FEATURED POSTS

10 Questions with Shane Briant

The talented British' born actor Shane Briant made his screen debut in the Hammer horror film Demons of the Mind. Since then he's gone on to appear in over 60 films and television productions including Straight On Till Morning (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Mackintosh Man (1973), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). Currently Briant is focusing his attention on writing fiction and he has recently completed a psychological thriller called Worst Nightmares that will be released May 12th. I've admired his film work for many years so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to ask Shane Briant a few questions about his early movies and current writing projects. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

The Girl On a Motorcycle (1968)

The talented director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff has passed away at the age of 94. As the tributes start to roll out from various news sites and film blogs its become clear to me that most people regard Jack Cardiff as a great cinematographer and have little regard or knowledge of his directing contributions, which is a shame. Cardiff was a brilliant photographer and his groundbreaking contributions to cinematography are well worth celebrating. But his impressive work as a director on films like the wonderful D.H. Lawrence adaptation Sons and Lovers (1960), the entertaining spy thriller The Liquidator (1965), the excellent erotic drama The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and the effective horror film The Mutations (1974) is also worthy of applause. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Favorite DVD Releases of 2008

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but overall 2008 was somewhat of a lackluster year for new Region 1 DVD releases of '60s and '70s era films when compared to the previous two years (See: 2006 and 2007). Some of my favorite DVD companies such as BCI Eclipse and most recently New Yorker Films have folded. Boutique DVD companies are releasing fewer products and what is being released is often of questionable quality. With the failing economy and the rise in popularity of Blu-ray discs, it seems like the number of new worthwhile DVD releases might continue to drop dramatically in 2009. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

Resurrecting Yusaku Matsuda

Toru Murakawa's Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (aka Yomigaeru kinrô; 1979) is a wildly uneven Japanese crime film that left me wishing it had been helmed by another director. The film's script was adapted from a popular novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu and directors like Seijun Suzuki have had great success turning Ooyabu's hard-boiled fiction into films, but Toru Murakawa doesn't have Suzuki's eye for detail or his pop art sensibility. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf runs much too long and the dramatic filler weighs down the action, but even with its flaws the movie still keeps your attention thanks to the star performance of Yusaku Matsuda. READ MORE

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED POSTS

We Are Controlling Transmission

This year analog broadcasting is coming to an end. On June 12th 2009 television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch permanently to digital. Digital broadcasting promises to provide viewers with a sharper picture and more diverse programming options, but this unavoidable change is forcing millions of people to buy new television sets or opt for getting a converter box that will often cost them $40 or more. I feel for these people because I didn't have complete cable TV Access or a digital television myself until 2007. READ MORE

The Ghosts of Antonio Margheriti

by Kimberly Lindbergs | May 6, 2006

Categories | Movie Reviews, Directors, Horror, Italian Cinema, Klaus Kinski

Recently I had the pleasure of viewing two of Italian director Antonio Margheriti’s wonderful ghost films. The original black & white 1964 version of Castle of Blood (a.k.a. Danza Macabra) which was recently released on DVD by Synapse and Antonio Margheriti’s 1970 remake of the same film re-titled Web of the Spider (a.k.a. Nella Stretta Morsa Del Ragno). Both versions of the Margherit’s movie are well worth a look, so I thought I’d review them together. 

The scripts for both films were written by different writers but they follow the same plot. Celebrated spaghetti western director Sergio Corbucci (Django, The Great Silence, Companeros, etc.) co-wrote the original screenplay for Castle of Blood with Giovanni Grimaldi and Sergio’s brother Bruno Corbucci wrote the screenplay for Web of the Spider which was later revised by the film’s producer Giovanni Addessi.

The plots for both films tell the same tale which begins with the renowned American author Edgar Allan Poe drinking at a pub and telling a mesmerizing story about a local haunted castle owned by his friend Sir Thomas Blackwood. At the pub Poe is approached by a journalist named Alan Foster who questions the validity of Poe’s tale. Soon after Foster becomes involved in a peculiar wager between himself, Poe and Thomas Blackwood who bet that Foster cannot survive an entire night in the haunted castle alone. After Foster accepts the wager and enters the castle he soon discovers that it is inhabited by ghosts.

Castle of Blood and Web of the Spider are both memorable films that should please fans of Italian gothic horror films. Director Antonio Margheriti was obviously inspired by the early Roger Corman Poe adaptations such as the wonderful Pit and the Pendulum. Although Corman’s influence is obvious, both of Margheriti’s films have an erotic and stylish Italian flavor that is all their own. Both versions of his movie are very compelling and the story in each is slightly unusual, since the ghosts also posses vampire-like traits.

The 1964 version of Castle of Blood was filmed in moody black and white and stars French actor George Riviere (The Virgin of Nuremberg, etc.) as journalist Alan Foster, Silvano Tranquili (who would also appear in Web of the Spider) as Edgar Allen Poe, lovely Barbara Steele (Black Sunday, 8 1/2, The Pit and the Pendulum, etc.) as Elizabeth and Margarete Robsahm as Julia. Castle of Blood relies heavily on the wonderful gothic atmosphere of it’s setting to conjure up its spooky moments. If you like your horror movies filled with lots of blood and visceral frights you may find Castle of Blood a little slow moving, but if you enjoy spooky ghost films like The Haunting and The Innocents, you will probably really enjoy Castle of Blood. When both films were first released they claimed to actually be based on stories by Poe. This is not really the case, but Poe fans should still enjoy them.

Barbara Steele really dominates Castle of Blood with her haunting performance as Elizabeth. The movie also features one of the earliest erotic scenes in a horror film between two women, which is thoughtfully played out. It’s easy to see why the male and female characters in the film are passionately drawn to Steele’s Elizabeth since she’s charismatic as well as extremely beautiful.

Overall Synapse Films did a wonderful job with their Castle of Blood DVD release. The film looks terrific and for the first time in the US it has been released in widescreen as well as uncensored and uncut. DVD extras include the original US trailer and opening sequences, extensive liner notes by Tim Lucas and a nice still gallery.

Unfortunately the same can not be said for the Web of Spider DVD released by Brentwood Home Video. The quality of the film transfer is extremely lackluster and rather terrible at times which is really a shame. Personally I think Web of the Spider deserves the same uncut/widescreen treatment that Castle of Blood got. It would be wonderful to see it restored and released by a distributor like Synapse.

Before watching Web of the Spider my expectations were very low since I had read a lot of bad things about it from various critics and even the director himself was unhappy with his remake and said that it couldn’t compare to the original. I completely disagree and happen to think that the color version is just as effective as the original. Both versions of the film can be enjoyed for different reasons.

Web of the Spider boasts some terrific color photography at times that fans of Mario Bava will appreciate. The great Klaus Kinski (Fitzcarraldo, The Great Silence, Nosferatu the Vampyre, etc.) plays Edgar Allen Poe in this version and he’s in the movie all too briefly, but thankfully he gets more screen time than the previous actor who played the role. Kinski gives an over-the-top and frenzied performance as Poe. It’s easily one of his most unforgettable screen moments and makes the film a must-see for Kinski fans. Anthony Franciosa (Tenebre, Fathom, etc.) plays Alan Foster and the lovely actresses Michele Mercer (the Angelique films, Black Sabbath, etc.) and Karin Field (Cave of the Living Dead, The Mad Butcher, etc.) take over the roles of Elizabeth and Julia.

Web of the Spider has some genuinely creepy moments and even if Michele Mercer who plays Elizabeth doesn’t exactly steal the show like Barbara Steel did in the original, she does a great job of trying. The equally compelling performances by all the actors involved in this version give the film a slightly more balanced feeling in my opinion, which moves the story along a little quicker. Anthony Franciosa seems a bit out of place here since he can’t seem to master the mannerisms of a man in the 1800s and his modern approach to the role of Alan Foster is a little awkward, but still entertaining.

Both Castle of Blood and Web of the Spider should please lovers of Italian gothic horror films as well as fans of Roger Corman’s early work. The Synapse Castle of Blood DVD is well-worth picking up now and hopefully Web of the Spider will receive a better quality DVD release in the future.

(Originally written Jan. 2003)