Arrow Video is thrilled to
announce the UK Blu-ray and Blu-ray Steelbook release of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum, the 1961
follow-up to The Fall of the House of Usher,
once again directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price alongside
Barbara Steele and Luana Anders.
On release, the film became an instant
hit with both critics and audiences alike. The plaudits ranged from “a
physically stylish, imaginatively photographed horror film” (Variety) to “a
thoroughly creepy sequence of horrors” (New Yorker) and – perhaps most
tellingly – “a class suspense-horror film of the calibre of the excellent ones
done by Hammer” (Hollywood Reporter).
Certainly Corman
succeeded in crafting one of the most arresting openings in any Gothic horror
film, balancing it at the end with a wildly extravagant finale and bolstering
the body of the picture with eerily tinted flashbacks and a creepily effective
tomb-rising for Steele. Introducing the action, rivulets of luridly coloured
paints bleed into each other to the accompaniment of composer Les Baxter’s
sombre atonalities, suggesting nothing so much as the interbreeding blood
vessels of the mind.
In the words of
screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, The
Pit and the Pendulum had a
big influence on Italian horror films. Everybody borrowed from it.” To take
just three examples, two of them scripted by Gastaldi – the conspicuously
diseased family dynamic of Riccardo Freda’s L’orribile
segreto del Dr. Hichcock [The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock](1962), Christopher
Lee thundering on horseback through sunset-dappled surf at the beginning of
Mario Bava’s La frusta e il corpo [The Whip
and the Body] (1963) and the protracted,
candlelit corridor wanderings featured in Antonio Margheriti’s Danza macabre [Castle of Blood] (1964).
Featuring a
bumper crop of bonus features such as two audio commentaries with
director-producer Roger Corman and critic Tim Lucas. The disc will also feature
the new documentary ‘Behind the Swinging Blade’ which focuses on the making of The Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele,
Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more.
Alongside this new documentary, the
special features will also include ‘An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent
Price’ in which Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a live
audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx,
The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum.
Other extra
features include an added TV Sequence which was shot in 1968 to pad out the
film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders, who
was the only available cast member at the time.
The releases feature a collector’s
booklet including new writing on the film by Gothic Horror author Jonathan
Rigby, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
Synopsis
A horse-drawn carriage pulls up on a
deserted beach. A sombre figure dismounts and gazes up towards his destination
– a foreboding cliff-top castle perched high above the crashing waves. Thus the
perfect Gothic scene is set for The
Pit and the Pendulum, the second of Roger Corman’s celebrated Edgar Allan
Poe adaptations once again starring the ever-reliable Vincent Price (The Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre
of Blood) alongside the bewitching Barbara Steele (Black Sunday).
Having learned of the sudden death of his
sister Elizabeth (Steele), Francis Barnard (John Kerr) sets out to the castle
of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina (Price), to uncover the cause of her
untimely demise. A distraught, grief-stricken Nicholas can offer only the
vaguest explanations as to Elizabeth’s death – at first citing “something in
her blood”, but later asserting that she quite literally “died of fright”. What
sort of unspeakable horrors are buried within the walls of this castle that
could cause one’s heart to stop so? With Francis determined to get to the
bottom of this mystery, the terrible truth will not stay buried for long.
Right from its brooding kaleidoscopic
opening titles, The Pit and Pendulum draws you into its world of cobwebs, secret
passageways and dusty suits of armour. All the necessary elements are present
and correct and, along with one of Vincent Price’s most tortured performances,
make The Pit and the Pendulum every inch the Gothic masterpiece.
Special
Features
· Limited Edition SteelBook packaging featuring
original artwork [SteelBook only]
· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
· Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio
· Optional Isolated Music and Effects Track
· Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf
and hard of hearing
· Audio commentary with director and producer
Roger Corman
· Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas
· Behind the Swinging Blade – A new documentary
on the making of The Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara
Steele, Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more!
· Added TV Sequence – Shot in 1968 to pad out
the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders
· An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent
Price [52 mins] – Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a
live audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask
of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum (with optional English SDH)
· Original Trailer
· Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly
commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx [Amaray release only]
· Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on
the film by Gothic Horror author Jonathan Rigby, illustrated with original
archive stills and posters
Pre-Order
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