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Bela Lugosi Collection Volume 2

Bela Lugosi Collection Volume 2

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Transfer of an overlooked classic!
Review: Great film with Bela after Dracula. The extras are worth the price alone. Great commentary and picture quality. Roan group have done excellent work on the DVD's they have released. If you like classic horror and have not seen this one, BUY IT. You will not regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kindly necromancer gives relationship advice
Review: Hardworking, professional necromancer employs hundreds of economically disadvantaged zombies in small business startup. He helps three young people caught in a love triangle sort out their feelings through dynamic tension exercises. Naive man comes to Bela for help to win girl's heart, but as wise Bela points out... "She can love, but that doesn't mean she can love you." Later when the rejected man reaches out to grasp Bela's hand, Bela smiles and says, "Now we understand each other a little better."

Kenneth Web, author of a play similar to this movie, sued the movie makers and lost. Movie was plagued by many other legal disputes which resulted in loss of original footage. Loss of original footage makes full restoration difficult. This DVD is probably the best attempt we will ever have.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good quality DVD
Review: I like the way this movie has been restored to such good quality. Other than that, the movie is nothing special. Since I'm a big White Zombie(the band) fan, I had to buy this movie for my collection. It is NOT scary at all.
On the contrary, Quiet funny at times.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Lugosi
Review: I think this is a great example of Lugosi's work both in good films and bad. I was a little disappointed as this collection does not include "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla", with the infamous Martin-Lewis impersonators. It actually has a different flick by the name of "The Gorilla", made in 1939 and features the Ritz Brothers. Great restoration, a few classic interviews, a must for Lugosi fans.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Minor Classic
Review: I'll admit the only reason I wanted to see this film was the tantalizing clip of it featured in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood". Then I made the mistake of buying the [less expensive] DVD version, which is almost unwatchable: the print is muddy and scratched and the soundtrack is almost too fuzzy to hear. But I saw a gem of film underneath those flaws & bought the restored version. It's worth the small price difference, believe me. The film itself: half horror, half camp--is wonderful. It actually seems less anachronistic than the original Dracula or Frankenstein (those 1930 American fashions and accents) & the acting is quite good. Lugosi is masterful & menacing & you'll be amazed at how chilling this old film is. It does not fit into the mold of the old Universal horror movies at all; it almost has a "cult film" feel to it. A great late night film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bela Lugosi in the world's very first ZOMBIE film
Review: In many ways this first zombie movie is the last film in the baroque horror tradition of the silent films. This 1932 film directed by Victor Halperin was made for practically nothing even though is starred Bela Lugosi as 'Murder' Legendre, in his first role after "Dracula," as the master of a different type of undead down in Haiti (Lugosi apparently directed some of the retakes as well). In "White Zombie," Monsieur Beaumont (Robert Frazer) convinces a young couple, Madeleine Short (Madge Bellamy) and Neil Parker (John Harron) to get married on his Haitian plantation. Amazingly enough, he does this so that he can convince Madeline to run away with him. Needing help, Beaumont turns to Legendre, who runs his mill with zombie workers. Beaumont uses Legendre's zombie potion to bend Madeleine to his will, but then is dissatisfied with her soulless husk and wants her turned back. Instead, Legendre turns Beaumont into a zombie as well. Meanwhile, Neil is convinced by a local priest that maybe he is not a widow after all. "White Zombie" never really frightens its audience, but instead sustains a high level of downright eeriness throughout, achieving its effect by taking such simple objects as the scarf used to wrap a voodoo doll or a rose containing poison and making them important elements in Lugosi's evil machinations. This film might be a talkie, but its sensibilities are those of the silent era.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "For you, my friend, they are the angels of death!"
Review: In remote Haiti, a voodoo-master spins webs of hypnotic power and revenge. He transforms his enemies into a nightmarish bodyguard of zombies, and rules mind-numbed slaves by terror. Bela Lugosi makes this film a success. After Dracula, this is perhaps the most effective performance of Bela's horror flicks from the early '30s. The independent production suffers from creaky technical qualities and archaiac dialogue. For its age, however, the film has some impressive visuals of the Haitian night and a spooky Gothic castle perched on a craggy cliff above the thundering breakers. Lugosi does well creating an air of mystery as the voodoo-master, sometimes called Legendre. His distinctive manner of expression, devilish whiskers, and glaring eyes combine into a satanic effect. The rest of the cast is undistinguished. The hero, Neil Parker, is an ineffectual wimp played by an unknown actor. Madeline (Madge Bellamy), the inevitable woman in the story, is the love interest of several men. Why she is the object of so much desire is puzzling, but it moves the plot along. Legendre can't wait to put her under his spell. Mesmerized, she looks like a combination of a flapper and a kewpie doll. Her bobbed hair and pursed little mouth blend with her large eyes into a vacuous trance. The zombie gang, similarly undemonstrative, is nevertheless more exciting. As they gang up to kill Parker, he rather irrelevantly shouts, "Who are they?" Bela's reply is one of the best lines in old horror flicks, "For you, my friend, they are the angels of death!" This old movie is not for everybody. Regardless, fans of Bela Lugosi and collectors of classic horror flicks need this movie for their collection. ;-)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: voted "my favorite ambient horror" film
Review: Incredible movie. The scenery is absolutely breath-taking (especially the castle perched on a cliff). The soundtrack is magnificent (reminiscent of what a Brian Eno nightmare soundtrack might sound like). This film is all about mood. After seeing it on tv.... I bought my own copy. Highly recommended. In my opinion, it is Lugosi's best movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FANTASTIC DVD A MUST FOR LUGOSI FANS
Review: JUST FINISHED WATCHING THIS DVD AND ITS GREAT, I AM IN TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH OTHER REVIEWERS ABOUT ROAN TRANSFER. I ESPECIALLY LOVED THE INTERVIEW BY LUGOSI AS AN EXTRA ON THE DVD. GO OUT AND BUY IT IF YOU LOVE LUGOSI.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Be Aware of What You Wish For!
Review: Monsieur Beaumont has invited Dr. Bruner, Neil, and his fiancée Madeleine to his plantation on Haiti to have their wedding in his mansion; however, Beaumont has an alternative motive. This motive involves a sinister man by the name of Legendre (Bela Lugosi) who runs a plantation where the people work continuously day and night without stopping for meals or sleep. The question is whether Beaumont can trust Legendre to carry out his part of the deal and not double cross him. White Zombie is a piece of horror history that should be seen with an understanding of the budget and technological equipment that were provided at the time of production, which provides an enjoyable experience.


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