From the Merchant of Menace, Vincent Price, and the King of the Bs, Roger Corman, come six Gothic tales inspired by the pen of Edgar Allan Poe.
In The Fall of the House of Usher, a young man learns of a family curse that threatens his happiness with his bride-to-be. In The Pit and the Pendulum, a brother investigates the untimely death of sister, played by Barbara Steele. Tales of Terror adapts three Poe classics, Morella, The Black Cat and The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar, each starring a horror icon. The Raven is a comic take on the famous poem concerning three rival magicians. In The Haunted Palace, a newcomer in a New England town is suspected of being a warlock. And in The Tomb of Ligeia, filmed in Norfolk and at Stonehenge, a widower s upcoming marriage plans are thwarted by his dead first wife.
The six films boast a remarkable cast list: not just Price and Steele, but also Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr, Basil and a very young Jack Nicholson. Adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson and Robert Towne, these Six Gothic Tales now rank as classic examples of sixties horror cinema.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition Blu-ray presentation of all six features
- Original uncompressed mono PCM Audio for all films
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for all films
- Trailers for each film
- Reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork for all films
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
- Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman
- An interview with director Joe Dante
- Interview with author Jonathan Rigby
- Video essay by critic and filmmaker David Cairns examining Corman's film in relation to Poe's story
- Archival interview with Vincent Price
THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
- Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman
- Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas
- A new making of documentary featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele, Victoria Price and more!
- Shot in 1968 to pad out the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders
- Price reads a selection of Poe's classic stories before a live audience
TALES OF TERROR
- An hour-long documentary on Roger Corman featuring contributions from James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard
- Critic and novelist Anne Billson discusses the contributions of our feline friends to genre cinema
- The Black Cat, a 1993 short film adaptation of Poe's classic tale directed by Rob Green (The Bunker)
THE RAVEN
- Peter Lorre: The Double Face, Harun Farocki's 1984 documentary, subtitled in English for the first time - An interview with the legendary novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson
- An interview with Roger Corman about making The Raven
- The Trick, a short film about rival magicians by Rob Green (The Bunker)
- Promotional Record
- Stills and Poster Gallery
THE HAUNTED PALACE
- Audio commentary by Vincent Price s biographer David Del Valle and Ron Chaney, grandson of Lon Chaney, Jr
- Kim Newman on H.P. Lovecraft
- An interview with Roger Corman
- Stills and Poster Gallery
THE TOMB OF LIGEIA
- Audio commentary by director and producer Roger Corman
- Audio commentary by star Elizabeth Shepherd
- All-new interviews with cast and crew
