#Stephen Costello

[muchadoabout]

Carmen at the Bavarian State Opera

Music Direction Daniele Rustioni* Producer Lina Wertmüller Carmen Aigul Akhmetshina Don José Stephen Costello Escamillo Erwin Schrott Micaëla Vuvu Mpofu | 30.09.2023

*The conductor was replaced by someone else whose name I didn't catch. He was flown in from London overnight to Munich to conduct this run.

Wertmüller's staging of Carmen was traditional and fuss-free. The first act opened with a scene at a town centre in Seville; the second act was at Lillas Pastia's tavern; the third act was set in a dark hideout with rocky mountains as the backdrop; and the last act was in Seville again with a prop depicting an amphitheatre.

There was one quick scene transition done very cleverly in the first act. When José escorted Carmen to the prison, the once brightly-lit town centre went dark. The stage light then subtly projected an illusion of prison bars, effectively shifting the Seguidilla duet into a captivating scene.

That was, however, the only time where the staging truly contributed to the narrative, giving something to write home about. Although the sets and the changing lighting hues were objectively beautiful at first, they gradually lost their charm over time. Therefore, much of the success of this production was at the hand of its performers and they certainly did not dissapoint.

Akhmetshina, who made Carmen her debut role at the Bavarian State Opera, sang the role with total conviction. Her melliflous mezzo and playfully seductive stage presence brought Carmen into a riveting character. My favourite moment of her Carmen was her rendition of Les tringles des sistres tintaient, especially when she ended up singing and dancing a little flamenco on the table. It was such a fun number that you wished would never end.

Her José was sung by Costello and it was a presentation of quality singing and acting. His Flower Song blossomed as he confessed his feelings for Carmen. The Don José character is never supposed to be a likable man, and Costello succeeded in interpreting the character as a genuine walking red flag for the women around him.

Schrott gave an impressive performance as Escamillo. He might be the most senior singer among this cast, but his voice still sounded fresh and vigourous. From his mannerism to his gait, he had the character down pat.

Overall, I was simply pleased that all the principal singers and the rest of the cast, including Mpofu as Micaëla, were in their prime condition that evening. They might have taken a while to warm up, but by the time of their respective big arias, everyone delivered.

The audience's reaction was somewhat more subdued compared to the Don Carlo performance I attended back in July. Perhaps they, like me, were expecting more from the production? Who knew.

[arcimboldisworld]

Messa da Requiem/Ballett Zürich - Oper Zürich 28.03.2024

Messa da Requiem/Ballett Zürich - Oper Zürich 28.03.2024

CHRISTIAN SPUCKs wundervolle Produktion “Messa da Requiem” von 2016 ist immer wieder – immer noch – ein bewegendes Erlebnis, hervorragend gealtert, zeitlos. Aktuell ist sie als Wiederaufnahme in hervorragender Besetzung im Opernhaus Zürich zu sehen… Continue reading Messa da Requiem/Ballett Zürich – Oper Zürich 28.03.2024

[oldschoolfrp]

Battle at the Ziggurat -- David Menehan's cover for Prime Directive: The Star Fleet Universe Role-Playing Game, by Task Force Games, designed by Timothy D Olsen and Mark Costello (1993).

Prime Directive obviously is a Star Trek RPG, but one that does not mention "Star Trek" by name. It was published under the same license as Star Fleet Battles, granted to Stephen V Cole's Amarillo Design Bureau in the late 1970s by Franz Joseph, creator of the 1975 Star Fleet Technical Manual.

Like Star Fleet Battles, Prime Directive is focused on military actions. Player characters are members of a Federation Prime Team, an elite special forces unit assigned to the most dangerous missions.

Prime Directive describes a United Federation of Planets, phasers, and Vulcans, but you won't find Kirk or the Enterprise in this book, even in its detailed Star Fleet Universe Timeline. For that you need Star Trek: The Role Playing Game by FASA (1982-89), based directly on the original series, animated series, and first movie.

From Prime Directive:

[doctorwhoisadhd]

jack harkness + hurt people by the garages

[k-wame]

RAIN DOGS 1.01 | It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

[warhead]

[nedison]

Like Licorice - The Coward Brothers (2024)

Any time they let David Mansfield loose on the fiddle on national television is gonna be a good time.

[velvet4510]

Apocalypse? Dark Phoenix? Never heard of them.

First Class and DOFP Rogue Cut are forever masterpieces.

YT song links for reference:

“Beauty and the Beast”

“Hello”

“If There Was a Man”

“It Might Be You”

“Just the Way You Are”

“The Most Beautiful Girl”

“Say You Say Me”

“She”

“Truly Madly Deeply”

“The Very Thought of You”

“When I Fall in Love”

“Yesterday”

[krispyweiss]

“The King of Melody,” Burt Bacharach Dead at 94

Burt Bacharach, the composer of more than 50 top-40 hits and songwriting partner of and collaborator with Hal David, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello and others, has died at 94 of natural causes.

The Associated Press first reported the news.

“Farewell genius,” Simply Red tweeted.

Hailed by Dave Davies as “probably one of the most influential songwriters of our time,” Bacharach, whose motto was “never be ashamed to write a melody that people remember,” is said to have composed more than 1,000 songs including “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “What the World Needs Now” and “What’s New, Pussycat?”

“He was a great inspiration,” Davies said.

Bacharach in 2020 cut Blue Umbrella with Nashville singer/songwriter Daniel Tashian, causing Sawyer Brown to marvel at the composer’s triumph of “creating timeless songs” into his 90s.

“Thank you, Burt Bacharach, for all those wonderful traveling companions,” Brown wrote on Facebook, recounting the songwriter’s work with Warwick, which included 20 top-40 hits.

Bacharach’s songs were also recorded by the Beatles, the Fifth Dimension, Manfred Mann, Dusty Springfield, Christopher Cross, Roberta Flack and others. He and Costello released Painted from Memory in 1998.

“I’ll always think of Burt Bacharach as the King of Melody,” Stephen Bishop said. “His songs are timeless.”

2/9/23

[operafantomet]

Auction Scene / Old Raoul / Christine as a memory / End scene

Florin Ristei, Bucharest 2015 (auction scene)

Nadim Naaman, Thessaloniki 2023 (auction scene)

Carl Lindquist, Oslo 2019 (auction scene or Final Lair)

Nadim Naaman, Thessaloniki 2023 (auction scene)

Astrid Giske, Oslo 2019 (Masquerade)

Astrid Giske, Oslo 2019 (Final Lair)

Astrid Giske, Oslo 2019 (Final Lair)

Dougie Carter and Bridget Costello, Sofia 2024 (Final Lair)

(Directed by Stephen Barlow, design by Andrew Riley)

[hotvintagepoll]

god I’m sad stephen fry didn’t make the hot vintage cut. Any chance he’d be included in future polls? His Oscar Wilde portrayal 🥵

also in general noticed a lot of the same body type (an unfortunate bias within hollywood…). Do you know any fat hot vintage actors?

Stephen Fry was acting in the 90s-2000s so he would never have qualified for this tournament. We are polling on actors working in the 1910-1970 window of classic Hollywood, not actors who have portrayed vintage roles.

But that’s a good question on fat hot vintage men. Here are a few who fit the criteria for the bracket but were not submitted:

Buddy Hackett

Jackie Gleason

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

Oliver Hardy

J. Scott Smart

Lou Costello

You could also look into Orson Welles and Peter Lorre, who were eliminated in round 1.

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #333 - Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Get Happy!!, 1980

Quando, in una sera del 1976, gli venne l’idea di presentarsi con un nome d’arte omaggio alla sua nonna, pensava forse che sebbene volenteroso, il suo vero, Declan Patrick Aloysious McManus, sarebbe stato preso per uno scherzo. Quella sera si presenta come D.P. Costello, che cambierà nel definito Elvis Costello, come omaggio al Re del Rock’n’Roll. Occhialoni alla Buddy Holly, look che esibiva orgogliosamente il suo essere fuori moda, a metà degli anni ’70 Costello è un giovane arrabbiato che ha le carte in regole per dire la sua, in modo interessante, oltre il nichilismo furbetto del punk. Quando Nick Lowe, suo amico e collaboratore, gli trova un ingaggio per la Stiff Records, lui non essendo in totale fiducia decise di non abbandonare il proprio posto da operaio nella ditta di cosmetici Elizabeth Arden (a cui dedicherà una stupenda canzone, I’m Not Angry). In effetti non erano tempi da cantautori, ma bastano i primi guizzi di My Aim Is True (1977) per sgombrare il campo: l’offensiva antifascista di Less Than Zero unite a doti melodiche di alto livello (la mitica Alison, suo pezzo culto) presentano al pubblico un nuovo modo di raccontare musicalmente i tempi. La seconda prova è ancora meglio: This Year’s Model (1978) lo vede insieme ai The Attractions, il gruppo di Stevie Nieve (alle tastiere) e Bruce Thomas (basso) e Pete Thomas (batteria, i due non erano parenti), e in un disco multiforme, dai testi lunghissimi, sciorina la sua bravura in canzoni stupende come I Dont’ Want To Go To Chelsea, Pump It Up (altro inno di quegli anni), Little Triggers e Night Rally. È richiestissimo e parte per Tour in Europa e Stati Uniti. Nelle pause delle date, scrive sull’onda dell’entusiasmo altre canzoni, che compongono il terzo disco in tre anni, Armed Forces (1979): segnato dallo stress e dai primi, evidenti eccessi di vita, è un disco ansiogeno e un po’ frettoloso, che alle belle e ormai garantite belle canzoni aggiunge riempitivi. Sarebbe tutto normale, ma le cose stanno prendendo una brutta piega: le dipendenze da alcool e droga lo rendono nervoso e aggressivo e durante il tour americano, a Columbus, in Ohio, si incontrò con Stephen Stills nel bar dell’Holyday Inn. Qui in preda a deliri alcolici sbiascica pesantissimi insulti razzisti a James Brown e Ray Charles, litiga fino alle mani con la cantante Bonnie Bramlett (che era diventata famosa nel duo con il marito Delaney & Bonnie) e vede in un attimo disintegrarsi la sua reputazione negli Stati Uniti. Ci furono ulteriori polemiche poiché la vicenda fu quasi semi oscurata dai giornali britannici. Le successive scuse in una goffa conferenza stampa non servirono a nulla. Torna in patria e nel 1979 produce il primo, storico, album degli Specials, fa l’attore in Americathon (semisconosciuto film di Neil Israel, dove Costello si esibisce cantando Crawling In the USA). Durante la produzione del disco degli Specials, scrive e suona da solo tutti gli strumenti per del nuovo materiale nei piccoli studi di registrazione Archipelago (scritto così) di Pimlico, nei sobborghi londinesi. Costello ha la necessità di dare un taglio al suono precedente e per il nuovo si ispira alla musica afroamericana degli anni ’60, allo ska, e ha tantissime cose da dire.

Get Happy!! (che esce nel 1980) prende il titolo dalla canzone omonima composta da Harold Arlen, con i testi scritti da Ted Koehler, negli anni ’30 del ‘900, che riprendeva un testo di tipo evangelico. Fu portata al successo da Judy Garland e negli anni è divenuto uno standard per centinaia di artisti. Registrato tra Londra e i Paesi Bassi, a Hilversum, prodotto da Nick Lowe e Roger Béchirian, è un disco-mondo dove Costello mette 20 brani, molti dei quali brevissimi, meno di 2 minuti. È una prova di amore per quella musica, e anche di liberazione in un certo senso (nonostante anche durante le sessioni perdureranno i problemi con alcool e droghe). Ci sono due cover: I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down di Sam & Dave e I Stand Accused dei Merseybeats come omaggio al mai abbandonato amore per il suono di Liverpool. Per il resto, l’enormità (per l’epoca dove esistevano solo i vinili) dei 18 pezzi rimanenti passano dagli omaggi fin troppo sfacciati (Temptation è in pratica la Time Is Tight di Booker T & The MG’s con un testo diverso),a canzoni stupende come Love Me Tender (che apriva il disco), Possession, King Horse fino ai capolavori come New Amsterdam elegia sulla selvaggia New York, High Fidelity, doloroso e drammatico affresco sulle delusioni dell’amore e Riot Act, canzone scritta sui fatti di Columbus. L’omaggio alla musica r’n’b è evidente nella copertina: dalla grafica e dai colori cari alla Stax di Memphis, vedeva tre foto identiche di Costello sfalsate in colori acidi, e aveva una particolarità: l’effetto vissuto del cerchio bianco proprio al centro, a imitare il consumo dell’uso eccessivo. Tra l’altro le prime edizioni avevano la scaletta scritta al contrario, con Riot Act primo brano e Love Me Tender ultima, e valgono di più nel mercato dei collezionisti.

Il disco all’epoca fu accolto con grande favore dalla critica e dal pubblico: numero 2 in Gran Bretagna e un sorprendente numero 11 negli Stati Uniti. Negli anni il disco ha guadagnato ancora più favori, sottolineando la scelta niente affatto facile di Costello di distaccarsi sempre con intelligenza dai generi imperanti per la ricerca di una via personale alla sua necessità di musica. Scriverà un altro disco capolavoro, Imperial Bedroom (1982) che è una grande prova di pop d’autore, che aprirà le porte ad una nuova trasformazione verso un colto, raffinato, ma un po’ meno eccitante, modello di voce-pianoforte che diventerà il modulo classico della maturità costelliana. Ne ha fatta di strada in decenni quel tipo con gli occhialoni che prese in prestito dalla nonna il suo nome d’arte per la celebrità.

[1966jpg]

Critical Theory Recommended Reading List:

Principles of Communism (Friedrich Engels)

Wage-Labour and Capital Value, Price and Profit (Karl Marx)

Das Kapital (Karl Marx)

The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx)

On Practice & On Contradiction (Mao Zedong)

The Motorcycle Diaries (Che Guevara)

Latin America Diaries (Che Guevara)

Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War (Che Guevara)

Guerilla Warfare (Che Guevara)

Che (Jon Lee Anderson)

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (Friedrich Engels)

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (Friedrich Engels)

Orientalism (Edward W. Said)

The Unwomanly Face of War (Svetlana Alexievich)

The Wretched of The Earth (Frantz Fanon)

A Dying Colonialism (Frantz Fanon)

Black Skin White Masks (Frantz Fanon)

Inglorious Empire (Shashi Tharoor)

Remembering Che (Aleida March)

Against Empire (Michael Parenti)

Blackshirts & Reds (Michael Parenti)

Revolutionary Suicide (Huey P. Newton)

Confessions of an Economic Hitman (John Perkins)

The Mismeasure of Man (Stephen Jay Gould)

The State and the Revolution (V.I. Lenin)

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (V.I. Lenin)

Imperialism in The 21st Century (V.I. Lenin)

Liberalism A Counter History (Domenico Losurdo)

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism (Ha-Joon Chang)

October (China Miéville)

Kill Anything That Moves (Nick Turse)

Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany (Norman Ohler)

Late Victorian Holocausts (Mike Davis)

Ten Myths About Israel (Ilan Pappe)

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Walter Rooney)

Reform or Revolution (Rosa Luxemburg)

Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat (J. Sakai)

Killing Hope (William Blum)

Unequal Exchange and the Prospects of Socialism (Arghiri Emmanuel)

Unequal Exchange: A Study of Imperialism and Trade (Arghiri Emmanuel)

The Wealth of Some Nations (Zak Cope)

Divided World Divided Class (Zak Cope)

The Law of Worldwide Value (Samir Amin)

Unequal Development (Samir Amin)

An Economic History of the U.S.S.R (Alec Nove)

Human Rights in the Soviet Union (Albert Szymanski)

Is the Red Flag Flying? (Albert Szymanski)

Soviet Democracy (Pat Sloan)

The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia: The Socialist Offensive (R.W. Davies)

Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation (Sidney and Beatrice Webb)

Socialism in the Soviet Union (Jonathan Aurthur)

The Soviet Form of Popular Government (The U.S.S.R Academy of Sciences)

Workers Participation in the Soviet Union (Mick Costello)

The Great Conspiracy (Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn)

The Soviets and Ourselves: Two Commonwealths (K.E. Holme)

The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq (Hanna Baratu)

South Yemen A Marxist Republic in Arabia (Robert W. Stookey)

The Arab Left (Tareq Y. Ismael)

Post-Marxism and The Middle East (Feleh A. Jabar)

The Unmaking of Arab Socialism (Ali Kodri)

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (Rashid Khalidi)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Pape)

A Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine (The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)

Roadside Picnic (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky)

Blood in My Eye (George Jackson)

Why You Should Be a Trade Unionist (Len McCluskey)

The Pitfalls of Liberalism (Kwame Ture)

[winterspiderpurrs]

Christmas bonus scene for @professional-benaddict and mine collaboration HeadHunted (link below)

Merry Christmas Rafni!

**********************************************************

Giggling could be heard from the main living room of the manor. It overshadowed the argument going on in the background.

Peter was sitting in front of the fireplace, his cell phone out, as he recorded his newest presents. Who knew what fun it would be to be a third in a marriage. Outside of the whole kidnapping being shot at and all the things being with a mob boss entailed.

Currently, in front of Peter was the non communication present of the husbands trying to ensure Peter had the best first Christmas with them. And them trying to compete with each other.

A large great dane puppy that Tony got him was currently playing with the new kitten that Stephen had gotten him.

Peter was too busy gushing over the newest additions to the family he was tuning out Stephen and Tony, being annoyed with each other by what the other bought

" We already have 2 big dogs, a kitty is perfect and small"

" Yes 2 dogs what is one more? He passed his training, that cat isn't trained"

" Guys, I love them both. Now come sit so I can get a picture of all of us!"

Peter arranged everyone on the couch, his camera sitting on the mantle as he got them ready to pose. Stephen and Tony on either side of Peter in the middle, Diablo the doberman beside Stephen, Rogue the other dobie next to Tony. On the floor in all of their laps was newly named Pixie, the great dane puppy, and the kitten called Costello.

The flash of the camera catching a glint of jewelry around each of the mens neck. Peter was nervous about what to get his partners. He wanted to give them something that showed how much he loved and appreciated them, allowing him to join them. Not like he really had a say, as they wanted him first. But something to remind them and himself that they were together.

So he had custom made jewelry designed for them. They each had the same style of necklace, Tony's in gold, Stephen's in white gold and Peter's in rose gold. They each had a small rectangular pendant, and on the sides were engraving.

Tony's had Peter's and Stephen's names and the dates of when Peter just met him and then the wedding date of Tony and Stephen's.

Stephen's had the first date of meeting Peter with his name and his wedding date with Tony.

Peter's had both of their names and the date of when he met Stephen and when Peter came to work at Tony's nurse.

Peter actually gave them the gifts early on Christmas Eve. He was too nervous and after dinner that night, when they went to cuddle up together in bed he gave them the gifts then. He knew he made the right decision when he saw the look in their eyes as he put his own necklace on that had their names engraved.

Then, they spent the rest of Christmas Eve in bed with each other. Reminding each other how much they love each other and in Peter's case, how much these two men own him in every possible way.

Have a Merry Christmas, and I wish you the best for the New Year!

[iggysolosgoku]

Get to know me

Name: Johnny

Age: 19

Requests are open!

Wattpad: IGGYSOLOSGOKU

TikTok: Hxhandjjbafan

Favorite animes: Hunter x Hunter, Jojo's bizarre adventure, jujutsu kaisen,demon slayer and sailor moon

Favorite movies: Scott pilgrim vs the world, repo the genetic opera, scream, the whole Chucky franchise, five nights at Freddy's, the whole trolls franchise, nightmare before Christmas, and Edward scissorhands

Stuff I will write: Fluff, found family, platonic stuff, nsfw, sfw, LGBTQ, yandere, autistic reader, chubby reader,any character reader (ex: mitsuri reader), and poly

Stuff I won't write: incest, angst, age gap,any trolls character x reader cause that's just weird, and animal x reader

Animes and movies I write for: Hunter x Hunter, Jojo's bizarre adventure, Jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer, and Scott pilgrim vs the world

Characters from hunter x hunter I write for: Gon freeces (platonic ONLY), Killua Zoldyck (platonic ONLY), kurapika, leorio, Bisky, wing, illumi Zoldyck, the whole phantom troupe (minus bonolenov, kortopi, and Franklin I like them but not like that), Kite, and Knuckle bine

Characters from Scott pilgrim vs the world I write for: Scott pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine, Stephen Stills, Young Neil, Knives Chau (platonic ONLY), Julie Powers, Stacey Pilgrim, Lucas Lee, Roxie Richter, Gideon Graves, Katayangi Twins, Matthew Patel, Envy Adams, Todd Ingram, and Wallace wells (platonic for girls)

Characters from Jjba part 1 I write for: Jonathan Joestar, Robert E.O Speedwagon, Erina Pendolton, and Dio Brando

Characters from Jjba part 2 I write for: Joseph Joestar, Caesar Zeppeli, Lisa Lisa, Suzi Q, Kars, Wammu, Esidisi, And Santanna

Characters from Jjba part 3 I write for: Jotaro Kujo, Noriaki Kakyoin, Muhammad Avdol, Jean Pierre Polnareff, Joseph Joestar (platonic ONLY), Holly Kujo and Dio Brando

Characters from Jjba part 4 I write for: Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu nijimura, koichi hirose, Rohan kishibe, yukako yamagishi, toshikazu hazamada (I don't support his actions), Tonio trussaradi, Yoshikage Kira, Reimi Sugimoto, and Mikitaka hazekura

Characters from Jjba part 5 I write for: Giorno Giovanna, bruno bucciarati, Leone abbachio, Trish una, narancia ghirga, mista Guido, panncotta fugo, risotto Nero, melone, formaggio, illuso, prosciutto, pesci (platonic ONLY), diavolo, doppio vinegar, squala, tiziano, cioccolata, sorbet, gelato, and ghiaccio

Characters from Jjba part 6 I write for: Jolyne Kujo, ermes Costello, narsico anasui, weather report, foo fighters, and Enrico pucci

Characters from Jjba part 7 I write for: Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zeppeli, hot pants, Diego Brando, and Lucy steel (platonic ONLY)

Characters for jjba part 8 I write for: I have not read part 8 yet

Characters from demon slayer I write for: Tanjiro Kamado, zenitsu agastuma, inosuke hashibira, nezuko Kamado (platonic ONLY), genya, and all the hashira

Characters from jujutsu kaisen I write for: Yuji itadori, megumi fushiguro, nobara kugisaki, maki zenin, toge inumaki, satoru gojo, nanami kento, kamo choso, and geto suguru

I will NOT write for: Hisoka Morrow

[thealmightyemprex]

Universal Monsters Watch Through thoughts 6

So my watch through of Universal Monster films ends....On a whimper.This was the hardest batch to get thorugh cause the films were kind of meh and I was a little burnt out

26.Abott and Costello Meets the Invisble Man (1951)

So I always heard this was the funniest of the Abott and Costello Monster trilogy ,and while I personally prefer Meet Frankenstein...This was pretty fun .Arthur Franz is decent as an invisble boxer accused for murder,William Frawley has a fun role as a cop ,and the wronged man plot works here.The highlight of the film is the boxing match where the Invisible Man helps Lou pretend to be a boxer.My big complaints are....I dont like Bud here,hes too mean and conniving ,and honestly the comedic premise of Lou getting scared and Bud not beliving him wears thin for me

27.Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

So this is really the last film of the big ones,the last Universal monster introduced ,and owing less to the gothic feel of most of the other monsters ,we are firmly in the era of 1950's monster movies .Aside from Frankenstein,The Creature or Gill Man is the monster I have the most nostalgia for,for two reasons :First is when I was very young I actually went to Wakulla Springs for a fieldtrip ,where they filmed the underwater scenes from the movie (And got scared by a tourguide who implied the Creature might be real ).Second is when I was 12 I went with my Moms side of the family to Universal Studios Florida ,and spotted in the gift shop a bunch of Universal Monster DVD's ,but my mom said I could only get two ,so I got the FRankenstein set(Cause Frankenstein was already a favorite) and the Creature from the Black Lagoon set (Due to the Wakulla Springs trip which got me curious to see the movie )....Also due to getting those sets we got a few free tickets for Mummy 3 Tomb of the Dragon Emperor so that was fun .Anyway I watched Creature many times as a kid .....But while I have nostalgia for the film and love the Gill Man ....Every time I try to watch this film as an adult....I just feel it lacks something.The plot kind of meanders ,while the actors are great (Especially Julie Adams as the leading lady and Richard Dennings as the villain )I find the characters stiff and the ending is a big anticlimax .Not even mentioning the fact the Creatures theme is kind of annoying with how much it is used ....That said I do think this IS a good movie ,with excellent underwater cinematagorphy,the cast is exccellent as I said,the scene where Adams character and the Creature swim together is like an iconic movie moment,.....And the Creature himself is pretty great ,with an excellent design and being a monster I feel for .Also props to his two performers,Ricou Browning (For underwater scenes) and Ben Chapman (For the on land scenes ).Also one cannot deny the legacy of the film and influence it had,especially on filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and Guillermo Del Toro

28.Revenge of The Creature(1955)

I mean...Its alright .I like the premise of the Gill Man being put on exhibit in Marineland in Florida (Also as a Floridian I am so delighted how much Florida has to play in the Universal Monsters verse,also being the setting forAbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ) ,I feel true sympathy for the Gill Man who is being prodded and detained by scientists and its a pretty well made film.....My problem is I am rooting soley for the Gill Man as I dont give a damn about John Agar or any of the human characters .Also dont like the big ping pong eyes of the creature in this film.Though the film is fun to watch to spot a young Clint Eastwood .Not a bad film,decent sequel but not one of my faves

29.Abott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

Tired.Thats the word to describe this film,tired .This was the comedy duos last film for Universal and it just feels routine ....But also over stuffed,with Bud and Lou having to deal with multiple factions of characters and the Mummy is barely in it .There is one funny bit where Bud and Lou keep switching a cursed amulet ,got some laughs and its better then most of the mummy flicks but I didnt have a fun time with it .Not even Michael Ansara could save this

30.Creature Walks Among Us(1956)

And at last we get to the final film in the Universal Monster cycle.....And while not a complete dud ,its pretty boring.Aside from the villain being a jealous husband the human characters might as well be carboard and not a lot happens.IT does have a cool premise though with the Gill Man getting burnt and surgically becoming more humanoid....And it solidifies the Gill Man as one of the most tragic of the monsters and the one with the most complete story.Will say while I dont like the movie .....The ending is great and a fitting capstone to this watch through

Final thoughts:This watch through was fun ,there were some duds (Mostly the Mummy movies ) ,but it soldified my love of these monsters ,actors and characters.Might do one more post about my overall thoughts but till then here is all 30 films ranked

The 30 Universal Monster films rankes

30.The Mummys Tomb

29.Werewolf of London

28.Invisble Agent

27.She Wolf of London

26.Mummys Hand

25.Mummys Curse

24.Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

23.Creature Walks Among Us

22.Son of Dracula

21.House of Dracula

20.Invisible Woman

19.Ghost of Frankenstein

18.House of Frankenstein

17.Revenge of the Creature

16.Mummy

15:Mummys Ghost

14.The Invisible Mans Revenge

13.Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man

12.Dracula's Daughter

11.Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman

10.Creature from the Black Lagoon

9.Dracula

8.Invisible Man Returns

7.Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

6.Invisble Man

5..Son of Frankenstein

4.Phantom of the Opera

3.Wolf Man

2.Frankenstein

1.Bride of Frankenstein

@ariel-seagull-wings @piterelizabethdevries @countesspetofi

@themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

@princesssarisa @amalthea9 @barbossas-wench