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Author
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Topic: Welcome to...RED PRINT theater !
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David Baker
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 233
From: Hamilton , Ohio
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted March 31, 2019 04:24 PM
Hello fellow film fiends !
Beginning this month I will review one of my finest Red prints from my film collection !
With film synopsis , reviews and fun facts !
This month's selection is …..
Upon entering his fiancée's family mansion, a man discovers a savage family curse and fears that his future brother-in-law has entombed his bride-to-be prematurely.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE " RED PRINTS " of ALL TIME !!
After a long journey, Philip arrives at the Usher mansion seeking his loved one, Madeline. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that Madeline and her brother Roderick Usher have been afflicted with a mysterious malady: Roderick's senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become catatonic. That evening, Roderick tells his guest of an old Usher family curse: any time there has been more than one Usher child, all of the siblings have gone insane and died horrible deaths. As the days wear on, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax.
"House of Usher" is an excellent start for Roger Corman's cycle of films based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe. There have been many remakes, but the Corman films remain the definitive statement. Corman was able to capture the feel of Poe's work and that's something that the remakes couldn't even touch. It also provides a tour de force for Vincent Price and establishes him as a great actor.
The film was shot on a budget of $270,000 and it looks GREAT. "House of Usher" is a fabulous calling card for American International Pictures, the distributor. Mostly known for making grade Z schlock, Corman's films gave AIP real class. This is also Corman's first film in CinemaScope and he makes the most of the widescreen here. It earns him a distinction of mine as a "Master of the Widescreen", or filmmakers who create complex and worthwhile compositions in the widescreen frame. The only problem is that the Poe films die on TV, due to the horrific "pan-and-scan" process. Luckily for us, American Movie Classics show these Poe films often in letterbox and MGM is releasing the cycle on letterboxed DVDs.
My print shown here is the Cinemascope version .
For a film that runs 85 minutes, "House of Usher" packs a lot into its' narrative. It is the most faithful of the Poe adaptations, although screenwriter Richard Matheson does take some liberties with the source material, as any great adaptation should. Floyd Crosby's CinemaScope photography is excellent as usual and Daniel Haller's elaborate sets make this look more expensive than it really is. Vincent Price's performance as Usher sets the tone for his future appearances in other Poe films. It neatly combines calm and frenzy together and I can't think of anyone else who would have done a better job. He should have received an Oscar nomination and maybe even the Oscar itself.
Note: "House of Usher" introduces the infamous "Burning Rafters" sequence. If you watch these Poe films back-to-back, you'll see this same sequence repeat itself over and over in several of the films (Tomb of Ligeia and The Raven come to mind). It is a mild criticism, but it is such a great sequence and it is so effectively shot that I didn't mind seeing it again and again.
In 1960 when the film was released , there was 6 minutes of prelude music that played before the credits or film rolled . You'll be very lucky to find an 85 minute print !
You can see this on the BIG screen , August 17 , 2019 at the GORGEOUS PALACE THEATER , 605 Market Ave. No. in Canton , Ohio.
A presentation of Ron Adams' MONSTER BASH .
http://www.monsterbashnews.com/bash-August.html
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Dave
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Stuart Finkelstein
Film Handler
Posts: 62
From: Boston, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted April 01, 2019 08:54 PM
David makes a good point. Many original prints, especially in Scope, were made on Eastman stock and have suffered the dreaded color fade. But they are original, and usually, complete. To seek out later versions on low fade stock, you are finding either edited or flat versions (usually TV prints), or more likely, a combination of both. People themselves change with age, as do films. Should we be discarded because of changes we undergo?
David...you keep collecting, and enjoy your collection to the max. And please continue to post your findings and observations here.
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted April 03, 2019 04:07 PM
I did in another topic called "rare films" ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
The only two films remaining that are sadly fading but not red as yet. One being "The Snow Goose" the other "A Train For Christmas" My 16mm Scope print of Star Wars which was red went to the dump, replaced with the Blu-ray.
Those two short films I mention in particular "The Snow Goose" have never been released in VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray, and most likely due to legal issues that go way back, will never get released to the fans of this particular film which for years have been asking for it which is a real shame.
I just remember "Portrait Of Lee Marvin" that's another one that might have a use, in the special features of any up and coming "Paint Your Wagon" Blu-ray from Paramount. I will contact then very soon, and see if they want this print, as with color correction it would make an interesting add on, due to the fact it was filmed on the set.
Apart from those few short films, the rest including Super 8 and 16mm have been thrown out, replaced due to the titles now being available for sale in a remastered format.
I don't think "The Snow Goose" has reached your level of red yet and hope it never will, but here is a preview...
https://youtu.be/IRPL8Y7-lpU
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It looks like its been taken of VHS that's been copied from a print, then from the VHS to a DVD format.
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