Review(s): DVD The Tomb of Ligeia / An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe
"I will always be your wife. Your ONLY wife..."
"The Tomb of Ligeia" was the last of Roger Corman's eight Edgar Allen Poe adaptations, and he went all out. Instead of the usual cheap studio setting (although these were used for all the interior scenes), this movie had breathtaking photography of the English countryside, as well as a creepy graveyard. I consider "The Tomb of Ligeia" to be one of Corman's very best, if not his finest, Poe adaptation. It has wonderful performances from the entire cast, great cinematography, and haunting music composed and conducted by Kenneth V. Jones.
Vincent Price is Verdan Fell, a depressed man who's wife Ligeia has recently died and been buried. But at the funeral he remembers her final words: "Man need not kneel before the angels, nor lie in death forever save for the weakness of his feeble will." She was so strongwilled, in fact, that her spirit still lives, and Verdan is still controlled by her. But when he meets beautiful Rowena (Elizabeth Shephard), his life is forever changed. She feels sorry for Verdan but also loves him and over time she teaches him how to smile and be happy again. They marry, but as soon as they arrive at his castle for the honeymoon, Rowena senses evil in the place.
Over time Verdan drifts further and further away from his new bride, as his dead wife's control over him becomes stronger and more frightening. Ligeia seems to manifest herself as a black cat which always seems to be attacking poor Rowena. Eventually, Rowena discovers a secret room in the castle and finds Ligeia's body, but she may already be too late to break her control over Verdan...
I didn't realize until the ending that Elizabeth Shephard actually had a dual role, playing both Ligeia and Rowena. Now that is talent! Once again, Vincent Price gave another outstanding performance, taking his character from depressed to happy and then to homicidal! If ever there was a Poe adaptation by Corman that would make Poe rise up from his grave an cheer, "The Tomb of Ligeia" is it. The dvd has a sharp and clear image quality and the sound quality is awesome. Bonus features include the original theatrical trailer and two commentaries, one by Corman and the other by Elizabeth Shephard.
On the other side of the dvd is "An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe", a made-for-tv movie where Vincent Price gives a one-man show, narrating and acting in four different adaptations (no other actors were involved!): "The Tell Tale Heart" (one of my favorites from Poe), "The Sphinx", "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Pit and the Pendulum". Price was a bit stagey but you can tell he loved being the center of attention. Roger Corman had little or nothing to do with "An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe", and it shows. I think it'd be best enjoyed by "hardcore" fans of Edgar Allen Poe. No bonus features are included for "An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe" except for subtitles, which come in handy as the sound quality is rather poor. Overall, this dvd is highly recommended just for adding "The Tomb of Ligeia" to your collection.
The Enduring Power of CORMAN, POE and VINCENT PRICE
THE TOMB OF LIGEIA is the definitive of Roger Corman's eight Edgar Allan Poe film adaptations. This is the best. The first thing that impresses the viewer is the innovative cinematography by Arthur Grant. It is stark yet hauntingly beautiful. The opening scene at Ligeia's burial is an impressive piece of filmmaking. It immediately draws the viewer into this tale of obsession where images are presented in such a way leaving one uncertain as to what was actually observed. Roger Corman directs these scenes with an emotional fervor entirely different from his other Poe tales juxtaposing quick editing, insightfully ambiguous dialog and penetrating camera movements creating a truly unique experience. There is something very erotic in a more mature sense about this whole film. There is no notion of carnal lust present in any of the images yet the viewer can feel a sense of stirring of the passionate emotions between the two principal characters, Verden Fell and Lady Rowena Trevanion. Vincent Price is truly brilliant as Verden Fell, husband of the late Lady Ligeia Fell. He plays this elusive and enigmatic character with complete conviction and confidence. Elizabeth Shepherd is equally brilliant as the curious and interested Lady Rowena as she exudes an aura of repressed burning sexuality. This is all conveyed by a mere hand gesture, a look or the ever-slightest touch or just the utterance of some seemingly unimportant words. Price tends to be oblivious to these very subtle advances in an almost asexual trance of consciousness yet he still conveys a sense of yearning for a passion perhaps lost or just lying dormant. Corman's directorial abilities are so acute in this film that the viewer really has no direct insight to where he is going with this intriguing and engaging story, yet when the tale concludes it all becomes apparent and quite logical. Equally important is Roger Corman, the producer. Robert Towne's screenplay is filled with incredibly intelligent, witty, amusing and crisp dialogue. Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd did wonders with Towne's use of language making the characters' eccentricities and frailties startlingly real. Editor Alfred Cox made use of well timed and trimmed cuts to heighten and enhance certain plot elements putting the viewer off balance yet increasing the viewer's awareness of the narrative. Cinematographer Arthur Grant and art designer Colin Southcott combined to make indelible images that are so simple and economic in design yet convey a strange and beautifully haunting setting that entices the viewers' intellectual curiosity in an emotional response. Even composer Ken Jones' score is economical in its construction yet it is very effective. It just seems to flow with the images waiting for the viewer to make an intellectual connection that again elicits an emotional response. I waited patiently for a DVD widescreen version of THE TOMB OF LIGEIA and I was not disappointed. Roger Corman's audio commentary is a bit sparse but still insightful as to how he approached this film. AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLEN POE, looking as though it was probably shot on videotape, is a tour de force for Vincent Price as he single handedly gives very dramatic and theatrical renditions of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Sphinx." Vincent Price is riveting and demonstrates his unique presence and prowess for presenting these versions of Poe's stories with compelling histrionics. I had never seen AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLEN POE and was quite surprised to see just how talented Vincent Price really was.
More for fans of Poe than fans of Corman
This review is for 'An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe.' If you're a Price fan, it will add to your collection, but if you're a Poe fan who felt that the Corman/Price movies failed to do the master justice, this is one gem that stands out as an exception. It's the only Poe-worthy adaptation I've seen. What a voice, what a presence! Price is associated with campy, tongue-in-cheek 'horror' movies that amuse more than frighten, but you can't watch this without wishing he could have done more serious work. This isn't satirical or or self-conscious, and doesn't poke fun at Poe's morbidity at all. It's a fantastic piece. I haven't watched the Tomb of Ligeia yet, but the DVD is worth the price for 'An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe' alone. The picture quality and sound are lacking--it obviously wasn't considered the main attraction, but it should have been. I've bought every Price/Poe movie on DVD that I know of, and this one was the best, without a doubt. It's the only one I felt strongly enough about to review.
Related DVD's The Tomb of Ligeia / An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe
The Masque of the Red Death (1964) is Roger Corman's, and most people's, choice as the best of the Edgar Allan Poe pictures. Masque offers the expected creepy atmosphere and violence against peasants, plus metaphysical ponderings and pointed satanic cruelty. (Corman was operating as much under the influence of Ingmar Bergman as of Edgar Allan Poe.) Nicolas Roeg's color cinematography and Daniel Haller's elaborate production design would be stellar in any Hollywood A-movie; the mono-colored rooms of the prince's castle are a startling effect. Vincent Price is in fine fettle as Prince Prospero, the devil-worshipping sadist who throws lavish parties while the countryside is ravaged by the plague.
The Premature Burial (1962) substitutes Ray Milland in the usual Price... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vincent Price Director(s): Roger Corman DVD Release Date: Released the 27 August 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I enjoy the master of horror Vincent Price in movies like this one, along with Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. This is a cult classic that anyone who enjoys comedy mixed with a little terror will surely want to watch. This very early performance by Jack Nicholson is great to see. The picture quality of this DVD is very good. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vincent Price - Peter Lorre - Boris Karloff Director(s): Jacques Tourneur DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Made at the height of Roger Corman's successful Edgar Allan Poe series (with his perennial star Vincent Price), these two pictures, while similar in tone to the Poe films, adapt two different writers. Tower of London, a remake of the Basil Rathbone/Boris Karloff film from 1935, is a version of Shakespeare's Richard III, with Price taking on the role of the villainous hunchback, plotting and killing his way to the throne of England. The Haunted Palace, meanwhile, takes its title from a Poe poem, but in every other respect is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Here Price comes to the creepy town of Arkham to claim his inheritance: the palace of the title. Once there, his mind is taken over by the vengeful spirit of his warlock ancestor, determined to continue... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Roger Corman DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This movies are great, but the only thing that can be detracted is that Rue Morgue its somewhat very slow.I mean, you have time to really gess what is going on.This until the end when the action start to flow and you get a surprise after surprise.Death after death over and over again. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Gordon Hessler DVD Release Date: Released the 15 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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These are two fun slices of horror from director Gordon Hessler. The Oblong Box, loosely based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, features Vincent Price as the rich man with a dark secret, and Christopher Lee as the amoral doctor in 19th-Century England. Scream and Scream Again is a riotous mix of horror, police procedural, science fiction and political thriller. The plot is almost indescribable (at its most basic, it concerns the creation of synthetic supermen), and doesn't completely hang together, but is so much fun and so insanely inventive that you won't care about the holes. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Lee and Price are back here too, along with a brief appearance by Peter Cushing.
