Of
the AIP/Poe films THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and THE PREMATURE
BURIAL makes for something of an odd double feature. Certainly, THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is one of the best films in the entire series,
and while THE PREMATURE BURIAL has its own strengths, it is the
only film in the Poe collection not to star Vincent Price. Still, it is
great to have both of these minor horror classics available on one disc,
in 16:9 enhanced wide screen and available at the bargain price of $14.98.
Therefore, I have to give MGM Home Entertainment all the credit in the
world for doing such a fine job with the release of these two films.
Vincent
Price stars in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH as Prospero, a devil
worshipping Italian Prince, who has isolated himself and his followers
from the Red Death, a horrifying plague that is ravaging the countryside.
Behind the walls of his castle, Prospero engages in cruelty, debauchery
and excess- all in service to his dark master Satan. Also in the castle is
an innocent peasant girl named Francesca (Jane Asher), whom Prospero hopes
to corrupt into the service of his master. The festivities culminate at a
great masked ball in which the participants are forbidden to wear red-
however; an uninvited guest does make an appearance at the masque wearing
a crimson robe. Unlike the earlier films in the Poe series, THE MASQUE
OF THE RED DEATH had a reasonably sizable budget and was filmed in
Europe. The film also benefited from a better production design that made
use of rich looking standing sets, which were left over from other
productions, as well as the work of cameraman Nicolas Roeg. The cast of THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH also includes Hazel Court, David Weston, Nigel
Green and Patrick Magee.
THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is presented in its proper 2.35:1 aspect
ratio, and as stated above the presentation is enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. The transfer is out and out spectacular for a modestly
budgeted film, from an independent studio, that is nearly forty years old.
One can truly appreciate every frame of this beautifully photographed
movie, thanks to the wonderful transfer. The image is crisp, clean and
brightly colored, which highlights the film’s marvelous production
design. There are no signs of chroma noise or smearing to mar the
reproduction of the most intense hues. Blacks appear solid, contrast is
smooth and shadow detail is more than respectable. Clean authoring keeps
digital compression artifacts well concealed. The Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack is free from excessive background hiss and surface noise.
Dialogue is cleanly rendered, and despite frequency limitations, the film’s
music never sounds harsh or compressed. A French language track is also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
While
not of the same caliber of THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, THE
PREMATURE BURIAL is certainly a solid entry in the Poe series, despite
the absence of Vincent Price. THE PREMATURE BURIAL stars Ray
Milland as Guy Carrell, a man whose fear of being buried alive proves to
be all consuming. Turning his back on life, Guy goes into seclusion, only
to be drawn out by his fiancée Emily Gault (Hazel Court), whom he
eventually weds. Unfortunately, marital happiness proves elusive for the
couple, when Guy’s obsessive fear begins to overwhelm him. Just as Guy
takes the ultimate step to face up to his greatest fear, a tremendous
shock throws him into a catatonic trance- and he is pronounced dead.
Finding himself buried alive, Guy is gripped by a homicidal madness, just
as circumstance releases from his premature burial. The cast of THE
PREMATURE BURIAL also features Richard Ney, Heather Angel, Alan
Napier, John Dierkes and Dick Miller.
Like
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, THE PREMATURE BURIAL is
properly framed at 2.35:1 and the presentation is enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. While not as visually stunning as THE MASQUE OF THE RED
DEATH Floyd Crosby’s cinematography for THE PREMATURE BURIAL
still manages to make this low budget film look far more expensive. The
image is fairly sharp and well defined, although colors appear far more
muted on this film than they did on the other half of the double feature.
I don’t want to say that the hues appear faded, but saturation is
somewhat subdued for much of the film. Blacks appear pretty solid,
contrast is good and shadow detail is decent for the darker scenes. There
is a bit of noticeable grain during the presentation, and the foggier
sequences in the movie don’t cause any serious problems with digital
compression artifacts. The Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack sounds pretty
darn good and is reasonably free from his and other forms of noise.
Dialogue is crisp and rendered without intelligibility problems. A French
language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Both
films are offered on their own side of the DVD and each features a rather
basic interactive menu. Through the menus, one has access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as a couple of extras. THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH offers the featurette Roger Corman
Behind The Mask, which is an eighteen-minute interview with the
director, who discusses the film's production, as well as the other
AIP/Poe movies. THE PREMATURE BURIAL features Roger Corman
Unearths The Premature Burial, a nine-minute interview program in
which Corman talks about the production at a good level of detail.
Theatrical trailers for both movies are provided on their respective sides
of the DVD.
Although
it is something of an odd pairing, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and THE
PREMATURE BURIAL is an entertaining double feature that will appeal to
fans of the AIP/Poe series, as well as horror fans in general. MGM
deserves praise for not only giving each of these films a great 16:9
enhanced wide screen presentation, but for offering the double feature at
a rock bottom bargain price. I hope MGM will continue releasing more of
the AIP horror classics, I know I am looking forward to films like THE
RAVEN, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS, TOMB OF LIEGIA and THE
HAUNTED PALACE. And while they're at it, PIT AND THE PENDULUM
really could use a new 16:9 enhanced transfer.
Of
the AIP/Poe films THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and THE PREMATURE
BURIAL makes for something of an odd double feature. Certainly, THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is one of the best films in the entire series,
and while THE PREMATURE BURIAL has its own strengths, it is the
only film in the Poe collection not to star Vincent Price. Still, it is
great to have both of these minor horror classics available on one disc,
in 16:9 enhanced wide screen and available at the bargain price of $14.98.
Therefore, I have to give MGM Home Entertainment all the credit in the
world for doing such a fine job with the release of these two films.
Vincent
Price stars in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH as Prospero, a devil
worshipping Italian Prince, who has isolated himself and his followers
from the Red Death, a horrifying plague that is ravaging the countryside.
Behind the walls of his castle, Prospero engages in cruelty, debauchery
and excess- all in service to his dark master Satan. Also in the castle is
an innocent peasant girl named Francesca (Jane Asher), whom Prospero hopes
to corrupt into the service of his master. The festivities culminate at a
great masked ball in which the participants are forbidden to wear red-
however; an uninvited guest does make an appearance at the masque wearing
a crimson robe. Unlike the earlier films in the Poe series, THE MASQUE
OF THE RED DEATH had a reasonably sizable budget and was filmed in
Europe. The film also benefited from a better production design that made
use of rich looking standing sets, which were left over from other
productions, as well as the work of cameraman Nicolas Roeg. The cast of THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH also includes Hazel Court, David Weston, Nigel
Green and Patrick Magee.
THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is presented in its proper 2.35:1 aspect
ratio, and as stated above the presentation is enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. The transfer is out and out spectacular for a modestly
budgeted film, from an independent studio, that is nearly forty years old.
One can truly appreciate every frame of this beautifully photographed
movie, thanks to the wonderful transfer. The image is crisp, clean and
brightly colored, which highlights the film’s marvelous production
design. There are no signs of chroma noise or smearing to mar the
reproduction of the most intense hues. Blacks appear solid, contrast is
smooth and shadow detail is more than respectable. Clean authoring keeps
digital compression artifacts well concealed. The Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack is free from excessive background hiss and surface noise.
Dialogue is cleanly rendered, and despite frequency limitations, the film’s
music never sounds harsh or compressed. A French language track is also
encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and Spanish subtitles.
While
not of the same caliber of THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, THE
PREMATURE BURIAL is certainly a solid entry in the Poe series, despite
the absence of Vincent Price. THE PREMATURE BURIAL stars Ray
Milland as Guy Carrell, a man whose fear of being buried alive proves to
be all consuming. Turning his back on life, Guy goes into seclusion, only
to be drawn out by his fiancée Emily Gault (Hazel Court), whom he
eventually weds. Unfortunately, marital happiness proves elusive for the
couple, when Guy’s obsessive fear begins to overwhelm him. Just as Guy
takes the ultimate step to face up to his greatest fear, a tremendous
shock throws him into a catatonic trance- and he is pronounced dead.
Finding himself buried alive, Guy is gripped by a homicidal madness, just
as circumstance releases from his premature burial. The cast of THE
PREMATURE BURIAL also features Richard Ney, Heather Angel, Alan
Napier, John Dierkes and Dick Miller.
Like
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, THE PREMATURE BURIAL is
properly framed at 2.35:1 and the presentation is enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. While not as visually stunning as THE MASQUE OF THE RED
DEATH Floyd Crosby’s cinematography for THE PREMATURE BURIAL
still manages to make this low budget film look far more expensive. The
image is fairly sharp and well defined, although colors appear far more
muted on this film than they did on the other half of the double feature.
I don’t want to say that the hues appear faded, but saturation is
somewhat subdued for much of the film. Blacks appear pretty solid,
contrast is good and shadow detail is decent for the darker scenes. There
is a bit of noticeable grain during the presentation, and the foggier
sequences in the movie don’t cause any serious problems with digital
compression artifacts. The Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack sounds pretty
darn good and is reasonably free from his and other forms of noise.
Dialogue is crisp and rendered without intelligibility problems. A French
language track is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English, French and
Spanish subtitles.
Both
films are offered on their own side of the DVD and each features a rather
basic interactive menu. Through the menus, one has access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as a couple of extras. THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH offers the featurette Roger Corman
Behind The Mask, which is an eighteen-minute interview with the
director, who discusses the film's production, as well as the other
AIP/Poe movies. THE PREMATURE BURIAL features Roger Corman
Unearths The Premature Burial, a nine-minute interview program in
which Corman talks about the production at a good level of detail.
Theatrical trailers for both movies are provided on their respective sides
of the DVD.
Although
it is something of an odd pairing, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and THE
PREMATURE BURIAL is an entertaining double feature that will appeal to
fans of the AIP/Poe series, as well as horror fans in general. MGM
deserves praise for not only giving each of these films a great 16:9
enhanced wide screen presentation, but for offering the double feature at
a rock bottom bargain price. I hope MGM will continue releasing more of
the AIP horror classics, I know I am looking forward to films like THE
RAVEN, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS, TOMB OF LIEGIA and THE
HAUNTED PALACE. And while they're at it, PIT AND THE PENDULUM
really could use a new 16:9 enhanced transfer.
