Universal Pictures is celebrating its 100 birthday in style, with a flashy new logo and plans to restore 13 of the studios’s classic films.
Among the notable films that the studio is restoring (for home release, as part of a limited edition 100th Anniversary Collector”s Series) are Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” two versions of Tod Browning’s 1931 screamer “Dracula” (both the English and Spanish language versions), the Gregory Peck-starring “To Kill a Mockingbird” and a double dose of Steven Spielberg, with both “Jaws” and “Schindler’s List” making the cut. Some of the titles aren’t quite as obvious but are nonetheless a welcome addition, including the Abbott and Costello WWII comedy “Buck Privates,” the Doris Day-Rock Hudson romp “Pillow Talk” and Sydney Pollack’s 1985 best picture winner “Out of Africa.”
The complete list: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “The Birds,” “Buck Privates,” “Dracula (1931),” “Dracula” (Spanish version -1931), “Frankenstein,” “Jaws,” “Schindler”s List,” “Out of Africa,” “Pillow Talk,” “Bride of Frankenstein,” “The Sting” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Meanwhile, the latest logo is a new spin on the familiar image of the earth emblazoned with the company’s name. Although now it says “100th Anniversary” and, somewhat inconspicuously, “A Comcast Company.”