The Wolf Man

Despite being so old, the picture and sound quality is as clear as you could wish for. There are the expected scratches from the original source material, but they add to the atmosphere without ever being excessively noticeable. Subtitling is available, not just on the main feature, but on the extras, including the commentary.

The Wolf Man is a nice little DVD package. There are enough extras to get your teeth into (so to speak), without going to the extreme of padding the disc with pointless ones you'll never watch.

Tom Weaver's commentary isn't one of the greatest you'll hear, but will leave you with a better understanding of who the cast were, how The Wolf Man came about and its place in film history. As with all commentaries from people not directly associated with the film - Weaver is a biographer and historian of horror films - he sometimes falls prey to speculating about lesser known aspects, which can grate slightly. It's not a commentary you're likely to want to hear again, but listen to it once and you'll be glad you did.

The half hour documentary, introduced by John Landis, who directed An American Werewolf In London, is in a similar vein. It's not interesting enough to warrant many repeat viewings, but is very welcome on the DVD. Although there is some crossover with the information on the commentary, the doc does break fresh ground, dealing as it does with the whole werewolf genre, rather than focussing solely on The Wolf Man.

Renowned make-up artist Rick Baker's discussion of Jack Pierce's work is the highlight. It's also very welcome to hear directly from someone involved in the making of the film itself, in the form of writer Curt Siodmak.

A worthwhile DVD to add to your collection.