Product Description

TALES OF TERROR: Original Theatrical Trailer Widescreen (2.35) English (Mono) Subtitles: French, Spanish TWICE TOLD TALES: Widescreen (1.66)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30754 in DVD
• Brand: PRICE,VINCENT
• Released on: 2005-09-20
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 209 minutes

Amazon.com
When you've got Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, and Peter Lorre all in the same movie, how can you go wrong? Tales of Terror is a trio of Edgar Allen Poe stories, starring three of horror's greats and produced and directed by the immortal Roger Corman. The first story, "Morella," involves a girl (Debra Paget) who returns to her isolated, spooky family home to see her estranged father (Price) for the first time in 26 years. He's let the housekeeping slide a bit--cobwebs abound and, oh, yes, his dead wife is still upstairs. Peter Lorre joins the fun for "The Black Cat," a piece with comic flavor that allows Price to show his rarely seen silly side, and then it's Basil Rathbone's turn to be creepy in "The Case of M. Valdemar," the tale of a mesmerist who decides to experiment with the unknown (bad idea). The movie is well paced, and makes good use of comedy without undercutting its chills. It's a rare treat to see this many masters of the genre working together and so clearly enjoying themselves. Don't miss it. --Ali Davis

After the horror-triptych format proved a box-office winner in Tales of Terror, Twice Told Tales repeated the idea… this time not with Edgar Allan Poe stories, but the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Good idea, as Hawthorne delivered some eerie stories in his time, but the execution here is less than scintillating. The first story, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," is the most entertaining of the bunch, in part because Vincent Price (the star of all three stories, natch) and Sebastian Cabot appear to be enjoying the premise: two old friends discover a Fountain of Youth elixir. This will come in handy in erasing their own wrinkles and gray hair, as well as reviving the corpse of Cabot's long-dead bride… but be careful what you wish for. The second is "Rappaccini's Daughter," with Price as an overly protective father with a novel way to keep his daughter from the sins of the flesh. It is fatally dull, and the final segment, a severe condensation of Hawthorne's novel "The House of the Seven Gables," is even more annoying, although at least it moves along a bit. The story does offer foxy scream queen Beverly Garland in her prime. Journeyman director Sidney Salkow is responsible for the deadly pace, which leaves only Vincent Price as the reason to watch the proceedings. He's just dandy, but the Roger Corman films of the same era are the ones to see. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

A HORROR Fan delight
In the 1960's, Roger Corman directed and produced many of Edgar Allan Poe's novels and short stories to the silver screen. The cast were usually Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone with a few appearances by Boris Karloff (The Raven is one of those and is worth every penny if you find it).

This double feature of Poe Tales are suited for these masters of fright and their wonderful acting talents.

Those fans of modern day splatter horror may not get these semi bloodless thriller. However these tales of mayhem may grow on you

Without a doubt, worth every penny to keep in any horror collection

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Love it!
As another reviewer mentioned, one of the Tales of Terror is actually a combination of "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado". I read both stories in my English classes, and then show the video and have the students write a compare/contrast paper. It's a lot of fun right around Halloween, and helps us get into the mood for the holiday. We all especially love the end, when Peter Lorre's head is being tossed back and forth between his wife and Fortunato. Great stuff!

"The Black Cat" segment is also "Cask of Amontillado"
Vincent Price & Peter Lorre have great fun in "The Black Cat" segment which also intertwines the plot of "The Cask of Amontillado"- Price's Fortunato insults Lorre's Monstressor by sleeping with his wife, who gets walled up with Price and... well, there's where even more fun begins!
"Morella" and "M. Valdemar" are also good scary fun, but it's "The Black Cat" that makes the show. Alas, I have not yet seen "Twice Told Tales".