Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios

by Roy Milano, Bela Lugosi, Jennifer Osborne

Universal Studios ushered in the golden age of movies by introducing audiences to monsters on the silver screen. Featuring a collection of images from the studios' own vaults, this book looks at the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345486854
• ISBN13: 9780345486851
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.8" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

Wow!What great fun!

Universal Pictures has long been famous for making the greatest horror classics of all time,and this beautiful book shows why.The people who made these beloved films knew how to do it best,and here we see them at their peak.The makers of today's so-called "horror films" would do well to look at this book and see how to do it right.Universal's people,from talented directors like James Whale and Tod Browning to others like art director Charles D.Hall and legendary makeup guru Jack Pierce,all knew that restraint is key in a horror film(You don't have to show somebody being brutally murdered every five seconds).Often,it's not what you see in these films,but what you DON"T see that really scares you.Granted,they didn't have the technology available today.But they knew how to do more with less.That's not the case today,which is why all those gorefests that call themselves "horror films" are so bad. Back to the book.The photographs,many never seen before,are excellent. There are wonderful tributes from such notable fans as Rick Baker and John Landis.I loved Gloria Stuart's article on "The Invisible Man". There are wonderful tributes to Boris,Bela,and both Lons from their children.All the boys and girls are here in their glory.What a delight! Enjoy!

BRILLIANT PHOTOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS THIS FANTASTIC BOOK!

I have been a fan of Universal Horror films for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are of a local channel here in the Detroit area that used to show a different Universal horror film every afternoon in the week leading up to Halloween. And then there was local horror host Sir Graves Ghastly who played the old classics every Saturday afternoon from the late 60's and into the early 80's. The past 10 years have seen a big renewed interest in these classic horror films with so many being released on DVD and with toys, sculptures, and great new books such as this one from Ballantine/Del Rey books. Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios is a fantastic new hardcover book celebrating Universal's classic horror films. The book doesn't cover all of the Universal Horrors but does spotlight the major ones such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf man, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the silent version of The Phantom of the Opera. The book features essays on each of these films by either noted actors or directors as well as the family members of the horror film stars. Sara Karloff and Bela Lugosi Jr., each take their turn writing about their famous fathers and the roles which made them stars. Ron Chaney discusses his great-grandfather Lon Chaney, Director John Landis provides an essay on the Wolfman, and actress Gloria Stuart talks about the Invisible Man, a film she co-starred in over 70 years ago! In addition, makeup master Rick Baker looks at the Universal Monster movie makeup and the legendary Jack Pierce, who designed the look of the Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and many more terrors. There is also a look at the Abbott and Costello monster films, a Universal horror film chronology, and a detailed bibliography. Now all of this would more than make the day of any fan of classic horror films but there is even more to be found in this fantastic book. Forrest J, Ackerman, Uncle Forry himself, longtime editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland provides the book's Foreward and a better person could not have been chosen. After all, who else could make the claim to have seen Phantom of the Opera when it opened in 1925, not to mention being friends with Karloff, Lugosi, and Wolfman writer Curt Siodmak? Ackerman even owns one of the capes worn by Lugosi in Dracula. But perhaps the greatest feature of the book is the photography. The photos are simply dazzling! I was surprised to find many photos that I had never seen before in previous books or horror magazines, such as Lugosi taking a break from filming and resting his foot on a stage light or the magnificently shadowed photo of Karloff sitting in his actor's chair and reading his script from The Mummy. The photos are simply breathtaking! Ballantine/Del Rey has produced a book that any fan of Universal's Classic horrors will be rising out of their tombs to own! Reviewed by Tim Ja

Great Overview of Universal's Monsters

Like a previous reviewer commented you are not going to get a lot of details from this book that you didn't already know nor is there a vast array of films looked at. This book features just the Universal Horror movies from The Phantom of the Opera to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each movie has its own chapter with an overview of the making of the film and then an essay by someone connected w/the film. Also, there is an essay at the end from make-up artist Rick Baker followed by a short chapter entitled Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters. Overall this is a very nice book w/some great photographs. It's definitely worth it for any Universal Monster fan hence the 5 stars.

Another quality product from Universal for horror fans of all ages!

What "Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios" lacks in size, a mere 166 pages, it more than makes up for in qualiy. Universal could easily have produced a 1000+ page coffee table book showcasing the worlds most famous and beloved monsters and slapped on a price tag that only the die hard horror fan would go for. Instead they have produced a wonderful, affordable little book jammed full of beautiful production stills, promo shots and essays by some of our favorite members of the horror-fan family. What monster movie book would be complete without a foreward, or rather "fearword" by the legendary Forrest J. Ackerman of Famous Monsters of Filmland fame? From there the book goes on to showcase the most famous of the Universal monsters: The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Each section has a color reproduction of a movie poster or lobby card followed by some beautiful black and white pictures from the films, some of them filling the whole page. These alone are worth the cost of the book but they are also accompanied by text by Roy Milano and interesting essays from Sara Karloff, Bela G. Lugosi, Gloria Stuart, Ron Chaney, Rick Baker and more. The photos make up the bulk of the book but the text and essays are very interesting and entertaining and touch on many of the Universal sequels as well as the careers of the actors. The book closes with a piece by Rick Baker on legendary makeup artists Lon Chaney and Jack Pierce. Another great little article entitled "Abbott and Costello Meet The Monsters" remembers those great comedies featuring Bud and Lou and the Universal Monsters including the likes of Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney. This book will certainly appeal to horror fans of every age. Everyone from my 88 year old father who saw most of these films during their first run, to my 13 year old nephew who recently discovered the Abbott and Costello movies, loved this book. It is aso a perfect companion to the numerous Universal horror dvds released over the last few years. If you don't own any of them you will probably reconsider after experiencing this book.

Gorgeous movie stills in glorious black and white...

If you're a fan of Universal's Monster movies, buy this today! (I gave this 5 stars, though I must admit I haven't read the minimal text.) This is mainly a picture book with beautiful photos from the Phantom, Frankenstein's, Dracula, Mummy, Invisible Man, the Bride, Wolfman, and the Creature. It's hardcover, "coffee-table-book" style, glossy B & W pics...I think it's worth every penny! Even if you are just a little bit of a fan, you won't be unsatisfied with this purchase.