The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) ( House of Usher ) ( The Mysterious House of Usher )

The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$43.99

Original Title: House of Usher
Alternate Title: The Mysterious House of Usher
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Dolby Linear PCM )
English ( Mono )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
79 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Commentary
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Posters
Scene Access
Special Edition
Trailer(s)
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1960 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Roger Corman

Written By:
Edgar Allan Poe
Richard Matheson

Actors:
Vincent Price ..... Roderick Usher
Mark Damon ..... Philip Winthrop
Myrna Fahey ..... Madeline Usher
Harry Ellerbe ..... Bristol

Synopsis:

When exploitation maestro Roger Corman decided to raise his game by hiring Vincent Price to star in an adaptation of a classic tale by Edgar Allan Poe, he set in train a series of Poe adaptations that would redefine American horror cinema. When Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) visits his fiancée Madeleine Usher (Myrna Fahey) in her crumbling family mansion, her brother Roderick (Price) tries to talk him out of the wedding, explaining that the Usher family is cursed and that extending its bloodline will only prolong the agony. Madeleine wants to elope with Philip, but neither of them can predict what ruthless lengths Roderick will go to in order to keep them apart. Richard Matheson's intelligent, literate script is enhanced by Floyd Crosby's stylish widescreen cinematography, but it's Vincent Price's anguished conviction in one of his signature roles that makes the film so chillingly memorable over half a century on.

Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) travels to the House of Usher, a desolate mansion surrounded by a murky swamp, to meet his fiancée Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey). Madeline's brother Roderick (Vincent Price) opposes Philip's intentions, telling the young man that the Usher family is afflicted by a cursed bloodline which has driven all their ancestors to madness. Roderick foresees the family evils being propagated into future generations with a marriage to Madeline and vehemently discourages the union. Philip becomes increasingly desperate to take Madeline away; she agrees to leave with him, desperate to get away from her brother. During a heated argument with her brother, Madeline suddenly dies and is laid to rest in the family crypt beneath the house. As Philip is preparing to leave following the entombment, the butler, Bristol (Harry Ellerbe), lets slip that Madeline suffered from catalepsy, a condition which can make its sufferers appear dead. Philip rips open Madeline's coffin and finds it empty. He desperately searches for her in the winding passages of the crypt but she eludes him and confronts her brother. Now completely insane, Madeline avenges herself upon the brother who knowingly buried her alive.

After a long journey, Philip arrives at the Usher mansion seeking his loved one, Madeline. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that Madeline and her brother Roderick Usher have been afflicted with a mysterious malady: Roderick's senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become catatonic. That evening, Roderick tells his guest of an old Usher family curse: any time there has been more than one Usher child, all of the siblings have gone insane and died horrible deaths. As the days wear on, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 19 September, 2013.

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