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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/Dracula  Hot
Reviews DVD Reviews
Written by Staff Writer   
Sunday, 23 January 2005


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Grade

Content Grade: A
Sound Grade: B+
Picture Grade: B+

Specs

Directed by Dan Curtis/Charles Jarrot MPI Home Video-MSRP$24.95 Fullscreen(1.33:1), English, Spanish and French subtitles Dolby Digital Surround 2 channel, Spanish Language track 240 minutes-Color Not Rated but very intense

Review

This double feature DVD stars the very scary Jack Palance in both features, produced and directed by Dan Curtis. Palance was critically acclaimed in these roles, which led to more role opportunities for the actor after these productions. Originally produced for television, the atmosphere produced by the sets of both productions was down right spooky. Starring with Palance in these television dramas was an impressive, distinguished cast including Oscar Homolka, Denholm Elliot, Tessie O'Shea, Torin Thatcher, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis and Simon Ward.
Most people are familiar with these tales from Robert Louis Stevenson and Bram Stoker. I won't dwell on details in this review. The screenplays were adapted by Richard Matheson (Dracula) and Ian McClellan Hunter and faithfully capture the essence of the original works. Dr. Jekyll was nominated for 6 Emmys, including best drama. Palance is sympathetic as the good Dr., experimenting with good and evil, and relishes in the role of Hyde, complete with altering make-up that gives him an even more sinister look. These dramas are strictly adult in nature and although they are not rated, any preteen viewing could lead to nightmares. The violence portrayed here, especially against women, is especially vicious for television. Dracula is also quite horrific for television, with Dracula climbing the walls of his castle in the night, and feasting with his brides on new born babies. The acting in both these dramas is superb, making them extremely credible. While there are a lot of other version and interpretations of both these stories, these television adaptations are unique and are one of the best in telling these scary tales.

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Picture and Sound

Picture-Originally shot on videotape, the DVD brings out the best quality of the videos but the age of the videos has lead to some minor color bleeding (no pun intended) and the picture is not as sharp in some scenes. Partly because of the dream like atmosphere Curtis and crew wanted to establish, some scenes are soft focus intentionally. Colors are not as intense as in film, but colors are accurate and well balanced. Dust is not a problem and the picture is clean , with no artifacts visible. Sound-Dolby digital surround is applied to the soundtrack and does the job well with the dialog laden dramas. An alternate language track of Spanish is a welcome addition to the DVD.

Extras

Special features of the disc include interviews with Palance and Dan Curtis, an original and rare Dracula European Theatrical trailer, a Spanish language track, English and French subtitles for Dracula, and English, Spanish, and French subtitles for Dr. Jekyll. With over 4 hours of content, this disc is a real bargain for Palance fans.

Summary

For those looking for unique interpretations of these two tales, look no further. The production values and acting in these teleplays are of high quality and guaranteed to shock and scare you; perfect for Halloween. However, make sure the kiddies are in bed before spinning this disc, as the themes are of an adult nature.

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