‘A macabre masterpiece of terror!’
The Raven is a 1963 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. The movie stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as a trio of rival sorcerers. The playful, lively score was composed by Les Baxter.
The film was the fifth in the so-called Corman-Poe cycle of eight films largely featuring adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories produced by Roger Corman and released by American International Pictures (AIP). It was written by Richard Matheson, based on references to Poe’s poem ‘The Raven’. The supporting cast includes British actress Hazel Court and a young Jack Nicholson.
Roger Corman and Richard Matheson had both enjoyed making The Black Cat comic episode of Tales of Terror and wanted to try an entirely comic Poe feature. “After I heard they wanted to make a movie out of a poem, I felt that was an utter joke, so comedy was really the only way to go with it,” said Matheson.
On March 9, 2015, Arrow Video released The Raven on Blu-ray in the UK. Special features include:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the feature, transferred from original film elements by MGM
Original uncompressed Mono PCM Audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Peter Lorre: The Double Face, Harun Farocki’s 1984 documentary
Richard Matheson: Storyteller, an interview with the legendary novelist and screenwriter
Corman’s Comedy of Poe, 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
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Vladimir Zimakov
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vic Pratt and Rob Green illustrated with original stills and artwork
Buy The Raven on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk
Plot:
In the 15th century, the sorcerer Doctor Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price) has been mourning the death of his wife Lenore (Hazel Court) for over two years, much to the chagrin of his daughter Estelle (Olive Sturgess). One night he is visited by a raven, who happens to be a transformed wizard, Doctor Bedlo (Peter Lorre). Together they brew a strange potion that restores Bedlo to his old self.
Bedlo explains he had been transformed by the evil Doctor Scarabus (Boris Karloff) in an unfair duel, and both decide to see Scarabus, Bedlo to exact revenge and Craven to look for his wife’s ghost, which Bedlo reportedly saw at Scarabus’ castle. After fighting off the attack of Craven’s coachman, who apparently acted under the influence of Scarabus, they set out to the castle, joined by Craven’s daughter Estelle and Bedlo’s son Rexford (Jack Nicholson).
At the castle, Scarabus greets his guests with false friendship, and Bedlo is apparently killed as he conjures a storm in a last act of defiance against his nemesis. At night, Rexford finds him alive and well, hiding in the castle. Craven, meanwhile, is visited and tormented by Lenore, who is revealed to be alive and well too, having faked her death two years before to move away with Scarabus.
As Craven, Estelle, Rexford and Bedlo try to escape the castle, Scarabus stops them, and they are tied and locked up. Bedlo panics and flees away in raven form, having convinced Scarabus to turn him back into bird form rather than face torture…
Reviews:
“The whole thing is played very tongue in cheek and is mostly about having fun not being terrified. The final battle between Karloff and Price is really entertaining and fun to watch; it is very reminiscent of the wizard’s duel in The Sword in the Stone released the same year. The special effects are dated but actually, considering the year and the budget, very effective and fun.” 31 Days of Terror
“Ending a movie with a huge special effects set-piece is always a risky proposition, but it becomes a sure-fire formula for outright disaster when there’s no money in a movie’s budget for special effects! Up to this point, The Raven has been a comfortably low-key movie, driven by acerbic wit, careful characterization, and brilliant casting.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
“It may sound ominous on paper, but Corman’s The Raven is actually a very funny movie. Abandoning the solemn themes of heartbreak and the afterlife that spurred Poe to write ‘The Raven’ in the mid-1840s, Corman tells the tale of a trio of elderly magicians trying to outdo one another, often with hilarious consequences.” 2,500 Movies Challenge
“The humor here is not exactly sophisticated, but the film manages to be good, goofy fun almost the entire way. While Corman continues his penchant for sticking almost entirely to studio-bound sets, there’s little of the psychological underpinnings of some of his other Poe entries, giving The Raven a kind of frankly simpleminded but still often ebullient ambience.” Blu-ray.com
“Price gets to show off his slapstick skills, continually walking headlong into his large telescope, and his acting opposite the bird is, well, Priceless! Lorre is just naturally funny, whether taking a pratfall, going off-script with some ad-libbing […] Karloff, as the villain of the piece, doesn’t get much in the comedy department, but manages to get off some good one-liners…” Cracked Rear Viewer
Most of the show plays at a Laurel & Hardy-pace, but watching these horror clowns never gets old. We didn’t expect the pinchpenny Corman to end with a special effects barrage, for its time a pretty substantial display […] Corman’s direction and Les Baxter’s music make Price’s amiable mugging and Karloff’s growing ire a grand and funny set piece.” DVD Savant
“It’s miles from Poe, but it’s one of the funniest and most enjoyable horror spoofs ever made, with a witty script and smart direction; the three principals’ enjoyment of the whole affair communicates itself to the audience. A delight, with a wooden performance by Nicholson for connoisseurs of the bizarre to savour.” Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook
“Not having horror present did not detract from anything that took place on-screen but having these three men in a film together at the same time was a recipe for success, which the movie found, though it could have been so much more had they decided to play to the strengths of each man. Still, for what it was, one cannot say that there was not a good time to be had.” The Telltale Mind
“A snappy little parody of a horror picture cutely calculated to make the children scream with terror while their parents scream with glee.” Time (1963)
“It very much plays like a Poe version of an Old Dark House comedy. Sure, it may be patchy in spots (the middle section sorta drags), but it’s funny more often than not. And the climactic wizard duel between Boris and Price is some of the best stuff Corman ever did. This scene is just nutty.” The Video Vacuum
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