Carnival of Souls - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: so bad it's good
Review: I first saw this film as a kid and NEVER forgot the haunting dance scene in the pavilion. The chase scene on the beach is terrifying. It gave me nightmares and I never forgot it. now I own the film (along with the B/W Night of the Living Dead). Two of the all-out creepiet and disturbing films I have ever seen. If you need buckets o'stage blood and hokey hockey-masked figures wielding scythes to be scared, you probably cannot appreciate the documenatary-style bizarreness of Carnival.. Soundtrack alone is a true Hallowen treat!

Rating:
Summary: Forgotten Horror Flick is Back!
Review: It's all been said before, but this is a very influential and enjoyable movie, and is finally getting attention from more than just a handful of enthusiasts.
Criterion is known for putting together an impressive package, but their release of Carnival of Souls sets a new standard. Beautiful transfer, LOTS of extras, and the eerie, hypnotic film itself...wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Ahead of its time
Review: I have seen this film quite rarely on TV here in the United Kingdon and it is not available in the shops. I read last year there was to be a remake of it. Don't bother. This film is a classic like Jacob's Ladder and to mess with it would be sacrilege, besides it would never equal the original, like the Phantom Menace it would be a huge disappointment. Also would many people get it now, you have to be of a certain intelligence to enjoy something like this, I mean clever and individual. I love the freaky imagery, the sheer uniqueness, especially for the year it was made 1962 (the year I was born), the conservative early 1960's I am not easily impressed but if I saw this in HMV (one of the biggest music store chains here in the UK) I would grab it very quickly. I am more a 70's fan for music and films, with the exception of Funny Girl which I saw when I was about 7 years old at the cinema but this has to rate as a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD THING TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING!
Review: If this is the DIAMOND version of this film, together with HORROR HOTEL, I can only recommend it, as for the mere 7 dollars you get superb picture-sound quality and two good flicks! Thanks, Diamond!

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD THING TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING!
Review: DIAMOND has currently produced a DVD of this film, coupled with another good flick, HORROR HOTEL. The picture-sound quality of this release was absolutely superb,and it was a mere 7 dollars. You might want to check it out!

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD THING TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING!
Review: I have currently purchased a DIAMOND DVD double feature Carnival of Souls / Horror Hotel, and I can recommend it heartily, because you pay only about 7 dollars and get two good flicks, The picture-sound quality of Carnival is especially good. There are no extras, so if you are interested in these, you better take the 35 dollar package.

Rating:
Summary: Not of this World
Review: Ethereal,haunting,creepy,depressing,otherworldly,euphoric,nightmarish,brilliant.These are only some words I can describe Carnival of Souls(maybe my favourite movie ever)with.Okay here is what to expect plotwise.A girl gets a ride with some other girls they challenge some guys to a drag race.Apparently these girls really are not racecar driving material because they go off into a body of water and only the girl they picked up survives crawling out from the water.The world is just not the same to this poor young lady after this.She sees the image of a cadaverous spectre in all sorts of strange places and the world seems to be slipping away from her.Now why I love this movie so much.Well for one I think I am a pretty odd and morbid person because no this movie could never be a blockbuster because it is not for all tastes.This movie truly gives you a feeling of death and the presence of the supernatural in ways no other film has.Yes the budget to this movie is low but no movie no matter how high the budget has been able to seemingly give you the feeling of being in the strange world of the dead that lies just behind the curtains of this comfortable world.It goes to show that being able to put lots of money into a movie has nothing to do with how good it is.True artists do not need million dollar budgets to create a great work of art.This Herk Harvey who I do not know much about is truly a great artist.I think he only directed one more movie after this one but I am not sure the title of it.It is sad though he had a gift for the surreal and gloomy.Now if you enjoy only what is normal and comfortable in film go and see whatever is big at the box office when you read this but if you are tired of modern society and its trappings you will love this movie!You can experience something truly incredible.If Poe was still living I think he would love this movie.Its as important to horror as many of his literary works I think.They have had good horror movies and they have had bad ones but they have never had one like this since.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: I bought this dvd to get an affordable copy of Herk Harvey's CARNIVAL OF SOULS. I can't currently justify the high price of the Criterion version, so this one serves nicely. Harvey's film is a true masterpiece. He coaxes excellent perfomances from every actor involved in this movie, but the real star here is the director. What a shame; what a tragedy that this man did not receive the attention and praise he so richly deserved for this amazing and disturbing film. From the opening credits, one is keenly aware that this movie is a work of art, from the patterns Harvey discovered and lovingly framed in the moving water and sediments of a muddy riverbank, to the ingeniously placed titles as the film begins. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I never tire of seeing a true innovator at work. And no matter how many times I see it, I feel sorry that Harvey didn't produce any follow-up features, but happy that he left us this treasure.

Rating:
Summary: Will you stop [complaining] about the flaws?
Review: Yes, some of the acting is very bad. Yes, some of the sound is not in sync with the picture (a quality, in my mind, which adds to the "out of body" atmosphere.) And yes, some times the organ only sound track can wear a little thin (even though, for the most part, it makes the film.) Yes, this movie has some flaws. That's because it's shot on a budget of $30,000. By guys who made hygeine films for a living. Who also didn't have the cash to pay professional actors. All of these detials are completely unimportant.
To fully experience this film, you have to discover it in the way most of its fans do. On a TV set, in the early hours of the morning, alone, with the volume at an almost non-exsistent level. And it also doesn't hurt to be half way asleep. The scene in which Mary glances "The Man's" face in the window will jolt you awake like nothing else.
Some personal favourite moments: The above mentioned scene in the window of the car. The organ playing scenes ("Profanity! Sacralige!") The scenes in which Mary loses all contact with the world of the living (these sequences caused me nightmares.) Candace Hiligos (a great performance, comparable to the best silent film acting.) And of course, the final "dance of the dead."

Rating:
Summary: Will you stop bitching about the flaws?
Review: Yes, some of the acting is very bad. Yes, some of the sound is not in sync with the picture (a quality, in my mind, which adds to the "out of body" atmosphere.) And yes, some times the organ only sound track can wear a little thin (even though, for the most part, it makes the film.) Yes, this movie has some flaws. That's because it's shot on a budget of $30,000. By guys who made hygeine films for a living. Who also didn't have the cash to pay professional actors. All of these detials are completely unimportant.
To fully experience this film, you have to discover it in the way most of its fans do. On a TV set, in the early hours of the morning, alone, with the volume at an almost non-exsistent level. And it also doesn't hurt to be half way asleep. The scene in which Mary glances "The Man's" face in the window will jolt you awake like nothing else.
Some personal favourite moments: The above mentioned scene in the window of the car. The organ playing scenes ("Profanity! Sacralige!") The scenes in which Mary loses all contact with the world of the living (these sequences caused me nightmares.) Candace Hiligos (a great performance, comparable to the best silent film acting.) And of course, the final "dance of the dead."