Righteous Recommendations
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Releases Reviewed:
House on Haunted Hill, being a fantastic movie and public domain to boot, results in a hauntingly vast variety of releases through which collectors must dig.
There are a ton of stand-alone DVD's and multi-packs with various other movies that offer a whole lot of nothing special. I'll cover a few of these in detail: a 50 pack called “Horror Classics,” a 20 pack called “Chilling,” and a digitally remastered version. But I've seen more versions than these and have yet to find one that is vastly superior.
Some other notable ones are a colorized release, a Warner Home Video widescreen version, and a 50th Anniversary edition which I'll talk about in terms of what I've heard about them. There are some Blu-ray options, but they are not HD.
First up is the 50 "Horror Classics" version.
Video:
1.33: This is the TV standard "full-screen” ratio. There is minor trash with an image that is a little fuzzy but not annoyingly so.
Audio:
1.0 mono: The sound has minor white noise but is decently clear and a better mix than a lot of these movies have.
Packaging:
This disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve contained in a Velcro-fastened box. You can read about the set as a whole in great detail in the Horror Classics (50 pack) guide.
Extras:
There are no extras of any kind.
Other Editions:
I'll start with the 50th Anniversary Special Edition. with a brand new widescreen transfer!! because, let's face it, that sounds fantastic if you're hunting for a good version of the film. Add in 90 minutes of “mind-blowing” bonuses and you've got yourself a real winner, or so you might think. The new transfer might be decent quality (although reviewers say it's no better than any other), but even though it is in widescreen it is not the original aspect ratio (this is 1.66, the original is 1.85). What's more is that these guys felt the need to stamp their logo all over the title cards which is unforgivable no matter how good the transfer might be. I didn't see an audio spec so it's probably still mono or they would have advertised it more. Extras include a modern look at the real house, a “surprise” William Castle TV spot, an original trailer, a profile of Carol Ohmart, some Vincent Price moments, and lots of previews. A few different reviews I read say that almost all of these aren't worth the time or effort. There are no chapter stops, either.
The "Old Dark House" and "Ultimate Horror Classics" Blu collections seem to be part of a slowly growing trend (or perhaps attempt at a trend) of using Blu's storage capacity to fit a lot of movies on a single disc. Several public domain films (some very common, some fairly rare) reside on a single disc in standard 480i definition (no HD here). The best I can say for these is that they seem to occasionally present the original image ratios and may be very slightly improved quality over some of the cheaper DVD budget packs. Otherwise they offer nothing special aside from being exceptionally self-space friendly. They offer no extras and can be somewhat hard to find.
The Warner Video release is notable because it is the only one I saw offering the movie in its 1.85 widescreen ratio. There is no mention of remastering, though, and no comments on the quality of this specific release.
Lastly is the colorized version which does also offer the original black-and-white. Otherwise it's the same as all the others.
Beyond that there is no mention of remastering or extras, no others listing widescreen ratio, and no audio specs given beyond the typical mono.
Final Thoughts:
The lesson today is just because someone slaps an “anniversary” tag on a release doesn't make it good. I got excited about that release until I read the reviews of it, now I'll be avoiding it. The widescreen Warner disc is tempting just so I can see it in the original aspect ratio. Otherwise take your pick. The remastered GoodTimes version is a little better than others I've seen but not so much so that you'll notice it without a side-by-side comparison unless you are a serious cinephile.
Want to get your hands on something you read about? Click the links below.
Next is the 20 pack called “Chilling.”
Video:
1.33: This "full-screen" presentation is pretty much the same as the description above but grainier and a little fuzzier.
Audio:
1.0 mono: The sound doesn't have much white noise, I only noticed any at all during a few specific scenes.
Packaging:
The disc comes in a paper sleeve that lives in a plastic case. You can get more details about the set as a whole by checking out the Chilling (20 pack) guide.
What's notable about this print is that it's missing a small portion of the beginning. If you don't know it you won't miss it, but as soon as you realize it you can't call yourself a fan if it doesn't bug you to the point that you want to track down the DVD guys and ask them “WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING??”
…...Excuse me.....
…...I'm better now..........
Extras:
There are no extras of any kind.
Lastly is the GoodTimes DVD which is digitally remastered.
Video:
1.33: Once again, it's "full-screen." There is still a little bit of trash, but it is a fairly clear and sharp image.
Audio:
1.0 mono: There is no white noise, it has good levels, and it has a better than average mix. The others are not bad, but this one is marginally better.
Packaging:
Standard plastic case.
An insert features a leggy image and a chapters list.
The interface is just a still image and plain menu options but does feature an artistic and original image.
Extras:
Still no extras here.
