The Fall of the House of Usher / The Pit and the Pendulum (Midnite Movies Double Feature)
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Product Description
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER: Audio Commentary by Director Roger Corman Original Theatrical Trailer THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM: Rare Prologue
Set in post-Inquisition Spain, the film stars John Kerr as a young Englishman who travels to the seaside castle of his brother-in-law (Vincent Price) to uncover the circumstances behind the death of his sister (a dubbed Barbara Steele). The Fall of the House of Usher's success in 1960 spurred American International Pictures to quickly launch another production based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. While producer-director Roger Corman had hoped to next adapt "The Masque of the Red Death" (which wasn't produced until 1964), Pit and the Pendulum (the onscreen title) became the second in AIP's long-running Poe series. MGM's widescreen DVD features commentary by Corman, which focuses primarily on the film's technical aspects. It also provides Price with the richest of his many AIP/Poe roles, a sympathetic, deeply emotional man who is unhinged by the sins of his father. Furthermore, he believes that Steele was also buried alive--a belief compounded by the mysterious destruction of her room, and the sound of her harpsichord playing in the night...
Structured almost identically to Usher, Richard Matheson's script fleshes out the brief original text with a fast-paced and twist-filled plot that never loses sight of the psychological themes of Poe's work. Price is tormented by memories of his mother's premature burial by his inquisitor father (also Price) and fears that this sadistic legacy has contributed to Steele's demise. Also noteworthy is art director's Daniel Haller's impressive design of the title set piece. Corman's direction is equally driven and fluid, and features some impressive quasi-psychedelic visuals in the tense climax. --Paul Gaita Also included is the original trailer and a prologue (shot by Norma Rae producer Tamara Asseyev) featuring costar Luana Anders, which was added to fill out the film's 1968 television broadcast.
Product Info
- Actor
- Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe
- Aspect Ratio
- 2.35:1
- Audience Rating
- Binding
- DVD
- Brand
- PRICE,VINCENT
- Creator
- Floyd Crosby, Roger Corman, Anthony Carras, James H. Nicholson, Samuel Z. Arkoff, Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Matheson
- Director
- Roger Corman
- EAN
- 9780792861287
- EAN List
- Format
- Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
- ISBN
- 0792861280
- Label
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- Manufacturer
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- MPN
- 1006946
- Number Of Discs
- 1
- Original Release Date
- 1960-06-22
- Part Number
- 1006946
- Product Group
- DVD
- Product Type Name
- ABIS_DVD
- Publisher
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- Region Code
- 1
- Release Date
- 2005-02-15
- Running Time
- 160
- SKU
- 2-119348
- Studio
- American International Pictures (AIP)
- Theatrical Release Date
- 1960-06-22
- Title
- The Fall of the House of Usher /The Pit and the Pendulum
- UPC
- 027616910875
- UPC List
- UPCListElement: 027616910875
- ASIN
- B0007R4T12
- Sales Rank
- 27784
