The Comedy of Terrors/The Raven (1963)

Both are goot, the Raven is the gem

I enjoyed Vincent Price's movies since I was a kid. My favorites are of course the Dr. Phibes flicks Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection (The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Tales of Terror / Theater of Blood / Madhouse / Witchfinder General / Dr. Phibes Rises Again / Twice Told Tales) and The Raven. Featuring the horror master's of their time - Price, Karloff, Lorre - and a new actor - Nicholson. It was 1963, and Roger Corman was working with Price on their string of popular adaptations of Poe's stories.

You'll note that the sets become more elaborate as the movies progress, from bare bones in the early '60s to much more complete and detailed later on. That's because the same sets were used in all the movies, but were improved with each production. If you view several of Price's AMI flicks from the Poe series, you'll start to recognize the sets.

Price hams it up, Lorre helps out, and Karloff is the straight man to them both. The battle royale between Price and Karloff is a classic, and the height of SFX for the time.

November 22, 2007

Recommendation

I don't think anyone should pay these prices for this dvd.
The films are excellent! But, don't be fooled. This is still available out there, you just have to do a little extra work to get it.

I found mine through FYE (fye.com). Ask the associates for help finding it at the desk, it cannot be special ordered, but they can try to find it through distribution or home office. DO NOT PAY 50 or 80 dollars when you can pay less than 20. These people are seriously just trying to take your money. Good luck on your search :)
October 10, 2007

Please, please, please

This is the best material that Corman ever produced. After years of turning out low budget but somewhat artsy horror films, with the indispensible Vincent Price, Corman decided to go camp. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it all happened by accident. Maybe Price showed up on the set one day a little tipsy, blew a couple of his lines and caused Corman to have an inspiration. Whatever happened these two movies bring out the true Vincent Price: a comically macabre villian who both scares and humors you at the same time. Watch some of his earlier horror films where he tries to play it straight and even in the scariest scenes you will find yourself supressing a desire to laugh. Lets face it, good old Vincent was like a demon with a lisp. My true reason for this review is to express my lament for the fact that this Midnight Movie version of these two classics is out of print and all I can say is why? why? why? It should be obvious to MGM that there is a demand for it because used versions are selling for $50. So please MGM, please put this marvel back into production. October 5, 2007

The Good, the Bad, and the Horrible

These two movies belong together. Not because of the plots, which are actually dissimilar, but because of the great cast, headed the three great figures in mystery, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre. With only a passing bow to Edgar Allen Poe, these three lead us on a merry chase across the landscape of fantasy on slippery slope of comedy with the brakelines cut. Jack Nicholson is left hopelessly upstaged while Basil Rathbone valiantly struggles to keep up(not to mention stay alive). Keep your eye on Boris Karloff. sick and barely able to walk in the first movie and not walking at all in the second, he dominates both movies with the expressions on his face and the sound of his voice.
Watch them in the order they were made. The Raven is a great movie, but The Comedy Of Terrors is a classic. April 17, 2007

Great fun to watch.

This is my third time buying these two movies. The Comedy of terrors and the Raven. I gave the other two to my friends.These are just full of laughs from start to end. January 15, 2007

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