The Pit and the Pendulum

Rating:
Summary: Vincent's Finest Hour? I Think It Might Be!
Review: "Pit And The Pendulum" is definitely one of those "watch it late at night with the lights out during a thunderstorm" kind of motion pictures. All the elements are present here to elicit the appropriate "scary movie" emotions from the viewer -- Shock, terror, suspense, fright, uneasiness, and fear. (And maybe a few others as well.)

The setting of this 1961 film couldn't have been better presented on screen if they had tried. And Vincent Price, who was 50 years of age when the film was first released, gives a lively performance as "Don Nicholas Medina", a man who is slowly but surely going out of his mind.

The climactic scene in the "Pit" is simply astonishing. One of the best scenes in any horror film ever made!

This MGM DVD contains a Widescreen version of this color film (2.35:1 ratio). And, although not an Anamorphic (enhanced for 16x9 TV sets) disc, this DVD still offers up better-than-average video quality. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono (English and French tracks). Plus: this cover art is exceptional.

A few bonus items are on the disc, including a fun audio commentary by Director Roger Corman. The Original Theatrical Trailer and an "Original Theatrical Prologue" are also included here.

Before his death on October 25, 1993 (at age 82), Vincent Price appeared in 127 feature films (plus hundreds and hundreds of TV shows and radio plays) --- with "Pit And The Pendulum" being one of his very best, in my view.

If you like scary, atmospheric motion pictures, you have no choice but to be entranced when watching this DVD of "Pit And The Pendulum".

Rating:
Summary: Vincent's Finest Hour? I Think It Might Be!
Review: "Pit And The Pendulum" is definitely one of those "watch it late at night with the lights out during a thunderstorm" kind of motion pictures. All the elements are present here to elicit the appropriate "scary movie" emotions from the viewer -- Shock, terror, suspense, fright, uneasiness, and fear. (And maybe a few others as well.)

The setting of this 1961 film couldn't have been better presented on screen if they had tried. And Vincent Price, who was 50 years of age when the film was first released, gives a lively performance as "Don Nicholas Medina", a man who is slowly but surely going out of his mind.

The climactic scene in the "Pit" is simply astonishing. One of the best scenes in any horror film ever made!

This MGM DVD contains a Widescreen version of this color film (2.35:1 ratio). And, although not an Anamorphic (enhanced for 16x9 TV sets) disc, this DVD still offers up better-than-average video quality. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono (English and French tracks). Plus: this cover art is exceptional.

A few bonus items are on the disc, including a fun audio commentary by Director Roger Corman. The Original Theatrical Trailer and an "Original Theatrical Prologue" are also included here.

Before his death on October 25, 1993 (at age 82), Vincent Price appeared in 127 feature films (plus hundreds and hundreds of TV shows and radio plays) --- with "Pit And The Pendulum" being one of his very best, in my view.

If you like scary, atmospheric motion pictures, you have no choice but to be entranced when watching this DVD of "Pit And The Pendulum".

Rating:
Summary: Vincent's Finest Hour? I Think It Might Be!
Review: "Pit And The Pendulum" is definitely one of those "watch it late at night with the lights out during a thunderstorm" kind of motion pictures. All the elements are present here to elicit the appropriate "scary movie" emotions from the viewer -- Shock, terror, suspense, fright, uneasiness, and fear. (And maybe a few others as well.)

The setting of this 1961 film couldn't have been better presented on screen if they had tried. And Vincent Price, who was 50 years of age when the film was first released, gives a lively performance as "Don Nicholas Medina", a man who is slowly but surely going out of his mind.

The climactic scene in the "Pit" is simply astonishing. One of the best scenes in any horror film ever made!

This MGM DVD contains a Widescreen version of this color film (2.35:1 ratio). And, although not an Anamorphic (enhanced for 16x9 TV sets) disc, this DVD still offers up better-than-average video quality. The audio is Dolby Digital Mono (English and French tracks). Plus: this cover art is exceptional.

A few bonus items are on the disc, including a fun audio commentary by Director Roger Corman. The Original Theatrical Trailer and an "Original Theatrical Prologue" are also included here.

Before his death on October 25, 1993 (at age 82), Vincent Price appeared in 127 feature films (plus hundreds and hundreds of TV shows and radio plays) --- with "Pit And The Pendulum" being one of his very best, in my view.

If you like scary, atmospheric motion pictures, you have no choice but to be entranced when watching this DVD of "Pit And The Pendulum".

Rating:
Summary: Corman's best
Review: A great gothic horror film. Worthy of any Hammer Horror film.

Rating:
Summary: After House on Haunted Hill, my favorite Price movie.
Review: After House on Haunted Hill, the Pit and the Pendulum is my favorite Price movie. The best 50's and 60's Horror/Sci-Fi movies are all about atmosphere, and thats what I love about Pit. Great gothic atmosphere, eerie music, and georgously vivid and horrific set pieces. I especially liked Price's and Ander's performances. If you are like me and like best the eerie, moody, 50s and 60s horror pics, which along with great stories, really emphasize the eerie atmosphere, this has to be at the top of your list.

Rating:
Summary: After House on Haunted Hill, my favorite Price movie.
Review: After House on Haunted Hill, the Pit and the Pendulum is my favorite Price movie. The best 50's and 60's Horror/Sci-Fi movies are all about atmosphere, and thats what I love about Pit. Great gothic atmosphere, eerie music, and georgously vivid and horrific set pieces. I especially liked Price's and Ander's performances. If you are like me and like best the eerie, moody, 50s and 60s horror pics, which along with great stories, really emphasize the eerie atmosphere, this has to be at the top of your list.

Rating:
Summary: Vincent Price goes over the top with his toy in the crypt
Review: After the success of "House of Usher," American International asked director Roger Corman to "adapt" another Edgar Allen Poe work to the screen. "The Pit and the Pendulum" seemed the logical choice, although the story itself is essentially unfilmable. Fortunately, screenwriter Richard Matheson (who did some of his best work for Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone") simply reused the "House of Usher" story line and tacked on "The Pit and the Pendulum" as the climatic scene. As long as Vincent Price was engaged in his celebrated over the top performance as Nicholas Medina, neither horror fans nor American lit majors were going to notice in this 1961 film.

The film is set in 16th century Spain as young Francis Barnard (John Kerr) arrives at the castle of Don Nicholas Medina (Price) to investigate the death of his sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), the Don's wife. But all Francis gets from Nicholas is a lame story about Elizabeth dying from "something in her blood." The young man investigates further and discovers that Nicholas had driven Elizabeth over the edge. It seems that Nicholas's father Sebastian was a leader of the Spanish Inquisition, had killed hundreds of people in the castle's crypts and had caught his wife in adultery with his brother. Young Nicholas watched his father bury his mother alive in a wall (sound familiar Poe fans?) and ended up scarred for life (you think?). Meanwhile, Nicholas is being haunted by ghostly going ons and becomes convinced he has buried his wife alive and she has returned to haunt him. When Elizabeth apparently rises from her tomb to confront him, Nicholas's mind snaps and he is driven into a homicidal dementia, which ends up with Francis being confronted with the title's instrument of torture as the film makes its way to the requisite

"The Pit and the Pendulum" improves slightly on the first film in the AIP Poe series. Certainly the visual elements by art director Daniel Haller are a vast improvement, from the eighteen-foot long one-ton pendulum to Medina's castle for which Haller gutted an entire soundstage and dressed all the way up to the roof to great effect. The Freudian implications beloved by Corman have to do with Nicholas's feelings for his mother instead of the brother-sister vibes we get in "House of Usher." Price is gloriously over the top but John Kerr does nothing with his role as Francis and for some reason Barbara Steele's performance is marred by the fact her voice has been redubbed. For me, what makes "The Pit and the Pendulum" memorable is the unforgettable final shot. Irony can be both just and horrible at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Vincent Price goes over the top with his toy in the crypt
Review: After the success of "House of Usher," American International asked director Roger Corman to "adapt" another Edgar Allen Poe work to the screen. "The Pit and the Pendulum" seemed the logical choice, although the story itself is essentially unfilmable. Fortunately, screenwriter Richard Matheson (who did some of his best work for Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone") simply reused the "House of Usher" story line and tacked on "The Pit and the Pendulum" as the climatic scene. As long as Vincent Price was engaged in his celebrated over the top performance as Nicholas Medina, neither horror fans nor American lit majors were going to notice in this 1961 film.

The film is set in 16th century Spain as young Francis Barnard (John Kerr) arrives at the castle of Don Nicholas Medina (Price) to investigate the death of his sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele), the Don's wife. But all Francis gets from Nicholas is a lame story about Elizabeth dying from "something in her blood." The young man investigates further and discovers that Nicholas had driven Elizabeth over the edge. It seems that Nicholas's father Sebastian was a leader of the Spanish Inquisition, had killed hundreds of people in the castle's crypts and had caught his wife in adultery with his brother. Young Nicholas watched his father bury his mother alive in a wall (sound familiar Poe fans?) and ended up scarred for life (you think?). Meanwhile, Nicholas is being haunted by ghostly going ons and becomes convinced he has buried his wife alive and she has returned to haunt him. When Elizabeth apparently rises from her tomb to confront him, Nicholas's mind snaps and he is driven into a homicidal dementia, which ends up with Francis being confronted with the title's instrument of torture as the film makes its way to the requisite

"The Pit and the Pendulum" improves slightly on the first film in the AIP Poe series. Certainly the visual elements by art director Daniel Haller are a vast improvement, from the eighteen-foot long one-ton pendulum to Medina's castle for which Haller gutted an entire soundstage and dressed all the way up to the roof to great effect. The Freudian implications beloved by Corman have to do with Nicholas's feelings for his mother instead of the brother-sister vibes we get in "House of Usher." Price is gloriously over the top but John Kerr does nothing with his role as Francis and for some reason Barbara Steele's performance is marred by the fact her voice has been redubbed. For me, what makes "The Pit and the Pendulum" memorable is the unforgettable final shot. Irony can be both just and horrible at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: MORE ATMOSPHERE THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STICK AT
Review: Although I have not read the original Poe story, this movie certainly adheres to Poe's spooky and morbid feel. A well-told tale, it does not disappoint despite its age. Sound and picture are adequate, although MGM could have done better by releasing this in anamorphic form instead of letterbox (for better resolution). I would have given it 5 stars were it not for the letterbox issue and the lack of booklet/card and some more substantial extras that a film of this significance deserves. Sets are wonderfully done, with some good castle exterior shots (even though we know they're only paintings). It's hard for a 40 year old film to scare modern audiences who've seen it all before, but this one sure does a good job (like when they open the coffin ...). Classic Poe, classic Price ... make sure you watch this one with the lights out!

Rating:
Summary: High School ensemble plays Poe ...
Review: Don't get me wrong, this film has a good cast, but Price was better in "The Witchfinder General", Barbara Steele (who only has a 5 minute cameo, anyway) in "The Ghost" and Luana Anders in "Dementia 13". I loved this film as a teenager - years later the overall effect is rather that of a High School production. Overacting (or lack of), lame dialog and kiddie birthday magician tricks make this one appear as a cheap cash-in to the successful predecessor "House of Usher" - which it probably is. The picture and sound quality is also inferior compared to the recently released "House of Usher"-DVD. They should have released "Tomb of Ligeia" or "Not of this Earth" instead (just to name two good and hard to find Roger Corman efforts).