Roger Corman’s The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) followed hot
on the heels of his first foray into Edgar Allan Poe territory, The Fall of the
House of Usher (1960). The success of
that movie and even greater success of its successor ushered in a five year
long exploration of the works of Poe which would ultimately deliver eight
movies all of which with the exception of one (The Premature Burial) would
feature the unique talents of horror thespian extraordinaire Vincent Price.
Given that The Pit and the Pendulum’s source material is a
slight, if masterful, story it presents any screenwriter striving to adapt it
into a feature length movie with an obvious problem. Fortunately Richard Matheson was the man
tasked with delivering the script and with customary skill he managed to not
only expand upon the original material but also ensure that the lead up to the
third act (which is the only part derived from Poe’s story) is
entertaining and feels entirely in keeping with the spirit of the author’s
work.
It’s obvious that Matheson looked
beyond The Pit and the Pendulum to Poe’s other works with ideas being pulled
most directly, and very effectively, from The Premature Burial and The Cask of Amontillado.
The fact that the movie feels very much of a piece and not at all disjointed
despite the magpie fashion in which its story was built is testament not only
to the richness of the source materials but also to Matheson’s skill as a
master storyteller. The overall
atmosphere here is redolent of themes that were commonplace across the
breadth of Poe’s body of work.
Although it’s easy to forget given the quality of most of
Corman’s output these days, he was, back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, a film-maker
of great talent and wonderfully dark vision.
He had the unerring ability of taking a meagre budget and via a feat of
directorial alchemy fashioning an end product that looked like it cost
considerably more. The fact that The Pit and the Pendulum is almost entirely a chamber piece with only the opening scene and a handful of
shots of waves crashing on rocks occurring beyond the confines of Medina’s
castle undoubtedly kept the budget in check but despite this it is, nonetheless,
a striking movie which can be comfortably compared to Hammer’s output of the
time and the best of Italian horror cinema such as the works of Mario Bava. The interior of the castle is dressed to
perfection by production designer Daniel Haller who was a Corman regular for
most of his career and provides a wonderfully atmospheric backdrop to the
unfolding tale.
In terms of performances the movie is something of a mixed
bag. Vincent Price is, of course, eminently
watchable. In the role of grieving
husband Nicholas Medina he delivers a typically theatrical performance that
manages to stay just the right side of camp.
Barbara Steele, a truly unique beauty, is, despite her voice being
dubbed to disguise her working class English accent, quite remarkable in the
few scenes where she appears. The
remaining cast deliver mostly effective performances with the sole exception of
John Kerr who seems mostly unengaged and as a result delivers a performance
that could be charitably described as uncharismatic.
The Pit and the Pendulum is not going to appeal to
everyone. Although the scale of the
production is greater than that of House of Usher it is nonetheless very much a
chamber piece and it’s not difficult to imagine it being performed on stage and
losing almost none of its power. It’s also
a horror movie that requires some effort on the part of the contemporary viewer
to feel even the slightest chill.
Approached with the mind-set of the modern horror fan, like many
pre-Seventies horror movies it simply fails to send anything but the weakest of
shivers up the spine. It’s an
entertaining movie but requires a feat of mental agility to put yourself into
the shoes of someone experiencing the movie back in 1961. But put yourself in those shoes you should
because The Pit and the Pendulum is, along with Corman’s other Poe adaptations,
essential viewing for any self-respecting horror fan and Arrow's release is a real treasure. Highly recommended.
Video
As is common with Arrow releases the visual identity of the
movie has been maintained with exactly the right amount of grain present. The crisp 1080p image was adapted from the original
film stock by MGM and great care has been taken to deliver an optimum
presentation. Nothing has been
artificially enhanced to the extent that the visual experience has been marred. Corman’s movies were full of colour and the
Blu-ray delivers this in a manner that’s best described as eye-popping. I doubt The Pit and the Pendulum has ever
looked this good and can’t imagine it will ever look better. A very fine transfer that is sure to please
fans of the movie.
Audio
The original uncompressed mono PCM soundtrack sounds quite
wonderful and there’s an option to listen to an isolated music and effects
track.
Extras
As is often the case with Arrow releases there’s a
retrospective documentary (Behind the Swinging Blade) that provides an
entertaining and informative overview of the making of The Pit and the
Pendulum. It’s pretty comprehensive and
it was nice to see Brian Yuzna popping up to discuss the influence Corman’s Poe
had on him as a film-maker plus the inclusion of Vincent Price’s daughter Mary
was a nice touch.
There are two audio commentary tracks. The first of these is a solo affair featuring
director Corman and surprisingly it’s a fairly lacklustre affair with many
moments of silence scattered throughout and very little that wasn’t already
covered in the documentary. Plus I felt
his insistence that the movie contains a subtext full of Freudian symbolism is
reaching a bit.
The second commentary comes courtesy of film critic Tim
Lucas and it’s both erudite and entertaining.
Packed with interesting information relating to every aspect of the
movie this is exactly what a commentary should be and secured my full attention
from start to finish. If anything it’s
more comprehensive than the documentary. A wonderful listen.
In addition to the above there’s a sequence that was filmed
in 1968 to pad the movie out for television. It doesn’t add much but its inclusion is
welcome.
Last but by no means least we have An Evening of Edgar Allan
Poe with Vincent Price [52 mins]. This
1970 TV special features Price reading a selection of Poe’s classic stories
before a live audience. The stories
included are The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The
Pit and the Pendulum. This is an
astonishing addition to an already wonderful package of extras which on its own
is practically worth the cost of this release.
Anyone who has ever considered Price to be an actor of little talent
will be eating their words after experiencing his masterful performances here. Just brilliant.
Steve's Score:
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