THE RAVEN [1963 / 2015] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] The Supreme Adventure in Terror! The Macabre Masterpiece of Terror!
Although “THE RAVEN” is one of Edgar Allan Poe s most famous poems, the lack of a narrative hook initially stumped screenwriting legend Richard Matheson [‘I Am Legend,’ ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ and ‘Duel’] until he realised that the idea of adapting the poem was so ridiculous that he might as well make it a comedy.
And what a comedy! Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff play rival magicians whose paths cross when Dr Craven [Vincent Price] hears Dr. Bedlo tap-tap-tapping on his windowpane. For Bedlo [Peter Lorre] has been turned into a raven by Dr. Scarabus [Boris Karloff], and when transformed back into his old self he naturally vows revenge. But the scripted rivalry is as nothing compared to three great horror masters relentlessly upstaging each other even a young Jack Nicholson, as Bedlo’s son, barely gets a look-in.
If there’s not much authentic Edgar Allan Poe in these sorcery shenanigans, the sets and cinematography more than compensate: director Roger Corman was by then a master of conjuring Gothic atmosphere on a very modest budget.
FILM FACT: Roger Corman and Richard Matheson had both enjoyed making the comic "The Black Cat" episode of ‘Tales of Terror’ and wanted to try an entirely comic Edgar Allan Poe feature. "After I heard they wanted to make a film out of a poem, I felt that was an utter joke, so comedy was really the only way to go with it", said Richard Matheson. The film was shot in 15 days. Roger Corman said that although they kept closely to the structure and story script, "We did more improvisation on that film than any of the others."The improvisation was in terms of dialogue and bits of business from the actors. During shooting, Peter Lorre ad-libbed a number of famous lines in the film including: "How the hell should I know?", after Vincent Price asks "shall I ever see the rare and radiant Lenore again?" "Where else?" after Vincent Price says "I keep her here." (referring to the body of his lost love Lenore, kept in a coffin in the hall). "Hard place to keep clean." Roger Corman says that Lorre's improvisations confused both Vincent Price and Boris Karloff, but Vincent Price adapted to it well while Boris Karloff struggled. Roger Corman said: Overall I would say we had as good a spirit on ‘THE RAVEN’ as any film I've ever worked on, except for a couple of moments with Boris. There was a slight edge to it, because Boris came in with a carefully worked out preparation, so when Peter Lorre started improvising lines, it really threw Boris Karloff off from his preparation. Roger Corman says the tension between Jack Nicholson and Peter Lorre as father and son came from the actors rather than the script; the two did not get along well. Vincent Price later recalled about the final duel: Boris Karloff hated being strung up in the air on those chairs. Boris Karloff was terribly crippled, and we were both floating in the air on these wires. It wasn't a pleasant feeling! And I hated having that snake wrapped around my neck for two hours... I hate snakes. Boris Karloff later said he was annoyed at having to wear the heavy cape. The Scene of the burning interior of the castle was reused film from Corman's 1960 film ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’
Cast: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Olive Sturgess, Jack Nicholson, Connie Wallace, William Baskin, Aaron Saxon, John Dierkes, Dick Johnstone (uncredited) and Mark Sheeler (uncredited)
Director: Roger Corman
Producers: James H. Nicholson, Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: Richard Matheson and Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
Composer: Les Baxter
Cinematography: Floyd Delafield Crosby, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Pathécolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 86 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: American International Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: This was the fifth of Roger Corman's eighth Edgar Allan Poe inspired films brought together some old horror masters, behind and in front of the cameras, for ‘THE RAVEN’ [1963], a loose comic take on the classic poem that pleased audiences, critics, and those involved in its making.
Roger Corman directs this very lively, funny and hugely entertaining entry with this fifth in his Edgar Allan Poe series of films. This one has little to do with Edgar Allan Poe's original work save for the passages read over the opening of the film and a line or two spoken by Vincent Price. Comedy is the order of the day here. According to Roger Corman, everybody had a great time participating in this production. However, Boris Karloff was slightly annoyed during his time on the film working with Peter Lorre who ad-libbed much of his dialogue. Boris Karloff, was a classically trained actor, preferred to recite his lines exactly as they were written and this off-the-wall style of acting wreaked havoc with his method.
Vincent Price is Dr. Erasmus Craven, a 15th century magician in retirement following the death of his wife, Lenore Craven [Hazel Court]. He is startled one night by the appearance of a talking raven, who is actually another former magician, Dr. Adolphus Bedlo [Peter Lorre] turned into a bird for daring to challenge master sorcerer Dr. Scarabus [Boris Karloff]. Dr. Erasmus Craven returns Dr. Adolphus Bedlo to human form, and the grateful man tells him he has seen a woman resembling Lenore living in Scarabus's castle. Traveling to the castle with Dr. Erasmus Craven's daughter and Dr. Adolphus Bedlo's son Rexford Bedlo [Jack Nicholson], the group soon learns that Lenore Craven and Dr. Scarabus are partners in treachery. In the end, Dr. Adolphus Bedlo is once again a raven, and that's all we're going to give away, other than to note that the whole affair is a fun romp with its all very tongue firmly in cheek.
Dr. Erasmus Craven returns Dr. Adolphus Bedlo to his rightful form, and that’s when Dr. Adolphus Bedlo notices the painting of Dr. Erasmus Craven’s dead wife Lenore Craven. Dr. Adolphus Bedlo swears the woman is alive in the castle of Scarabus, and indeed she is. Lenore Craven had faked her own death after becoming bored with Dr. Erasmus Craven, in order to enjoy Dr. Scarabus’s wealth and power. Dr. Adolphus Bedlo turns out to be part of a plot to lure Dr. Erasmus Craven to the castle so that Dr. Scarabus can learn the secret of the magician’s hand manipulations. Scarabus threatens to harm Dr. Erasmus Craven’s daughter Estelle Craven [Olive Sturgess] unless Dr. Erasmus Craven reveals his power, and it is then that Dr. Erasmus Craven realises that it’s time to take action. Dr. Erasmus Craven challenges Dr. Scarabus to a duel to the death. The two magicians certainly duel, by conjuring snakes, bats, gargoyles, knives, cannons, fireballs, etc., but not quite to the death. Dr. Erasmus Craven proves to be the more powerful of the two and, with the castle in flames, leaves triumphantly with Estelle Craven, Dr. Adolphus Bedlo and Bedlo’s inept but charming son Rexford Bedlo.
If the plot seems slight, that's because it is. Richard Matheson's screenplay doesn't bulk up the source material- it ignores the poem entirely save for some quoted passages. What we get instead is is a series of comic set pieces followed by a saggy middle section. The film caps off with a spectacular and hilarious face-off between Dr. Erasmus Craven and Dr. Scarabus. Don't come looking for Richard Matheson's typical depth and subtext, because you will not find it here, just sit back and enjoy some jolly camp acting, with lots of magical spectacular three actors trying to outdo each other. The three lead horror heavyweights are in fine form, which is surprising given the age of Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. Still, for the most part, and the three legendary leads appear to be having a marvellous time. I enjoyed watching gothic horror film because it's so obvious that everyone enjoyed making the film with great gusto and hilarity, and you will enjoy it also.
The Triumphant of Terror that happens with the film ‘THE RAVEN,’ is when melancholy magician Dr. Erasmus Craven, having recently relinquished his membership in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers after the apparent death of his wife Lenore, is paid a visit by a foul-mouthed talking raven, claiming to be small-time wizard Dr. Adolphus Bedlo. After some persuasion, Dr. Erasmus Craven returns Dr. Adolphus Bedlo to human form, reversing a spell placed by the evil Dr. Scarabus, who is Dr. Erasmus Craven's chief rival. After learning that a woman bearing a strong likeness to Lenore Craven was seen in the Doctor's company, Dr. Erasmus Craven accompanies Dr. Adolphus Bedlo to Dr. Scarabus's castle, where the resulting battle of wills escalates into all-out magical warfare between the two embittered sorcerers.
The film’s biggest boost is clearly the three leading actors who are all at their absolute peak. I especially enjoyed Peter Lorre who brazenly steals every scene he is in and ad-libbed many of his funny lines much to the consternation of his fellow co-stars. In fact if Peter Lorre wasn’t in this film it wouldn’t have been half as enjoyable. A young Jack Nicholson as his son is equally entertaining and the frosty relationship that the two characters have was apparently a carry-over from how they felt about each other from behind-the-scenes. Some of the effects are clearly animated, which looks tacky and as the group arrive at Scarabus’s castle one can see that the place is merely a painting matted on the screen. The story also does have its share of lulls, but all in all this gets forgiven by the climactic sorcerer’s duel, which is the film’s fantastic highlight.
As a post script for the film ‘THE RAVEN,’ is that in 1960 when producer-director Roger Corman launched his highly successful series of films loosely based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, he turned to Richard Matheson for the first screenplay, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ [1960]. Richard Matheson went onto pen ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ [1961], ‘Tales of Terror’ [1962], and ‘THE RAVEN’ [1963]. Appropriately, Richard Matheson later won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for his writing on ‘The Night Stalker’ [1972]. Jack Nicholson has a role as Peter Lorre's son, Rexford Bedlo. In later years, Jack Nicholson had high praise for everyone he worked with on the film, except for the Raven itself, as Jack Nicholson had a nasty habit of relieving himself all over the set. Boris Karloff had appeared in another film with the same title in 1935, co-starring with Bela Lugosi. Other than the name, however, the two pictures have nothing to do with each other. The film took the critics and the public by complete surprise and out-grossed all of the previous films in the franchise. When the picture was shown to the censorship board they not only approved it, they actually praised it, which pleased Roger Corman no end. But the picture’s success cast some serious doubts about the future of Edgar Allan Poe at the box-office. Despite this conundrum, seriously folks, you could die laughing, that is how funny and hilarious this film is!
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Once again Arrow Video has done a very professional job with ‘THE RAVEN’ on this Blu-ray that has been presented with a stunning 1080p progressive widescreen encoded image. The source used for this transfer that has been transferred from original film elements by M-G-M and is in superb shape, as colours look nicely saturated, flesh tones look accurate, details look crisp and black levels look consistently great throughout. Grain look healthy and natural throughout, there are no issues with DNR [Digital Noise Reduction] or compression. Overall another solid transfer from Arrow Video that is on par with their transfer for their other Vincent Price releases. 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 – With the release of this Arrow Video Blu-ray of ‘THE RAVEN,’ this release comes with two audio options, one is the 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio mix in English and an equally excellent Isolated Music and Effects Track. The audio sounds really clean, clear and well balanced throughout. Range wise though things sound rather limited and the more ambient aspects of the soundtrack are well represented. The release of the second audio track with music and effects track is very much welcomed addition.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High Definition Blu-ray [1080p] presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by M-G-M.
Original uncompressed 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
Optional uncompressed 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio Isolated Music and Effects track
Special Feature: Peter Lorre: The Double Face [1984] [480i] [1.37:1] [61:21] Harun Farocki’s 1984 black-and-white German documentary portrait of Peter Lorre. We take a look at his early days in the theatre alongside Bertolt Brecht [Poet] to his untimely death. Driven by an audio soundtrack that consists solely of an unhappy-sounding female narrator and blending factual information with intellectualising, with just a smidgen of artistic snobbery, it does follow a timeline through Peter Lorre's career, but focuses on specific films, perhaps unsurprisingly, the classic film ‘M’ is afforded a generous amount of screen time, and is big on thematic deconstruction. Peter Lorre achieved international fame for his performance in the myth-making role in M. This character has held a peculiar fascination for generations of cinéphiles. However, at the time, whilst such success meant recognition, it also weighed on the Hungarian actor as a constrictive burden. Using photographs and film extracts, ‘The Double Face’ [‘Das doppelte Gesicht’] reconstructs the ups and downs of Lorre's career, taking into consideration the economic imperatives and workings of the film industry at the time. Subtitled in English for the first time. Despite it being a worthy documentary of Peter Lorre, I did find it slightly hard going and very confusing as well, and didn’t help with the strong boring monotonous German audio presentation, that I found distracted me at times, but now and again you do get some English presentation of films Peter Lorre has been in. Director: Harun Farocki. Screenplay: Harun Farocki. Cinematography: Ingo Kratisch and Wolf-Dieter Fallert.
Special Feature: Richard Matheson: Storyteller [2003] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.37:1] [6:35] M-G-M Home Entertainment presents this very interesting interview with the legendary novelist and screenwriter. Here we have a brief but welcome chat with screenwriter and author Richard Matheson, who describes himself as “an offbeat writer” and explains why he decided to transform the Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven” poem into a comedy film, which he actually wrote 20 to 30 pages while on vacation with his wife on an old fashioned typewriter. Richard describes Vincent Price as the nicest man he ever met in Hollywood, and he also described Boris Karloff as a very fine gentleman. Richard also reveals that at this stage in his life for Boris Karloff, even walking was very painful and said he was very concerned when on the set, which is then illustrated by a clip from the film of him slowly descending the stairs that makes you wince with understanding of the situation. Richard Matheson also states that few so-called scary actors realise just how funny they can be, well he might be just right. Sadly this special feature on Richard Matheson was far too short and I would have really liked to hear more from this very interesting person. Director: Greg Carson. Producer: Greg Carson. Cinematography: J.B. Letchinger.
Special Feature: Corman’s Comedy of Poe [2003] [1080p / 1080i] [1.37:1] [8:11] M-G-M Home Entertainment presents an interview with Roger Corman discussing the making of the film ‘THE RAVEN,’ and was recorded in 2003. To get us in the mood we get the start of the film with all the swirling colours and of course we hear Vincent Price reading the Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven” poem. With this interview Roger Corman describes the film ‘THE RAVEN’ as one of his favourite film and really enjoyed directing it. Roger Corman recalls that it was Peter Lorre who seemed to be having the most fun with his typical improvisation, to the point where it started to flummox the more classically trained Boris Karloff, who prefers to go with what is written in the script. Roger also informs us that most of Poe’s poems are very similar in style and sadly the films with AIP started to look also very similar, so with the help of Richard Matheson they decided to make ‘THE RAVEN’ in a totally different direction and make it a 100% comedy film. Over time the sets from previous Roger Corman films were reused and over time they added new scenery and by the time ‘THE RAVEN’ was filmed the sets had become enormous. Roger really enjoyed working with Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, who decided to do lots of improvisation, which Boris Karloff did not, as he preferred to stick to the scrip, because Boris was a trained actor in England. Roger also talked about the young Jack Nicholson and how he wanted the audience to think that Peter Lorre [father] had a love/hate relationship throughout the film. Roger also explained about some of the trick effects when it came to the “Battle of the Wizards” scenes in the film and how it was achieved, but because at the time of the film, they had to use an optical printer to create the effects and wish he had the modern technology of today’s filming, with the CGI effects, but despite the low budget of the film, he is still pleased with the results and says that it is one of his favourite films and I totally agree with Roger 100%. Director: Greg Carson. Producer: Greg Carson. Cinematography: J.B. Letchinger.
Special Feature: The Trick [1997] [1080p] 1.78:1] [12:19] Black Cat Films presents a short film about rival magicians, and is written and directed by Rob Green. Here we see three judges who are in a hall for “The Master Magicians” who are here to audition different magicians and to vote on who they feel are true magicians. The first silent magician is shown the exit. The second silent magician is totally mysterious in his performance, but disappears behind his magic green door, so the three judges go to investigate, who also disappear mysteriously. But what happens to everyone, you will have to view this really spooky video and when you see the final scene of the video is very disturbing, but please be warned, especially if you are a person of a nervous disposition. By the way, if you act like the three selfish judges, you too could well get your comeuppance if you are in a similar situation. Cast: Clive Perrott, Steven O'Donnell, Tanya Myers, Mark Webb [The Fake Chinaman], Don Warrington [The Magic Man], Neil D’Souza, Emma Graham, Tanya Lowry, Claire Lubert, Alison Morrow, Ralph Perrott, Oliver Reade and Christian Wheeler. Director: Rob Green. Producers: Kate Dain, Leslie A. Jones and Sarah Carr. Screenplay: Rob Green. Composer: Michael Hewer. Cinematography: Peter Field.
Special Feature: Gallery: Here we get to view 57 stunning black-and-white and colour production stills, with a handful of cinema posters, some of the main actors, behind-the-scene images of the sets and publicity images, all in sparkling brilliant HD resolution. To advance the images, you have to use the right hand NEXT button on your remote control to manually move through all the images you view.
Special Feature: Promotional Record [1963] [1080p] [1.78:1] [5:41] This is a rare audio American International Pictures Long Playing Record promotional presentation in conjunction with the film ‘THE RAVEN’ that pushes the film as a work of "monstrous terror" and includes an introduction by Boris Karloff who welcomes us with his very spooky voice and we also get to hear Peter Lorre and Vincent Price reading segments from the Edgar Allan Poe's original “The Raven” poem. You'd never know there was a moment of humour in the film from this audio presentation and Boris Karloff even suggests that it's so terrifying that "it may be the last picture you ever see," but it's a valuable inclusion and a splendid listen. This special Hi-Fidelity audio presentation was originally released on a Japanese Long Playing Album and you get an image of the record label, which states “LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE’S THE RAVEN.”
Theatrical Trailer [1963] [1080i] [2.35:1] [2:27] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for ‘THE RAVEN.’ We are informed with a spooky presentation, when you hear the announcer say, "A tempest of thrilling terror!" And we get to see Boris Karloff and Vincent Price doing their hand manipulation wizardry, with great aplomb. Sadly this is of very poor quality, but despite this, it is a brilliant presentation.
PLUS: Beautiful Designed Reversible Blu-ray sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov. Vladimir Zimakov is a Los Angeles based artist, designer and illustrator who works in a variety of techniques including linocut, silkscreen and letterpress among other traditional and digital media. He also frequently conducts workshops and teaches college level courses in the areas of Graphic Design, Illustration and Foundation.
BONUS: Beautiful Designed Collector’s 28 page booklet featuring new writing “COMEDY AND KARLOFF” by Vic Pratt and “THE TRICK” Rob Green. It also includes “CAST;” “CREW;” “ABOUT THE TRANSFER;” PRODUCTION CREDITS” and “SPECIAL THANKS.” It also has brilliant illustrations artwork and with original rare black-and-white stills.
Finally, with the film ‘THE RAVEN’ you get to view the classic horror actors like Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre all into one gothic horror film would be hard to mess up, since they are all pros in their acting craft at this sort of thing. Anyone who enjoys gothic horror, fantasy, comedy, or light-hearted adventures will love this film, especially knowing that Roger Corman and company relished the opportunity to poke fun at the staid Edgar Allan Poe series, and the distinguished leads contribute to the spirit of fun by lampooning their own cinematic reputations. Plus fans of Jack Nicholson (who cut his acting teeth on this and other AIP productions) should enjoy his melodramatic performance here as Bedlo's straight-as-an-arrow son; Jack Nicholson would later co-star with Boris Karloff in the Roger Corman film ‘The Terror,’ which was shot in two days using the same sets! Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado Le Cinema Paradiso United Kingdom
Back to homepage
