Product Description

"In an age when thrilling westerns ruled the silver screen, director Victor Helparin decided to move on to another form and level of cinematic entertainment. What prompted him to so is not clear, but the results of the decision are pretty evident from the scores of horror movies that followed his pioneering venture "The White Zombie!" The movie both thrilled and horrified audiences unaccustomed to such themes. It is difficult to portray themes that are fascinating, terrifying, captivating and innovative all at once, but in this timeless classic Victor Helparin has done just this and earned himself a place of honor in the world of entertainment. His disconcerting use of sound and dreamy images, which paved the way for later horror movies, is proof of his exceptional insight and skills as director. Of course, this is amply supplemented by the genius of people like Harold Anderson, whose special effects are stunningly imaginative, and Bela Lugosi, whose portrayal of an evil sorcerer is truly chilling. The rest of the cast, too, deserves mention for their great effort in portraying various characters from dehumanized zombies to helpless lovers. The set designers have done a fabulous job of creating an eerie atmosphere that heralds the horrifying incidents to follow. A2ZCDS offers you - now on DVD - this deliciously horrifying feature film about a couple that gets much more than they bargained for when they decide to tie the knot in a spooky Haitian mansion!"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63238 in DVD
• Published on: 2005
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Collector's Edition, Flash, Full length, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Restored, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 73 minutes

From the Studio
The term `zombie' only came into general use in 1929, after the publication of William B. Seabrook's The Magic Island. In this book, Seabrook describes the first `zombie' he came across in this way:" The eyes were the worst. It was not my imagination. They were in truth like the eyes of a dead man, not blind, but staring, unfocused, unseeing. The whole face, for that matter, was bad enough. It was vacant, as if there was nothing behind it. It seemed not only expressionless, but incapable of expression."

This is a good description of the zombies that appear in the first zombie movie, Victor Halperin's White Zombie, made in 1932 and featuring that emergent horror drawcard, Bela Lugosi. A2ZCDS have brought this old Hollywood Classic feature films on DVD.

THE PLOT: Madeleine (Madge Bellamy) and Neil Parker (John Harron) are in for a rude shock when they arrive at Charles Beaumont's (Robert Frazer) Haitian mansion to celebrate their wedding. Beaumont, who is madly in love with Madeleine, asks `Murder' Legendre (Bela Lugosi) to use his magic to help him seduce the girl. Neil is horrified to discover that his fiancé has been turned into a zombie and is at his wits end to rescue his ladylove from the grips of lunacy and the wicked Legendre's spell.

About the Actor
A2ZCDS is the world's largest and fastest growing innovative multi-media library. Through its vast and unique distribution network, the company provides historical and educational CDs and DVDs covering thousands of topics to every corner of the globe. The ceaseless research and polling process at A2ZCDS constantly identifies and responds to existing and emergent areas of interests.

As a result of constant innovation, exemplary products and outstanding customer service, A2ZCDS is quickly becoming a household name. It numbers amongst the most trusted, efficient and user-friendly sources of educational and entertainment media on the market today.

Customer Reviews

Gaze into the eyes of The Warlock...
Beautiful Madeleine Short and her fiance' Neil Parker travel the twisting roads of Haiti to acquaintance Charles Beaumont's plantation in a cortege' to be wed, when they briefly meet one Mr. Legendre {Lugosi} along the way, who absconds with her scarf, a remnant of her person, and the horror begins. The carriage driver regails them with the local legends of zombies, and when a group of these living dead amble about Legendre down from the black hills, they are struck with an uneasy terror and speedily make their way to Beaumont's plantation, where they are met by a pipe-smoking Dr. Bruner.

However, seems the cleverly traitorous Beaumont essentially made a deal with The Devil by employing the necromantic services of Legendre, to possess Madeleine for his very own zombie love slave. But in order to achieve this end, she must 'die' first, or enter into a narcoleptic coma with her mind in a spell.

Beaumont gets to see the secret caverns where Legendre keeps his native slaving zombies at the creeking mill reminiscent of the proles from Metropolis, and is also introduced to Legendre's various primary zombies: There's Chauvin the executioner {who almost executed Legendre}, a large monster of a man with a piercing glare; Ledot, Legendre's former instructor still in ceremonial attire; Von Gelder, the former tyrannical dictator of the isle; and Silver the zombie butler.

Quite remarkably, Legendre works his dark art by fashioning a waxen fetish figure carved right from a candle, wrapped in her scarf, and improvisationally burns it in a lantern's flame. Here is where Lugosi gestures that infamous hand gesticulation to gain control of her consciousness.

Meanwhile, Parker plunges into despair and becomes enebriated at a local bar, eventually stumbling over to her grave while she is being extracted by Legendre and his zombies. Upon discovering her body missing, he screams in anguish. Now seeking the aid of Dr. Bruner {who really should invest in a lighter}, a sort of Van-Helsing type, he becomes elucidated about the zombie tales, and prepares to visit Legendre at his magnificent cliff-side castle.

When Beaumont is taken aback by Madeleine's condition, recognizing no personality behind her blank stare, he regrets his decision and begs Legendre to reverse her somnambulism, to his lethal misfortune. Now it is he who ingests the zombie powder, while Legendre ghoulishly savors each moment of his degeneration, even fashioning the effigy right in front of him - the only one among all the zombies who actually realizes what is happening to him.

For a brief moment, Madeleine seemingly recognizes Beaumont through the haze, but Legendre regains control. Unfortunately, while she walks outside, Beaumont summons one last vestige of effort and takes Legendre with him over the cliff's edge, followed by his other zombies. The spell is broken, and the fiance's are reunited. Lesson: always leave someone in charge of whomever is in the next room!

Subsequent to Dracula, Lugosi played a remarkable role with this remarkable character, which also remains an inspirational model of deportment and determination. A veritable 'devil as a gentleman'.

White Zombie is replete with splendid camera angles {inclusive of mesmerizing close-ups}, lambent and contrasting lighting techniques, morbid, shadowy sets, striking vistas, eerie orchestration*, and memorable scenes sure to secure a treasured spot in one's collection, as well as in one's mind.

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* It should also be noted that at times, silence itself is ingeniously utilized to intensify the forboding atmosphere this film manages to create.

Moody and Mysterious
This movie, which I believe was the first zombie movie ever released, relies a lot on shadow and mood rather than action, which is sporadic, though intense. This film often bores fans of modern film because they expect action to dull them into senselessness rather than getting into the atmosphere of a film. Fans of classic movies will enjoy the texture of the film and the creepy feeling the film does a very good job of instilling.

Madeleine Short (Madge Bellamy) and Neil Parker (John Harron, who appeared in minor roles in dozens of movies until his untimely death in 1939) have journeyed to Haiti to get married. Once there, their host Charles Beaumont (Robert Frazer, who appeared in dozens of movies, though many of his roles were uncredited) falls madly in love with Madeleine. Beaumont turns to Murder Legendre (Bela Lugosi, who one year earlier created the standard for all future Dracula wannabes) for assistance. Legendre is a zombie master, and uses his abilities to turn Madeleine into a zombie.

Neil Parker is beside himself with grief because he thinks Madeleine is dead, but her death is only in appearance because of the drugs that Legendre used. Parker discovers that Madeleine may be alive, and enlists the aid of missionary Dr. Bruner (Joseph Cawthorn) to track her down and rescue her.

Though the end of the movie has some measure of predictability, the value of this movie is in the journey and not the destination. The movie has an eerie quality throughout, partially due to the sets and partially due to cinematography. Bela Lugosi's piercing eyes are prominent and with a big screen television it is easy to see how intimidating his eyes can be. This movie used techniques that were ground-breaking at the time, including split screens and overlays. I am not sure how the director created the view of the castle, but the beach scenes featuring the castle were outstanding considering this movie was filmed in 1932. The result of all these features is that the movie is very artistic and interesting to watch.

"White Zombie" is a relatively slow movie that relies almost completely on atmosphere. The action is limited to brief moments, though intensity is important. For example, there is a scene with a zombie falling into a grinder. The scene is very graphic and the sound effects are realistic and disturbing. Fans of gothic horror, Bela Lugosi and zombie movies will find this movie a treat and one they will want in their collection.

Use caution in buying this movie. I know that many people have tried, and failed, to get a good copy of this movie off the internet. For some reason the sound off these copies is poor. This movie is one that you should probably purchase as a DVD if you wish to have it in your collection. Other reviewers consider the version by the Roan Group to be the best available version, and it is (currently) cheaper than this version. I have not seen the Roan Group version myself, so I take this assertion based on the expertise of reviewers who have seen both versions. You may wish to do a bit of research before deciding which version meets your needs the best.

Enjoy!

The only special effects are Bela's eyebrows
Well we got a good little flick here. The great-grandfather of zombie films. Thanks to this we have Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.

Bela Lugosi lives in a big castle in Haiti. He resurrects the dead as slave labor to work in the sugarcane fields and in the mill. This is the forerunner of Kathy Lee Gifford's sweat shops. Anyway a young couple on the island are going to get married. You got to check this blonde out! She's a little small in the chest, but her face is awesome! She is a real beauty. Well this loser wants her for himself and devises a plan with Bela. On her wedding night the bride 'dies' only to be brought back as a zombie by Bela. Unfortunately the loser learns to late that though she can still play the piano, the light in her eyes is gone.

He wants her back to normal, but Bela has other ideas. He wants the loser to be a slave in the sugar mill too! But the groom comes to the rescue and the loser and Bela take a long walk off a short cliff.

The interesting thing about this movie is Bela himself. It seems they couldn't decide what he should look like, so he is half Dracula and half Charlie Chan. I lost count how many times he does the 'Dracula stare' into the camera, but I guess audiences loved it and it's what Bela did best.

Man that blond was smoking. SHe could be my White Zombie any day.