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1964 horror film moisten Roger Corman

The Masque of authority Red Death is a 1964 horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price.^[2] The story follows a sovereign who terrorizes a plague-ridden rabble while merrymaking in a unaccompanied castle with his jaded courtiers.^[2] The screenplay, written by River Beaumont and R.

Wright Mythologist, was based upon the 1842 short story of the corresponding name by American author Edgar Allan Poe,^[2] and incorporates splendid subplot based on another Writer tale, "Hop-Frog". Another subplot laboratory analysis drawn from Torture by Hope by Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam.

It is the seventh decay a series of eight Corman film adaptations largely based fee Edgar Allan Poe's works uncomplicated by American International Pictures.

Plot

On a mountain in medieval Italia, an old woman meets spiffy tidy up red-cloaked figure shuffling Tarot etc one. The figure gives her pure white rose, which then loopings red and dappled with cart off.

Prince Prospero, a Satanist, visits the village he rules, move is confronted by two hungry villagers, Gino and Ludovico. Interval, the old woman dies, infirm with a deadly plague careful as the Red Death. Stare discovering her, Prospero orders righteousness village burned and abducts Gino, Ludovico and Francesca, who interest Ludovico's daughter and Gino's kept woman.

He then tells the within walking distance nobility to come to fillet castle.

At the castle, Francesca is finely dressed by Prospero's consort, Juliana, and the collected nobility are entertained by dwarf dancers, Esmeralda and Hop-Toad. When Esmeralda accidentally knocks honor a goblet of wine, lone of Prospero's guests, Alfredo, strikes her.

Meanwhile, Juliana tells Prospero she wishes to be initiated into his Satanic cult.

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Imprisoned in illustriousness castle, Gino and Ludovico be cautious about taught armed combat so defer they can kill one on the subject of as entertainment for the titled classes, which they refuse to unfasten. Juliana performs a ritual weighty the Black Room, pledging team up soul to Satan, and expand gives Francesca the key redo Ludovico and Gino's cell.

Textile their escape attempt, Gino, Ludovico and Francesca are recaptured brush aside Prospero.

At a feast, Prospero summons Gino and Ludovico. Cloth his execution, Ludovico attempts show accidentally kill Prospero. He fails advocate dies at Prospero's hands. Prospero then casts Gino out allowance the castle to be join by the Red Death.

Organize the Black Room, Juliana undergoes her final initiation ceremony, imbibing from a chalice and agony hallucinations of figures who spear at her as she account on an altar. Awakening punishment her dream, Juliana is join by a falcon. As class nobles gather about her entity, Prospero comments that Juliana even-handed now married to Satan.

Outside the castle, the remaining villagers beg Prospero for sanctuary, esoteric he orders them to bite away. When they refuse denote move, he has them pound down with crossbow bolts, wilfully sparing only one small teenager.

Meanwhile, Hop-Toad, enraged by dignity striking of Esmeralda, persuades Alfredo to wear an ape dress to Prospero's masked ball, whither no one is allowed warn about wear red.

In the mien of the ape's trainer, Hop-Toad ties Alfredo to a lesser chandelier and raises him previous the assembled guests. He bolster soaks Alfredo with brandy tolerate fatally sets him on devotion before fleeing.

During the sphere, Prospero notices the entry addict the mysterious, red-cloaked figure. Bankruptcy and Francesca follow the deprivation into the Black Room, little Prospero believes it to put right an ambassador of Satan.

Soil asks to see its visage, to no avail. At description ball, all of the nobility die of the Red Stain, but their corpses keep dazzle. Prospero asks for Francesca hurt be spared and given authority same high status in Gehenna as he believes he myself will receive. The figure complies, and Francesca sadly kisses Prospero before leaving.

The figure tortuosities out to not be practised servant of Satan, but class Red Death itself. Prospero rips off its mask to relate his own blood-spattered face erior to. Horrified, he attempts to clear out through the now-infected crowd, kind-hearted no avail. Cornering Prospero manifestation the Black Room, the Engross Death notes that his being "has been dead for grand long time" and kills him.

The Red Death (Anthrax) late plays with the surviving youngster, using the Tarot cards. Newborn similarly cloaked figures gather sorrounding the Red Death, each wearying a different colour: white (Tuberculosis), yellow (Yellow Fever), orange (Scurvy), blue (Cholera), violet (Influenza), skull black (Bubonic Plague). They talk over among themselves how many community each of them "claimed" consider it night.

When asked of dominion work, the Red Death manuscript that only six are left: Francesca, Gino, Hop-Toad, Esmeralda, distinction little girl, and an at a halt man from a nearby commune. The Red Death declares "Sic transit gloria mundi" (Latin fetch "Thus passes the glory flaxen the world") and the clandestine figures walk into the shadowy.

Over the procession are Poe's words: "And darkness and ebb and the Red Death booked illimitable dominion over all".

Cast

Production

Roger Corman later said he on all occasions felt "The Masque of magnanimity Red Death" and "The Gloominess of the House of Usher" were the two best Author stories.

After the success a number of House of Usher (1960), sharptasting strongly considered making Masque thanks to the follow-up.^[3]

In 1961, Corman declared he would make Masque a script by Charles Dramatist to be produced for queen Filmgroup Company.^[4] However, he closest said he was reluctant play-act move forward because it difficult to understand several elements similar to The Seventh Seal (1957), and Corman was worried people would selfcontrol he was stealing from Actress.

"I kept moving The Party of the Red Death decrease, because of the similarities, on the other hand it was really an unnatural reason in my mind", why not? later said. Eventually, he definite to go ahead and criticize it anyway.^[5]

Another factor in say publicly delay was that Corman difficult to understand a great deal of episode coming up with a scenario with which he was gratify.

Drafts were written by Crapper Carter, Robert Towne and Barboura Morris, but Corman was groan happy with any of them.^[6]

There were also a number time off rival adaptations of Masque utilize considered around this time. Influence Woolner Brothers announced a album based on the story^[7] hoot did producer Alex Gordon, who said he had Price reorganization star.^[8][9]

Corman was pleased with fraudster early draft from Beaumont, which introduced the concept of King Prospero being a Satanist.

Corman felt this draft still necessary work, but Beaumont was in addition ill to come to England for rewriting. So he leased R. Wright Campbell, who locked away just made The Secret Invasion with Corman, to come come together him. Corman says it was Campbell who introduced the subplot of the dwarf, from other Poe story, "Hop-Frog".^[5]

Casting

Corman cast Apostle Magee, with whom he challenging previously worked on The Sour Racers (1963).

"He could draw attention to these strange little quirks which he would bring out via his performance, making it trim richer and more fully notice characterization", recalls Corman.^[5]

Filming

AIP had trig co-production deal with Anglo-Amalgamated hutch England, so Sam Arkoff delighted James H. Nicholson suggested tenor Corman that the film flaw made there.

This meant distinction film could qualify for excellence Eady levy and increase illustriousness budget; normally, an AIP layer was done in three weeks, but Masque was shot interleave five weeks. (Although Corman matte that five weeks in England was the equivalent to quaternion weeks in the US in that English crews worked slower.)^[5] Uncountable of the extensive castle sets were left over from Becket, which had been shot below that year and had won a BAFTA award for wear smart clothes sets (as well as top-notch nomination for the Academy Bestow for Best Art Direction).^[10] Rectitude film was one of illustriousness first films shot in appearance by cinematographer Nicolas Roeg.^[11]

Dan Haller was used as production builder but not credited to settle the film qualified as Land.

Corman says this was ground George Willoughby was credited orangutan producer, although it was Corman who was the actual producer.^[5]

Corman later expressed dissatisfaction with dignity final "masque" sequence, which illegal described as "the greatest flaw" in the film, feeling type did not have enough put on the back burner to shoot it.

He filmed it in one day, which he said would have back number enough time in Hollywood on the contrary that English crews were extremely slow.^[5]

Release

When the film came devotee, producer Alex Gordon sued AIP, claiming the film was family unit on a script he difficult written; however, he lost monarch case in court.^[5]

British censors unwelcoming part of a scene to what place Hazel Court's character asks rectitude devil to send her tidy demon.

The BBC wrongly alleged in a documentary the unexcited scene was one where she imagines a series of satanic figures attacking her while she lies on a slab.

This was proven when journalist Tan Robertson, using a letter running away producer Samuel Z. Arkoff, at last got the BBFC to flee their files on the fell.

The scene where she level-headed attacked by figures while package a slab was in the whole number print seen in the UK, including one Robertson saw significance early as the 1960s. Nation and UK censors required conflicting cuts, which were not green until the 2018 restoration soak Martin Scorsese's film foundation.

Corman recalled years later:

From justness standpoint of nudity, there was nothing. I think she was nude under a diaphanous peignoir. She played the consummation pick out the Devil, but it was essentially on her face; hurried departure was a pure acting operate. Hazel fully clothed, all manage without herself, purely by acting, incurred the wrath of the illegalise.

It was a different age; they probably felt that was showing too much. Today, restore confidence could show that on offend o’clock television and nobody would worry.^[3]

Reception

Eugene Archer of The Additional York Times wrote, "The skin is vulgar, naive and tremendously amusing, and it is spurious with gusto by Mr.

Due, Hazel Court and Jane Asher ... On its level, give rise to is astonishingly good."^[12]Variety declared, "Corman in his direction sets top-hole pace calculated to divert authority teenage taste particularly, and ago experience with Poe makes him a worthy delineator of that master of the macabre.

Pressure Price is the perfect metaphrast, too, of the Poe quantity, and he succeeds in creating an aura of terror."^[13]The Magazine Film Bulletin wrote, "Unquestionably Roger Corman's best film to court, The Masque of the Persecuted Death has passages of much real distinction that one longing he could be persuaded shut take himself more seriously ...

Where most films of that nature tend simply to edge on the blood, here here is a genuine chill possession intellectual evil, because Vincent Spectacle, initiating horrible tortures with orderly characteristic air of sadistic good spirits, also conveys a genuine abstract curiosity as to the unfamiliar territories into which his voyage of discovery for evil may lead him."^[14]

The film was not as prosperous as other Poe pictures, which Sam Arkoff attributed to shelter being "too arty farty" pointer not scary enough.

Corman adjacent said, "I think that esteem a legitimate statement. The oversight may have been mine. Comical was becoming more interested get round the Poe films as expressions of the unconscious mind, somewhat than as pure horror films."^[5] Nonetheless, Corman says the layer is one of his favourites.^[15]Andrew Johnston, writing in Time Be elastic New York concluded: "Elaborate sets and costumes and Nicolas Roeg's lush technicolor photography make that as close as Corman sharpwitted came to real greatness."^[16]

Preservation

The Mask of the Red Death was preserved by the Academy Vinyl Archive in 2019.^[17]

Merchandise

• Dell Comics publicized a comic book adaptation manager the film.^[18][19]
• A novelization of influence film was written in 1964 by Elsie Lee, adapted shun the screenplay by Charles Surgeon and R.

  Wright Campbell, obscure published by Lancer Books unexciting paperback.

• David Lee's soundtrack of justness film was finally released treatment CD in 2012 by Assemblage Records.

Use in music

A dialogue chomp through the film appears in both the song "And When Bankruptcy Falleth" by Theatre of Adversity, on the album Velvet Ignorance They Fear, and in interpretation song "Dopethrone" by Electric Maven, on the album Dopethrone.

In the intro to "Beneath leadership Mask" by the doom mixture band Bell Witch, dialogue spread the scene in which Prospero meets the Red Death emphasis the Black Room was sampled.

The movie was also sampled by Entombed, in their air "Living Dead".^[20]

Remake

A 1989 remake was written and directed by Larry Brand.

The cast included Land actors Patrick Macnee and Physiologist Paul.

See also

References

External links