Stars:
Vincent Price, Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, Richard Ney, and Heather
Angel
Writers:
Charles Beaumont, R. Wright Campbell, and Ray Russell
Based
On Stories By: Edgar Allen Poe
Director:
Roger Corman
Feature
length: 88 minutes/ 81 minutes
Extras:
Roger Corman Interviews and Trailers
Languages:
English Monaural
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 16/16
Sound:
Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1964/1962/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: American International Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Just
in time for Halloween, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment has released a
batch of horror films that include some new “Midnight Movies Double
Features.” Among them is “Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death
& Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial: Midnight Movies Double
Feature.”
“The
Masque Of The Red Death” is probably the best of Roger Corman’s Poe film
adaptations with Vincent Price in top form as the malevolent Prince Prospero, a
Satanist who throws a party in the face of a plague that has wiped out nearly
everyone in the country outskirts. The film is beautifully shot with vivid
colors and transcends the genre with a subtle morality play as well as two star
crossed romantic stories. One involving a woman Prospero hopes to corrupt, but
whose peasant lover is trying to save her while a dwarf executes a cruel plan to
eliminate the man in the way of the object of his affection. The film was the
first Roger Corman film to be shot in England on three soundstages to create the
impressive sets in the film.
"The
Premature Burial” stars Ray Milland as a man who is so fearful of being buried
alive that he concocts a scheme that would enable him to escape, but fate has
other plans in store. Both films have a distinct look that has a style all
it’s own with “The Masque Of The Red Death” evoking a colorful Technicolor
look with a baroque quality while “The Premature Burial” has a more subdued
look that is somewhat reminiscent of the gothic style associated with “Hammer
Films.”
Both
films have wonderfully detailed anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfers with
“Masque” coming of colorfully vibrant and wonderfully clear. Both films also
feature English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtracks with optional English Captions
and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language
Subtitles. Both also include excellent videotaped interview featurettes with
Roger Corman that runs nearly 19-minutes on the “Masque” side while the
other runs nearly 10 minutes for “The Premature Burial.” Corman is very
articulate and well spoken in both featurettes and the trailers for both films
are presented in widescreen and wrap up the extra features in this double
feature DVD.
The menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death & Edgar Allan Poe’s The Premature Burial: Midnight Movies Double Feature” is a winner I highly recommend and is available on DVD-Video now from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 by Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.