THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER [1960 / 2013] [Limited Edition SteelBook] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] EDGAR ALLAN POE’S Overwhelming Tale of EVIL and TORMENT! He Buried Her Alive... To Save His Soul!
When exploitation maestro Roger Corman decided to raise his game by hiring Vincent Price to star in an adaptation of a classic tale by Edgar Allan Poe, he set in train a series of Poe adaptations that would redefine American horror cinema.
When Philip Winthrop [Mark Damon] visits his fiancée Madeleine Usher [Myrna Fahey] in her crumbling family mansion, her brother Roderick Usher [Vincent Price] tries to talk him out of the wedding, explaining that the Usher family is cursed and that extending its bloodline will only prolong the agony. Madeleine wants to elope with Philip, but neither of them can predict what ruthless lengths Roderick Usher will go to in order to keep them apart.
Richard Matheson's intelligent, literate script is enhanced by Floyd Crosby's stylish widescreen cinematography, but its Vincent Price's anguished conviction in one of his signature roles that makes the film so chillingly memorable over half a century on.
FILM FACT: The macabre Usher family portraits seen throughout the film were painted by a West Coast artist named Burt Schoenberg, who was, according to Roger Corman, "...having something of a vogue in what would I say was post-beatnik, pre-hippie coffeehouses and art galleries in Hollywood." Many in the cast and crew, including renowned art historian Vincent Price, were taken with the artist's work and took home a painting following the shoot.
Cast: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe, David Andar (Ghost) (uncredited), Bill Borzage (Ghost) (uncredited), Mike Jordan (Ghost) (uncredited), Eleanor LeFaber (Ghost) Nadajan (uncredited), Ruth Oklander (Ghost) (uncredited), George Paul (Ghost) (uncredited), Géraldine Paulette (Ghost) (uncredited), Phil Sulvestre (Ghost) (uncredited) and John Zimeas (Ghost) (uncredited)
Director: Roger Corman
Producers: Roger Corman, James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: Richard Matheson (screenplay) and Edgar Allan Poe (based on "The Fall of The House of Usher")
Composer: Les Baxter
Cinematography: Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 79 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: American International Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: Though he originally made his name directing and producing low-budget, B movie westerns, beginning with the 1955 film ‘Five Guns West,’ before moving in to the science fiction and fantasy-horror genres for which he is know most commonly associated and producing up to nine films a year in his early years, and Roger Corman's greatest or most acclaimed achievements are undoubtedly his series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations made through American International Pictures.
Beginning in 1960, ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ or just ‘House of Usher’ as it was originally titled in the USA, which was shot in fifteen days on a very limited budget of just $300,00, was to be the first of eight Roger Corman and Edgar Allan Poe screen adaptations and the first of Roger Corman's seven, now legendary Edgar Allan Poe collaborations with the great Vincent Price, which Vincent Price starred in all but one of the eight films: ‘The Premature Burial’ [1962] which featured Ray Milland in the central role.
Adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's macabre short story of the same name and originally published in 1839 and revised the following year for his ‘Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque’ by the American author and screenwriter Richard Matheson and perhaps best known for his 1954 sci-fi horror novel, ‘I Am Legend,’ who would go on to collaborate with Roger Corman on a total of four adaptations in the Edgar Allan Poe series, the film does slightly lose some of the fluent, lyrical prose and expressive imagery of Edgar Allan Poe's original work, however in its overall flourish, the dialogue proves clear and intelligent, and adequately conveys the intentions and themes of the original text.
The film's central plot is overall fairly minimalistic, with the central focus of the film being on the visual and audio elements, but although the film does at times begin to drift towards soporific territory, Roger Corman effectively manages to sustain enough atmospheric tension and suspenseful intrigue to hold the viewers' attention throughout. As is to be expected, performances are generally quite affected and slightly melodramatic, with Mark Damon and Myrna Fahey suffering most notably for this as the afflicted young lovers. Harry Ellerbe is also slightly guilty on a few occasions, however proves fairly strong as the Usher's faithful, long-serving butler, Bristol, especially when Philip Winthrop [Mark Damon] visits his fiancée Madeleine Usher [Myrna Fahey] in her crumbling family mansion, her brother Roderick Usher [Vincent Price] tries to talk him out of the wedding, explaining that the Usher family is cursed and that extending its bloodline will only prolong the agony. Madeleine Usher e wants to elope with Philip Winthrop, but neither of them can predict what ruthless lengths Roderick Usher will go to in order to keep them apart.
Vincent Price is as always on fine form in one of his most recognisable roles as the hypersensitive, near-Machiavellian hypochondriac, Roderick Usher, with his mellifluous, almost Shakespearean delivery perfectly conveying the foreboding, sinister tones of Edgar Allan Poe's dark tale and adding a welcome boost of energy, class and magnetism to every scene in which he appears.
The desolate mansion that serves as the crumbling, mist-shrouded House of Usher is perfectly conceived, with the sumptuous lighting, elegant art direction, rich costume design and ornate set decoration all perfectly fusing in what proves a consuming and wholly atmospheric visual delight.
The striking opening shots of the House of Usher show Mark Damon riding on horseback through the desolate landscape surrounding the House of Usher mansion; they were captured on film in a wonderfully Cormanesque manner: The day after reading in the Los Angeles Times about a forest fire in the Hollywood Hills, Roger Corman arrived with Mark Damon and a skeleton crew to shoot at the exotic, but very convenient, scorched location. The conflagration which ends House of Usher gets some of its scale from cutaways that Roger Corman shot at a remote California barn which was set to be torn down. The director burned it down instead, and the "stock" fire footage that resulted was also used in other American International Pictures, including ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ [1964].
Academy Award-winning cinematographer Floyd Delafield Crosby who got Best Cinematography for ‘Tabu: A Story of the South Seas’ [1931] must be commended for his superb, beautifully lit, widescreen cinematography, which is at times almost Gregg Toland like in its innovation and technique, employing framing, focus and depth of field techniques which really enhance the immersive, Gothic quality of the piece.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and encoded with a brilliant 1080p image, and Roger Corman's ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ arrives on the Blu-ray format courtesy of British distributor Arrow Video. The film has a very solid organic look. Where light is not restricted depth is quite impressive. Clarity is also very pleasing. Colours are lush and vibrant, never appearing artificially boosted. Some stabilization adjustments have also been applied to give the film a better balanced look. There are no traces of excessive graining corrections. Problematic sharpening adjustments have not been performed either. This being said, during select frame transitions some minor sharpness and contrast fluctuations are present, but it is obvious that these fluctuations are indeed inherited. Lastly, there are no large cuts, debris, splices, stains, or warps, but there are a few very tiny flecks that pop up. All in all, considering the materials that were used to produce the high-definition transfer, the final result is indeed very pleasing. ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ was transferred from a 35mm interpositive. The film was transferred in HD on a Spirit DataCine at Deluxe Digital Median in Sherman Oaks, California for Restoration, removing instances of dirt, debris and scratches with a Reneat and a DRS. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Original uncompressed 2.0 Mono LPCM Audio. The audio track is outstanding. Les Baxter’s score atmospheric score benefits the most from the audio treatment, but the dialogue also has wonderful depth. Listening to Vincent Price’s calm but spooky voice is quite a treat. Overall dynamic movement is also very good for a mono track. For the record, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The audio was transferred from a 35mm mono magnetic strip. The colourist was Kevin O’Connor and the project was managed by Chris Lane of M-G-M.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director and Producer Roger Corman: This Roger Corman's audio commentary was produced by Jeffrey Schwarz for the same audio commentary that was initially included on the previous 2001 M-G-M Midnite Movies Region 1 DVD release of ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER.’ Topics covered include: the process of creating visual and aural jolts for the audience and the thinking behind them; the commissioned paintings that were created by artist Burt Shonberg, that adorn the house walls; the method of undercranking the camera to create more visually startling pan and dolly shots; the dream sequences and a chance to really experiment, that became a signature element of the series; the process of staging the climactic fire and everyone apparently looked forward to that; the shot composition and art direction; the film's critical and commercial success; the Freudian elements, and so much more. Unlike some of Roger Corman's other tracks, we can almost see him beaming with pride over this particular picture, especially his amusement at seeing the American-International logo preceded by a shiny new M-G-M logo.
Special Feature: Legend to Legend: Joe Dante Reflects Upon Roger Corman and the Poe Cycle [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [26:47] Here we have an in-depth interview with Director and former Roger Corman apprentice Joe Dante. In this video interview, director Joe Dante [‘Matinee’ and ‘Piranha’] talks about the impact Roger Corman and who goes into detail with his feelings and opinions about his work had on his career as a filmmaker, and discusses the unique qualities of ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER,’ and Roger Corman's entire Edgar Allan Poe series. And he also covers a lot of ground here, eventually moving on from his own memories of working for Roger Corman to an engaging discourse on the director's Edgar Allan Poe cycle, which does include a few factual snippets that also get aired on a number of the other extra features here. Perhaps my favourite story concerns Roger Corman's practice, in his role as a distributor, of recalling films if they didn't do well in their first week of release and re-cutting and re-issuing them under a different title. Even Joe Dante alludes to Roger Corman's legendary cheapness: when it came time to take the fledgling director out for a session of advice, Roger Corman treated Joe Dante... to a Coke!
Special Feature: The House is the Monster [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [32:58] Gothic horror expert Jonathan Rigby and author of “English Gothic” and “American Gothic,” who is a regular participant in the Making Of documentaries for the recent Hammer Horror Films Blu-ray releases, discusses ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ and its production history and is just fascinating and very interesting to listen to in this engrossing in-depth talk that covers everything from the history of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations on film to the production and reception of Roger Corman's first colour widescreen classic. This is a well-researched and beautifully delivered interview, in a style that readers of Jonathan Rigby's recent book “Studies in Terror” will be more than familiar with. WARNING: This feature contains spoilers and it's advised to watch the feature first.
Special Feature: Archival interview with Vincent Price [1986] [480i] [1.37:1] [11:26] This very entertaining archival video interview, where the great Vincent Price discusses his time in the "business" and the many different characters he played during the years, was originally recorded in Malibu in July 1986 and was directed by Claude Ventura. This is lightweight stuff but engaging nonetheless, particularly when Vincent Price talks about having just done the narration for the Walt Disney short film ‘Vincent,’ which was directed, of course, by a young Tim Burton, for whom Vincent Price would later give his final screen performance as The Inventor in ‘Edward Sissorhands.’ I was also intrigued to hear him describe James Whale's 1940 romantic adventure ‘Green Hell,’ in which he had a small supporting role, as one of the very worst films he ever made. POST SCRIPT: This interview with Vincent Price was originally recorded in his home Malibu on July 1986 and was directed by Claude Ventura. It was first broadcast on French Television on the 18th November, 1986. The recording was subtitled in French and the subtitles could not be removed and apologise for any distraction this may cause.
Special Feature: Fragments of The House of Usher [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [10:47] David Cairns supplies an unusual specially-commissioned video essay on the themes of the film ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ and the relation to Edgar Allan Poe's story, Richard Matheson's script and Vincent Price's terrific performance. David Cairns employs a few of those terms that more highbrow critics have used for years to look mockingly down at the horror cinema of the period and Vincent Price's performance is “camp,” the film is “goofy,” and one unremarkable dialogue exchange is described as one of the most unintentionally hilarious in the history of cinema. This is something very different from the usual approach to such material, but works well as a complement to the other two talks on the film's background included alongside it.
Theatrical Trailer [1960] [1080i] [2.35:1] [2:30] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ and shown in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio.
BONUS: Reversible printed SteelBook sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned brilliant artwork by Graham Humphreys. Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Graham Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including ‘Dream Demon,’ ‘Basket Case,’ ‘The Evil Dead,’ ‘Evil Dead II,’ the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, ‘Phenomena’ and ‘Santa Sangre.’
PLUS: You have a stunning Collector's 28 page booklet featuring a new 2013 writing on the film by author, critic and editor of Video Watchdog, Tim Lucas entitled “THE HOUSE IS THE MONSTER.” We also have an extract writing from the brilliant Vincent Price entitled “VINCENT PRICE: HIS MOVIES, HIS PLAYS, HIS LIFE” [Extract] that is now long out-of-print autobiography. We also have some really nice illustrated original archive Black-and-White and Colour stills from the film ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ Plus on page 27 we have the following “ABOUT THE TRANSFER;” PRODUCTION CREDITS” and “SPECIAL THANKS.” As an added bonus there is a really nice black-and-white photo of Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone and Vincent price in the film ‘The Comedy of Terrors’ [1964].
Finally, ‘THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER’ is yet another very solid Blu-ray release from the folks at Arrow Video and comes highly recommended and is currently the only way to see this film on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray print is quite glorious. There are still little glimmers as one would expect with a film of its vintage, but that is expected issue with many a mastering. That is but a mere subliminal hint at the age of the film when one considers that this is the best the film has looked since it was released in cinemas back in 1961, maybe ever. I think that at this point it is fair to say that Arrow Video have been responsible for some of the most exciting releases to be produced in the United Kingdom. Well done. Buy with confidence folks, because you will not regret it. As stated before in my previous Arrow Video reviews, that I am a massive fan of Vincent Price and he does not disappoint his brilliant performance in this film and a great honour to add this to my ever increasing Vincent Price Blu-ray Collection, as you will not be disappointed. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
