HOUSE OF WAX Set for 3D Blu-ray Release, 10/1

On October 1, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will celebrate the 60th anniversary ofHouse of Wax with a stunning new restored and remastered High-definition 3D Blu-ray. In 1953, the film was the first color 3D feature released by a major studio. The huge hit also marked Vincent Price's first major starring horror role and changed the course of his career. Thanks to advanced technology and the expert work of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI), audiences will now be able to enjoy the classic mystery shocker as it was originally seen in theatres. The Blu-ray ($39.99 SRP) will include a new featurette, "House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before" and Mystery of The Wax Museum,the original 1933 film on which House of Wax is based. A 2D version of House of Wax will also be included.

Originally designed to lure audiences away from their TV sets, 3D utilized a "left-eye/right-eye" dual projection process and polarized glasses, the basis for what is seen today. MPI's work on House of Wax includes a 4K scan, and a full restoration of the two "eyes," as well as perfect 3D image alignment.

House of Wax was a major box-office success when it was released in 1953. If adjusted to today's gross, it would have brought in more than $401 million, placing it among the top 100 highest grossing films ever.* It no doubt paved the way for a 3D boom over the next several years during which 50 3D features and some two dozen shorts and cartoons were released.

The film was directed by André deToth, an unlikely choice to direct a 3D film as he was blind in one eye and unable to properly see the effects he created. Besides Price, House of Wax additionally features Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni and a young actor named Charles Buchinsky, who would later become known to audiences worldwide as Charles Bronson. Screenplay is by Crane Wilbur. Brian Foy produced.

The Warner library has the largest number of classic 3D titles (15) of any studio, and now that the technology has been perfected, the studio looks forward to re-introducing them to home audiences. The long-awaited, much requested release ofHouse of Wax is the second classic 3D film the studio has released on Blu-ray, following last year's release of Dial M for Murder.

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