I've just spent 2 blissful days watching as much as I could of the Universal Monsters blu box set. Mind blowing is the only way to describe it. Just finished Bride - if only they could have digitally removed Una O'Connor it would've been perfect. The Spanish Dracula, which I had never seen, is fantastic - way better than the pretty boring Browning one. The Mummy was much better than I remembered - amazing what perfect picture quality can do for a film, especially when it features a guy with a face like Karloffs. I just love The Invisible Man, definitely the most underrated thing on here - Whale could sure slip in some brutality amid the comic dialogue - he was truely a genius. As for the first Frankenstein, well, just the best ever horror movie imo.
Looking back over 2012, I have to say I doubt we'll ever get a year as good as that again, I mean what's left to release? My dreams of the BFI ghost stories, Island of Lost Souls, the aforementioned monsters set, Tetsuo, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Lawrence of Arabia, Passion of Joan of Arc, etc, etc - all answered.
Wait a minute though, I've just remembered Criterion's slate for March 2013....
BTW thanks to whoever got me the silent movies book for the secret santa - plenty more avenues opened up!
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