An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe

Vincent Price and American International does it again! This is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful. Thank God MGM has released all of these great old films on DVD. I got this one on a double feature DVD with the Tomb of Ligeia.I was engrossed. Vincent Price is mesmerising. He really shows off his chops here. This man was amazing. I wish there were more actors like him. What a great man. What a great performance. If this had been released in theaters, he would have won an Oscar. American International films may be laughable now, but they sure did revive the careers of some of the greats, and gave careers to truly talented youngsters. They had a niche in both markets! Thank God for Vincent, AI, and Independent Cinema!

After reading nearly all of Poe's macabre stories, I can't imagine anyone more apt to read them with all the inherent horror intended by Edgar than Vincent Price. More of Poe's stories deal with inner torment than deal with some kind of outer menace, perhaps because Poe himself experienced much of the same torment that he wrote about. Mr. Price has the unique ability to take the listener on an eerie journey through this turmoil -- as well as transport the listener to a time when this awesomely-personal terror was unique and original.

I just saw this tonight on AMC (American Movie Classics) Vincent Price, I just couldn't take my eyes off him. He really is a GREAT actor. Edgar Allen Poe's stories that are used here are such cliff-hangers!! I've never read anything of his in print. There are other films with Price doing Poe's works, I've seen one or two of those and they are fine. But this has to be the best of those.

I really couldn't believe my eyes as I started to watch this. The thought of an actor (even someone as iconic as Mr Price) simply reading Poe made me wary - I've heard it done often, and not well at that (why do actors always seem to get hysterical when reading Poe?!)! But from the first few words of The Tell Tale Heart I was, as the previous comment stated, absolutely mesmerised. Transfixed. And very probably sat with my mouth hanging open. It was magnificent. Poe in its truest form. Spell-binding, macabre, poetic, horrifying, all of it.

However - the greatest revelation was the man himself. Boy, could he act! I never realised this. Why, oh why didn't directors push him more?! He was capable of so much more... I've always enjoyed his performances, glorious in their over-the-top ripeness, but never, ever, dreamed he was capable of such control and such intensity...

I remained stunned and awed by the experience!

This is a collection of 4 Poe stories, that seems to have been broadcast on television. The narratives are performed by Vincent Price (Solo). The Poe stories include the Telltale Heart, the Pit and the Pendulum, the Sphinx and the Cask of Amantillado. He is quite exceptional at interpreting Poe, and it shows. This could have easily been a Broadway play. Price knows Poe to the point, that we wonder if he did not know Poe personally. His acting is too realistic at time, almost as if the crimes were committed by Price himself. As always, Vincent shows that he had acting ability above the rest, even though some of his movies did not allow for him to do more. This is definitely recommended for fans of Poe and Price.

-Celluloid Rehab