THE TERROR (1963)
+ THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960)
60th Anniversary Edition 2-Disc Blu-ray
Label: Film Masters
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 79 Minutes 15 Seconds / 72 Minutes 47 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0, Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Sandra Knight, Jack Nicholson, Boris Karloff / Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Jack Nicholson
Roger Corman's The Terror (1963) is set in France in 1806, French soldier Lt. Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson, The Shining) of Napoleon's army has become separated from his regiment, and on a desolate stretch of coastline he encounters a hauntingly beautiful woman named Helena (Sandra Knight, Frankenstein's Daughter) who walks into the ocean surf and disappears. Thinking she must have been overcome by the waves Duvalier attempts to rescue her and nearly drowns himself, all the while being dive bombed from above by a vicious hawk from above and beaten by white frothy waves. Losing consciousness after the attack he awakens inside the woodland villa of Katrina (Dorothy Neumann, The Undead), a witchy old woman, with whom he inquires about the young woman he encountered, to which she replies that he must have imagined her during his near fatal drowning for there is no young woman in the area.
Undeterred Andre further searches for the woman through the forest until he comes to the dilapidated castle of Baron Von Leppe (horror icon Boris Karloff, Black Sabbath) whom reluctantly allows Andre to enter after he flashes his Napoleonic credentials. As if Nicholson and Karloff weren't enough for a ticket to this film legendary b-movie character actor Dick Miller (A Bucket of Blood, Gremlins) also appears as the Baron's mysterious major domo! Inside the castle Andre happens upon a portrait of a woman whom bares an uncanny resemblance to the mysterious woman he seeks. The Baron informs him that he is mistaken, that the woman in the portrait was his wife, who died twenty years prior. Andre is obsessed with the young woman and continues to search for the woman's identity despite everyone's insistence that she is merely a figment of his distressed mind. He continues to encounter her but starts to wonder if perhaps he has gone mad; is she an apparition, a restless spirit, who is she, and how does the witchy Katrina figure into the story?
The acting here is suitably melodramatic with pre-New Hollywood Nicholson giving a decent performance as the haunted man, he's definitely charming but not nearly convincing as a Frenchman. Karloff seems a bit lost at times, he gives it a good go though but it's obvious this is just another paying gig in his advanced years. While the film is uneven, it's a wonder that the film is as watchable as it is given it's strange production schedule. The towering Gothic castle, a macabre cemetery steeped in fog, creepy crypts and eerie red, green and blue colored lighting really go a long way towards creating an entertaining and atmospheric spookfest. While it's a bit slow at times but the film's final 15 minutes are wonderfully twisted and stuffed with Poe-esque obsession and madness.
The legend of this film holds that once wrapping on The Raven, which starred Boris Karloff as Dr. Scarabus, Corman immediately went into production on The Terror utilizing sets from The Raven and A Haunted Palace. He tossed Karloff a few extra bucks to remain on for four additional days of shooting. While Corman shot the bulk of the film with Karloff in four days the film's production went on for nine more months, making it one of the longest Corman shoots ever I would imagine. In those nine months Corman left it to a handful of aspiring directors on staff to shoot second unit, and they're notable names, too. They included star Jack Nicholson who would go onto direct the Going South among others, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather)who that same year would direct Dementia 13 and reportedly shot for 11 days only get 10 minutes of footage in this film, Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Coffy) and Monte Hellman (Beast from Haunted Cave). Not too shabby. I love the opening credits that roll over images from some very creepy painting, it certainly sets that Poe tone from Corman's Poe cycle of films, even though this is not an official Poe adaptation, it's still drenched in haunting obsession.
As is usual Film Masters offer a bonus film on this set, we get the Corman directed comedy cult-classic The Little Shop of Horrors, also restored in HD. The madcap tale about the happenings at a flower shop owned by Mr. Mushnik (Mel Welles, The Last American Virgin) where lonely flower shop employee Seymour (Jonathan Haze) has cultivated a man-eating plant named Audrey II, named after ditzy co-worker/crush Audrey (Jackie Joseph, Gremlins) that develops a taste for blood, growing larger as it's fed more people. The low-budget comedy penned by Charles Griffith (Deathrace 2000) is quite a fun romp, shot on shoestring budget the flick is populated by some wild characters including including a flower-earing Dick Miller (A Bucket of Blood), a gleefully sadistic dentist Pheobus Farb (John Herman Shaner, The Two Jakes) and a masochist dental patient named Wilbur Force, played by a seemingly impossibly young Jack Nicholson (Chinatown). The scene stealer here is Mel Welles as the frustrated flower shop owner, his heightened perpetually put-upon performance is comedy gold. This is a anarchic comedy gem chock full of absurdity, which became a musical theatre production in the 80's before being remade as a music film starring Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters) and Steve Martin (The Jerk), but it all started right here.
Audio/Video: The Terror (1963) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Film Masters in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, this is advertised as being from 35mm film elements and it does look quite filmic Grain is intact and doesn't show any tell tale signs of grain manipulation. The source is in terrific shape with not a lot of blemishes, though occasionally there's some soft focus or shots slightly out of focus, and the stock footage sticks out a bit, bit otherwise we get quite a nice transfer with rich, bold colors, and deep blacks that far surpass my old Film Chest Blu-ray edition. The bonus feature The Little Shop of Horrors is presented on it;s own dedicated Blu-ray disc in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The black and white image is superior to any past presentations I have seen on DVD, grain looks unmolested and depth and clarity while modest are pleasing. The source showcases more blemish than the main feature with some speckling and faint vertical lines, but this is easily the best I have ever seen this flick look on home video.
Audio on both comes by way of both uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The DTS tracks are strong and full-bodied while still sounding appropriately vintage, dialogue, score and atmospheric effects sound great without any problematic hiss or distortion.
Extras for The Terror include a 44-min Ghosts in the Machine: Art & Artifice in Roger Corman’s Celluloid Castle offering a fresh perspective of The Terror, an Audio Commentary with C. Courtney Joyner and Dr. Steve Haberman, plus the 2-min Recut Trailer, based on the original theatrical trailer.
Extras on The Little Shop of Horrors include a new Audio Commentary with Author Justin Humphreys and the film’s star Jonathan Haze; the 17-min Ballyhoo Motion Pictures produced Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story part two featurette directed by Howard S. Berger; and the 2-min Recut Trailer, also based on the original theatrical trailer.
The 2-disc Blu-ray release arrives in a standard dual-hub keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the key artwork from the original illustrated movie poster. Inside there's a hefty 24-Page Illustrated Booklet with an essay about the Karloff/Poe connection by C. Courtney Joyner and Mark McGee writes liner notes for The Little Shop of Horrors.
Special Features:
Disc 1: The Terror
- “Ghosts in the Machine: Art & Artifice in Roger Corman’s Celluloid Castle” provides a fresh look at The Terror (44:12)
- Audio Commentary with C. Courtney Joyner and Dr. Steve Haberman
- Recut trailer, based on the original theatrical trailer (2:10)
Disc 2: Little Shop of Horrors
- Audio Commentary with Author Justin Humphreys and the film’s star Jonathan Haze
- Ballyhoo Motion Pictures continues Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story with part two of the featurette; a featurette by Howard S. Berger (17:14)
- Recut Trailers, based on the original theatrical trailer
- 24-Page Illustrated Booklet with an essay C. Courtney Joyner on the Karloff/Poe connection; Mark McGee pens liner notes for The Little Shop of Horrors
After years of sub-par releases both of these Roger Corman directed classics from the 60's have been beautifully restored and have never looked better than they do on this Film Masters double-feature Blu-ray - plus we get a pair of fantastic audio commentaries and other in-depth extras that further stack the deck in it's favor, this comes highly recommended!
Screenshots from the Film Masters Blu-ray:
The Terror (1963)
Extras:
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Extras:
