D V D C R Y P T

THE MUNSTERS THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Directed by Lawrence Dobkin
Written & Produced by Joe Connelly & Bob Mosher
Cinematography by Fred Mandl
Music by Jack Marshall
Cast: Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, Beverley Owen & Pat Priest

1964-65/16 hours 6 mins/Black & White/2.0 Dolby Digital
1.33:1/English/US/NTSC Region 1

Review from the Universal DVD

http://www.great-tv-shows.com/munsters/index.php

Without a doubt one of the great tv series of the 60s, THE MUNSTERS crawl their way on DVD in an great box set thanks to Universal! Everyone's favorite family of fright from 1313 Mockingbird Lane are presented in all their glory and with due respect.

For those unfamiliar with The Munsters here a little presentation of this much beloved and rather unique family. Herman is the Frankenstein-like loving father (superbly played by Gwynne who gives the best performance of all the cast), his bride is a vampire in the name of Lily (De Carlo) and her father happens to be a Count, Granpa (the lovable Lewis), they have a werewolf boy named Eddie (thankfully played by Patrick as the kid doing it in the pilot was annoying) and the unfortunate looking niece (because she's actually normal), Marylin played by the beautiful Beverley Owen in the first 13 shows and then by Priest.

After making the successful show, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, Joe Connelly & Bob Mosher created the ultimate monsters, or should i say Munsters, family. Putting them in real life situation in everyday America trying to live a normal life with other citizens, this is what made it so funny and way better then the Addams Family. Not surprisingly, even 40 years laters THE MUNSTERS are hilarious, superbly clever and nicely shot. The show features lots of cool on-set mechanical effects which still looks great today. The show also featured a nice cast of guest stars throughout the season. And how can someone not love the great theme music by Jack Marshall?

Universal have puts lots of efforts into this three disc box set. The disc are flippers and feature about 6 shows on each side. For a tv show of 1964 the transfer is simply amazing! The blacks are deep, sharp and nicely rendered. There is simply nothing I can complain about especially since I never expected it to look that good! The 2.0 Dolby Digital is crisp, clear and nicely mixed. We get plot synopsis of each episodes, there's 38 of them (!) and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The only extra on this set is the never-before-seen color pilot which features a different cast for some of the roles and some scenes were later used in the serie. Each episodes are separated in 4 chapters, the whole thing comes in a rather unique and green-ish box. Hopefully Universal will release the second season along with the MUNSTER, GO HOME! movie from 1966.

Image:

Audio:

Extras:

Packaging:

This Film Features: