Lost Dracula Footage Returns In October

Warner Archive is releasing a seven-disc 4K collector’s edition of Hammer’s Dracula on October 27.

The restoration puts back footage that has been missing for more than sixty years. Some of it was only ever shown in Japan during the film’s original theatrical run. Hammer Films and Silver Salt Restoration did the work with Warner Bros.

Five versions of the film are included: the uncensored UK and US cuts, the theatrical UK and US versions, and an editor’s workprint. The set breaks down as two UHDs and five Blu-rays.

Bonus material runs to roughly fifteen hours of new and archival content. There are commentaries from historians and critics, and featurettes on director Terence Fisher, composer James Bernard, the cinematography and the censorship battles. There is also a dramatized reading of a Hammer script about Bram Stoker that never got made.

The package comes with a 200-page book, a 60-page reprint of the House of Hammer comic, a double-sided poster and eight replica lobby cards.

Pre-orders are open now.

The 1958 film was Christopher Lee’s first turn as Dracula and Peter Cushing’s first as Van Helsing. It set the template for the gothic run Hammer put out through the sixties.