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Universal Classic Monsters Essential Collection (US - BD)
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Dracula (1931)
We begin in chronological order with the one that started it all. Well, that's not entirely true. Universal had already made a name for itself in Hollywood horror throughout the close of the silent era, including Lon Chaney Sr.'s star-makers Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, and German expressionist Paul Leni's The Cat and the Canary and The Man Who Laughs. Then Dracula added sound into the mix and changed the face of the Universal Horror brand (though, apparently, it was not the first; Rupert Julian and John Willard's little-seen The Cat Creeps, a remake of The Cat and the Canary, beat Browning to sound well by one year), along with the same year's Frankenstein. Dracula, which was based on an incredibly popular stage play version of Bram Stoker's novel, is best remembered for a select few sequences, almost all of which revolve around star Bela Lugosi's massive star power. It's hard to overestimate Lugosi's impact on the film. One only needs to watch the George Melford directed Spanish language version for comparison (which is easy, since it's included here). Melford shot his film on the same gorgeous sets as Browning, using the same screenplay, and since it started making the rounds on home video, critics have noticed his direction is actually a bit crisper and more evocative than Browning's. But Spanish actor Carlos Villarías' best efforts simply cannot compare to Lugosi's hair-raising charms. I don't mean to downplay Browning's efforts, he has a very strong gothic aesthetic, but he's really working from such a strong script on such powerful sets, and with such a perfect lead actor he's in a no-fail situation for most of the film. Browning's best work was far more macabre and perverse than the relatively '30s friendly Dracula, specifically his masterpiece, Freaks.
I can state without any doubt that Dracula has never looked better on home video that it does on this new 1080p, 1.37:1 Blu-ray transfer. The image is clean without losing the wonderful texture of the film grain itself. Beyond the grain, which naturally increases and decreases depending on the amount of smoke or darkness on screen, there are some minor warping effects and dirty white flecks throughout. DNR effects are not an issue, but there are signs of slightly clumsy digital compositing or liquid emulsion artifacts ( some kind of damage correction). Even with these minor quibbles in place the clarity is paramount. I notice that specifically during Dracula's introductory shots (where he's ascending stairs among spider webs) contrast levels and edges are especially sharp, instantly overwhelming the blurry images I've grown accustomed to squinting through. Occasionally, a shot will appear muddy, but I have to assume this is a simple case of the material never looked particularly sharp at these moments, most of which occur during fades. This transfer is also perfectly black and white, not grayish or worse, purplish and greenish. The older 35mm source material limits details and fine textures, but this print makes much better use of the subtle layers of blacks and grays to create a better sense of depth.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack certainly shows signs of age in the form of fuzz, a few crackles, and a general flatness, but is overall clear and generally tightly knit. The dialogue is more natural than it is on recent television airings, with fewer noise-reduction effects and high volume/strong aspirated consonant hisses. Effects remain minimal at best and are just as tinny as always, but there's no excess of pops or inconsistent volume levels. The original musical score is given a pretty sharp overhaul, featuring plenty of bass support despite the lack of a discrete LFE enhancement. The disc's producers have included Philip Glass' incredibly Philip Glass-esque 1998 score on an alternate track as well. Due to its recent vintage this track sounds plenty crisp and even has depth despite the lack of stereo enhancement. The only side effect is that the original dialogue and effects are a bit lower on the track than they probably should be.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian David J. Skal that follows the usual historian/educator commentator pattern of unraveling historical factoids and anecdotes. Most of this stuff isn't going to be news for fans, even more passing ones like myself, but it's important to have it all in one place and should be extremely valuable to newcomers.
- A second commentary track with Dracula: Dead and Loving It screenwriter Steve Haberman. Haberman's track is another expert track, full of further historical information and set with a slightly more lively and critical slant.
- George Melford's Spanish language version of Dracula, re-mastered in 1080p HD, complete with an optional introduction from actress Lupita Tovar Kohner (4:10, SD). The image and DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono sound qualities are top notch, occasionally even sharper than the work on Browning's version.
- The Road to Dracula (35:00, SD), a retrospective/historical featurette hosted by Universal head Carl Laemmle's niece Carla Laemmle, and featuring additional interviews with Clive Barker, historians David J. Skal, Ican Butler, Ronald Vorst, Lokke Heiss, Scott McQueen and Bob Madison, John Balderston (son of Dracula playwright), make-up artist Rick Baker, and actor's sons Bela Lugosi Jr. and Dwight D. Frye.
- Lugosi: The Dark Prince (36:10, SD), a loving tribute to the actor's career including interviews with genre subject writers/personalities Joe Dante, Kim Newman, and Sir Christopher Frayling.
- Dracula: The Restoration (8:50, HD)
- Monster Track Trivia
- Dracula Archives image gallery/slide-show.
- A trailer gallery featuring Dracula, Dracula's Daughter, Son of Dracula and House of Dracula.
Frankenstein (1931)
Often mistakenly referred to as the greatest of all Universal's Horror movies (the correct answer would be Bride of Frankenstein) and the only one to make the AFI's top 100 American movies list (the list featured only a handful of horror movies, including Psycho, Jaws, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Sixth Sense). Though they're almost always coupled due to being released sequentially, covering similarly old-fashioned stories, and having a similar box-office effect, Dracula and Frankenstein are very different films. Aside from the rhetorical and philosophical differences in Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley's original novels ( Dracula was based mostly in history and mythology, while Frankenstein was a more modern and unique story), the variances are mostly found between the filmmakers themselves. Tod Browning was a generally darker, more gothic personality while James Whale, by all means the more talented filmmaker, embraced German expressionism and camp humour. Endless arguments could be made concerning which of the two films is the more perverse beneath the era-friendly self-censorship, but I'm guessing most fans would mark Frankenstein as the better film, if not for its stronger direction, then definitely for its deeper subtexts. Whale's film occasionally suffers for sitting somewhere between the more mainstream expectations of early '30s horror and the eccentricities of his superior follow-up, but, besides Frankenstein comparative lack of flamboyance, its only measurable shortcomings are some minor pacing issues. The middle of the film, where Whale is often bereft of his awesome sets and forced to contrast his monster within the real world, rhythmically dips a bit. Still, even in the light of day, Whale and Karloff manage to find genuine humanity in the monster and, in the end, these 'slower' sequences are the ones that define the film for many fans and critics.
Once again, I haven't seen this film look any better than it does on this 1080p, 1.37:1 Blu-ray disc (sensing a trend yet?). The image here is comparable to the Dracula re-master with a few key, minor differences. I'd call this the more consistent transfer overall, but would also say it falls a bit short of the occasional highs in detail and clarity seen on the Dracula disc. Lesser home video releases of Dracula have often suffered muddiness and weird colour issues while Frankenstein's problems often relate to dim contrast levels and too much white noise. The contrast here is still a bit on the dull side, but there have been steps taken to ensure nothing important is lost in the pervasive darkness. This is most valuable in discerning background details and patterns, which have appeared like a gray and white wash before. Whale and cinematographer Arthur Edeson's use of more centered focus leads to some sharper close-up textures, but doesn't do a lot for the depth of field during medium to close-up shots. Grain is still a consistent part of the look, but appears more averaged and not as noisy over white areas (the key shot of Karloff reaching for light is sizably cleaner here than the previous DVD). Dirt and print damage is quite uncommon, as are the digital artefacts that commonly go along with re-mastering processes (no obvious stabilizing or damage erasing effects here). There are some minor bouts with edge haloes, but nothing to really complain about.
This DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track features more depth of sound than I recall from previous releases, especially in terms of vocal effects, which have both a natural tone and a decent amount of realistic echo/reverb. There is, of course, still plenty of hiss and underlying noise throughout the film, which is, again, a side effect of early 'talkies,' but this never presses itself into the way of the dialogue or simple sound effects. The effects work is crisp, though clearly still a part of the base track and not made up of icky library noises. The heaviest effects, like those of thunder or buzzing laboratory equipment, tend to muddy a bit on the highest volume levels, but these never really effect the more important instances of dialogue. Bernhard Kaun's music (which is non-specific to this film) is so uncommon that it's almost a non-factor on this track, but, when it does show up it certainly sounds richer than previous versions.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer, whose information flows tonally like one of those headsets you can rent while visiting a museum. There's not a whole lot of character, but plenty of information.
- A second commentary track featuring film historian Sir Christopher Frayling, who many readers may remember from various Sergio Leone feature commentaries. Frayling's approach is both more intellectual and personable.
- The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster (44:50, SD), another retrospective featurette covering the history of the book and stage versions that led up to Whale's film, hosted by David J. Skal and featuring interviews with Rudy Behlmer, Bob Madison, Donald Glut, Ivan Butler, Jan-Christopher Horak and Paul Jennsen, Karloff's daughter Sara, Rick Baker, and Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon.
- Karloff: The Gentle Monster (38:00, SD), a look back at the bulk of the actor's career with film footage and interviews from many of the same interviewees.
- Universal Horror (1:35:30, SD), an all-encompassing, made for TV look at the studio's genre output, narrated by Sir Kenneth Branagh and including interviews with writer Ray Bradbury, sci-fi/horror personality Forrest J. Ackerman, actors Nina Foch, James Karen, Gloria Stuart, Fay Wray, and Gavin Lambert, as well as some of the folks we've already heard from throughout the other docs.
- Monster Tracks Trivia
- Frankenstein Archive slide-show/image gallery.
- Boo! (9:30, SD), a short film written and directed by Albert DeMond.
- A trailer gallery featuring Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and House of Frankenstein.
- 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics (9:10, HD).
The Mummy (1932)
Here's where my familiarity with the subject matter begins to falter, as director Karl Freund's The Mummy isn't one of those movies I tend to watch on cable television every Halloween. I've often considered The Mummy among the lesser Universal Monsters, but now realize that Freund's film is actually among the better made films in the canon, though it quotes/recalls Browning's Dracula so often it loses valuable originality points. Freund was never the same brand of super-star director that Whale and Browning were, but he was even more ingrained in the earliest days of film horror than either. Before directing The Mummy (which I believe was his first sound production as head director), Freund served as cinematographer on some of the most influential German Expressionist films, including Paul Wegener and Carl Boese's The Golem, F. W. Murnau's The Last Laugh, and Fritz Lang's Metropolis. He entered the Universal fold as Browning's cinematographer on Dracula (which reportedly included some uncredited direction) and Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue. All of this behind-the-camera experience culminates with The Mummy, a visually lush experience that doesn't draw the same attention to its process as similarly impressionistic films, specifically Bride of Frankenstein. On top of this The Mummy is also burdened with the requirements of an adventure movie, which Freund successfully blends with his suspense and romance on a very modest budget. This all adds up to an underrated feature sandwiched between a series of more fundamentally disturbing, straight horror films. This underrated quality extends to Freund's classy treatment of dramatic elements and strong cast performances, many of which remain well below the hyperbole line set by Browning and Whale (excessive dramatic pauses aside). The only thing keeping The Mummy away from my personal favourite list is the wispy storyline that rarely connects on that all-important primal level.
Guess what? This new, re-mastered, 1080p, 1.37:1 Blu-ray transfer is the best I've ever seen this movie look (I told you this was going to get old). Curiously enough, the various strengths and shortcomings here don't necessarily match the other discs in the collection. The Mummy falls slightly short in terms of contrast levels, appearing generally more gray during shots I'm assuming were intended to include harsher shadows and highlights. However, this transfer also features some of the sharpest details and textures in the collection, which is especially important considering the production design and make-up's dusty and delicate embellishments. There is a possibility that further tampering with gamma levels to achieve deeper blacks might deplete some of the highlights and I want to trust that the balance struck here is the ideal mix. This transfer also corrects the green tint I've seen on lesser prints over the years. Grain and flicker is still present (especially during effects sequences, like rear projection scenes and fades), though there are some shots that show minor signs of digital noise reduction in the softer facial elements. Physical print damage is practically nonexistent (considering age, et cetera), but there are a few frame jumps and what appear to be CRT scanning artefacts.
This DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack starts off with a kind of muddled, crackly rendition of 'Swan Lake,' but quickly the sound is corrected with a very clean and overall basic mix. There's very little in the way of underlying noise, meaning that when the track goes silent, it goes quite close to genuinely silent. Dialogue is easily discernable and free of crackling distortion, though it certainly exhibits some muted qualities. Effects are similarly clear with the same slightly muted qualities, but also tend to feature plenty of natural depth for type, though with less of the echo and reverb effects heard on the Frankenstein track. The Mummy apparently features the first original score made for any of the Universal Monster series (though plenty of stock cues were still used), most of which sound warmer and cleaner than the opening title 'Swan Lake.'
Extras include:
- A mixed group audio commentary featuring make-up superstar Rick Baker (who seems to have been recorded separately), documentary director Scott Essman, historian Steve Haberman, super collector Bob Burns, and Art of Clay Sculpture Studios owner Brent Armstrong. This is a busy and fun track with Haberman getting the most talk time.
- A second commentary track features film historian Paul M. Jensen, who approaches the track from a drier, more intellectual standpoint. Jensen is clearly reading directly from his notes and his dryness turns numbing, but he certainly has a lot to say, even with a series of blank spaces.
- Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (30:10, SD), another retrospective featurette, this time hosted by Rudy Behlmer with film historians Paul Jensen, Gregory Mank and David Del Valle, screenwriter's son John Balderston, Sara Karloff, and Rick Baker.
- He Who Makes Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce (25:00, SD) covers the prestigious career of make-up designer Jack Pierce, who worked on Universal horror movies for almost 20 years. It includes interviews with working make-up artists Nick Dudman, Kevin Haney, Rick Baker, Míchele Burke, Howard Berger, Tom Savini, Thomas Burman, Bill Corso and Gerg Nicotero, familiar authors Stephen Jones, Kim Newman, Sir Christopher Frayling and Steve Haberman, and Pierce's biographer Scott Essman.
- Unraveling the Legacy of the Mummy (8:10, SD), an EPK for Steven Sommers' The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
- The Mummy Archive slide-show/image gallery.
- A trailer gallery featuring The Mummy, The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse.
- 100 Years of Universal: The Carl Laemmle Era (8:40, HD).
The Invisible Man (1933)
The Invisible Man is another film in this collection I have trouble remembering more than a select few images from, making it another particularly valuable personal revisit. It's difficult to consider The Invisible Man as a 'Universal Monster Essential.' Besides the title character not really being a proper 'monster,' the film (based on a book by H.G. Wells) is a sci-fi/comedy, not a horror picture. But this first film version (of many) was directed by James Whale, which I suppose marks it as something of an honorary monster/horror film. Regardless, The Invisible Man is mostly remembered for its groundbreaking special effects rather than its lavish visuals and campy sense of humour, but it easily fits within the director's specifically flamboyant movies. It's not as visually dramatic as the Frankenstein films, but there's no sign of the master resting on his laurels or wasting all of his energy with the effects. In fact, watching all of these films in a row, I've discovered an amusing contrast between the impressionistic scope of the Frankenstein sets and that of the smaller British countryside homes. As if to compensate for a lack of fantastical scope, Whale, working once again with cinematographer Arthur Edeson, gets flashy with his camera and editing work. These relatively rare practices include screen-wipes, montage editing, energetic tracking shots, and a rather bravado sequence where the camera pushes into the horn of a Victrola to reveal a series of mélange fades of townfolk preparing for the Invisible Man's supposed reign of terror. The Invisible Man was also famous for launching Claude Rains' Hollywood career, which would lead him to parts in The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera, and most memorably, Casablanca. Rains' manic performance also clearly fits Whale's tongue-in-cheek bourgeoisie obsessions. Whale is obviously having the most fun with his supporting cast of silly character actors as well, none of who seemed concerned with selling a joke too subtly. It's still not a horror movie, though.
This 1080p, 1.37:1 transfer continues the trends set by the bulk of the collection and, gasp, looks better than I've ever seen the film look before (zzzzzzzzz). This transfer doesn't feature quite the same level of consistently harsh contrast, but this is mostly due to a less consistent use of such imagery. Again, this is not Whale in Frankenstein mode, this is Whale in melodrama/comedy mode, not to mention a director who is dealing with a lot of special effects work. But, aside from occasionally dull shots set in moderate light and a few overexposed sunlit scenes, there's plenty of dynamic black and white work. Details are rarely deep-set, but textures and lines are clean and I definitely noticed a few subtle production design nuts and bolts that go missing in even well-maintained standard definition. Edeson uses a lot of softer focus in close-ups, which creates a slightly awkward differentiation between shots when the footage has been this well-treated. Between cuts the image can very easily turn grayer and grainier, but this is an effect of the footage, not a problem with the transfer, which appears naturally grainy to me overall. This particular transfer pulses with a bit more shutter than some of the others, but its rarely distracting and doesn't include warping or skipping effects. There are some blotchy bits that likely represent a digitally-deleted print damage artefact, but little in the way of obvious digital noise reduction.
This DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack is among the most robust in the collection, at least in terms of overall volume levels. I believe it may be a case of more overall sound in the mix, thanks to crowd scenes, windstorms, chiming clocks, and creaky footsteps. Despite these advantages, the track features a bit more high-end distortion effects (especially when Una O'Connor is screaming) and has some issues with maintaining consistent volume levels, specifically with the otherwise natural dialogue. This track features a hint of underlying hiss, but is clear of obvious pops and crackles. Heinz Roemheld's recycled music crops up exclusively at the beginning and end of the film and doesn't really have much of an effect on the track.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer. Behlmer is an old pro at commentary tracks, which he approaches like a speaking trip though the Internet Movie Database. His tone may be too mechanical for some listeners, but I find him to be warmly predictable.
- Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed (35:20, SD), another retrospective featurette hosted by Behlmer, with historians David J. Skal, Paul Jessen, actor Ian McKellen, director Bill Condon, and Claude's daughter Jessica Rains.
- Production photo gallery
- A trailer gallery including The Invisible Man Returns and Invisible Agent.
- 100 Years of Universal: Unforgettable Characters (8:20, HD).
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Bride of Frankenstein doesn't just improve upon its predecessor – it improves and transcends upon a genre brand and is arguably the only film released during the Universal horror boom that can be considered an auteur success. Frankenstein features important glimpses into James Whale's tastes and filmic inspirations, but Bride of Frankenstein is a crystalline mirror into exactly who he was as a filmmaker and a human being. Extremely personal, subversive, and even political films have escaped the Hollywood B-movie machine for generations. The German expressionist filmmakers that stylistically inspired Whale made movies steeped in dark subtext, but the turn of the century European filmscape was open to politics and personalization in a way the Hollywood market wouldn't touch with any regularity for quite some time. How did Whale get away with all this? By giving 1935 audiences exactly what they wanted – more camp, bigger and more decorative sets, louder performances, and a bunch of bizarre, over-the-top goodness. Doctor Septimus Pretorius' (Ernest Thesiger) homunculi creatures alone must have sent period audiences into hysterics. All of Whale's loosened id and cheeky (or flat out blasphemous, as the period censors would claim) subtext isn't even necessary to enjoy the film, nor is an understanding of the technical processes. There are enough thrills, beautiful images, laughs, and unlikely emotionally moving moments to keep even the most jaded modern audience entertained. The only thing keeping Bride of Frankenstein from utter perfection is the fact that it is a sequel and cannot thematically stand on its own. The story even begins with a bit of expositional retcon. However, this would soon become a horror sequel mainstay, extending from the days of Universal, through the Hammer 'remakes' and decades of slasher franchises. Besides, Whale treats this awkward necessity with a definite wink and nod that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
It would be a tragedy for the best movie in this collection to feature anything less than another fantastic transfer. Thankfully, the streak stands and we're treated to a fifth top tier 1080p, 1.37:1 HD image. This particular transfer is, appropriately enough, most comparable to the Frankenstein disc and features none of the softer blacks or DNR effects that threaten the Mummy disc. Overall gamma and contrast balance is quite dynamic, creating a generally crisp and clean look, despite the obvious impact of film grain. The finer details and highlights found in wider shots of massive castle and nature sets are consistently well-balanced, featuring more depth than I've ever seen from the material. The image is weaker when Whale and cinematographer John J. Mescall are dealing in softer focus close-ups. Here, the lower contrast levels and purposeful definition make for a bit of a flat gray look where the basic film artefacts and flicker definitely age the material. There is some edge enhancement early on, but this is mostly delegated to reused footage from the first film. Some of the flashy, flickering background shadows appear a bit blotchy and some of the brightest white highlights bloom a bit, but neither is distracting.
At this point, it's apparent that watching these films in release order reveals advances in film sound, making each soundtrack a bit cleaner than the last. This DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack follows suit and features very little in the way of underlying noise. The dialogue tracks are clear and natural, without the minor muting qualities heard on The Mummy track. There is slight hiss on aspirated consonant and minor distortion on some of the 'clickier' incidental sound effects, but nothing that stands out as unlikely for a track of this vintage. The Bride of Frankenstein features a rather prominent musical score by Franz Waxman. This more persistent music also sets the film apart from its relatively quiet predecessor and the music is treated quite well, even without stereo or LFE enhancement.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Scott MacQueen. Like the other more academic solo tracks, MacQueen's approach is pretty dry and specifically fact-based, but he's better about remaining screen-specific with his notes. I learned an awful lot from the audio essay, especially concerning various underlying meanings, but I also take issue with some long silences.
- She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein (38:50, SD), another retrospective featurette hosted by Joe Dante and featuring familiar interviewees like, authors/historians Bob Madison, Paul Jensen, Gregory Mank, Christopher Bram, commentator Scott MacQueen, Sara Karloff, Clive Barker, Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon, Rick Baker, and Dwight D. Frye.
- The Bride of Frankenstein Archive slide-show/image gallery.
- A trailer gallery featuring Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, and House of Frankenstein.
- 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics (9:10, HD).
The Wolf Man (1941)
George Waggner's The Wolf Man has never landed particularly high on my personal favourite Universal horror list. I've never been able to put my malaise into words and, unlike The Mummy and The Invisible Man, I actually found myself not looking forward to this particular re-evaluation. The major issue is how difficult I find it to relate to Larry Talbot, whose tragic fate is the very soul of the film. Unlike every other film in this collection, it's absolutely paramount that the audience responds to Talbot as a character. Without caring about his plight I'm left with very little more than foggy sets to glom onto. Lon Chaney Jr.'s performance, though a bit petulant, isn't the problem, nor is Jack Pierce's make-up design (though I'm not all that fond of it, either); there's just too much dramatic dissonance to react to The Wolf Man as anything more than a relatively entertaining B-picture. The problem is less a case of a badly told original story, it's more a problem of the same, or similar stories being better told since. If there was one 'monster' that Hammer studios did better than Universal it was the Wolf Man, specifically Terence Fisher's Curse of the Werewolf, which crawls much deeper into the psychological terror of being a victimized, repentant man-killer. Waggner (whose skill set doesn't even begin to approach that of Whale, Browning or Freund) makes a handsome picture, but not one with much personality beyond it's evocative cinematography, which can be mostly credited to Academy Award winning director of photography Joseph A. Valentine ( Joan of Arc, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope). Waggner acted as producer on other Universal horror features, including The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, and Phantom of the Opera (see below), but found consistent directing work in television throughout the '50s and '60s, like The Green Hornet, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Batman. It's too bad none of this swinging camp made its way into The Wolf Man.
The Wolf Man has often looked particularly flat and greenish on home video and television, likely due to Waggner's excessive use of fog effects. This new 1080p, 1.37:1 transfer goes a long way in correcting the issue and, shockingly enough, is the best I've ever seen the movie look. Besides generally better contrast levels, which lead to stronger blacks and whites and a deeper visual canvas, this re-master is incredibly clean and soft without sacrificing texture. I do suspect that there's more than a tinge of digital tinkering here, similar to what appears on the Mummy disc. Film grain is constantly present, but it doesn't look entirely natural. In fact, it sometimes looks a bit like the supposed post-DNR faux-grain applied to some of Blue Underground's transfers. Perhaps someone let the re-mastering process get away from them this time. Suspicions aside, I don't see any major signs of CRT scanning issues or telecine artefacts. There are hints of minor print damage and artefacts, like hair and dust throughout, especially in some stills and fades, along with some shifting frames and thin edge haloes, but its overall cleanliness is among the best in the collection. The question for fans, I suppose, will be if the cleanliness has been taken too far.
It's obvious that film sound had found its proper footing sometime around the '40s and this DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track often sounds just as good as any mono mix from a much more recent film. It's actually less tinny than many '70s releases, including natural vocal performances and incidental effects (some of which are treated with heavy hands) with minimal noise-reduction effects. The spooky, foggy, forest scenes occasionally feature a bit of natural ambience, though nothing as aggressive as the sturm und drang of The Bride of Frankenstein. Charles Previn, Hans J. Salter, and Frank Skinner's groundbreaking musical score is more the star here, including rich strings, nice, round horns, and surprisingly bassy timpani support. The strength of the music is often dulled for the sake of dialogue or wolf man howling, which is understandable considering the lack of stereo support.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Tom Weaver. Weaver finds a nice balance between the usual academic essay reading style and a more personable tone, though his personality occasionally overtakes the information, specifically when he's dropping a snotty two-cents concerning a factoid he doesn't believe (why share it then, Tom?).
- Monster by Moonlight (32:40, SD), a retrospective featurette hosted by An American Werewolf in London writer/director Jon Landis including interviews with Rick Baker, screenwriter Curt Siodmak, Jan-Christopher Horak, and film music historian John Morgan.
- The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth (10:00, SD), a brief look at the film with Joe Dante, Kim Newman, Mick Garris, Landis and Baker again, and writers Stephen Jones and John Rigby.
- Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr. (36:50, SD), a look at the life and career of the film's lead actor with author Gregory Mank, Kim Newman, monsterkid.com editor Kerry Gammill, Steve Haberman, Cheny friend A.C. Lyles, actor Sid Haig, Jack Hill, and Joe Dante.
- He Who Made Monsters: The Art and Life of Jack Pierce (25:00, SD), as seen on the The Mummy disc.
- The Wolfman Archives slide-show/image gallery.
- A trailer archive, including Werewolf of London, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and She-Wolf of London.
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lot (9:30, HD)
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
The Mummy and The Invisible Man represent the two films in this collection I felt the most unfamiliar with despite having seen each on more than one occasion. This particular version of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera is the only film in the set I have no memory of ever seeing. Despite winning two Oscars and making a lot of money Phantom of the Opera was born into relative Universal Monster obscurity in the long run, mostly because it was made in the shadow of Lon Chaney Jr.'s classic, lavish, and popular 1924 adaptation, which was less than 20 years old at the time (though that sounds kind of quaint compared to the time it takes to reboot a property these days). But, without pretending to be an expert on the subject, I assume the Universal execs were using the familiar material to support a bigger production, one featuring blazing Technicolor filmstock. Phantom of the Opera is, as far as I understand, the most expensive of this so-called Universal Monsters collection, running a supposed $1.5 million – a huge price tag for a horror movie in 1943. The problems of including it here are more related to the film not being a horror movie, or even a remotely unique adaptation of the material. Director Arthur Lubin's film is a good-looking, but dreadfully bland and forgettable melodrama. Even Hammer's generally undervalued 1962 adaptation of Leroux's story, bereft of Claude Rains' more touching performance (not to take anything away from Herbert Lom, of course) is more memorable, thanks to director Terence Fisher's superior eye for dynamic imagery. Lubin takes almost no chances with camera movement or lighting, depending almost exclusively on the quality of the stock and Alexander Golitzen award-winning production design to impress the story's scope upon the viewer. A mediocre director at the best of times, Lubin's pre- Phantom of the Opera filmography includes mostly adventure movies, lesser Abbot and Costello comedies, and a Karloff and Lugosi sci-fi/thriller vehicle called Black Friday. He ended his not particularly illustrious career directing mostly Francis the Talking Mule movies and Don Knotts' The Incredible Mr. Limpet.
Phantom of the Opera stands out among the films in this set for a pretty obvious reason – it's presented in colour. Rich, gorgeous three-strip Technicolor. This 1080p, 1.37:1 re-master doesn't quite match Fox's recent 'Forever Marilyn' release, which featured reference-level Technicolor transfer on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, but certainly must blow any standard definition release out of the water (I assume, having never seen the film). The usual, unavoidable Technicolor side-effects are present, most obviously a lack of natural skin tones and some less than pure black levels, though, for the most part, this disc features deeper blacks than even stronger transfers. The colour strips appear slightly misaligned a bit more often than superior Technicolor Blu-ray releases, leading to bleeding and edge enhancement throughout the entire film. These are comparatively minor (I do wish I had the DVD to compare to), but are easily the chief problem with the transfer. Credited cinematographers W. Howard Greene and Hal Mohr shoot everything with a relatively soft focus, which leads to some blooming effects, but the softness is not a measurable problem for anything but the source material. DNR effects are a non-issue, as grain levels appear natural, but there are more bits of print damage artefacts here than any other film other than perhaps Dracula. Quibbles aside, this is a strong transfer and worthy of the set.
This disc also stands out from the pack aurally due to a much, much heavier musical presence (apparently, the optical sound recording used was a somewhat rare system that corrected sound modulation effects). This DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix is rich and complex enough to be confused with a stereo track throughout, specifically concerning the busier opera mixes. Dialogue tracks are natural, with only a hair of distortion or noise between words. There's little in the way of incidental and atmospheric sounds, but bigger effects, like crowd noise, crashing chandeliers, and collapsing catacombs are set well apart from the music. Edward Ward's music is, clearly, the key aural element, featuring a rich, reverberant, yet clean sound. The instrumentations are brassy and loud without tripping over each other or being squeezed into audio mud at the busiest moments. Again, the separation of elements is sharp enough to often create the illusion of a discreet multi-channel track.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Scott MacQueen. This track matches the tones and information-unraveling style of his Bride of Frankenstein track. His 'strictly facts' approach (spiked by a couple of silly dramatic readings) could've been dull, but the amusing range of facts he chooses to share make for a more entertaining experience than the film alone.
- The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked (51:20, SD), the longest of all the retrospective featurettes (the length is explained largely by the fact that it covers the various Universal-owned versions of the story), hosted by MacQueen, with Carla Laemmle, historians Rudy Behlmer and Paul Jensen, actress Susan Foster, actor Turhan Bey, and Rains' daughter Jessica.
- Production photos.
- A trailer.
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lot (9:30, HD)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Jack Arnold's Creature from the Black Lagoon belongs to a different era than the other 'golden era' Universal monster movies. It's not just a B-movie – it's a drive-in movie and one made to exploit the 3D gimmick. Outside of the studio heading, genre type, and black and white filmstock, it has very little in common with the rest of the films in this set. This is simply a different experience, almost a time warp to the death knells of the studio's interest in genre output. This set covers the birth of the post-sound Hollywood horror movement ( Dracula, Frankenstein), through its touches with true prestige ( Bride of Frankenstein), its dips back into the ghetto ( The Wolf Man), and its attempts at recapturing former glory, but there's a part of the story missing between the outrageous expenses of Phantom of the Opera and the largely ignored, bottom basement, secret masterpieces, like Creature from the Black Lagoon. The missing pieces are mostly a series of sequels and monster mash-ups, followed by a series of Abbot and Costello comedies that tossed aside most horror pretense in favour of a good laugh. These movies belong in their own collections, however, so it makes sense that they weren't included here. Still, even with deep abiding love in my heart, I find it difficult to include Creature from the Black Lagoon in this particular conversation. Despite its low-grade pedigree and modest upbringing, Creature from the Black Lagoon is an entertaining, creative, and genuinely well-made motion picture – all key contributors to a successful film of its type. Arnold's work also had a similarly heavy influence over modern horror and sci-fi films than Dracula and Frankenstein. One can draw direct lines from Creature from the Black Lagoon to many post-drive-in creature features, specifically proto-blockbuster leviathan Jaws (I'm also reminded of Lucio Fulci's Zombie any time the film shifts to underwater photography). Arnold, who was apparently hired because he was already familiar with 3D filmmaking, made an early career making solid B-genre movies like this and The Incredible Shrinking Man, eventually moving onto a long-lasting second life in television, but his best film is probably The Mouse that Roared, a brilliant political satire starring Peter Sellers in multiple roles.
The Creature From the Black Lagoon, the only widescreen film in the collection (seeing that widescreen had finally taken hold of even cheap horror films by the '50s), makes its Blu-ray debut in the dual form of a 2D 1080p transfer and its first time on home video digital 3D transfer. As per usual I am unable to review the 3D transfer at this time. The 2D transfer, framed at 1.85:1, is problematic, but overall strong and sharp. At its best, the image features a measurable general detail increase, specifically in close-up textures and nature shots, and a much more even black and white gradation (once again, lesser standard definition releases have often appeared quite greenish, rather than the appropriate black and white). The cleanliness of the image is inconsistent, but there's usually an obvious reason for blotchy effects and grain increases in the source material. The most obvious problem for clarity is underwater shooting, which presents a myriad of problems for the cameras and lenses, leading to clumped filmgrain and various artefacts, like edge enhancement and white flecks. Again, this is understandable. The bigger issue concerns dry set sequences that can turn rough between shots. I'm guessing that this inconsistency probably marks this print as being culled from quite a few sources. Flat-out damage is rare, as are signs of excessive DNR tampering, though it's also possible that the smeared appearance of a handful of odd shots could be an effect of the 3D camera rigs.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack is another of the collection's standout mixes, due largely to the film's more recent vintage – it was made in an era where sound design had become something more of the norm for motion picture productions. The sound floor here is nearly silent, without much in the way of hiss, even during dialogue-heavy sequences its basic effects work is relatively warm and, for the most part, the track is consistently busy with the ambient noise of the lagoon's critter population. This ambient noise is nestled nicely with the composited musical score, credited to Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter, and Herman Stein, and the music itself features a nice range of brassy horns and soft strings. The crowded qualities of the mix are only a problem when the most prevalently loud elements, such as fearful screams and the Creature's roars, drown out some of the aural texture.
Extras include:
- An audio commentary with film historian Tom Weaver. Weaver's tone and content style matches that of his Wolf Man track, including a punchy, sometimes overwhelming speaking speed (take a breath, man!) and occasionally snotty personal quips.
- Back to the Black Lagoon (39:40, SD) a retrospective featurette hosted once again by David Skal (who has a writing and producing credit on just about every featurette in the set), with historian/writers David Schow, Vincent Di Fate, curator of 3D Film Archives Bob Furmanek, super collector Bob Burns, and actors Ben Chapman, Julie Adams, Ricou Browning, and Lori Nelson.
- Production photos.
- A trailer gallery featuring Creature From the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, and The Creature Walks Among Us.
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lot (yes, again, 9:30, HD)
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray and DVD Special Edition resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Seymour Cat Member Join Date: April 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 109
Wow! Great set, great review.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 2nd October 2012
Discs: 8
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: Various
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono English, DTS 2.0 Mono French
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Expert/Historian Commentaries, Spanish Language Version of Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D, The Road to Dracula, Lugosi: The Dark Prince, Dracula: The Restoration, The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster, Karloff: The Gentle Monster, Universal Horror, Boo! Short Film, Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed, Unraveling the Legacy of the Mummy, Now You See Him: The Invisible Man Revealed, She's Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein, Monster by Moonlight, The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth, Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr., He Who Made Monsters: The Art and Life of Jack Pierce, The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked, Back to the Black Lagoon, Production Photos, 100 Years of Universal Featurettes, Trailer Galleries, Trivia Tracks
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: James Whale, Tod Browning, Jack Arnold, Karl Freund, George Waggner, Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains, Elsa Lanchester
Length: 644 minutes
9Review Guide
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The Montego Bay Baby Bedding is fun and colorful and based around a whimsical diamond pattern in bright colors! The Montego Bay two-piece set includes a crib sheet and skirt and makes an attractive bumperless baby bedding set. The three-piece set includes a bumper, sheet and skirt. The bumper is made from solid sky blue fabric with solid white cording and matching ties. Bumper is slip covered for easy cleaning.
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subset: commoncrawl


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As with many chronic diseases, studies indicate that early, accurate diagnosis and treatment of crippling musculoskeletal conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis may prevent and even reverse irreparable joint damage. Though slow to catch on in the United States, the use of ultrasound has greatly enhanced physicians' accessibility, accuracy, and timeliness in detecting and managing rheumatologic conditions.
Using the same technology that monitors the development of unborn babies and diagnoses heart irregularities, rheumatologists can directly visualize the pathophysiology of patients' bone and joint damage and precisely administer therapeutic injections in highly sensitive areas surrounded by major blood vessels. The advantages of musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) are numerous: for the patient, it is a noninvasive, radiation-free procedure that can be administered at the time of the office visit. The physician can conduct comparative scans on multiple joints in the same session; administer "dynamic exams" to assess the relationship of structures during movement, including tendon coordination; and make a diagnosis, identify possible solutions, and recommend a treatment plan undeterred by waiting time for referrals and test results.
Dr. Seema Agrawal, an assistant professor of rheumatology who is RhMSUS certified and performs musculoskeletal ultrasounds on patients at Einstein/Montefiore, recalled the benefits of the test on a recent patient with rheumatoid arthritis. "She had been feeling well and her physical exam didn't show much active synovitis, so based on that my recommendation would have been little to no change in treatment," said Dr. Agrawal. "Her ultrasound, however, showed many dopplerable effusions [fluid buildup] on her hands and wrists, indicating ongoing disease activity. It was helpful for both of us—she realized that her disease was more active than she'd thought, and I was able to start her on a more aggressive treatment protocol."
In addition to being a more portable, flexible diagnostic method than the traditionally used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound may lower healthcare costs. In situations where ultrasound and MRI would yield similar information, ultrasound has been estimated to result in Medicare savings of nearly $7 billion by the year 2020, according to a study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Despite its numerous advantages, adoption of US amongst rheumatologists in the United States has lagged far behind their peers overseas. Though US has been practiced throughout Europe for over thirty years, the first official training program (through the Ultrasound School of North American Rheumatologists, or USSONAR) was founded in 2006, and the first official rheumatology-specific U.S. certification (Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Certification in Rheumatology, or RhMSUS, through the American College of Rheumatology) was established in 2013. Despite these advances, a recent Report of the American College of Rheumatology Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Task Force described intermediate and advanced U.S. learning opportunities as "sparse", and standards for competence lacking.
"We are working towards a standardization of the way musculoskeletal ultrasounds are performed, recorded, billed, and taught, and as the potential for ultrasound in rheumatology gains more recognition, we are inching closer to making that happen," said Dr. Agrawal. "Having an official certification exam by the ACR established this year was a huge step."
Dr. Agrawal completed USSONAR training during her fellowship at George Washington University, and incorporated the use of ultrasound into her practice when she joined the Einstein/Montefiore faculty in 2011. She currently performs musculoskeletal ultrasounds at the Montefiore Medical Arts Pavilion office.
Dr. Agrawal works regularly with both fellows and residents and participates in medical school teaching opportunities, and is currently establishing a US curriculum for fellows—basic joint scanning during the first year, full incorporation into weekly clinics the second year—with the goal of having each fellow be completely comfortable and competent in ultrasound by the end of their fellowship.
"Our fellows pick up the scanning techniques quickly and enjoy the ability to visualize the pathology. They learn the anatomy better, understand the usefulness of the technology, and know that this training puts them at a distinct advantage when they look for jobs," Dr. Agrawal said.
2009-2015 Grand Rounds
Division of Rheumatology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Forchheimer Bldg., Rm 701N
Bronx, NY 10461
(718) 430-2078
Fax: (718) 430-8789


text:
Americans love sports
Professional leagues have become multibillion dollar institutions as ravenous fans pack stadiums and arenas and spend even more time watching events on television at home. Americans also love shopping. According to the latest estimate, Americans spent $2.25 trillion at shopping centers last year. So it's only natural that entrepreneurial developers have found ways to marry two of country's most popular pastimes.
Take Arlington, Texas. There, a sports mecca is taking shape. To the south, construction is well under way on a new $1 billion, 80,000-seat stadium for the National Football League's (NFL) Dallas Cowboys — the largest professional football facility in the country. To the north sits the Ballpark — the 13-year-old home of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Texas Rangers.
But unlike in the past, the stadiums will not sit as idle islands in the middle of seas of parking, left dormant when it's not game day. Instead, the Columbus, Ohio-based developer Steiner + Associates and Hicks Holdings are knitting together a district between the two stadiums designed to host activities all year through the construction of Glorypark, a $600 million mixed-use project that will combine 1.2 million square feet of retail, 300,000 square feet of office, high-rise and mid-rise residential, and two hotels.
"We think sports teams help galvanize a community, but there are a whole host of things that need to be around a sports venue for it to succeed," says Barry Rosenberg, president of Steiner + Associates. From his perspective, a town center like Glorypark is one of these things.
Arlington isn't the first city to try and create a successful sports and retail mix. The trend got its start in 1992 when the Baltimore Orioles moved from Memorial Stadium on Baltimore's outskirts to Oriole Park at Camden Yards smack dab in its then-moribund downtown. It was a bold move at the time — reversing the decades-long trend of professional teams leaving city-based stadiums for sprawling suburban facilities. It also set a new standard for ballpark design with its retro look incorporating exposed steel and brick and showcasing a view of Baltimore's downtown.
There, the Orioles enjoyed unprecedented success. In the team's first year at Camden Yards the Orioles set a then-franchise home attendance record of 3,567,819, a 1,000,000-fan jump from the previous season. At the same time, Baltimore's Inner Harbor was completely redeveloped and became host to a series of prosperous retail developments. In 1998, the NFL's Baltimore Ravens joined the Orioles downtown.
"Camden Yards was the first try at creating a place where sports fans could find entertainment outside of the ballpark," says Ron Turner, vice president of RTKL & Associates Inc., a Los Angeles-based firm that designed Glorypark and L.A. Live, a $1 billion mixed-use project near Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The concept has matured so much that his firm has coined the phrase "extended play" to describe these types of entertainment/destination developments and districts.
What's happened today is that developers have learned from Baltimore — and other cities like Cleveland and Atlanta — and now are taking even bolder steps in the latest generation of stadium projects. Glorypark represents one of the most ambitious sports-centric retail developments proposed to date and is joined by others in progress like Meadowlands Xanadu in northern New Jersey, Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, N.Y., Patriot Place in Foxboro, Mass. and Victory Park in Dallas. All are multibillion-dollar facilities whose developers seek to integrate sports and retail and create districts where the disparate ebbs and flows of those activities can coexist successfully.
But that doesn't make the process of getting these massive stadiums built easy — especially when teams come looking for public financing. Some cities — such as Seattle, Minneapolis and Pasadena, Calif. — have bristled when asked for money. Instead, teams are increasingly turning to private developers who can create a mix of development around stadiums, arenas, ballparks and even NASCAR racetracks to make the projects more palatable to politicians and citizens.
"There's an opportunity to create a greater place than just a stadium or ballpark where people come to see a game and then leave," says Jim Baeck, vice president of Development Design Group Inc. (DDG), a Columbus, Ohio-based firm that has designed several mixed-use projects around sports venues.
If successful, Glorypark will complete the transformation of Arlington that began a decade ago. What used to be nothing more than a bedroom community sandwiched between Dallas and Fort Worth now will have its own identity. And none of that could have happened without the new Cowboys Stadium. The city of 367,000 was able to beat out its much larger neighbor, Dallas, and won the right to host the stadium by committing $325 million toward its construction — something Dallas officials refused to do. In part, it's hoping to reap the riches that can come to a city from hosting a Super Bowl, (something Arlington will do for the first time in 2011) an event that could create $200 million of new spending across the entire Dallas Metroplex and $30 million within Arlington alone, according to Craig Depken, a sports economist at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Generating buy-in
In the past two decades, it seems like almost every professional sports franchise (and minor league franchise, for that matter) has angled for a new stadium. For example, in baseball alone, 20 of the 30 teams play in stadiums built after 1990 and four more teams — the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals — have stadiums under construction. That has been replicated in other major sports as well (see chart on p. 44). The lures, in part, are amenities at modern venues such as retractable domes, dozens of luxury suites for corporate sponsors and massive concessions areas.
But not every team is getting what they want. The vast majority of the stadiums got built with the aid of public financing. And now some cities are pushing back.
Consider the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle Sonics. Team owner Clay Bennett is fighting with the city of Seattle over either replacing or renovating KeyArena, which was built in 1962 and completely rebuilt in 1995. He contends that a new arena would generate more revenue and has demanded a new $400 million arena be built. He set a deadline of October 31 for city leaders to decide whether they're willing to finance a new facility; if not, he says he will relocate the team.
"The willingness to subsidize sports projects has decreased dramatically," notes Roger Noll, a professor of economics at Stanford University and author of Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadia. "Studies have proven that new sports facilities don't solve economic problems, they just make them worse."
A study that examined 37 metropolitan areas with at least one athletic franchise from 1969 to 1996 found that stadium projects have a negative impact on per capita income levels. Constructing an arena to accommodate an NBA franchise reduces real per capita income by almost $73 in each of the 10 years following the construction of the arena, according to the study, which was conducted by Dennis Coates and Brad Humphreys and published in Regional Science and Urban Economics. A similar effect was found regarding MLB franchises as well.
What works better is when facilities are joined with a variety of uses that can keep areas active. By pitching facilities as a component of a larger project, owners are hoping to change the minds of public officials and citizens that might oppose projects.
"It's simple economics to realize that these multiuse developments are far better for their cities than a [stand-alone] stadium or arena," Noll adds. "Sports venues alone are just big black holes that have the ability to depress the neighborhoods in which they're in. So, if you're going to have a stadium, it's better to embed it in a larger development."
But, there are also opponents who are not just critical of sports venues, but also the mixed-use projects around them, particularly when it comes to retail and restaurants. "Much of what is sold at retail stores near stadiums would have been sold at other existing retail outlets so estimates of gross sales greatly exaggerate any net effect," points out John Siegfried, an economics professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
From Siegfried's perspective, there's only one way sports-centric retail can really provide positive economic benefits — the retail has to be completely and totally unique.
Lessons learned
Bringing in new retail is exactly what Boston-based Kraft Group is trying to do with Patriot Place, a one-million-square-foot mixed-use district adjacent to five-year-old Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
Small shop retailers and restaurants will occupy 80 percent of the retail space at Patriot Place, according to Peter Belsito, founder of Strategic Retail Advisors, a Boston-based firm handling retail leasing at Patriot Place.
And while not all of the retailers are unique to the market, there are some notable new additions, including the region's first Bass Pro Shops.
The trend in sports-facility construction today reverses the pattern of a generation ago. Taking advantage of innovations in steel and concrete construction in the 1960s and 1970s, teams abandoned cramped and dated downtown parks for new multipurpose facilities in the suburbs. Parks in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Houston and Cincinnati — among others — shared similar design aesthetics as donut-shaped, symmetrical stadiums that could host both football and baseball games.
The problem? Most of these facilities were built on greenfield sites in seas of asphalt parking. They became islands that buzzed with life on game days, but sat dark for half to three-quarters of the year.
"We're really experiencing a sea change where people are realizing that they're not taking advantage of a venue that attracts a lot of people and they're not using the land in a smart way," Baeck says.
Pittsburgh learned from its mistakes, says Frank Kass, CEO of Continental Real Estate Cos., the Columbus, Ohio-based firm that is developing the land around the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers' six-year-old Heinz Field and the MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates' PNC Park, which opened in 2001. Continental's project, North Shore, includes a mix of office and retail space downtown, right at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers come together to form the Ohio River.
Previously, the Steelers and Pirates shared Three Rivers Stadium, a multipurpose stadium that was surrounded by acres of blacktop parking. The city thought Three Rivers Stadium would spur development; instead, it ended up being a big black hole for more than 260 days a year.
"The problem with those round buildings with acres of parking was that they didn't connect to the community," Kass says.
So Pittsburgh started from scratch. It imploded Three Rivers Stadium in 2001, replacing it with Heinz Field and PNC Park and giving the Steelers and the Pirates joint development rights to the land. The teams chose Continental to redevelop the site.
A master plan was created for the 24 acres surrounding the stadium and ballpark. Today, the site boasts 500,000 square feet of office space and ground floor retail in three office towers. Construction on a new nightclub and a Hyatt-flagged hotel will begin in 2008, along with another office building.
Must have master plan
While the Pittsburgh project isn't as large as some of the others, it illustrates the growing role master-planning is playing.
"We've seen an evolution with these sports-related developments — the scale continues to grow — they're larger and more complex," says Jon Cordish, vice president of the Cordish Co., a Baltimore-based company that has several sports "districts" under development or in the planning stages, including Ballpark Village near Busch Stadium, home to the MLB's St. Louis Cardinals. "We're now developing cities within cities — multicity block projects that encompass every commercial use."
Cordish's track record includes projects near Baltimore's Camden Yards where it built the Power Plant and Power Plant Live! The company's Ballpark Village will be even more ambitious than its Baltimore work, covering six city blocks and connecting directly to Busch Stadium. Cordish is developing the $650 million mixed-use district with the Cardinals. It will feature approximately 450,000 square feet of retail/entertainment, 1,200 residential units, 300,000 square feet of office and 2,000 parking spaces.
"The most important thing for these kinds of projects is parking and circulation of both cars and people," says RTKL's Turner. He contends that the high-profile $1 billion-plus Meadowlands Xanadu project in Secaucus, N.J., outside Manhattan, suffers from the lack of a master plan.
The 2.2-million-square-foot project, a joint venture between Colony Capital, Dune Real Estate Funds and KanAm USA Management XXII LP is located next to Meadowlands Stadium, which will house the New York Giants and New York Jets NFL teams beginning in 2010.
With so many different organizations involved, it's no wonder that they all have conflicting interests and are fighting over traffic and parking. Colony Capital declined to talk about the project, and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority was not available for comment.
In Washington D.C., on the other hand, the city created a master plan for the Ballpark District — a 60-acre swath of land surrounding a new 41,000-seat ballpark where the Washington Nationals MLB team will play starting next year. The Ballpark District, located one mile south of the U.S. Capitol, will include 465,000 to 785,000 square feet of retail and restaurant uses; 350,000 to 1.6 million square feet of office space; and 1,600 to 3,000 units of housing.
One of the projects under construction in the Ballpark District is Half Street. Developed by San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners and Washington, D.C.-based Monument Realty, Half Street will include residential, office and retail space, along with a hotel and public parking garage. Phase I, which began construction in January 2007, consists of four adjacent buildings offering more than 250,000 square feet of office space plus 50,000 square feet of retail space, about 300 residential units, and a 200-room boutique hotel. It will open by the end of 2009.
Forest City also has a project under development in the Ballpark District, The Yards, a mixed-use project built on the site of the Washington Navy Yard. When completed, the project could have as much as 1.8 million square feet of new office space, 2,800 residential units (both for lease and for sale) and up to 400,000 square feet of retail.
However, Forest City started working on The Yards well before Washington announced the new ballpark, according to Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of Forest City Washington Inc. "We believed in this project because of the surrounding demographics and the river," she says. "This project stands on its own, with or without the ballpark. But, we do believe the neighborhood will develop much faster with the ballpark."
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to sports facilities today. While there has been a push to bring more stadiums into downtowns, some are still built in suburban settings. But city officials have spurred the push inward by doing what they can to lure the action back inside city limits.
"Cities are trying to be more creative and aggressive in attracting development around the sports venues because of the multiplier effect — all of the surrounding development will help strengthen the economy and add to the tax base," says Lew Feldman, a partner with Goodwin Proctor LLP who structured the bond finance package offered by the city of Los Angeles for the development of L.A. Live, a four-million-square-foot, $1 billion sports, residential and entertainment district adjacent to Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
L.A. Live, which is being developed by Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), will feature a 7,100-seat, live-performance theater; a 54-story, 1,001-room convention hotel; a 2,200-capacity, live-music venue; a 14-screen Regal Cineplex; and entertainment, restaurant and office space. Designed by RTKL, L.A. Live is scheduled to open in early 2008.
New anchors
The strongest proponents of sports-centric retail construction believe arenas and ballparks can "anchor" neighborhoods, creating an identity for the area and encouraging development.
In Phoenix, for example, RED Development recently broke ground on CityScape, a 2.5-million-square-foot, mixed-use project that encompasses three city blocks. The project sits across the street from US Airways Center, where the Phoenix Suns NBA team plays, and about two blocks from Chase Field, where the Arizona Diamondbacks MLB team plays.
RED Development partnered with Naples, Fla.-based Barron Colliers Company to develop CityScape out of largely vacant lots. Currently, the seven-acre site hosts just an old department store, several parking lots and a city park.
About five million people attend Suns and Diamondback games annually, but leave immediately afterward because there's nothing else to do in downtown.
Dallas is another city that had trouble creating a lively downtown. The development of American Airlines Center (AAC) is often credited with revitalizing the urban core. Situated on 75 acres on a former brownfield site, the $420 million multipurpose arena opened in 2001 as the new home of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team and the Dallas Stars NHL team.
AAC is part of a master plan by Ross Perot Jr. called Victory Park, which includes 12 million square feet of office and retail space along with hotels, condos and apartments. The state's first W Hotel & Residences is already open, and by the end of 2008, 620,000 square feet of office space will be complete, along with roughly 50 retail stores and restaurants.
"It's an advantage to have AAC as part of Victory Park," says Bill Brokaw, vice president of Hillwood, which is Perot's development company. "With well over 200 events per year, the arena creates a significant amount of energy that will really feed into the surrounding development."


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St. Peter's (Parish) Church from Kirkgate
Percy Robinson
Source: Robinson's Relics of Old Leeds (1896)
Other views of St. Peter's
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Formatting and color correction by George P. Landow.
[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and the University of California and (2) link your document to this URL or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the photograph for a larger picture.]


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Panel Blinds
Havana Lime Panel BlindsFrom Price: From: £144.31
If you're lucky enough to have floor-to-ceiling windows or patio doors, our up-to-the-minute panel blinds are a clever and classy choice. We can design your sliding panel blinds to suit your style, with up to six fabric panels that stack to one side or divide at the centre. Panel blinds also make beautiful room dividers, giving you extra versatility at the touch of a wand or cord!
Panel blinds are the very latest way to add a contemporary stylish look to your home and at Blinds Boutique our range of panel blinds is available in a huge range of beautiful fabrics. Panel blinds are perfect for offering privacy for floor-to-ceiling windows and patio doors. However not only do they look stunning they're practical too as they'll slide smoothly open, letting light and your view of the outdoors flood in!
Our made to measure panel blinds can be perfectly matched to suit the interior and colour scheme of your home and whether you want to create an eye-catching statement, or are looking for blinds to coordinate unobtrusively, our wide range of fabric designs offers a huge choice. We can create your panel blinds to either divide at the centre of the window or where your patio doors meet, or if you prefer, we can make panel blinds that 'stack' to one side.
At Blinds Boutique, our range of beautiful fabrics for panel blinds includes elegant floral designs, textured fabrics, sophisticated contemporary designs and delicate sheer fabrics and fabrics in eye catching metallic shades. Whether the style of your home is shabby chic or you're looking for something more modern, we can create beautifully made panel blinds to complement the look of your home.
All of our blinds are made with the same care and attention to detail and at Blinds Boutique we're very proud of the high quality of our workmanship. Measuring for blinds is far more straightforward than it sounds and to make measuring even easier, we've produced a simple guide to measuring. All you'll need is a metal tape measure, pencil and paper! We can make panel blinds to fit perfectly into the recess of your window or patio doors, if you prefer, panel blinds can also be made to fit outside a recess. We offer a variety of other options including cord or wand operation, and right, left or split bunching.
Thanks to their simple, elegant design, panel blinds are ideal for the home or office. At Boutique Blinds we not only offer a huge range of fabric designs and patterns, we can also create beautiful panel blinds in waterproof, wipe clean and privacy fabrics so finding the perfect blinds to suit your home and lifestyle is simple!
At Blinds Boutique we offer a huge range of beautiful, high quality panel blinds with options available to suit all tastes and budgets. Why not take a look at our fabric designs? We know that with such a wide variety of fabrics to choose from, finding your perfect blinds could seem daunting so why not make use of your free sample service and inspirational style guides?


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ch382 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 285 designs submitted by 106 freelance designers.
1. If your submission was eliminated or not rated more than 3 stars it means that particular submission was not what we wre looking for. Thank you for your submission!
2. It seems like the logos are all becoming copies of the one before. No more "hair" vector with the text please. There is about 40 of them to go through. Something original will def. be bonus.
Guys we're loving the logos with scissors but if there's any way possible try to deviate away from the hair "cutting" and more of the hair "styling" :) Thank you!
TheHairStyler.com - the leader in online virtual hairstyling and all-things hairstyles and celeb gossip needs your help! We are currently re-designing our website and are looking for a new logo!
We want the community to pitch and and see what everyone can come up with and it's not just the money that's up for grabs!
==> $505 US dollars
==> A 3-MONTH MEMBERSHIP to TheHairStyler.com - The leader in Online Virtual Hairstyling!
==> Having your work shown to over 100,000 UNIQUE people a day and over 600,000 members.
The Hairstyler.com is a dynamic, current, technologically-driven company. We are passionate about making solutions meet people's needs online and taking the risk-free approach to DIY online virtual hairstyling.
Just upload your photo (or use one of our professional models) and view your face on up-to 9,000 different hairstyles inc. celebrities.
We want a logo that embodies a Web 2.0 community for beauty and celebrity enthusiasts with obviously a hairstyling feel.
- Web 2.0+ Look and feel
- Color Scheme = Blue OR Dark Pink and black. By this, we mean "the" in black, "hair" in dark pink (# 7a1364)/dark blue and "styler" in black again - thus highlighting "hair". If you feel you have a better idea for the scheme -- feel free to let your imagination run wild. If you could still provide at least a blue or dark pink version of it to compare to, that would also be great!
- It has to work also on print as one color
- It should be tested on the following background color: #e2eefa - as this is the background color of the new header
- Feel free to use vectors to implement look and feel - i.e. Some hair replacing a certain character. Obviously it is still important to keep the Web 2.0 look and feel
- Common Web 2.0 fonts are acceptable. No fonts such as Impact or Times or Arial or Verdana... You get the drift.
- We want a stand-alone identity too -- like McDonald's Golden Arches, or the Nike tick that will be synonymous with the THS (thehairstyler) brand. This can either be "THS" or anything your heart desires.
- Anything which shows how the design would look on a business card would be highly regarded
- At least three backgrounds. Black, White and Light blue (#e2eefa)
- Clean and simple design
- Conveys strong brand identity
- Creative
- High-tech, Professional look
- Innovative
- Version with and without tag-line "The ultimate hairstyling destination" incorporated
- On Completion - Art Work submitted in hi-res vector .ai Illustrator file with any and all original font files zipped.
- Massive reflections. We are a fan on a little reflection but do not overdo it!
- Something that doesn't strike you as memorable and easy to remember
- Something that looks like it was made in Microsoft Paint!
- Something that looks TOO overdone. K.I.S.S! Keep it simple, yet highly memorable
- Cartoony look
- Too many colors
- No over sized Logos as all designs must be able to fit onto business cards & invoices but still be clear and potent
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Asha HIV Health Promotion Intervention in India
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00860769
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : March 12, 2009
Last Update Posted : September 28, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|HIV Infections
|Behavioral: ASHA LIFE Behavioral: USUAL Care
|Phase 1 Phase 2
This Community health study was conducted in two phases:
Phase I was initiated with the establishment of a Community Advisory Board (CAB) composed of 10 persons including WLA, Ashas, and health care providers consisting of Nurse Midwives, HIV and TB experts selected from a Primary Care Clinic in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. The CAB considered issues related to stigma, disclosure, and psycho-socio-cultural factors affecting the health-seeking behaviors of WLA. They also analyzed the strategies that Asha could employ to support WLA in optimizing their health and well-being and that of their families. This was followed by focus groups conducted separately with the same type of participants. Eligibility criteria included WLA who were currently on ART, were 16-45 years of age, and were able to provide informed consent.
Phase II: A randomized control trial-pilot study was completed in Year 3. We assessed the outcomes of 34 WLA who participated in the AL program at six-month follow-up, as compared with 34 WLA in the Usual Care (UC) Program; in terms of: a) compliance with HIV/AIDS and/or TB treatment regimens (HIV/AIDS/TB), b) improvement in knowledge about HIV/AIDS/TB, c) improvement in psychological distress, d) reduction in stigma, e) reduction in number of opportunistic infections (OIs), f) increase in CD4 levels, and g) completion of the program. The intervention incorporated a comprehensive education and skills program to which we added high protein supplements (1 kg of Black Gram and 1 kg of Toor Dal/month for the AL group vs. a basic program including 1 kg of Channa Dal/month for the UC group.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|68 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|ASHA HIV Health Promotion Intervention in India
|Study Start Date :
|September 2008
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|March 2011
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|June 2012
Experimental: ASHA Life
6-session educational group discussing HIV prevention, anti-retroviral therapy (ART), coping enhancement, nutrition, parenting and life skills.
Behavioral: ASHA LIFE
6-session education groups discussing HIV prevention, anti-retroviral therapy (ART), coping enhancement, nutrition, parenting and life skills
Active Comparator: Usual Care
3-session educational group focusing on HIV prevention, anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and parenting.
Behavioral: USUAL Care
3 session educational group focusing on HIV prevention, anti-retroviral therapy and parenting
- Conduct a randomized clinical pilot study with 70 women living with HIV in India. [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
- Acceptability of the intervention by the women living with HIV. [ Time Frame: 2 years ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 45 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Women living with HIV
- Ages 18-45
- Interfacing with an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)
- Receiving ART or eligible for receiving ART
- HIV Positive status
- CD4 cells ≥ 100
- Not a participant of Phase 1
Exclusion Criteria:
- Cognitively impaired, not a participant of Phase 1
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00860769
|Indian Counsel of Medical Research
|New Delhi, India
|Principal Investigator:
|Adeline Nyamathi, PhD
|The Regents of the University of California
Publications of Results:
|Responsible Party:
|Adeline Nyamathi, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00860769 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|March 12, 2009 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|September 28, 2016
|Last Verified:
|September 2016
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
HIV Infections
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases


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Health Professions Advising
Many students come to Rhodes with the intention of preparing for a career in medicine or another health profession (including veterinary medicine). Rhodes has a large commitment to this population and our HPA program. This commitment starts with special pre-health programming in the first days that a student is on campus, and continues throughout their time at Rhodes to help mentor and advise pre-health students. Our commitment continues with our alumni who begin or continue health professions planning post graduation.
Most of our students are interested in pursuing medicine with a smaller number looking toward other health professions.
Rhodes students and alumni/ae interested in medicine or other health care professions can expect the following:
- Personal mentoring from the Health Professions Advising team (this is parallel to our regular academic advising and faculty mentoring).
- Regular programming throughout the year to allow exploration of career options and best advice on how to prepare for and apply to medical school and other health profession programs.
- Opportunities to participate in health care experience with a myriad of community partners and local practitioners. These include the world class St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, TheMED, The Church Health Center, and many others.
- Research for those interested is offered by our Professors, as well as many of our community partners, such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, In Motion Skeletal Muscular Research, and the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium.
- A well rounded liberal arts education with very strong sciences which allows our students to learn and polish the quantitative, analytical, writing, and communication skills sought by most medical schools and health profession schools. Our strengths throughout our academic program at Rhodes allow students to pursue any major while working toward acceptance at most professional programs as well as allows for any change in plans while still keeping students in an appropriate and academically strong program.
- We work equally with all students and are not gate keepers. Our goal is to help students find the career and program where they will be happy and able to excel.
Rhodes students and alums attend private and state medical schools throughout the country, including some of the finest, i.e., Baylor, Brown, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Washington University, and Yale. We offer the information and opportunities to allow our students to develop as caring community members, excellent scholars, and to become nationally competitive. Although in a smaller cohort at Rhodes, our students attend schools throughout the US for post graduate study for many health professions.


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Looking to improve your English? Markham Public Library offers English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Angus Glen branch and Milliken Mills branch. The Library also has books, CDs, DVDs for you to borrow for learning English.
Markham Public Library materials include books, CDs, DVDs and more. Go to the catalogue and type "ESL" in the search box. You will see a list of ESL materials. This is only one way of looking for the materials. Ask staff if you want to find more.


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Antique gold frame with decoration of crown,cross and spirals on a black background.
Vector Illustration.EPS-10.
Main files and "fully editable": Ai; EPS; PDF formats (with minimum Adobe version CS).
Additional format: TIFF; PNG; JPEG.
Smart Object of the key.80-80, 590-700
80-80, 590-700 of the total cropped file 900-900
The file is applied transparent gradient
This antique frame fits; ceremonies, as a banner, as a business card,an invitation to the celebration. You can remove the black background and use only gold frame. Black background can be changed to a different color in the vector file, that is easy to is edited


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the sprawling litigation to recover money related to Bernard Madoff's fraud, a federal judge said he would decide whether a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling prevents a bankruptcy court from resolving hundreds of lawsuits brought by the Madoff firm's trustee.
Defendants in those cases have sought to transfer their cases to district court from bankruptcy court, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the estate of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith that limited the power of bankruptcy judges to review claims.
In an order published Friday, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said he will review how that decision affects cases brought by the trustee, Irving Picard, against people he believes benefited improperly from Madoff's fraud.
Rakoff consolidated 341 cases in his order and gave the defendants until June 11 to appoint lead counsel to argue on their behalf. He scheduled oral argument for June 18.
Smith, who died of a drug overdose in 2007, had waged a long legal battle to get part of the fortune left by her late Texas oil baron husband, J. Howard Marshall, whom she had married in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 89.
Picard was appointed in December 2008 to recover money for victims of Madoff, a financier who ran a multibillion-dollar investment fraud over several decades, swindling investors large and small across the globe.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to what prosecutors and the trustee have described as the biggest investment fraud in history. Madoff, 73, is serving a 150-year prison sentence.
Picard, who filed his cases in bankruptcy court, says he has recoveries and settlement agreements totaling $9.068 billion, but $6.4 billion of that is unavailable due to appeals and reserves. Picard says Madoff defrauded customers of about $20 billion.
In the latest settlement last month, Rakoff oversaw a deal between Picard and the principal owners of the New York Mets Major League Baseball team, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, who were longtime friends with Madoff as well as investors.
The case is Securities Investor Protection Corporation v Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 12-mc-0115.
Reporting By Grant McCool; Editing by Dan Grebler