Presented here for the first time ever in its full-length uncut version, this is one of the great films of Italian Gothic horror. In the style of the late Mario Bava, this unforgettable classic contains scenes that rank among the very best the genre has to offer. In sparkling Technicolor (struck from a negative untouched for nearly 40 years), the film emerges as a truly stunning piece of cinematic mastery – as well as a nightmare-inducing vision of hell. A young artist is hired to do a study of a famous local landmark, a windmill that contains stone statues of notorious female monsters of the past. One day he meets a mysterious, dangerously beautiful woman at the mill. Before long, he is drawn into her clutches. Just what is the terrible secret that keeps her hiding from the world? English & French with English subtitles
From the onset you can clearly see that this unheralded and unheard of movie is several cuts above the nomal horror movies Past or Present. Superb acting intilligent plot Great Soundtrack and camera work.This is a must see this film if you enjoy horror check it out.
June 25, 2008 |  | great movie, but DVD could be better |  |
i have been waiting anxiously to get this - i finally watched it - great movie - very surreal, nightmarish and scary - beautiful women - the movie gets 5 stars - fires on all cylinders - but the disc/dvd could have been better - 2 big problems that take me right out of the joy of watching the movie - first, i like watching it in french with subtitles (because the english dubs are ok but feel very unnatural) - unfortunately the french language audio track will without warnig quit and switch over to the english - usually during a chapter change - second, the picture freezes and stutters for about 2 seconds as chapter 16 quits and chapter 17 starts - the disc looks flawless - no scratches or blemishes - so im left wondering - is this just shoddy work on the pressing end or did i get a lemon? - if i send it back for a replacement will that also be flawed? - has anyone else run into this - i ordered mine from amazon directly - whats the deal?
October 28, 2007| | | Should we not all get.....STONED? | |
This EURO-HORROR is atmospheric! A doctor with the all to
common mad scientist daughter problems must drain the life
force of various young women to keep her alive. These tootsies
then petrify into stone statues used to decorate a carousel
powered by the doc's windmill home. Interesting visuals with
overworked cliches,not brilliant but not bad. This is what
I call SO/SO HORROR!
October 26, 2007 | | Atmospheric Italian classic | |
A classic example of gothic Italian horror from the '60s. This was originally released in 1960, which would prove to be a seminal year for Italian horror. Mario Bava's directorial debut, Black Sunday, was also released this year. Mill Of The Stone Women was directed by Giorgio Ferroni, who would go on to direct one other horror film in 1972, Night Of The Devils. He was more well known for his "peplum" (Italian heroic fantasy movies) and westerns. The story concerns a young researcher named Hans who travels to a remote village (in 1890's era Holland) in search of a strange tourist attraction - The Carousel of Stone Women. The "carousel" is a large mechanical device featuring life-sized moving statues of famous and notorious female historical figures; and the whole attraction is housed within a windmill, owned and operated by an eccentric art professor named Gregorius Wahl. Wahl welcomes the young researcher, giving him a tour of the mill and allowing him access to diagrams of the machine, which his father had built. Wahl gives Hans five days to study the machine, after which time he must leave the mill. It turns out Wahl has a daughter, Elfy, who ends up becoming attached to Hans. Hans realizes Elfy may be mentally disturbed or perhaps something else altogether. I won't go into anymore of the plot for those who haven't seen it, but it's a movie worth seeking out, especially for those who like the atmospheric gothic films of Mario Bava, Riccardo Freda, and Antonio Margheriti. It was shot in Technicolor, and it makes good use of the process with some great visual set pieces.
June 23, 2007| | | Ich bin der Hans im Glück | |
This film has many things going for it, including a good story, outstanding score and some decent performances. The story concerns a young man, Hans von Harnim, who travels to a rural town near Amsterdam in order to complete some final work for the centenary edition of a book. The book was authored by a man, whose grandson has carried on the scientific work contained within it. This grandson, Professor Wahl, gives Mr. Harnim a week to gather the information for the book. It is during this time that Mr. Harnim encounters the professor's daughter, Elfi, whom very few people have actually seen. It appears Elfi is in frail health and must lead a life quite different from other young women her age. With a little encouragement, she falls in love with our young Mr. Harnim. Alas, he belongs to another woman (the beautiful Dany Carrel) and Elfi doesn't take his rebuff lightly. Eventually we find out why the locals call the mill `the Mill of the Stone Women.' The story begins rather slowly, though eventually gets around to mounting some good suspense. The last half hour makes this one at least worth renting. I would like to have seen this shot in black and white, which would have made the atmosphere much creepier. Nonetheless, the Mondo Macabro DVD picture looks very good and the list of available soundtracks is impressive, including UK English, US English and French soundtracks. The French soundtrack appears to be the original, though sometimes the characters inexplicably switch to English. These sections are dubbed and appear awkward, though are infrequent enough to be very distracting. The DVD itself deserves an extra ½ star for the care taken.
November 7, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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