Rating: 
Summary: fun for the not so squeamish
Review: extremely funny and bloody. Very nicely compliments the corman poes and the phibes films in the vincent price collection. Twice told tales goes well with this one, like the other two pairs do with each other, get them all.Hehe, loved to see him from get carter as a lead character... forgotten his name, but he always makes me laugh when we're supposed to take him seriously (as a gangster or a spy or a hitman etc etc... all of which professions are denoted by his ridiculous 70s sideburns and his shades) so nice to have a film where we're supposed to laugh at him 'meridith merridew, this is your dish' is the choicest moment amongst many
Rating:
Summary: Death Wins Not o'er Lionheart; 'Tis Curtains for His Critics
Review: Hammy Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) has been relentlessly denounced and vilified in the reviews of his performances, so with help from his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg), he fakes his death and then sets in motion his grisly plans for revenge. One by one, he murders his most vociferous critics, but his technique isn't that of a common street thug, oh no. Instead, Lionheart patterns each killing after one of the various murders described in The Bard's plays! Many real-life critics have tried to minimize the importance or quality of 1973's THEATRE OF BLOOD by pointing out its similarities to Price's earlier flick THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971). While it is certainly true that both films seem to have been cast from the same mold--in the 1971 film, Dr. Phibes exacts revenge by patterning his homicides after the great plagues in the Bible--that doesn't detract in the least from overall enjoyment of watching this flick. The clever script contains tons of funeral-parlor puns and lots of gallows humor, and the stellar cast brings it all off wonderfully. Star Vincent Price is allowed to draw upon his Shakespearean stage experience and vigorously chew the scenery, but this is judiciously tempered with an excellent but more restrained supporting cast that includes the pretty Diana Rigg, Ian Hendry, Milo O' Shea, Eric Sykes, and countless other well-known British character actors. The DVD from MGM--part of their excellent "Midnite Movie" series, which rescues lots of gems like this from the dungeon of late-night TV--offers a reasonably nice digital transfer of the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Some buyers have complained that the picture is a bit washed and the sound a bit muffled, but the copy of the flick on this disc is light-years ahead of any copy previously available on VHS. The only extra is the original trailer. But this DVD is so reasonably priced that one can't complain too much--especially if one wants to avoid the wrath of Edward Lionheart, eh? Okay, THEATRE OF BLOOD is admittedly a one-joke movie, but it's all carried out in such an amusing and clever way that viewers are NEVER bored. Watching it is a must for fans of campy horror and gallows humor, and it's a must-own for fans Vincent Price or Diana Rigg. In truth, genuine horror fans will have no regrets about adding this DVD to their collections.
Rating:
Summary: Deliciously macabre and twisted....
Review: I am a HUGE fan of horror, and Vincent Price is one of my favorite actors, so how can you go wrong with such a sadistic film? Its absolutely perfect for Price, he's flawless. But I will say, as much as I love horror, I had a HARD time watching this, though in a good way. Being the masochist I am, I sat through the whole film. It was enjoyable, especially for Prices over-the-top super-campy performance. What made it hard to watch, was the deaths. I was empathizing with the victims to much boviously because everytime someone died had a large knot in my stomache. And I can't even think of one death which happens in a kitchen without getting sad... :( This movie just has some of the most twisted death scenes I've ever scene. Diana Rigg was very good as Vincent's daughter as well. I rather wanted to shoot her, she was that convincing. :D Anyways, I really, really reccomend 'Theater of Blood' to fans of horror, black comedy, or Vincent Price, even better yet if you're a fan of ALL THREE, like me.! :D God Bless & *enjoy* ~Amy
Rating: 
Summary: stupid
Review: I love Vincent Price and have many of his movies but this one I wish I had not bought. It is really stupid. It was one of his later movies that he probably made just to have work .
Rating: 
Summary: "I am sorry to miss the meeting, but my heart is with you."
Review: I must confess I had a slightly different movie in mind with "Theater of Blood" ... I expected star Vincent Price to be way over the top, with gallons of blood spilling everywhere and a totally crazy, highly obvious sense of humor. Reviews which I'd read up until then had given me a totally different impression of what to expect, while still describing the film accurately. I was surprised to discover, upon watching this masterpiece, that it really takes itself quite seriously (or at least, more than I thought it would), that Mr. Price is actually very intense, and the sense of humor, while still very present, is both a bit more restrained and a bit more subtle than I'd anticipated. But this in no way means I was disappointed ... rather, I enjoyed viewing "Theater" very much indeed.
Price plays a failed actor, one Edward Lionheart, who in spite of being thought dead is really alive and well, and has begun plotting his murderous revenge on the critics who cursed his career by giving his performances bad reviews. Through a series of highly entertaining vignettes, we watch Lionheart carry out his plans with the help of a troupe of homeless meths drinkers who have taken up residence in the abandoned theater he's decided to call home, along with the aid of a mysterious young man with a huge Derek Smalls-esque mustache and poofy, poofy hair (ah, the Seventies ... ). Each murder is taken from a play by William Shakespeare, and I'm shamed to say (as someone who's scarcely touched anything written by the man, save for "Julius Caesar" in high school) that I was able to recognize only one of them (the first one, which is based on the murder of Julius Caesar, naturally). The ways these murders are carried out have to be seen to be believed, and they are the chief source of the pleasure that is to be found in watching this film (after Price's simultaneously intense, flamboyant, tragic, and humorous performance, I should say). My favorite among them, involving a bedside beheading, was loaded with precious moments and needs to be watched at least twice with each viewing.
Though not what I expected, "Theater" was excellent nevertheless, and is certain to become a favorite for anyone who enjoys horror stories, tales of murder or suspense, black (and red) comedy, or just watching a master actor give the performance of his life (playing, of all things, an actor giving the performance of his life). The DVD is very basic, providing only a trailer in the way of bonus material (and it's not a very good one ... don't watch it till after you've seen the movie, or it will spoil a number of the best parts). If you haven't seen "Theater" yet, or if you don't yet have it in your collection, what are you waiting for? Buy it today.
Carry on Carry on,
MN
Rating:
Summary: Price's Personal Favourite of All His Films...
Review: In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross, late great Vincent Price's daughter was asked which of her father's films was his favourite. She said he loved Theatre of Blood because he got to do Shakespeare. 1973's Theatre Of Blood followed the two Dr. Phibes films which were marvelously devilish black comedies. In Theatre Of Blood, Price tops his Phibes performances. Price plays Edward Lionheart, a Shakespearan actor loved by his fans but mercilessly reviled by a group of snobby theatre critics who berate his performances in print and later humiliate him at an awards ceremony. Lionheart sets out to get revenge on the nine critics by use of murder plots in Shakespeare's plays. The makeup and costumes are superb as well as the supporting cast -- particularly the lovely Diana Rigg, Milo O'Shea, and Robert Morley. Price dons dozens of disguises as he methodically carrys out his mission. He's hysterically funny as "Butch", a hairdresser for one of the female critics. This film should be considered among his essential works.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite a classic
Review: Let's face it, some of these old Vincent Price movies are fantastic (especially his work with Roger Corman), but does that make any Vincent Price horror a classic? No. This was the mid-1970's, by which time the great B-movie tradition of Hammer Horror /Roger Corman /etc. was in its death throws (see 'The Beast Must Die' for a similar case of a film's atmosphere being destroyed by 1970's filming styles). I think for example that it would take superhuman forgiveness to rate the Dr Phibes movies as actually good, rather than just dated and bizarre. They're funny to recall, but mind-bogglingly boring to wach. Although Theatre of Blood is not nearly as slow paced and cheesy, it suffers from a lack of authenticity (and creativeness) that B-rated sets and actors created in so many movies of the '50's and '60's. The acting here no longer has that 'B-rated OTT' quality (viz House of Usher), and is not yet capable of being either genuinely frighening (Texas Chainsaw Massacre of the same year), or even having the tongue in cheek self-mocking humour that so many horror films would subsequently contain. Slaughterhouse (1987) comes to mind, though the genre is full of examples of this which date back to the late '70's. This movie is therefore somewhere between the object of a satire and the satire itself, and doesn't have the real charm of either. Robert Morley, who is generally good for a camped up laugh, seems uncomfortable playing the pink-shirted bepoodled (and coiffured) 'bachelor' role here, and basically throws the role away. Diana Rigg does the same. Price seems to enjoy the script, and in fact delivers a very touching death scene in front of his critics. His performance (those familiar with the movie will see the irony of criticising his performance!) is camp but lacks the true feeling of stature which made him excellent in so many other projects (e.g. in Tales of Terror). Like Dr. Phibes, this film has a faded charm and a strong sense of the typical gloomy '70's resignation: hippy clothes and sad faces. If you like that sort of morbid lifelessness, or if you'll buy absolutely anything with Vincent Price in it, then you'll probably like this film. It does not, however, have much of the charm of those 'great old movies' from a little earlier on that are so fun to watch, and which are so atmospheric. Still, it's a clever idea, a good script for what it is, and is interesting to watch - once. The DVD transfer is fine, except for the sound, which is rather faint, making it hard to hear voices a lot of the time. I don't mind that I bought it, but I'd be surprised if I ever watched it from start to finish again.
Rating: 
Summary: Picture Quality Comment
Review: Many dvds these days are digitally remastered, so that picture quality is clean, sharp, pristine. This isn't one of them. The pictuire quality here is
rather poor. Unusual as many other Midnight Movie prints are excellent. Plus the ratio is NOT 1.66 as stated on the box. It is 14x9, with black borders; or, with x zoom to fill the screen, the picture is softened and some picture is lost.
Rating:
Summary: Theatre of Blood
Review: Not my fav by Vincent Price, but it is in my collection and worth a watch.Good cast/ ok plot. Enjoy Lisa C.
Rating:
Summary: Vincent Price and cast have lots of gory fun
Review: Over six gallons of stage blood were poured on this tale of a dejected Shakespearean actor (Vincent Price) who vows vengeance on all the critics that dissed his work. Price cleverly stages his executions after scenes in "Cymbaline", "Julius Caesar", and "The Merchant of Venice", among others. Funny, lively, and very bloody; ironically several years later Price would claim to be "appalled" by Friday the 13th. A fan favorite and Price himself loved this one.
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