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
