Christopher Lee’s historical 1958 performance as Count Dracula is returning to cinemas and physical media in near flawless quality. Hammer Films, alongside Silver Salt Restoration and Warner Archive, has announced Dracula: The Definitive Uncensored 4K Restoration, arriving in UK cinemas nationwide from 16th October and hitting 4K UHD and Blu-ray on the 26th October.
This release marks the most complete version of Terence Fisher’s gothic masterpiece ever shown in the UK and US. Originally trimmed by censors for graphic bloodletting and suggestive imagery, the lost footage survived via an original Japanese theatrical print and has now undergone extensive digital cleanup, stabilisation, and colour restoration to revive Hammer’s signature Technicolor palette. Lee stars alongside Peter Cushing’s peerless Doctor Van Helsing, with Michael Gough co-starring as Arthur Holmwood.
Watch a brand new trailer for the upcoming release in the player below:
The physical release arrives as a beautiful seven-disc Limited Collector’s Edition featuring two UHDs and five Blu-rays. The set compiles five distinct cuts of the film, including both uncensored and theatrical presentations for the UK and US markets, alongside Hammer’s unique post-production editor’s workprint. Audio options include the original theatrical mono and an all-new 5.1 surround mix.
Housed in a faux-leather slipcase with debossed foil titling and original art by Robert Sammelin, the box includes a 200-page companion book, a 60-page comic reprint from The House of Hammer, a double-sided poster, and eight lobby cards. On-disc extras deliver over fifteen hours of supplements, led by the new documentary Proving Them Wrong, which features Lee’s niece, Dame Harriet Walter, discussing the legendary actor’s life and legacy.
Pre-orders are open ahead of the 26th October home entertainment launch, with nationwide theatrical screenings kicking off on the 16th October across the UK.
Pre order from here!
Full list of features below.
- New documentary 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
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. - New documentary 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. - New documentary 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.
New essay 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. - New commentaries for each version of the film and new programmes on
Terence Fisher as auteur, interviews with Janina Faye and Paul Cole (sole
surviving actors from the film), Bram Stoker, the female characters of Dracula,
Dracula censorship, Syd Pearson model-maker, 8mm versions and much,
much more – approximately fifteen hours of additional content, most of it
brand-new to this release. - And more, including a wealth of rare archival materials.
The book has 200 pages featuring brand-new essays on the making of this definitive
Hammer horror, Hammer’s design team, the script treatment Victim of His
Imagination, a comparison of the final film with the original script and much
more.
