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The Vampire Bat (1933)
The Vampire Bat (1933) poster

The Vampire Bat (1933)

Horror, Thriller • 1h 4m

Director: Frank R. Strayer

Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas, Maude Eburne, George E. Stone, Dwight Frye, Robert Frazer, Rita Carlyle, Lionel Belmore, William V. Mong, Stella Adams, Harrison Greene

Best English-friendly & video release

Updated 11 months ago


About the film

A German village is stricken by a series of murders that appear to be the work of vampires.

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Featured in Pre-Code Films

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Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: William Dieterle

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Marion Gering

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Leo McCarey

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal DVD

Upcoming Release:

Universal Blu-ray Nov 10th

Directors: Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

MoC Blu-ray offers both restored and an unrestored tracks

Director: Edgar Selwyn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Sources: ibb.co (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements

Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ

Director: Howard Hawks

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Frank Capra

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony Frank Capra Boxset Blu-ray

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Director: Phil Goldstone

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Film Detective or Film Masters Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from 35mm Original Camera Negative

Director: Maurice Tourneur

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US AlphaVideo or Film Detective DVD

Director: Robert Stevenson

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US AlphaVideo or Film Detective or Mill Creek DVD

Director: Fielder Cook

Best English-Friendly:

Film Masters 2025 Blu-ray or Film Detective 2016 Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab) · YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Film Masters has 2025 new 2K restoration in Blu-ray, but seems to be mostly the same PQ wise to the 2016 The Film Detectives OOP Blu-ray https://slow.pics/c/pt6Z651b The 2016 Blu-ray might be even a bit smoother also it's negligent.
DVDBeaver review for Film Detectives Blu-ray http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_73/patterns_blu-ray.htm 
Film Masters restoration is available in full in youtube but it's significantly worse with the youtube compression.

Director: Robert N. Bradbury

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Film Detective/Mill Creek DVD

Director: Benjamin Stoloff

Best English-Friendly & Video:

AlphaVideo/Film Detective DVD

Director: James Cruze

Best English-Friendly & Video:

AlphaVideo/Film Detective/Mill Creek DVD

Directors: David Burton & Otto Brower

Video format: DVD

Best Video:

Available on various US DVD, including The Film Detective and Mill Creek

More Horror on Blu-ray

Director: Roman Polanski

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379

Video Notes:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration of the original 3D left eye and right eye camera negatives

Director: Bernard Rose

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Scream Factory/Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Turbine 4K Blu-Ray

Additional Info:

SF and Turbine also have the 2004 Audio Commentary with Bernard Rose, Clive Barker, Alan Poul and actors Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Kasi Lemmons

Director: Fede Álvarez

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow US/UK 4K Blu-ray or Turbine Germany 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Both will look identical in motion but the Turbine looks marginally better due to a higher bitrate allocation by each cut being given its own disc, whereas Arrow had FiM seamlessly branch the two onto one. However, Arrow has both cuts in Open Matte (on Blu-Ray) and corrected the opening Universal logo's aspect ratio. https://slow.pics/c/McvVcYDG

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray also includes exclusive "Reborn Cut"

Director: Lam Nai-choi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

88 Films UK or Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray (preference)

Video Notes:

Different color gradings, 88 Films disc is encoded by FiM but Vinegar Syndrome encode (by Marcus Johnson) is more than robust

Audio Notes:

Vinegar Syndrome potentially has better audio than 88 Films, due to VinSyn possibly having EQ'd the audio mix after Fortune Star scanned the track in a way that makes it sound too hot, whereas 88 left it alone without addressing that issue. However, no direct comparisons exist

Director: Tobe Hooper

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

4K Blu-ray has both the original Dolby Stereo mix and a 5.1 remix.

Additional Info:

HBO Max Streaming includes the theatrical version with original credits, goofs. 1080p with the 5.1 remix

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering, 1.85 ratio restored for US Cut; both US and International Cuts are 4K.

Best Audio:

US Cut: 1999 WB DVD/Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

No Blu-ray or DVD release until the Criterion 4K Blu-ray has presented the US in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The International Cut has never been presented in it's OAR of 1.66:1 in any home video releases.

The packaging on the back of the WB 4K Blu-ray incorrectly states it as 1.85:1 when the movie is actually 1.78:1 as is the original Blu-ray. 

Director: Lewis Teague

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray 

Video Notes:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > disappointing US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray / R1 Lionsgate DVD sounds best and has the original mono and the R1 Lionsgate DVD has a Dolby Stereo remix

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· last reviewed 11 months ago

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