Arrow Video is thrilled to announce the UK Blu-ray and Blu-ray Steelbook release of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum, the 1961 follow-up to The Fall of the House of Usher, once again directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price alongside Barbara Steele and Luana Anders.
On release, the film became an instant hit with both critics and audiences alike. The plaudits ranged from “a physically stylish, imaginatively photographed horror film” (Variety) to “a thoroughly creepy sequence of horrors” (New Yorker) and – perhaps most tellingly – “a class suspense-horror film of the calibre of the excellent ones done by Hammer” (Hollywood Reporter).
Certainly Corman succeeded in crafting one of the most arresting openings in any Gothic horror film, balancing it at the end with a wildly extravagant finale and bolstering the body of the picture with eerily tinted flashbacks and a creepily effective tomb-rising for Steele. Introducing the action, rivulets of luridly coloured paints bleed into each other to the accompaniment of composer Les Baxter’s sombre atonalities, suggesting nothing so much as the interbreeding blood vessels of the mind.
In the words of screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, The Pit and the Pendulum had a big influence on Italian horror films. Everybody borrowed from it.” To take just three examples, two of them scripted by Gastaldi – the conspicuously diseased family dynamic of Riccardo Freda’s L’orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock [The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock] (1962), Christopher Lee thundering on horseback through sunset-dappled surf at the beginning of Mario Bava’s La frusta e il corpo [The Whip and the Body] (1963) and the protracted, candlelit corridor wanderings featured in Antonio Margheriti’s Danza macabre [Castle of Blood] (1964).
Featuring a bumper crop of bonus features such as two audio commentaries with director-producer Roger Corman and critic Tim Lucas. The disc will also feature the new documentary ‘Behind the Swinging Blade’ which focuses on the making of The Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele, Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more.
Alongside this new documentary, the special features will also include ‘An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent Price’ in which Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a live audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum.
Other extra features include an added TV Sequence which was shot in 1968 to pad out the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders, who was the only available cast member at the time.
The releases feature a collector’s booklet including new writing on the film by Gothic Horror author Jonathan Rigby, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
Synopsis
A horse-drawn carriage pulls up on a deserted beach. A sombre figure dismounts and gazes up towards his destination – a foreboding cliff-top castle perched high above the crashing waves. Thus the perfect Gothic scene is set for The Pit and the Pendulum, the second of Roger Corman’s celebrated Edgar Allan Poe adaptations once again starring the ever-reliable Vincent Price (The Fall of the House of Usher, Theatre of Blood) alongside the bewitching Barbara Steele (Black Sunday).
Having learned of the sudden death of his sister Elizabeth (Steele), Francis Barnard (John Kerr) sets out to the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Medina (Price), to uncover the cause of her untimely demise. A distraught, grief-stricken Nicholas can offer only the vaguest explanations as to Elizabeth’s death – at first citing “something in her blood”, but later asserting that she quite literally “died of fright”. What sort of unspeakable horrors are buried within the walls of this castle that could cause one’s heart to stop so? With Francis determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, the terrible truth will not stay buried for long.
Right from its brooding kaleidoscopic opening titles, The Pit and Pendulum draws you into its world of cobwebs, secret passageways and dusty suits of armour. All the necessary elements are present and correct and, along with one of Vincent Price’s most tortured performances, make The Pit and the Pendulum every inch the Gothic masterpiece.
Special Features
·Limited Edition SteelBook packaging featuring original artwork [SteelBook only]
·High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
·Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio
·Optional Isolated Music and Effects Track
·Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
·Audio commentary with director and producer Roger Corman
·Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas
·Behind the Swinging Blade – A new documentary on the making of The Pit and the Pendulum featuring Roger Corman, star Barbara Steele, Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price and more!
·Added TV Sequence – Shot in 1968 to pad out the film for the longer TV time slot, this scene features star Luana Anders
·An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe with Vincent Price [52 mins] – Price reads a selection of Poe’s classic stories before a live audience, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Sphinx, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum (with optional English SDH)
·Original Trailer
·Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx [Amaray release only]
·Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Gothic Horror author Jonathan Rigby, illustrated with original archive stills and posters
Industrial goth rockers Dead Dark Slide combine descriptive lyrics with shredding guitars to create death metal with a twist. The Florida natives use their talents to push boundaries, creating a sound that is as captivating as it is terrifying. Their vast range of influences include
Gwar, White Zombie , Bauhaus,Type O Negative, & Ministry.
2013 has been a busy year for Dead Dark Slide. They have been in the studio recording their upcoming album “feel the heat” The album's lead single “Your Blood Runs Red” highlights growling vocals over a tormented triad. Their guitar is wailing, the drums relentless and the keyboards dark and ominous, chilling you to your bone. Dead Dark Slide take a multi-media approach to their music, supporting their expressive songs with striking visuals and haunting music videos.
Dead Dark Slide – made up of Ryan Michalski (vocals, guitar), Ed Wagner (drums), Henry Rogacki (bass guitar) and Kevin Johnson (keyboards) are the future of metal, taking inspiration from industrial pioneers while bringing in a modern electronic element. Their sinister sounds will infect your soul until the only music you want to hear is that of Dead Dark Slide.
Song order
1.The seas are black
2.JUST DIE
3.your blood runs red
4.summer never ends
5.watching you bleed
Entertainment One presents their releases from June 2014 on both DVD and Blu-ray. This is what you can find….
THAT AWKWARD MOMENT (out on 18th June 2014)
Director:Tom Gormican
Stars:Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller
Synopsis:
Three best friends find themselves where we've all been - at that confusing moment in every dating relationship when you have to decide "So...where is this going?"
Click here to see the trailer.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (out on 18th June 2014)
Creator:Jenji Kohan
Stars:Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning
Synopsis:
The story of Piper Chapman, a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to fifteen months in prison after being convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting money for her drug-dealing girlfriend.
Click here to see the trailer.
THE LEGEND OF HERCULES (out on 25th June 2014)
Director:Renny Harlin
Writers:Sean Hood, Daniel Giat, 2 more credits »
Stars:Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins
Synopsis:
The origin story of the the mythical Greek hero. Betrayed by his stepfather, the King, and exiled and sold into slavery because of a forbidden love, Hercules must use his formidable powers to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom.
You can see the trailer below.
Lumière will release the popular Stockholm-trilogy or Snabba Cash (Quick Money) by Jens Lapidus on 27th May in a nice dvd-box that features the three movies.
SNABBA CASH I, II en III is a story about three characters whose faith got connected, in a world in where there’s a real struggle for life, all situated in the criminal area from Stockholm.
Directing: Daniel ESPINOSA ('Safe House'), Babak NAJAFI , Jens JONSSON
With Joel KINNAMAN ('Johan Falk', 'RoboCop'), Lisa HENNI, Matias VARELA ('Arne Dahl', 'The Borgias') and Dragomir MRSIC
3 DVD box:
Sweden, 2010-2014 | Length: 330 minuten
Language: Swedish | Subtitles: Dutch, french
Format: 16:9 | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Midnight Masses sign to Superball Music for release of debut album Departures.
Midnight Masses, the band featuring Autry Fulbright & Jason Reece from …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, are pleased to announce they have signed to Superball Music for the release of their debut album Departures.
Autry had this to say about the forthcoming record:
“Midnight Masses had been a way for me to musically document my travels and experiences for the past few years. I've had the pleasure to share this with many of my closest and most talented friends. In a way this record is a eulogy of things I've lost (whether that may be relatives, lovers, faith, or my own mind) - a memorial of sorts. And the band is everyone I would want at my own funeral.”
Midnight Masses was started in the spring of 2008 by Autry Fulbright and Jason Reece shortly after the death of Autry’s father. The sudden loss compelled him to seek solace through music and travel with his friends. One of his friends was Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio who had recently begun documenting various Brooklyn musicians in his home studio. Midnight Masses quickly grew from a bedroom project to a multi-media collective with a revolving cast of musicians, filmmakers, and visual artists with Jason Reece contributing when not occupied with...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead.
