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House of Wax brought Vincent Price into the horror genre, where he fit as snugly as a scalpel in a mad scientist's hand. A remake of the 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum, this entertaining Gothic shocker casts Price as a sculptor of wax figures; his unwilling victims--er, "models"--lend their bodies to his lifelike depictions of Marie Antoinette and Joan of Arc. The film was one of the top 10 moneymakers of its year, thanks in part to the 3-D gimmick, which explains why so many things are aimed at the camera (why else would the paddleball man be there?). Footnote to history:director Andre De Toth was blind in one eye, and thus could not see in three dimensions.

Not at all a musty relic of the early-sound era, the original Mystery of the Wax Museum (shot in a soft, trial version of Technicolor) is saucy, pre-Code fun. As corpses disappear from the morgue, Lionel Atwill's wax museum adds to its displays. Coincidence, or the work of the hideously deformed fiend stalking the Manhattan night? Most of the snappy dialogue comes courtesy of reporter Glenda Farrell, a vintage wisecracking dame. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Allow me to "wax" poetic
HOUSE OF WAX was the film that, for better or worse, changed the course of Vincent Price's career. It's still one of his best starring vehicles, and gave Price a great opportunity to display his frequent characterization of a madman who evokes sympathy and chills at the same time! The 3-D effects of the original release enhance the film, instead of overwhelming it (This was probably due to the fact that director Andre de Toth had only one eye and couldn't experience the 3-D effect). As a result, the film is enjoyable even without wearing those silly cardboard glasses. The turn of the century sets and costumes look great and among the supporting cast, Carolyn Jones is a standout in a small but pivotal role.

A Classic Double - Dip
This marvelous DVD offers two versions of the same story! First, the 1953 "House of Wax" starring Vincent Price ... plus the original film on which it was based, the 1933 "Mystery of the Wax Museum" starring Lionel Atwill. Each film offered viewers a technological gimmick when first released to theatres: "House" was exhibited in 3-D, and "Museum" was filmed in early two-strip Technicolor.

The Vincent Price remake is arguably the scarier of the two versions. Although it duplicates many scenes and sections of dialogue from the earlier film, it adds a couple of effective sequences involving the villain of the piece. In one, the scarred fiend chases heroine Phyllis Kirk through dark, rain-slicked streets in the dead of night; in the other, he commits a gruesome murder. Price is deliciously hammy in the role. He constantly threatens to go over the top, but pulls back just in time (at least until the end, when he lets go with relish). Miss Kirk, with her china doll beauty and deep modulated voice makes a wonderful heroine, and Charles Buchinsky (later Bronson) stands out as a muscled and menacing deaf-mute who lurks among the shadows of the museum. The production's color and lighting are outstanding ... the viewer is often left wondering which figures are human and which are wax, and there are several shocks and surprises along the way. The DVD offers an exceptionally fine film-to-video transfer, and don't forget to watch the Original Theatrical Trailer! It's an example of Hollywood ballyhoo at its best, and features some gorgeous color graphics.

The legendary 1933 original version was believed, for decades, to be a "lost film". Film buffs all over the world rejoiced when a surviving print was finally located in the late 1970's; unfortunately, (and unsurprisingly) the actual film was unable to live up to the hype that built up around it during its absence. Despite its considerable virtues, including great performances from Lionel Atwill as the villain and Fay Wray as the gorgeous screaming heroine, "Mystery of the Wax Museum" is marred by an over-abundance of comic relief. Playing a hard-boiled newspaper "dame" who delivers her peppery dialogue in machine gun fashion, Glenda Farrell is neither comic nor a relief. She's simply obnoxious. Still, she's lovely to look at in early two-strip Technicolor. This process, which registers color most heavily in hues of blue and orange, was a crude forerunner of the three-strip "candy-box" Technicolor that made its feature-film debut two years later in the 1935 production of "Becky Sharp". It should be noted that this DVD offers the best restored version of "Wax Museum" yet seen; the color is more vivid and the sound much clearer than that featured on any TV prints or on the earlier MGM VHS version.

All in all, this is a DVD package that should please both horror buffs and film historians alike; it's certainly a great value to receive the 1933 version as a "bonus feature". Here's a double feature made to order for a chilly evening; enjoy it with a bowl of popcorn ... and maybe a burning candle.

Great flick!
Has anyone ever portrayed the Nice Man Gone Crazy as well as Vincent Price? Of course not, and in House of Wax, Price is in top form as a loving sculptor who emerges from a fire with a different, errr, method for creating his wax sculptures. I don't know about you, but just the thought of being alone in a wax museum after dark gives me the creeps. Add a dose of homicidal mania, and there's your recipe for terror.

Most people will find this movie creepy even today; those who love camp will enjoy the prolonged ping-pong paddle scene catered to the orginal 3-D audience.

All in all, one of Vincent Price's best films, proving once again that nobody goes horribly insane quite like Vincent Price.

Should have included a Field Seqential 3-D version!
Not that many people are aware of the Field Sequential 3-D.
This is a 3-D TV system that uses special shutter glasses that can be purchased here through Amazon in a set that includes 3 DVD's using this process. This system Is the only way to view a 3-D film effectively on TV to date. The result is about 90% close to the effect you will see in a theatre showing.. like IMAX and Disney and Universal.
These glasses are made of sturdy plastic and clear not these cardboard red and blue pieces of garbage, so you can view the film without constricted to seeing red and blue colors and with this system you will see more actual 3-D depth with the films true colors.. It's really amazing!
For some add reason the big studios haven't adapted to include a separate version of a 3-D title in this great format.
Films like:
"House of Wax","Kiss Me Kate","Friday the 13th Part 3", "Robot Monster, "Cat Woman on the Moon", "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "Jaws 3" are all now in 2-D DVD, but were originally shown in 3-D and could have been included using the Field Seqential 3-D system on the same disc with the 2-D version.
In Japan in the late 80's there were a few 3-D titles released using Field Sequential and can be found on e-bay converted to DVD and VHS.
Why aren't the studios producing these now!
I boycott any film DVD release that was originally intended to be seen in 3-D that's only presented in a 2-D version or anaglyph (Red and Blue Glasses).

The studios should really be awaken to this great 3-D system.

A Great Horror Film!
I mananged to see a version of "House of Wax" on Turner Classic Movies and I thought that it was a great horror movie. Not being a big fan of horror films, I can't compare to other ones of that time, but this one was great. It stars horror movie legend Vincent Price and a young Charles Bronson who is credited as Charles Buchinsky. Having been to wax museums in the past, I can relate to the fact that after seeing the was figures for so long, you could begin to believe that all of the people around you who are not moving are actually made of wax, something that was briefly mentioned in the movie. A big problem with the movie was that it was made in 3D during its first release. This could create a problem for the present viewings because some things are pointless. They made things for the movie just so people can see the 3D effect. For example, a three minute sequence of women dancing, throwing their legs in the air. When it was made, it was cool seeing the legs come out of the screen, but while I was watching it, it was pretty much pointless.

The movie begins with Vincent Price as Professor Henry Jarrod. He takes pride in his wax figures which he often refers to as his friends. They speak to him, and he understands them well, and how they want to be made. In a way to make more money, an investor burns up the museum and flees the sight leaving Jarrod for dead. A couple of years later, people begin to disappear, kidnapped in the night. This happens at the same time that Jarrod, who is now in a wheelchair, wants to reopen his museum, with new figures that resemble some of the people that disappeared. He claims that he uses pictures of the missing people in the paper as a muse for the figures, but a women named Sue knows better. She swears that the figure of Marie Antoinette looks like her kidnapped friend Cathy Grey. Sue decides to make it her mission to find out what is going on at the house of wax.

Another great thing in "House of Wax" is the acting. In the recent Harry Potter film, the director has long takes. Scenes of about five minutes all in one take. The same happens in "House of Wax" except some scenes could be closer to eight or nine minutes. This is amazing considering some actors nowadays act for about thirty seconds before cutting away. The actors back then really had to act for many minutes at a time. "House of Wax" is a great horror film, and try and catch it on tv.

ENJOY!

Rated Approved back in 1953, but if I had to rated it probably a PG for brief violence. ... Read more

Description

A group is introduced to the supernatural through a 90-year old New England haunted house. Be prepared for hair-raising results in this classic horror film! ... Read more

Reviews (274)

I've eaten casseroles scarier than this
Refreshing as it is to see a horror film rely more on the power of suggestion than on buckets of blood, "The Haunting," Robert Wise's 1963 adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel, never really becomes as frightening as it clearly wants to be. Occasionally tense and mildly spooky but more often talky, overly melodramatic, and just downright silly, this is one of those films that would benefit a great deal if its characters would just shut up once in a while.

Or at least stop thinking, so we wouldn't be forced to listen to their irritating voice-overs. Granted, there's only one character erring in that direction, but unfortunately, it's Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris), a whiny, disturbed, introverted old maid who's got some serious bats in the belfry--she's feeling (what else?) guilt over the recent "natural" death of the sick old mother she's nursed for the past eight years. Eleanor, of course, proves to be the most susceptible to the eerie but invisible apparitions of Hill House, an abandoned old estate where she and three other guests (well-played by Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, and Russ Tamblyn) are embarking on a search for the supernatural.

Harris does the best she can, but watching her wander about like Alice in Wonderland on crack, murmuring awful dialogue like "The house wants me, the house is alive," is more likely to evoke laughs than chills. There's also a protracted early scene in which Harris is driving toward her unfortunate destination, plagued by anxiety, fear, and that ever-present voice-over, that is a complete rip-off of the same scene Janet Leigh did in "Psycho" (and I apologize for even mentioning the name of that superior film in this review).

The idea behind all this prolonged psychobabble, of course, is that "The Haunting" can be considered as either a genuine ghost story or simply a story of a woman's deteriorating psyche, and that the ambiguities of the human mind are ultimately far more frightening than the sight of actual spooks. It's an excellent idea, but there's also such a thing as being too vague; in fact, the scariest moment in the entire film occurs when it finally decides to actually SHOW us something scary, rather than anesthetize us with obtrusive close-ups and creaky music. (Humphrey Searle's score blares so incessantly it could turn you off to soundtracks altogether.) Certainly, an excess of gore isn't the recipe for a successful horror movie, but if there's one thing that "The Haunting" demonstrates, it's that an excess of anything else is hardly an improvement.

The Wise choice for the Occult!
Call it horror or a supernatural thriller, "The Haunting" (1963) ruled out the pitfalls that made others of the genre seem pretentious. On first sight you are treated to a mansion set in an evil aura with baroque décor and looming statues. Doctor Markway (Richard Johnson) presides over the investigation, supplying us with an excellent catalog of phenomena to fuel our apprehension. Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris) is the hysterical spinster whose emotional fears become bound with ours. Then there is the wild soundtrack. Humphrey Searle composed a creepy score with a strong arrangement of brass and strings, creating an abstract and crazy effect to attack the senses. A perfect plot, script, narrative and good casting builds the horror through the viewer's own imagination. The best example of a movie to triumph over gore, intense violence and CGI. More evidence that "black and white" is not an obsolete format but an underused film technique. Robert Wise is a versatile director who showed a genuine skill in fright. You will not find "The Haunting" in any shallow top ten list with other famous horror films. You will find it taking refuge in your personal list of what you fear. A movie with a formula to survive repeated viewing and perpetual quality on DVD.

One of the scarest 60's films in the world.
Most people see the remake and won't bother with this one, but this film is really truely pure horror unlike the remake, one of the scarest films ever made, it also tells a classic story of a repressed women and a house that makes her lose her mind, the film is so much more than all of that though, it has all the events timed perfectly as it keeps bulding more and more untill the frightning conclution, If you're a true horror fan give this one a shot, you'll love it.

A chilling movie about an evil house
HIll House has been standing empty for almost 90 years. Whipsers of strange phenomena have kept would-be ocupants away for a long time; not even the owners will live their. That is, until Dr. John Markway assembles a small team to invesitgate the supposed supernatural events of the house. He invites Theodora, a psychic who lives a very different lifestyle; Eleanor, a sheltered young woman who recently lost her canterkaerous mother and has had experienece with poltergeist phenomena; and Luke Sanderson, soon to inherit Hill House and acting as the family's representative. Together, they begin to study the house, it's history and architecture. Or, has the house chosen one of the team for its own purposes?

Horror film director Robert Wise does a magnificent job with this adaptation of the Shirley Jackson novel. Very few visual effects are used, instead relying on lighting (the one scene with the wallpaper in Eleanor's room is eerie), atmosphere, sound and the viewers own fear to create a creepingly chilling film. They make the viewer feel like actors in the movie instead of bystanders. All the actors give fine performances: Clair Bloom as Theo, Russ Tamblyn as Luke, and Richard Johnson as Dr. Markway. But, Julie Harris' performance of Eleanor makes the film. Her almost childlike confusion, fear and determination to stay the course keep you enrapt in the film.

It's very refreshing to see a horror film that doesn't rely so much on expensive special effects to get the chills across, instead using acting, lighting and story to convey terror and fright. This is a classic horror film that still delivers to this day.

Good, but lacks the depth of the novel
I probably would have liked this movie a lot better if I hadn't read Shirley Jackson's brilliant book first. The Haunting is a decent haunted house film, not terrible by any means, but it is an inadequate adaptation. Maybe a more faithful adaptation of the book would have been impossible, since the novel depends so much on psychological suggestion and an unreliable (and possibly deranged) protagonist. That sort of subtlety is more difficult to express on film: there is the truth of what the camera is seeing, that is all. Ambiguity of perception cannot be easily communicated on film.

The most crucial change (to me, anyway), and one that makes me wonder if the screenwriters really read Jackson's book at all, is that Theo is made into a stereotypical "predatory lesbian" character. Eleanor's relationship with Theodora is more layered and complex in the novel, and her conflicts with Theo have a lot to do with her increasingly fragile mental state. In the book, /Eleanor/ pursues Theo. Theodora's rejection of Eleanor (directly or indirectly) leads to the outcome of the story. The "manifestations" in the house are more about Eleanor's essential loneliness and need for belonging than ghosts. The filmmakers of The Haunting definitely grasp this (unlike the filmmakers of the completely awful remake), but removed from its context, Eleanor's sense of rejection in the film is hard to understand. I suppose the filmmakers transferred Eleanor's romantic interest to the doctor rather than Theodora due to the controversial nature of homosexuality, but by doing this, the context of Eleanor's breakdown is removed, and movie Eleanor is a lot harder to relate to.

I'd suggest that you read the book *and* watch the movie, to give yourself some basis for comparison. Ordinarily I don't think it matters if movies are not faithful to the books they were adapted from, but in this case I think it significantly alters the essential meaning of the story (and The Haunting of Hill House is more than simple genre horror, no matter what anyone might say.) ... Read more

Description

Radiation from bomb tests creates giant, mutant ants that descend upon a town. ... Read more

Reviews (100)

Best of the Big Bad Bugs!
Yes, the special effects are very much of the 1950s, but those effects are fun to watch--and unlike most other 1950s sci-fi/horror films, THEM! has a lot more going for it than special effects alone: sharp and aggressive performances, a cast of truly memorable supporting actors, a witty and intelligent script, and best of all (unlike many other films of its era) a story that can still generate plenty of suspense.

The grand-daddy of all mutant-monster movies, THEM! concerns a colony of A-Bomb-created giant ants that have lurked in the desert unnoticed until the colony begins to divide. When newborn queen ants take flight, the world is in danger--particularly Los Angeles, where a nest establishes itself in the city's largely forgotten storm drains. Edmund Gwynne and Joan Weldon give strong performances as the father-daughter scientific team sent from Washington to investigate, and James Whitmore and James Arness give able support as the action-heros of the piece. Fess Parker is also very effective in a small supporting role.

The real winner in the film, however, are the clever cinematography and sound effects that build tremendous suspense, particularly when investigators must enter the desert ant nest and later track the ants to their Los Angeles lair. These scenes possess a claustrophobic feel not seen again in any sci-fi/horror flick until ALIEN. Without graphic gore but more than a few serious thrills, THEM! is a film the whole family can enjoy.

Finally this 1954 scifi landmark Classic comes to DVD!!
In the 1950's the world was testing A-bombs, Hydrogen Bombs, strange results were beginning to appear & Hollywoods imagination was added to the theories. The results a series of movies about radioactive mutated creatures. The first was "THEM".

"THEM" (1954) is a landmark movie about giant radiation-mutated ants that gets better with age and boasts remarkable, Academy Award-nominated special effects.

Summary: Our story begins in a New Mexico desert with a shocked wandering child, destroyed general store & battered corpse full of enough formic acid to kill 20 men. The search begins to find & destroy these menacing insects. The giant mutated ants are on the move and the climatic battle is in over 700 miles of Los Angeles sewers.

An ALL-STAR cast led by James Whitmore, James Arness and Edmund Gwenn.

Special Features include; Behind the Scenes Archive footage, Montage & Operation on the Giant Ants, & film trailer.

This was the first and probably the best movie featuring the worlds & Hollywoods take on the possible results of radioactive mutation.

"THEM" in a great Black & White Standard version (Original theatrical exhibition) digitally restored presenting a very exceptional picture & sound. This sci-fi classic is worth the price of addmission so get out the popcorn and ENJOY!!

You Can't Stop "Them"!
In the late 1940's and 1950's the USA and the Soviet Union repeatedly tested nuclear bombs. In the USA the early tests were done in the desert southwest, and the mushroom clouds could be seen for dozens of miles (and the noise could be heard for hundreds of miles). As scientists measured the increased levels of radiation in milk served to schoolchildren and their parents built bomb shelters in their backyards, Hollywood decided to take the cold war paranoia which made the fifties so unique and create a new type of sci-fi/horror movie - the "mutant monster" film. Along with the original "Godzilla", 1954's "Them" is one of the best of the lot. It starts out in the New Mexico desert, where two state troopers discover a mobile home that's been ripped apart by some unknown animal. The adults are missing, but they do find a terrified little girl (a creepy Sandy Descher) who's so shocked that she can't talk and simply stares wide-eyed and zombie-like at the policemen. A fierce sandstorm blows up, and the troopers then arrive at a local general store that's been ripped apart like the trailer. Curiously no money or valuables were stolen, but sugar has been spread everywhere, and the owner's corpse is found. He had emptied his shotgun at his attacker before being killed with a massive injection of acid. The troopers also find some tracks from an "unknown" large animal. Baffled by this turn of events, one trooper takes the mute little girl to a hospital. The other trooper stays behind to guard the store, but he is attacked and killed by an unknown assailant. The next day Robert Graham (a pre-Gunsmoke James Arness), an FBI agent, arrives to help with the investigation. Soon they are joined by two scientists from the Agriculture Dept. in Washington - the eccentric but brilliant Dr. Harold Medford (a scene-stealing Edmund Gwenn) and his lovely daughter and assistant, Dr. Pat Medford (Joan Weldon). The scientists have a hunch that the "unknown" animal that killed the storeowner and destroyed the buildings was - a giant ant! The ants had been at the site of the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico in 1945, and the radiation has caused them to mutate to an enormous, man-eating size. Soon our heroic quartet is involved in a race against time to find and destroy the ant's colony before they can reproduce and spread across the world. When the queen ant and some male escorts escape the search becomes even more frantic, and leads to a final showdown in the vast sewers of Los Angeles. This film features fine performances by all three of the male leads - James Whitmore as the gruff-but-warm-hearted New Mexico cop, Arness as the quintessentially stern and macho 1950's movie hero, and Gwenn as the quirky ant expert. Although the special effects are obviously primitive by today's standards, "Them" actually had a larger budget than most fifties sci-fi movies, and the ants themselves were an impressive creation for their time. This film also features an impressive number of cameos by future celebrities, including Fess Parker of "Davy Crockett" fame in a hilarious role as a hillbilly pilot who sees three "ant-shaped" UFOs buzzing his airplane. When he tells his story he is declared "crazy" and locked in a mental hospital. Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek's "Mr. Spock") also has a tiny cameo. "Them" was so successful that it was followed by a string of imitators, but it remains superior to all of them. This DVD offers a neat featurette on how they made the giant ant puppets work, but it has few other "extras". However, the film itself is more than worth the relatively cheap sticker price, IMO. Recommended!

A great 1950s horror classic
This adventure was perhaps the best of the mutant-insect monster films that were so popular in the 1950s. In this story, huge, fearsome eight-foot ants were spawned as a result of nuclear testing in the New Mexico desert, and they wreak havoc in the White Sands area, where several people are missing or found dead under mysterious circumstances. The FBI enters the case and they enlist the expertise of two entomologists to help uncover the disappearance of missing persons and the awful realization of what has been taking place in the desert. A nest of the mutant ants is found and destroyed but the queen has already taken flight and must be found before she can hatch another batch of monsters. Eventually, the nest is discovered in a system of storm drains below the streets of Los Angeles, and sets the stage for a tense finish. The black and white cinematography is moody, and the good music score has an eerie, haunting quality that suggests a terrifying, unknown evil.

Great Film For Fans Of The Genre!
Them! has always been one of my favorite 50's American monster flicks. The story and the human drama are very well done and do not overdo themselves.
Really the only sour part about this film is the ants' screen time is very limited, but sweet when they are on screen!
A must have for those who are fans of the genre! ... Read more

Reviews (151)

"It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..."
"It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..."

--Leslie Nielsen as Commander J.J. Adams in the final scene of FORBIDDEN PLANET.

SENSATIONAL SCREENPLAY!!! FANTASTIC MUSIC!!!
EXCELLENT ACTING!!! The producers of FORBIDDEN PLANET took Shakepeare's "The Tempest," teleported the play on the flying saucer C 57-D in the year 2200 AD past the speed of light to the planet Altair 4, threw in a mad scientist, Dr. Edward Morbius--veteran of 100 movies, Canadian Walter Pidgeon--played him opposite a young, rugged handsome space commander--another Canadian, Leslie Nielsen as J.J. Adams, an unusual blend of leading man, space captain, military man, and detective--gave the mad scientist a beautiful daughter named Altaira--21 year old beautiful blonde with a mole Anne Francis, the rumored model for the Barbie Doll--surrounded the leads with terrific character actors like Jack Kelly, Warren Stevens, Earl Holliman, and Richard Anderson (best known as THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN's Oscar Goldman), and then created the GREATEST ROBOT EVER, Robby, master of "187 languages and a variety of subtongues" who serves Morbius and his daughter as security guard, chauffeur, chef, butler, and even occasional dressmaker!--lines by Marvin Miller, the classic voice for the 1950s tv show, "The Millionaire"--mixed in Freudian Psychology, a murder mystery, ray guns, THE HOUSE OF THE FUTURE, an invisible Monster From the Id, OUT OF THIS WORLD BACKGROUNDS, and the result is FORBIDDEN PLANET is a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl science fiction story with a white hot finish!

Or as Leslie Nielsen says in the final scene,
"It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..."

Chari Krishnan
RESEARCHKING

A "hand-crafted" masterpiece of science fiction.
Forbidden Planet is easily one of the finest science fiction movies ever made. Although released in 1956, it still compares favorably with much flashier movies from more recent years. The film is not a "blast-fest" in the Star Wars style, but blends modest action and beautiful hand painted special effects with a fascinating study of basic human nature. Those expecting 1950's B-movie special effects will be pleasantly surprised, as top quality hand rendered artwork abounds, as well as a flying saucer with no strings attached! Also, one of the more memorable big-screen automatons, Robby the Robot, appears in much of the film. The movie also contains some of the best sci-fi film music ever recorded, as it rises and falls to the mood of the scenes. To complement the attractive visuals and sounds is excellent casting, with Walter Pidgeon perfectly suited to the imperious Dr. Morbius. Fine performances by Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis, among others, help create a dramatic tension you can feel as the film nears its climax. Monsters, mystery and a little humor make Forbidden Planet a genuine classic, which any sci-fi fan should take time to enjoy!

Great Sci-Fi
Like all good film science fiction, "Forbidden Planet" keeps its concepts simple but their ramifications grand, which is just one of the reasons it is a timeless classic. Made at a time when sci-fi was the junk that kept restless kids in theater seats on Saturday afternoons, this ambitious take on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" nonetheless also aims for adults that grew up on the pulp fiction of the 1920s and 30s. (Its delightful production design is a seamless mix of colors, forms, and shapes familiar from those imaginative magazine covers.) The premise is Star Trek a decade before Star Trek, as a military cruiser commanded by the hard-nosed but humane J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen doing an effective melodramatic turn) visits a world populated by a secretive scholar (a wonderful Walter Pidgeon), his curious daughter (a sometimes grating Ann Francis), their robot butler (the epitome of mechanical men) and a mostly unseen terror (illustrated by topnotch Disney animators). Beyond great special effects and an innovative musical score, the film also engages a firm--if now familiar--science fiction plot, unlike so many of the noisy and expensive but ultimately overwrought and empty-headed sci-fi movies of today.

The best of science fiction
This has to be my favorite movie about space travel and alien life. The landing of an exploration spaceship is believable and the technology is also reasonable. When they encounter invisible forces they are frightened and cautious.
They encounter a former explorer who has taken up residence and is a great scientist. Tremendous computer knowledge and Krell metal are just samples of the far out technology. Robbie the robot makes entertaining fun for young folks and there's not much violence - a real plus, I think.

"Civilization without instrumentalities?"
There are a handful of 1950's sci-fi movies that have a big reputation - "When Worlds Collide", "The Thing From Another World", "Forbidden Planet", and "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Unfortunately, only "The Day The Earth Stood Still" really stands up (except the robot).

This movie has big concepts, and none of them work anymore, if they ever did. Part thriller, part drama, part mad-scientist melodrama. There are just too many things going on, and all of them "supposedly" explained in long-winded speeches that answer nothing.

"Forbidden Planet" starts off looking much like Star Trek TOS, including the transporter. In reality, ST:TOS creator Gene Roddenberry admits this movie formed part of the basis for Star Trek. In a nutshell, a United Planets space cruiser captained by Leslie Nielsen lands on Altair, against the wishes of its inhabitant, Dr. Morbius, a remnant from a previous expedition. He and his 25 year old daughter (Anne Francis) are the only humans on the planet. There is also a robot called "Robbie" that goes on to stardom in the "Lost in Space" series. The doctor reluctantly shows the others his discovery about an ancient extinct race called the Krell. The "big" ending is too weird and funny to be described.

The entire robot aspect and the tasks he performs is just silly (in the "Lost In Space" vein). Earl Holliman's character of "Cookie" was put in for comedic effect - unfortunately most has to do with his dealings with the robot - including getting the robot to make bourbon - which only adds to the silliness.

The actors are quite serious and for the most part are OK. Leslie Nielsen plays it straight. Anne Francis is entertaining as the daughter. Though initially somewhat innocent and ignorant of sex, as might be guessed, the captain ends up with her.

The sets are incredibly hokey. The all-electronic score does not help. Ambitious, atrociously fake special effects that probably were OK in 1956. Possibly the goofiest sci-fi movie ever. Don't get me wrong - this is a well-made and well-intentioned movie, but as with "When Worlds Collide" and "The Thing...", it is recommended only for a laugh.

A further insult is that the robot is not accurately depicted (wrong "face" and hands) on the DVD cover, and he never holds anyone in his arms. ... Read more

Description

The greatest horror film of all! A long time ago in middle Europe, a decrepit, forbidding castle stood. Casting an ominous shadow over the townspeople who dare not look upon it, the unholy dwelling is home to one Count Orlok (Max Schreck), an undead night creature with a taste for human blood. Showcasing the extremely eerie Schreck, "Nosferatu" is the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula," stylistically directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau. Now available in this gorgeous newly remastered and rescored by The Silent Orchestra in 5.1 audio. ... Read more

Reviews (137)

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
If Todd Browning's "Dracula" is about the sound of Bela Lugosi's accented voice saying "Good Evening," then F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" is about the sights of Max Schreck's grostesque figure rising up out of his coffin. The fact that this is a silent film actually adds to the atmospheric tension; think of the moment when the death ship slips into the port of Bremen, carrying its cargo of death. The story is clearly Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (although the names have been changed to pretend otherwise and avoid paying the author's estate), and this 1922 film is actually more faithful than most versions of the novel, which almost invariably avoid the actual conclusion to the tale. Murnau's version ends with vampire's downfall being caused by a sacrifice based on the love of Ellen Hutter (Greta Schroder, the "Mina" character) for Thomas (Gustav von Wangenehim as the "Jonathan Harker" character). Even though Schreck's "Count Orlok" is clearly an example of German Expressionism with his gaunt countenance and immensely long talons he stalks his prey through a decidedly realistic 19th-century world, which also somehow magically adds to the film's effectiveness. Similarly, the "special effects" are nothing more than such rudimentary tricks as stop motion and double exposure, but none the less potent for their simplicity. Perhaps the greatest testament to this film is that directors who have filmed the Dracula story since "Nosferatu" have included homages to Murnau's masterpiece, from Browning (the actor playing the count is also the coachman) to Coppola (the count's terrifying shadow cast large on the wall). When released in 1922 this film was also known as "Nosferatu the Vampire," "Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror," "Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror," and even "Terror of Dracula." The 1998 reissue title in the United States was "Nosferatu: The First Vampire."

The Best Dracula Movie Ever
This movie is a beatifully shot and brilliantly told version of Bram Stoker's novel. Unfortunately for its makers, it was also an unofficial one, and they were sued by Stoker's widow. Maybe if she knew what some of the later Dracula movies would be like, she wouldn't have done that. I prefer "Nosferatu" to the Bela Lugosi version (which was not bad, but a bit cheesy even for an old movie), the Christopher Lee version "Horror of Dracula" (which was quite good), and the Gary Oldman version (which was weak in my opinion). "Nosferatu" is a silent film, so don't see it unless you're in the mood to read! I saw it on T.V. on Halloween, when I was recovering from surgery, and I was very impressed with the film. It's a truly different cinematic experience. The nature shots and castle shots are beatiful but eerie, and the title villian is chilling rather than corny. He's very menacing, with none of the romantic appeal often associated with Dracula but all of the sinister presence. Seeing the scene on the ship, it seems as though "Nosferatu" paved the way for the soulless killer archetype later represtented in "Halloween" (among other films). And boy, is he ugly! The scene where he looks at the guy who cut his hand is easily the scariest version of that scene ever filmed. I did find the ending a bit anticlimatic, but it is one of those endings that's anticlimatic in a somehow charming way (also similar to "Halloween," not in content but in feel). This atmospheric picture is not only a fun and spooky film to view, but it also appears to be quite influencial on the horror genre.

WARNING: The soundtrack to this movie is horrible. Remember, back in the silent era of cinema the music was added by some guy at the movie theater playing the piano, so there was never any official original soundtrack to "Nosferatu." Still, the people who restored it could have done without the tropical island music that couldn't be more out of place in a 1922 German film. They might as well have put a hip hop soundtrack to the movie. I'm serious, it's really that out of place. However, this didn't bother me too much, and it shouldn't bother you. Why? Because it's a silent film. Just MUTE the [darn] thing!

Creepy Atmospheric Classic
I recall seeing this film as a child, around the age of 9 or so, and being scared witless by Max Schreck's Count Orlok. Schreck's vampyre still remains ultra creepy ~ those long, clawlike hands, those deepset eyes, those scraggly sharp teeth ~ and perhaps my favorite incarnation of the bloodsucking undead. The photography of the Carpathian countryside is breathtaking, adding authentic atmosphere to the setting. You are, actually, 'there'. The special effects are also impressive for the time, and the tinting of the film, I believe, is original. Many silent films were tinted: blue for night, red for danger, sepia or orange for bright day, green for other effects. I make a plug for Greta Schroeder, who did an admirable job of pacing distractedly, filled with awful foreboding. I was quite satisified with the choice of soundtracks on the DVD, and my 17-year-old son had a blast switching between them as the mood struck. You ought to see this at least once ~ it's the one that started them all.

let's have the guts to admit it - this is BORING
I suppose only those that like this movie will check the reviews. Mostly to read about how others like the movie as well as they do. But lord, what a boring movie this is. I don't care if it's a "classic," I don't care how revered it is. Just because it's old and silent and the "first" movie about vampires/Dracula, does NOT mean that this is a good movie. I've seen plenty of silent movies, and it's true that most are boring, but some can be entertaining (I liked 1913's Cleopatra, for example). Nosferatu, on the other hand, is a bore. The mass of the story deals with people traveling, so you have tons of time wasted on someone walking, or riding a horse through vast landscapes, or having a ship drift through water. Walking and walking, riding, going places all the time - and never spending much time on the story when they actually GET THERE! It's such a terrible letdown. All this build up, and not much payoff. The director of this movie was obsessed with "filler." Filling time, wasting time, "just keep walking." Parts that were meant to be scary sometimes work. But barely. Count Orlock does look creepy (like a rat, or a bat creature, whatever...), and there are a few scenes of eerie looking shadows against walls. But that's about it. Sometimes Count Orlock looks silly, like when he's walking through town carrying a coffin as if it were light as cardboard (which it probably was). Worst of all, they took away the black and white of this movie by adding tints. So you get blues and greens and pinks. Horrible. Also, the music - well, enough people have complained about the music. It doesn't fit, especially near the beginning when it's just upbeat sounding and la-la-la happy silly and stupid. Grrr. I hated this movie. Glad I finally watched it, since it has such a reputation, but whew - what a pile. Don't buy into "this is great because it's so old" nonsense. This is boring, plain and simple. - Let the "not helpful" clicks begin!

Nosferatu - Special Edition
Nosferatu is definetly a classic film ; not only in the genre but also out of all movies.This was the first Silent film I've ever seen.And I was suprised that it actually held my attention.Count Orlock (The Vampire) was extremely chilly and haunting.The music was also well composed.I've heard there are many versions of the film so I think I've seen a very good one.It is a very dark haunting story.The castles and Carpathians add to the mood that was set for the film.I've also heard that there was a big lawsuit that Bram Stoker's wife made against the maker.This is a truly deep and intriguing movie for it's time and quality.Make sure to check it out.F.W. Murnau's German silent classic is the original--and some say most frightening--DRACULA adaptation, taking Bram Stoker's novel and turning it into a haunting, shadowy dream full of dread. Names had to be changed from the novel when Stoker's wife charged his novel was being filmed without proper permission. Running times vary depending upon versions of the film. Count Orlok, the rodentlike vampire frighteningly portrayed by Max Schreck, is perhaps the most animalistic screen portrayal of a vampire ever filmed. The design was copied by Werner Herzog in his 1979 remake and by Tobe Hooper for his telefilm of Stephen King's SALEM'S LOT that same year. NOSFERATU is an eerie, menacing film that should not be missed. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Do Research Before Paying 150.00 For This!!!!!
I've found info on-line stating that Quatermass and the pit / Quatermass 2 is coming back in print on July 27th 2004. Can't say for sure if this info is correct. But you might what to look around before you get taken advantage of.

Finally! Hammer Horror Classics Available...Two for One!!!!
I have been waiting for the re-release of these movies, especially the final movie in the trilogy, Quatermass and the Pit, for a long time. I saw both of these as second billed movies way, way back when I was young......Quatermass 2(called "Enemy From Space" in the U.S.A.), when I was really young, and Quatermass and the Pit (called Five Million Miles to Earth...) when I was a teen. Both movies are super creepy, in the old fashioned sense........not a lot of fantastic special effects, but enough to keep the stories moving along. The effects are certainly powerful though, and really well done considering.........they are a tribute to the incredible talent at work making these films, and they are great examples of Hammer Films at their best. Both are good, well written, original stories, with the emphasis on acting and great directing. It is great storytelling.....and unfortunately some of the last of the great films to come out of Hammer Studios. Standout acting from all involved, and that is the key to believing these stories.......pretty fantastic stories, played straight all the way through. Professor Quatermass is such a great character, with a long history in British film and TV..... and Brian Donlevy in Quatermass 2 and Andrew Kier in Quatermass and the Pit are standouts. Anchor Bay does such a good job with these old film releases.....if you are a Sci-Fi nut, this is certainly a double bill you would be proud to have in your collection. Great job, and thank you Anchor Bay!! Finally!!!
ENJOY!!!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Something's wrong in the town of Santa Mira, California. At first, Dr.Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is unconcerned when the townsfolk accuse their loved ones of acting like emotionless imposters. But soon the evidence is overwhelming--Santa Mira has been invaded by alien "pods" that are capable of replicating humans and taking possession of their identities. It's up to McCarthy to spread the word of warning, battling the alien invasion at the risk of his own life. Considered one of the best science fiction films of the 1950s and '60s, this classic paranoid thriller was widely interpreted as a criticism of the McCarthy era (that's Senator Joseph, not actor Kevin), which was characterized by anticommunist witch-hunts and fear of the dreaded blacklist. Some hailed it as an attack on the oppressive power of government as Big Brother. However viewers interpret it, this original 1956 version of Invaders of the Body Snatchers (based on Jack Finney's serialized novel The Body Snatchers) remains a milestone movie in its genre, directed by Don Siegel with an inventive intensity that continues to pack an entertaining wallop. Look closely and you'll find future director Sam Peckinpah (an uncredited cowriter of this film) making a cameo appearance as a meter reader! The DVD release includes an interview with Kevin McCarthy, and for the first time on home video the film is presented in its original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (65)

Body Snatchers Invade Video Collection
Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers proves to be a classic of the science-fiction genre. Usually bored to death of sci-fi films, I quite enjoyed this film of pods taking over and transforming themselves into the citizens of Santa Mira, while they sleep, in the hopes of soon engulfing the entire world. Brilliantly acted by Kevin McCarthy in the role Miles Bennel, and Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll, with a wonderful supporting cast, the film is easily believable. With Milt Rice in charge of special effects, the entire collaberation is a marvel for its time. Upon returning home from a trip, Miles finds the Santa Mira townspeople to be acting a bit unusual, but little does he know that one by one the townspeople are being taken over by pods from another world. Miles and Becky, Miles' girlfriend, attempt to warn the town and save the others, but it soon proves to be no easy feat for them to save themselves. The two drive, and then literally run, for their lives through the California hills. If they can make it to the highway and then to the neighboring town, perhaps they and the world can be saved. With impressive cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks, notably the highway scene late in the film, and a striking musical score by Carmen Dragon, this film has quickly become one of my favorites. To occupy a place on the shelves amidst my usual favorites is not an easy thing for a film to do, especially for one that is science-fiction, but this brilliant sci-fi film, which hints a bit at McCarthyism, is a can't miss for any film lover.

They're coming, and you're next!
Wonderful science fiction classic that concentrates on Kevin McCarthy's growing sense of fear and isolation. If anybody doesn't know the plot of this movie, its basic premise is that people are being replaced with alien replicas, with the only clue being a lack of emotion in the new versions. Paranoid people should not watch this film, which has also been classed as a horror film. I think it would have been better in a "Director's Cut" - originally there were no voiceovers, and the film ended with McCarthy standing in the middle of a highway, desperately trying to get someone to stop and listen to him, but the studio decided that was too bleak and demoralizing. Still, this is a great movie, only slightly less shocking for the additions. This version is presented in crisp B&W, in both widescreen and pan and scan. Also included is the original trailer and a short interview with McCarthy on some local TV show from the Seventies. I give the movie itself 5 stars, as it is one of the true classics (better than the 1978 version, and FAR better than the 1997 version), but the DVD gets 4 for its rather bland presentation.

It's alright but I probably missed the political point
Having been born well after the McCarthy era the political sub-text was lost on me. I just thought it was another one of those 50s sci-fi b movies made. Of course I had vague ideas of America at the time and how they were run but I didn't exactly join the dots together and link them up. What I saw was a sci-fi b-movie - nothing else. Still it wasn't bad

I got this really cheap in a store ( 5 euros ) and basically what I got looked like I bought a copy of some guy's video. I'm not complaining about it considering 5 euros for a DVD is alright and besides - it was nothing major. It was in colour and it started off bizarrely. Bizarre in the sense at how the music was so strange and how for the first 15 minutes of the film it was all just people falling down a hole somewhere out in the fields. Seems fairly stupid so far but I do admit that it was quite frightening when the dad lashed out at his son. The realism in that shot was something I hadn't seen before.

Basically you can get the story now about what's about to happen and I won't want to say anymore in case I might ruin the film for you ( nobody likes that do they ). But I will say that I found the Martians and their underground lair to be rather pathetic. OK just the lair then. When the men in green suits start undertaking their tasks it's pretty funny to see white balloons just sway a little as if a little gentle breeze had passed. And the amount of times you had to hear " Let me go let go let me go " it really begins to get on your nerves.

Historically you could say that this is a good film if you know your history. If you just want a bit of an enjoyable sci-fi movie then this can also be achieved. Either way you get enjoyment out of it.

Keep awake, keep awake!!!!.
This is a remarkable movie in many ways. With a relatively small budget a very interesting Sci-Fi / horror film is made. No big visual effects, no Big Stars in the cast, black n' white photography and still a griping story. There are two remakes of this story, they can't stand against the original one, even if they were produced with a bigger budget and known actors.

This is the plot: Dr. Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) returns to his small home town ready to attend patients. Different consultants tell him of a paranoid syndrome: their relatives seem somehow changed. A couple of days after that, they return to his office and tell him "Everything is OK".
Dr. Bennell and her old times girl friend Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter) soon realize the town is being subject to an alien invasion plot. Huge seed are "planted" in basements or garages and evolved in a duplicate of a person (a clone will be called today). As soon as the victim fells asleep is "transformed". The tension grows up as time pass and the characters need to sleep.

Some comments issued around the film pointed out that it may be taken as a parable of the Cold War raging at the time it was released (1956). I think that there are more films of that period, alluding the frightful issue of "They are like us but they are NOT us and they are dangerous", as in "The Thing from another World" (1951) or "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (1958).

The actress Carolyn Jones (later best known by her impersonation of Morticia at the "Addams Family" TV serial) play a short, but very well enacted, role
A very enjoyable film to be seen.
Duration: 80 minutes

GREAT
This is a GREAT transfer of the original film! The sound is good, the picture is good, it's simply a grand dvd! The film here has good acting and casting. Good story and good ending. What more could a sci fi junkie need? This film was made countless times after but this is the original and the best.Kevin did great as the main character here. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The reigning masterpiece of Italian horror cinema, Mario Bava's Black Sunday remains one of the most stylishly photographed of all horror films, ranking with any other black-and-white film of lasting repute. This was the master cameraman's official directorial debut, and his striking compositions are the work of a genuine artist in peak form. Loosely adapted from a story by Nikolai Gogol, this chilling vampire tale begins in17th-century Moldavia, where the evil Princess Asa (Barbara Steele) is executed for witchcraft and vampirism, along with her brother Javutich (Arturo Dominici). Two centuries later, a pair of traveling doctors discover Asa's crypt and inadvertently revive the evil princess, whose scheme of vampiric revenge is aimed at her own identical descendant Princess Katia, an innocent beauty (also played by Steele) whose lifeblood will ensure Asa's immortality.

Influenced by Universal's classic horror films of the '30s and British Hammer films of the late '50s, Black Sunday (released in Italy as The Mask of Satan) is a dark fairy tale, with horror queenSteele as the definitive embodiment of erotic horror. With shocking violence (tame by today's standards) and visual emphasis on tombs, secret passages, ominous castles, and unseen forces, the film offers a wealth of memorable imagery and inventive technique. Redubbed, rescored, and harshly edited for its American release in 1961, Black Sunday is presented on DVD in the original English-language director's cut of The Mask of Satan, never before available in the U.S. The perfect movie to watch on a dark and stormy night, this timeless classic is the Citizen Kane of horror films, entirely worthy of its lofty reputation. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Classic Goth Guignol
The incredibly photogenic original Goth queen, Barbara Steele, couldn't have asked for a better film debut than this atmospheric black-and-white classic by famed director Mario Bava. She gets to play both the innocent and beautiful ingenue Katya, and Katya's evil twin ancestor, the diabolical witch, Asa.

Steele's performance is half the reason to watch this conventional black magic/ghost/vampire tale, the other half being Bava's cinematography and skillful direction. This is an especially violent film, opening on the execution of Asa and her evil manservant, Javuto, by the nailing of spiked devil masks to their faces (the original title of the film was Mask of Satan). The visuals in this, and all other, scenes in the film are archetypally perfect. The actual framing and composition of each shot is beautifully done, throughout. The scenery is lush, the makeups unsettling - especially the resurrected Asa, with the holes in her face from the mask - and many of the effects are equally disturbing, especially one in which Asa's naked ribcage is exposed.

European horror cinema of the 1960s was the best the genre ever produced, and this was one of its premiere features. Highly recommended not only for horror fans, but for serious film students as well.

Dark, gothic, evil fun
Let me start by saying Barbara Steele is just plain weird looking. She is not unattractive. She is just...disturbing. Maybe that is why she fits so well into the role of an ancient witch condemned to death, a horrible iron mask nailed to her face.

Time passes and some travellers wander into her crypt despite their coach driver's warning. And of course they manage to break the wards and symbols that keep her from returning to life.

Black Sunday features great set design and an oppressively dark mood that oozes evil and menace in every scene. Apparently the film is available in two versions. I think I got the bad one. One version is heavily edited but features voicework by the original actors in english and better overall sound quality. I bought the extended version which unfortunately has some pretty bad voice acting.

Buy Black Sunday if you like classic horror movies such as the old Universal monster films, but wish that they didn't pull their punches so much. I would have given Black Sunday 5 stars, but the voice acting in my version is going to cost it a star. Still, most people suggest this version (the full version) over the shorter version, so the choice comes down to your own preference.

The heavenly totality of Asa Vadya's eyes
(...)

This is certainly a minor stylistic masterpiece. It creates atmosphere that is thick, foreboding, and claustrophobic. The story, however, is not worthy of such a lush, lavish treatment. It just doesn't possess any emotional depth. The whole film is Barbara Steele's eyes. They possess power that the film as a whole simply does not. The fog the film is enveloped in is not pervasive enough to mask the bitter emptiness of the tale being conveyed. It is difficult to criticize the film on its cinematic qualities. Nevertheless, the story does not mesmerize, tantalize or excite beyond those moments when Asa is moaning in her blood ecstasy. Indeed, my grandest (futile) wish was for Asa to slaughter them all and then to hit the road looking for more victims to prey upon.

Barbara Steele weeps, shrieks, sighs, faints, screams, moans, gasps, and is undeniably fascinating to watch. She is far more interesting as Asa. As Katia, she is a cipher. She's drained of life and hysterical to boot. Asa has activated her will (if the undead can even be said to possess a will--the will of Satan?). Katia is receptive, helpless and boring. She's just a lonely princess longing for her prince (yawn). It isn't Ms. Steele's fault--the character is simply dismal. She's the "good" girl--she doesn't have to do anything, except mope about in a perfectly awful hairdo. The rest of the cast are perfectly plastic--save for Arturo Dominici as Javutich. He's a fine match for Ms. Steele and wondefully terrible. He has presence that the others lack.

Still, the film is simply gorgeous. The story might not be my glass of Absinthe, but the film is still visually stunning. It lacks emotion and depth--but it makes up for it somewhat in the sheer power of its images. Obvious films that clearly map out the binary opposites at play are just not that intriguing. When you know from the start that virtue will win and evil will be destroyed, it kind of takes the thrill out of the whole thing.

BRAVO BAVA AND STEELE
If you are a true horror connoseur of great horror films, BLACK SUNDAY or THE MASK OF SATAN, belongs in your repertoire of those films which defined what "horror" movies should be about.
Mario Bava's first film is full of eloquent imagery, darkly atmospheric sets and lighting, and an almost palpable sense of doom. Barbara Steele, who went on with Hazel Court, to be the true scream queens of the sixties, is perfect in the dual role of the witch and her descendant; Bava knew that Steele's beauty is not of the usual kind and he used his lens to soften some of her harshness, but yet to ignite those gorgeous eyes. Steele also knew how to handle the camera, how to peer not only into the eyes of her fellow actors, but into your eyes as well.
John Richardson's boyish handsomeness is a perfect contrast to Steele's dark beauty. (Only complaint about DVD is the obvious dubbing, with "radio dj" voices that at times lessened the impact of the movie). The silent stagecoach ride is as many readers have commented one of the eeriest scenes captured on celluloid.
This is a frightening movie, way ahead of its time, and maintains a crude brilliance that is still penetrating today.

Bava Lives!
BLACK SUNDAY (aka THE MASK OF SATAN) marks the directorial debut of prolific horror director Mario Bava, and what a debut! The story, a Gothic masterpiece about vampirism being an extension of Satan worship, is quite interesting. Barbara Steel, the first horror starlet, or scream queen, is amazingly beautiful and quite good as the evil Princess Asa, who curses her family after being condemned as a witch, and Princess Katia, her ancestor. A chairjumper every five minutes! It lulls you asleep and then slaps you awake with the next scary moment. True suspense is being built up as the plot goes along nice and slow (even under an hour and a half!) The whole film is gorgeous and really showed me that a black-and-white movie can be just as scary and cringe-inducing as one in bright color.
Yes, Mario Bava is the founding father of Italian horror as we know it! Not only is he a great director, but he is an excellent cameraman and special effects artist, just to name a few other things he did in his movies. Thanks to Bava, we have masterpieces from other great directors as Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, DEEP RED, TENEBRE, INFERNO), Lucio Fulci (DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND), and even Mario's own son Lamberto (MACABRE, A BLADE IN THE DARK, DEMONS 1 & 2). Hell, even the Bavas helped Argento on occasion (Mario directed that awesome underwater sequence in INFERNO, and Lamberto was assistant director on that and TENEBRE). So remember, when you think about how awesome Italian horror movies were back in the day and all the masterpieces that came out of that country, remember Mario Bava. And watch BLACK SUNDAY and all of his other movies! ... Read more

Description

A legendary seven-hour silent crime serial in ten episodes. "Les Vampires" follows the exploits of a brazen and resourceful band of arch-criminals who rob the rich, transfix the elite of France, and almost elude the obsessive pursuit of crusading journalist Phillipe Guerande and his sidekick Mazamette. A series of Grand Vampires with names such as Satanas and Venomous share the irresistible Irma Vep (an anagram of "vampire") as strategist and mistress. Sometimes seductively garbed in a black body stocking and a black hood, sometimes disguised as a boy or hidden in plain view as a maid, stenographer or bourgeois spinster, feared and desired by both her cohorts and stalkers, Irma is perhaps the first liberated screen woman. Shot off-the-cuff by writer-director Louis Feuillade in the streets and interiors of 1915 Paris, "Les Vampires" was banned by the Paris police for glorifying crime. A smash hit when finally released, and for fifty years celebrated as a masterpiece of French cinema, "Les Vampires" is complete and restored, with English titles and inserts, tints and an evocative orchestral score. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

A masterpiece
Some directors have to see this work. You don't need special
effects and fancy things to achive a good film. Emotion, good
scenario and a lot of personal feeling. A classic for all times.
Some movies of the french and german cinema (1910-1935) have to be the standards for people who are involved with cinema.
Les Vampires is one of them.
Sometimes the acting in the episodes is a bit naiv but this is normal for that era.
The people who like cinema must own this work.

That's Entertainment
I have to confess that I first saw "Les Vampires" for academic reasons; because of its influence on the Surrealist movement. But now, having seen the entire series (lovingly restored) on its own terms, I think "Les Vampires" is just what it was originally meant to be-- an exciting, humorous adventure story and sort of a precursor of James Bond. The basic idea is that an investigative reporter becomes privy to the secrets of a criminal gang called "The Vampires" and manages to foil many of their plans. At the same time, WE become privy to the plans and in-fighting that go on between the Vampires and other criminal gangs. The main continuing character on the Vampires' side is Irma Vep, a beautiful cross between Mata Hari, Houdini and John Dillinger. At some point she falls prey to a criminal hypnotist, but she is always an interesting character in her own right and often sympathetic.

Technically, the DVD is wonderful; it contains the entire series on one disk, as well as several promotional films starring members of the cast. The film itself is transfered very well and is appropriately tinted; the entire project was obviously a labor of love, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

yeah...
This is just to second the previous reviewer. My DVD has the
&#$%@^% sensor tag on it as well. I can't seem to get the glue off. My advice is to hold off on buying this (brilliant, would be 5 stars+) DVD until you can be sure that tag isn't on there. For $70, this sort of gaffe can be immensely irritating.

Arrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhh!!!
I know -- this is a classic of world cinema, and it's seven hours of heaven to people who love film. Which is what makes this review so frustrating. When I opened this, I noticed that all seven hours is contained on one disc. The DVD is two-sided, which is technically brilliant, and not something I'm that familiar with seeing. Unfortunately, someone should have told the distributor about it, because when you order from amazon, you will receive your DVD with a great big sensor tag smack in the middle of what someone obviously thought was the blank side of the DVD. Removing it ruins the film. Oh, and opening the box to see if your tag is on there violates amazon's returns policy. Amazon, I love you guys, you're the best game in town, but this is a bit of a hiccup. Maybe the sensor tag only went on a couple of these suckers -- I dunno. I'd like to get the film but ordering it again will be a gamble -- a sensor tag this time or not?

Les Vampires
I saw parts of this on TCM,but missed a few chapters.
This is one of the best movies I've seen.It's a classic.For
those who like silent movies,get your hands on a copy by
any means!! ... Read more

Reviews (200)

One of the best classic horror films of all time.
My opinion of this movie, The Birds, is that it is a masterpiece of it's own time. This was a great piece of classic horror; Alfred Hitchcock did a fantastic job. The special effects were very believeable, especially for coming from the early sixties. I still haven't figured out how they got all of those birds to attack, or if half of them were fake. Also, Hitchcock did a great job of showing blood and gore when it was qppropriate, like when Jessica Tandy as Lydia Brenner finds Lonny Chapman as Deke Carter with his eyes pecked out. The movie did, however, lack music so this made it kind of drag along. Music would have paced the movie, and also added suspense and other effects. Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels was a bad actress. She showed no real emotion and always seemed to be worried about her appearance instead of her acting. I really noticed this in the bedroom scene, when she was being attacked, and she didn't even scream. Rod Taylor, who played the role of Mitch Brenner, was a great actor. He seemed real and Believable. He showed emotion in every scene, and his overall performance was pleasant. Jessica Tandy is great in all the films she is in, and this one was no exception. As Lydia Brenner, she did a great job of acting rude and mean to Melanie Daniels through out the whole movie. I was, however, very annoyed with the young actress that played Cathy Brenner. She was a horrible actress with over-elaborate emotional breakouts, and when she cried after she was attacked, it was so annoying, I thought my ears were bleeding. The ending to the film was very bland. There should have been more closure to the whole situation instead of just making you wonder what happened to them. The Birds is nothing like modern day horror films. It takes a more believeable line to horror than most modern day films. Modern horror consists mostly of the supernatural or total carnage. Although I would still put The Birds into a category with any modern day horror flicks, I still believe that it is definitely classic horror.

A nightmare comes to life - thanks to Hitchcock!
Although Alfred Hitchcock is widely regarded as the greatest director of suspense and "thriller" movies in Hollywood's long history, in his direction of "The Birds" (1963), he outdoes himself. Even more than "Psycho", which started the modern "slice-and-dice" genre of horror movies, "The Birds" is a truly disturbing and surreal experience - a nightmare which comes to life on film. In my opinion "The Birds" is unlike any other Hitchcock film - it actually comes closer to movies such as "The Sixth Sense" or even "The Matrix" in the way it takes the "real world" we are all familiar and comfortable with and turns it into something that will cause you to lose sleep at night. The film's plot is deceptively simple: Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a rich and rather spoiled young woman, meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a handsome and rather mysterious man, in a pet store in San Francisco. She is intrigued enough to follow him to his home in Bodega Bay, a charming but isolated small fishing town on the northern California coast. There she meets the local schoolteacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), who once had a brief affair with Mitch. Annie takes an immediate dislike to Melanie and her interest in Annie's old boyfriend. Eventually Melanie meets Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy), a high-strung and suspicious woman who leans upon her son for emotional support and stability. However, this soap-opera style plotline is simply the background for the REAL story in the movie: as the film progresses the birds in Bodega Bay and the surrounding countryside begin to act strangely - they suddenly attack humans for no apparent reason, and start gathering in large and ominous groups on power lines and rooftops. Eventually the birds become murderous - they kill a local farmer by crashing through his bedroom window and hacking out his eyes. Then they attack the schoolchildren and the townspeople in yet another of Hitchcock's famous film sequences. As the frightened and baffled townsfolk are hemmed into their homes and stores like "birds in a cage", they blame Melanie for bringing this terror into their once-peaceful little town. The film's famous climax occurs at the home of Mitch and his mother, as a massive flock of birds attacks the home at night and tries to get inside to kill our heroes. To make this film even more disturbing and bizzare, Hitchcock decided not to have a musical score, and there is no music whatsoever - only the terrifying screeching of the birds as they attack. What makes this film work is how Hitchcock deftly takes "everyday", normal things - such as sitting on a park bench and smoking a cigarette, and turns it into something bizarre, surreal, and truly frightening. Although some critics have refused to label this film as one of Hitchcock's best, it does rank as one of the scariest thrillers of all time. Beware of "The Birds"! (But you'll love the movie).

Beware THE BIRDS!!!
The Birds is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. Perhaps that has a lot to do with the beautiful Tippi Hedren, who shines in everything she does. The gorgeous scenery, adorable costumes, and lavish colors also add to the surreal atmosphere, which quickly gets disrupted by a flock of killer birds. Like many firsts Hitchcock introduced with his films, this is the first "nature run amock" film, just like Psycho was the first "slasher" film. This Psycho follow-up was yet another ground-breaking addition to the horror genre and further revealed the master director's darker obsessions.

Like Hitchcock's fabulous Rebecca and mediocre Jamaica Inn, this is based on a story by the extremely talented Daphne Du Maurier, but Hitchcock was left with the task of fleshing out the short story into a feature film. He did one hell of a job. Hitchcock and screenwriter Evan Hunter borrowed only the title and basic conceit of Daphne du Maurier's 1952 short story, "The Birds." Du Maurier's tale, conventional and utterly humorless, is a Cold War parable that uses the unexplained bird attacks as an apocalyptic metaphor for nature thrown out of balance by technology and warfare. It's told from the perspective of Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran and farmhand living in a cottage with his family in the British Isles.

The film version is set in Bodega Bay and follows bored, spoiled socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she romantically pursues dashing lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Tension soon develops among Melanie, schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, Mitch's former flame (Suzanne Pleshette), and Mitch's domineering mother (Jessica Tandy). The emotional interplay is interrupted (and reflected) by the sudden and unexplained attack of thousands of birds on the area.

Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, THE BIRDS is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works. Volumes have been written about the film, with each writer picking it apart scene by scene in order to prove his or her particular critical theory--mostly of the psychoanalytic variety. Be that as it may, even those who grow impatient with the slow build-up or occasional dramatic lapses cannot deny the terrifying power of many of the film's haunting images: the bird point-of-view shot of Bodega Bay, the birds slowly gathering on the playground monkey bars, the attack on the children's birthday party, Melanie trapped in the attic, and the final ambiguous shot of the defeated humans leaving Bodega Bay while the thousands of triumphant birds gathered on the ground watch them go.

Eerie, scary, and suspenseful, this is a great film and classic Hitchcock, which highlights his genius. There is no sound track to cue the audience in as to when to be scared. And what other filmmaker could take the simple sound of wings fluttering in a house and turn it into the sheer sound of terror?

Hitchcook can make anything scary.
Hitchcook can make anything scary, and this movie is profff, I don't no how fake birds can be scary but they are, in this film anyway.

It all starts with an opener that's more like 2 people trying to play a joke on eatchother, and ends with a tailhanger ending, paked with scares and creeps this is a must see.

Tense thriller is a winner
This eerie Hitchcock thriller doesn't have a shower scene but is has its fair share of suspense, dread and anticipation as to when the birds will attack. Filmed in color and without the accompaniment of music, the movie builds steadily towards tense and dangerous moments when hundreds of blackbirds swoop down on the human populace and scratch, peck and claw them to shreds without rhyme or reason. Even a lone seagull gets in its licks on Melanie Daniels who has followed Mitch Brenner to Bodega Bay to close in on the handsome fellow. The film has several attacks in which adults and school children are ravaged, and the air assaults are frightening to watch. The dangerous birds' unexplained sheer destructive force is displayed in the attack in a bedroom where the unfortunate Ms. Daniels is trapped, and their determination to destroy every human in their path is awful to behold. The movie's special effects are first-rate, and the gloomy, overcast skies of the Northern California coast add to the depressed mood of the film. The characters all seemed detached and distant from each other and although Ms. Daniels tries very hard to connect with Mr. Brenner, the romance angle is never developed. ... Read more

Reviews (292)

Truly a cult classic!!!!!!!!!
When I first saw this film it scared the Hell outa me. George A Remero is a genuis. this film spawned a new genre of horror movies like "Halloween," and The "Evil Dead" series. This film is definately the best horror movie of all time. Although Black and White films are mostly corney and dull, this is one of those films that set the standards for future movies to come.
Anyway, A satalite from outerspace let out radiation from the planet Venus and is causing the dead to walk. Barbara (Judth O'dea) and her brother Johnny (Russel Streiner) go to visit a deseaced family member to pay respects.
Barbara and Johnny were attacked by the famous cemetary ghoul (Bill Heinzman). Barbara Escapes to the car and makes it to a nearby farmhouse only to meet her hero Ben (Duane Jones) who helps her through this incredible ordeal. later they find out five people are in the basement hiding out. Ben and the others must come together to defeat these terrible flesheating creatures outside. This is my favorite film of all time and I defenitally recommend it. I give it two thumbs up. I also liked the remake in 1990 by Tom Savini. He did an exellent job of bringing back the characters although it was missing the erie atmosphere the original had. Savini's good, but he'll never be a George Remero.

The original is always best!!!!!!!!!
Night of the living Dead is the best horror movie picture of all time in my eyes. I give it 5 stars for its creepy soundtrack and its great one of a kind feel. It starts with Barbara(Judith O'dea) and her brother Johnny going to visit thier mothers grave to pay thier respects, when all of a sudden "Ther're comming to get you Barbara" says Johnny just fooling around. and it actually turns out to be the creepiest Zombie of the film. Anyway Johnny gets what was coming to him and Barbara gets away and runs to a nearby farmhouse where Ben(Duane Jones)helps board down the doors and windows to keep the flesh eaters out. later on they find out there were five people in the basement hiding. The whole plot is seven people in an isolated farmhouse trying to stay out of reach of the flesh eating ghouls outside the house for the night. The film that started the best and coolest Dead series of all-time, thanks to George A. Remero.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
BY FAR THE ABSOLUTE BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER!!! BEING IN BLACK AND WHITE ONLY MAKES THIS CLASSIC SCARIER.THE MOOD OF THIS FILM IS INCREDIBLE. JUDITH ODEA DESERVES AN AWARD FOR HER ACTING!!SHE GAVE AN EXTREMELY CONVINCING PERFORMANCE.NOT VERY GORY BUT DEFINITELY SCARY!!!!THE SOUNDTRACK IS AWESOME AND IS A BIG PART OF WHY THIS FILM IS SO FRIGHTENING.A DEFINITE TRUE HORROR MOVIE THAT SHOULD BE SEEN AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE OR MANY, MANY TIMES LIKE MYSELF.A+++++ ALL AROUND!!!! GET THIS MOVIE.

Piece of Crap.
Another terrible movie from that terrible Director George A. Romero. This time, there are only about twenty zombies waiting outside.

The zo