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| MGM (USA). Region 1 NTSC. 2.35:1 (Non-anamorphic). English DD 1.0, French DD 1.0. French, Spanish Subtitles. 80 Minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Roger Corman
Starring: Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders and Antony Carbone
Screenplay: Richard Matheson from a story by Edgar Allan Poe
Music: Les Baxter
Tagline: The Greatest Terror Tale Ever Told! |
Another Corman and Price collaborative retelling
of an Edgar Allan Poe tale arrives on DVD thanks
to the good folk at MGM. Released as part of their
Midnite Movies line, this is a fabulous-looking
disc and well worth the low price-tag.
Francis Barnard (John Kerr) arrives at the ancestral
home of Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) having
received word that his sister Elizabeth (Barbara
Steele), had died. Elizabeth had been the wife
of Nicholas and Francis has come to get the full
story. As the story unfolds it soon becomes apparent
that Elizabeth was not the wife Nicholas thought
her be, weaving a web of deceit and adultery.
Nicholas descends into madness, taking on the
persona of his murderous father, Sebastian Medina
(also played by Price), who murdered his own wife
for committing adultery. The film then takes us
to the climactic scene involving the pendulum
and Elizabeth getting her own comeuppance by being
encased within an iron maiden.
The film is very similar in structure and style
to the previous Corman/ Price effort, The Fall
of the House of Usher (also available in the Midnite
Movies line and an equally fine disc), with the
same thematics of adultery and madness and directed
with a similar style. Never the less, both films
stand as classics of their kind, despite the distinct
similarities.
Vincent Price plays his role to hammy perfection
and Barbara Steele is deliciously evil as his
adulterous and conniving wife. The sets are magnificent
and the film simply oozes gothic atmosphere, whilst
Les Baxter's creepy soundtrack is perfect and
Corman directs confidently with a sure hand. Pretty
faultless really and a must-have for fans of gothic
horror. |
| Video |
| Although suffering a little scratchiness in places
(mainly at the beginning), the print is in surprisingly
good shape and MGM have presented a simply gorgeous
transfer here. It is crisp and sharp with vivid
colours and absolutely no signs of artifacting and,
aside from the aforementioned flaw, is pretty much
perfect. A tremendous transfer from MGM and at a
budget price too! |
| Audio |
| Presented in basic mono, the audio is surprisingly
full and perfectly captures the essence of the film
and adequately reproduces the haunting score by
Baxter. More than acceptable and will raise few
complaints. |
| Extra Features |
| MGM provide a handful of extras on the disc, which
is better than nothing and certainly does boost
the value of this budget release. The most interesting
extra feature is the rarely seen prologue of the
film that was dropped from the final cut of the
film. It was a real treat to see this and virtually
makes this disc an absolute must for this feature
alone. Also to be found are a theatrical trailer
and a highly informative audio commentary from director
Corman who gives plenty of background information
on the making of the film. |
| The Verdict |
For a budget release this is superb value and
you really can't go wrong in purchasing this
disc. The transfer is excellent, perfectly reproducing
the sumptuous cinematography, and it's nice
to see the film presented in its correct aspect
ratio. An amazing disc with some very interesting
extras and worth every penny (or cent!). This DVD
is certainly highly recommended by this reviewer.
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