Spirits of the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Butchered Masterwork
Review: As originally conceived by Fellini, the Toby Dammitt segment was, imho, the greatest work he ever committed to film. Taut, lean, stylish and very effective. I saw the film when it was first released and am fortunate enough to have this segment on an old beta tape.

Beyond Terrence Stamp's wonderful delivery, is the crucial element of the english actor being alone and isolated in Italy by his language, slowly pushing him deeper into surrender and madness. All of this is lost in the current French dubbed edition.

(On the other hand, it must be a plus to have the first two segments, overdubbed into English for US release, back to their original French. However, these segments are competent, or somewhat interesting at best, compared to fantastic finale.)

Please let Janus know that they have broken trust by butchering a great artist's masterwork.

Rating:
Summary: Poor stories, bad filming
Review: Boring and stupid rendition of Poe stories. The only acceptable one is by Fellini, but it also shows the vacuity of the time when it was shot and is not a work of art. Fot the other stories the only point of interest is about a very young Brigitte Bardot's partial nudity.

Rating:
Summary: Terence Stamp in English?
Review: Does anyone know whether this new edition contains the English version of the Terence Stamp episode? I would hate to spend $18 and get yet another edition of the foolish Janus Films DVD, with Stamp's powerful performance dubbed into French and then idiotically subtitled in English.

If you know, please respond in the form of an Amazon review. Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: 5 STARS FOR FELLINI - "Toby Dammit"
Review: If you are a fan of Fellini, you need this for his sequence alone. the other two are interesting, but not on par for repeat viewings. the way this DVD is set up, you can choose which segment to view, and each has its own chapter search. This is the edition to get - subtitles are improved, and image quality is very clear. Fellini's short work is fantastic, very dream-like. His interpretatiopn of E.A. Poe's original story is VERY loose; like "Satyricon", Mr. Fellini has made it truly his own. Waste no more time reading this - just buy the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Toby Dammit, pourquoi parle francais?
Review: In response to the reviewer's query below concerning the French overdubbing of "Toby Dammit" - sorry, this DVD ALSO features a French actor's voice dubbed over that of Terrence Stamp. I, too, was greatly disappointed at this.

I do not know of any other version available that has Stamp's English dialogue, but I remember seeing it on television in the 80s and onscreen at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood in 2004. Maybe if there is enough demand they will remaster it and put out an English version of this delightful foray into subtle, 1960's-style psychological horror? One can hope.

Rating:
Summary: Toby Dammit is great, despite overdubs
Review: Janus Films participated in the restoration of this film and you would think that that alone would ensure high standards of quality. And for the most part it did. But unmentioned in all the reviews of this DVD is the fact that the best film of the three, Toby Dammit,does not have its English soundtrack included.
Terence Stamp is English and he spoke his part in English.(and what an amazing bit of verbal it was) It just ain't the same thing in dubbed French by another actor. An earlier release of this film delivered the English soundtrack as an option but did not allow you to turn off the English subtitles! (Some of the people that put these things together are really lacking in simple, common sense.) Also the image quality on the previous release is faded and not real sharp. Image quality on this current DVD is excellent. Rich color and very sharp. So the horror of it all is you are left with a very well done restoration with a rather important detail inexplicably left out. The English soundtrack exists and isn't this the whole point of DVD's? I took a chance buying this DVD hoping for an improved version that fixed some of the problems on the earlier release.
The frustrating thing is that it is so close to being there, but a French speaking Terence Stamp is just absurd. Janus Films was also involed in the Criterion Collection new version of Amarcord and they did it perfectly. Everything is there. Wish they used as much care on this one.

Rating:
Summary: It Could Have Been Great
Review: Janus Films participated in the restoration of this film and you would think that that alone would ensure high standards of quality. And for the most part it did. But unmentioned in all the reviews of this DVD is the fact that the best film of the three, Toby Dammit,does not have its English soundtrack included.
Terence Stamp is English and he spoke his part in English.(and what an amazing bit of verbal it was) It just ain't the same thing in dubbed French by another actor. An earlier release of this film delivered the English soundtrack as an option but did not allow you to turn off the English subtitles! (Some of the people that put these things together are really lacking in simple, common sense.) Also the image quality on the previous release is faded and not real sharp. Image quality on this current DVD is excellent. Rich color and very sharp. So the horror of it all is you are left with a very well done restoration with a rather important detail inexplicably left out. The English soundtrack exists and isn't this the whole point of DVD's? I took a chance buying this DVD hoping for an improved version that fixed some of the problems on the earlier release.
The frustrating thing is that it is so close to being there, but a French speaking Terence Stamp is just absurd. Janus Films was also involed in the Criterion Collection new version of Amarcord and they did it perfectly. Everything is there. Wish they used as much care on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Gallant Steeds, the Beautiful People, and GHOSTS!
Review: Spirits of the Dead is a glossy trilogy of Edgar Allan Poe horror tales, each one directed by a different European auteur.

Toby Damnit is Federico Fellini's offering, and it is gloriously typical of his surreal style and visual panache. It's also a lot more cohesive than the majority of his features, which the casual viewer will appreciate. The segment stars a damned - literally - flashy actor (Terence Stamp) who's relentlessly pursued by a demonic little girl. (Look for a direct rip-off of said ball-bouncing, blonde-haired tot in 2002's FearDotCom.)

William Wilson is Louis Malle's story; it stars Alain Delon as a man driven mad by his own doppelganger (but having a barely-dressed Bridget Bardot hanging out, er, around could also have had something to do with W.W. losing his wits).

My favorite of the three, Metzgengerstein, is directed by Roger Vadim. Metzgengerstein is the artsy-haunty story of a debauched countess (Jane Fonda) with a pet cheetah, a push-up bra and a seemingly endless supply of eyeliner. In her failure to corrupt her gentle, horse-lovin' cousin (Peter Fonda), Countess Metzgengerstein burns his stable down. He's killed in the blaze but the morning after the fire, a mysterious black stallion shows up in the royal courtyard. She is strangely drawn to the haunted horse, loving him as she's never loved anything or anyone before. Most critics review Metzgengerstein as the weakest link in this Poe chain, but I love it for its unapologetic homage to Caligula-style decadence, the imagery of the surreal steed, and the bizarre onscreen love triangle between brother and sister, and sister's then-husband (director, Vadim).

Staci Layne Wilson
Author of:
Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
and Staci's Guide to Ghost Movies

Rating:
Summary: The best is last
Review: Spirits of the dead is a mixed bag of cinematic delight. Of the 3 episodes, only the last one "Toby Dammit" sustains interest. Fellini is at his best in this segment & Terence Stamp puts in a self destructive performance that has to be seen to be believed! His character, a self destructing actor who has reached the end of all worldly hope & desire wants only to leap into the chasm of death & destruction & he does so in spectactular fashion. This segment alone is worth the price of admission & Fellini caries the weight of the entire film on his capable talents. Images to delight & dialogue to astound, Terence Stamp should have won some kind of award for this brilliant performance as he portrays a burnt out actor with a death wish. You can't help but sympathize with him as he jolts his way from one bizarre interlude to another. You know you're at deaths door when you can turn down that blonde in the awards segment! Yikes!!! Never bet the devil your head!! See it!

Rating:
Summary: The best is last
Review: Spirits of the dead is a mixed bag of cinematic delight. Of the 3 episodes, only the last one "Toby Dammit" sustains interest. Fellini is at his best in this segment & Terence Stamp puts in a self destructive performance that has to be seen to be believed! His character, a self destructing actor who has reached the end of all worldly hope & desire wants only to leap into the chasm of death & destruction & he does so in spectactular fashion. This segment alone is worth the price of admission & Fellini caries the weight of the entire film on his capable talents. Images to delight & dialogue to astound, Terence Stamp should have won some kind of award for this brilliant performance as he portrays a burnt out actor with a death wish. You can't help but sympathize with him as he jolts his way from one bizarre interlude to another. You know you're at deaths door when you can turn down that blonde in the awards segment! Yikes!!! Never bet the devil your head!! See it!