We all knew it was coming, but I don’t think we had a clue to the massive extent this release would be giving us. And yes, it is going to cost you over $100. But for 7 discs (!!!) worth of material, including a 4K restored version that has footage believed to be missing since its original release??? Honestly, as exciting it is going to be to see the missing footage, the massive amount of extras on this set is just mind-boggling. I know it’s been posted several times on Facebook and other places, but I’m going to list them below because it takes a while to go through them! Not only do you get almost 15 hours of new and archival content, but there is also a 200-page book, a 60-page House of Hammer comic reprint, a double-sided poster, and 8 replica lobby cards.

And did I forget to mention the film has been restored and in 4K?

The set has 2 UHD discs and 5 Blu-rays, with the UHD content duplicated on the Blu-rays. There are 5 versions of the film: the uncensored UK version, UK theatrical version, uncensored US version (Horror of Dracula), US theatrical version, editor’s workprint. Workprint, you say? This is the only Hammer workprint known to exist and contains a ‘work-in-progress” version of the film that was put together post-production.

Here is the rest of the content in this set:

• Proving Them Wrong: The Christopher Lee that people saw in interviews was what he wanted the public to see – but that was not the man himself. Dame Harriet Walter, actor and Lee’s niece, in conversation with Lee’s biographer Jonathan Rigby, discuss their own experiences of this complex man, his life and his ambitions.
• The Road to Dracula: Tony Dalton, author of Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, writer Stephen Laws, Hammer expert and writer Wayne Kinsey and Little Shoppe of Horrors publisher Dick Klemensen examine Terence Fisher’s pre-1957 work and the path he trod that lead him inexorably to Castle Dracula.
• The Sound of Dracula: James Bernard’s biographer David Huckvale examines the man, his influences, his initial struggles and his relationship with both Hammer and the shadowy figure that followed him from childhood through to his final composed work: Dracula.
• Victim of His Imagination: written in the early 1970s, this Hammer script treatment about Dracula creator Bram Stoker remained unfilmed – until now. Adapted by actor/writer James Swanton, this dramatised reading channels the blood-and-thunder melodrama of a Henry Irving performance, bringing to life a tantalising what-if from Hammer’s archive.
• Gothic for Christians: Hellraiser star Doug Bradley narrates a brand-new video essay that considers Terence Fisher’s personal convictions, directorial style and Gothic body of work for Hammer as a foundational influence on cinematic horror.
• You Look Like a Teddy Bear Now: Actor Janina Faye, in conversation with Wayne Kinsey, looks back at her career and work for Hammer.
• Janina Faye reads Stoker: archive featurette from 2012.
• Bram, Dacre and Dracula: Dacre Stoker – best-selling author, teacher and Bram’s great grand-nephew – discusses the ongoing relevance of Stoker’s seminal novel and its many adaptations and reworkings.
• James Bernard 1994 Interview: archive interview courtesy of Manchester’s Festival of Fantastic Films.
• Liberated After Dark?: Lucy Bolton, writer and film historian Pamela Hutchinson and Stacey Abbot, Professor of Film, discuss the importance of the female characters in Hammer’s Dracula, the actors who portrayed them and the performances they gave.
• Of Mod(el)s and Monsters: The iconic shot of Dracula disintegrating – now to be seen uncensored on this set – was created by special effects wizard Sydney Pearson, a veteran of many Hammer and other British films. Wayne Kinsey and Dick Klemensen take a look at the man’s work and his legacy.
• The Measure of a Hero: A video essay by Heather Wixson, who examines Peter Cushing’s nuanced performance as Van Helsing and how it set the pattern for everything that followed.
• Blood, Bites and Boundaries: Dr Sian Barber, author and expert on cinema censorship, examines Hammer’s run-ins with the BBFC over Dracula.
• Park Watch and Scream: Many Americans watched Dracula – and other Hammer films – in drive-in theatres, a viewing experience with no equivalent in the UK. Guy Barefoot, film scholar and author, gives a primer on this particular slice of cultural Americana.
• Dracula Jr: then-child actor Paul Cole reminisces about his time working at Bray on Dracula.
• The Eagle Has Landed: Wayne Kinsey, current proud owner of one of the stone eagles from Castle Dracula, tells its story.
• Resurrecting Dracula: A look behind-the-scenes at how the new 4K restoration of the uncut version of Dracula was created.
• Lords of Darkness: Jonathan Rigby and James Swanton candidly discuss and critique the 20th century-filmed adaptations of Stoker’s original novel and the problems inherent in doing it well.
• Sidebar: Film critic and writer Tim Lucas discusses the (Horror of) Dracula with artist and writer Stephen R. Bissette.
• World of Hammer: A Hammer clip series from 1990, this episode gives an overview of Dracula and the Undead. Narrated by Oliver Reed.
• Dracula Reborn: archive featurette from 2012 discussing the making of a Hammer classic.
• The Demon Lover: archive featurette from 2012 considering Stoker’s original novel and its continued re-invention.
• Censoring Dracula: archive featurette from 2012 covering the BBFC’s relationship with Hammer over Dracula
• New commentary with Lucy Bolton, Professor of Film Philosophy, and actor and film historian Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic.
• New commentary with writers Lizbeth Myles and Paul Cornell, creators of the widely acclaimed Hammer House of Podcast.
• New commentary with writer/producer Dr Steve Haberman and film-maker and film historian Constantine Nasr.
• New commentary writer, filmmaker and film programmer Heidi Honeycutt and cult movie expert Toby Roan.
• New commentary with screenwriter Lauren Barnett and writer John Hamilton.
• Archive commentary with Hammer expert Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby.
• Film Materials: Censor card, clapperboards, titles, trailers and 8mm cutdowns.
• Image Gallery: A gallery of stills and publicity material alongside tracks from James Bernard’s score.

In the booklet that comes with the set, you get this:

• New article: Bruce G. Hallenbeck looks at the making of Hammer’s definitive horror.
• New article: James Swanton discusses Don Houghton’s Victim of His Imagination, which he has revived as a dramatized reading for this set.
• New article: Wayne Kinsey investigates Bernard Robinson and Don Mingaye’s superb set design.
• New article: Andy Murray takes a look at the top twelve film at the British box office for 1958.New article: Barry Forshaw remembers that time he had cause to indulge in an interview with THE vampire.
• New article: Wayne Kinsey, in a companion piece to his larger article, takes a look at the sets made for Dracula.
• New article: Andy Murray unpicks an influential 1958 Variety article written following Dracula’s success.
• New article: Gayle Sequeira examines how Dracula departed from convention to create something quite revolutionary.
• New article: Wayne Kinsey compares Jimmy Sangster’s shooting script against the screen version of Hammer’s most (in)famous film.
• Archive Melissa Stribling interview from 1978.New article: Sarah Morgan profiles Melissa Stribling, who gave a standout performance as Mina in Sangster and Fisher’s Dracula.
• New article: Miriam Balanescu examines celluloid vampires, Christopher Lee’s Dracula and the rise of the romantic cannibal film.
• New article: Legendary horror writer Ramsey Campbell reminisces about his passion for horror films – and the frustration of trying to see them uncut in cinemas.

Now, still think paying a little over $100 is too much? I thought not. Especially when you think some single release films are $40 or $50 anyway. But all that aside, it comes down to preserving one of the most important films in horror history. Along with The Curse of Frankenstein, it gave Hammer Films much more attention, clout, and budget for them to continue on, as well as bringing the gothic pictures into blazing and glorious color.