Bluebeard

Rating:
Summary: Thrills and Chills.....
Review: "Bluebeard" is suspense packed thriller. If you love the old Black and White films of the horror genre, this one is for you. It was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, and stars John Carradine who is at the top of his form in this one.

The legend of Bluebeard is a frightening one. It is 19th century Paris, and young women are being murdered by Gaston(Carradine), a serial killer. On the surface, he is a quiet artist and puppeteer, but deep down he is psychotic and homicidal(naturally he claims a woman made him this way... HA!). All the models he paints, seem to disappear. But now he has fallen for the very beautiful Lucille, can he control his thoughts when it comes to her,will she be his next victim, or will Lady Jusitce prevail? It's a nail biter!

The DVD I have looks to be the same one here. The image is the one of John Carradine in a red jacket strangling his victim, with a shadowy charcater in the background. The title is in bold blue letters(I mention this because there are a few different editions). The only difference is that in the tech info here the studio of release for this edition is Gotham Distribution but on my copy it says Alpha Video (both released in 2002). The transfer is not the best I've ever seen for a film made in the 40's, but it's not too bad. The film shows it's age, but there was nothing distracting to take away from the enjoyment of the film. The sound was decent, although a bit muffled at times. But I would say, for the price, you get a good old scarey movie to enjoy on a rainy afternoon. Oh and don't be fooled by the cover art..this IS a good ole black and white film. Short but good!

So get the popcorn ready..and...enjoy..Laurie

Rating:
Summary: Thrills and Chills.....
Review: "Bluebeard" is suspense packed thriller. If you love the old Black and White films of the horror genre, this one is for you. It was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, and stars John Carradine who is at the top of his form in this one.

The legend of Bluebeard is a frightening one. It is 19th century Paris, and young women are being murdered by Gaston(Carradine), a serial killer. On the surface, he is a quiet artist and puppeteer, but deep down he is psychotic and homicidal(naturally he claims a woman made him this way... HA!). All the models he paints, seem to disappear. But now he has fallen for the very beautiful Lucille, can he control his thoughts when it comes to her,will she be his next victim, or will Lady Jusitce prevail? It's a nail biter!

The DVD I have looks to be the same one here. The image is the one of John Carradine in a red jacket strangling his victim, with a shadowy charcater in the background. The title is in bold blue letters(I mention this because there are a few different editions). The only difference is that in the tech info here the studio of release for this edition is Gotham Distribution but on my copy it says Alpha Video (both released in 2002). The transfer is not the best I've ever seen for a film made in the 40's, but it's not too bad. The film shows it's age, but there was nothing distracting to take away from the enjoyment of the film. The sound was decent, although a bit muffled at times. But I would say, for the price, you get a good old scarey movie to enjoy on a rainy afternoon. Oh and don't be fooled by the cover art..this IS a good ole black and white film. Short but good!

So get the popcorn ready..and...enjoy..Laurie

Rating:
Summary: Great movie but terrible print
Review: Bluebeard is definitely a film to rediscover. It might not be Ulmer's best but there's enough here to please any serious movie lover. John Carradine gives the performance of his life and although it's obvious that budget is non existent, Ulmer solves the problem with beautiful expressionist sequences, very Caligaresque. Real problem is the print that is often pretty terrible, bringing serious frustration. Have Scarlet Street from the same editor and print is terrible as well.

Rating:
Summary: A DIRECTOR TO REDISCOVER
Review: Firstly, just a word or two about the images and sound quality of this DVD. If I except the Madacy productions which everyone knows to be awfully bad, I haven't seen until now a so terrible DVD transfer. Considering the fact that most of the action of BLUEBEARD is filmed at night in a foggy Paris, the defaults of the transfer are patent. Shameful.

As bonus features, you will find a gallery of photos and posters and a very interesting featurette presenting, among other goodies, an interview of director Edgar G. Ulmer's widow.

BLUEBEARD is the first Edgar G. Ulmer's movie I have the opportunity to see and I cannot wait now to see the other two DVD available here at amazon. It's so obvious that Ulmer was a movie genius and that solely the lack of money has prevented him to direct masterpieces. The artistic quality of BLUEBEARD is far ahead of the quality of, let's say, a Herschell Gordon Lewis movie. There are minutes of pure cinema in BLUEBEARD that reminded me at times of the dreamy atmosphere of Charles Laughton's NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. John Carradine, in the role of a schizophrenic puppeteer, is perfect with his voice so sweetly innocent. At last, a special word regarding the quality of the musical score ; Edgar G. Ulmer's BLUEBEARD lasts 73 minutes and so does the musical score that is literally a character of the movie.

A DVD for your library if you are a movie lover.

Rating:
Summary: Bluebeard Or Blahbeard?
Review: Much discussed film by the great Ulmer. Solidly made but hardly enthralling like Detour. Beautiful set design with touches of expressionism. This film would be a deal if it were five bucks cheaper

Rating:
Summary: Bluebeard Or Blahbeard?
Review: Much discussed film by the great Ulmer. Solidly made but hardly enthralling like Detour. Beautiful set design with touches of expressionism. This film would be a deal if it were five bucks cheaper

Rating:
Summary: Before the Boston strangler, there was Bluebeard...
Review: This is easily one of Edgar G. Ulmer's better films, and like the others it's made on a shoe-string budget. The acting is a little wooden but John Carradine carries the film well with his great performance as "Bluebeard", the painter, puppeteer, and serial killer who kills his female models after painting them.

The reason why he does this is revealed later in the film, after he's fallen in love with his latest model and is reluctant to kill her. As hinted in by the title of my review, he kills his victims by strangling them, though these murder scenes are VERY tame by modern standards.

My main complaint is not with the movie but with the dvd, which has a pretty bad picture quality. This movie, unfortunately, is one of those forgotten classics that's entered the public domain, meaning that any dvd company can sell the print on dvd as is, with no restoration. So don't believe the "digitally remastered" bull that they put on the cover.

Even with the flaws of picture and sound quality, I still recommend adding this underated gem to your collection. It's not scary at all, but it's very entertaining and John Carradine does a great job playing a psychotic killer!