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Whistle Stopper - Spirits of the Dead
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price:
Your Save: $ 29.95 ( 100% )
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Manufacturer: Water Bearer Films
Starring: Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, James Robertson Justice
Directed By: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, Roger Vadim
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304051955
Format: Color
ISBN: 6304051956
Label: Water Bearer Films
Manufacturer: Water Bearer Films
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Water Bearer Films
Release Date: 1998-11-11
Running Time: 121
Studio: Water Bearer Films
Theatrical Release Date: 1969-07-23
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Poe (for all his European-ness) is still very American
Comment: Edgar Allan Poe may have been the most European of our 19th century writers and so, you would think, that three masters of European cinema would give him the understanding and visuals he deserves. Actually, not so. When filtered through the lenses of Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Fellini, Poe comes out looking more American than ever (which is probably why no one has ever topped Roger Corman in bringing Poe to the screen). "Spirits of the Dead" isn't bad. In fact, it's really very good. But Poe would probably be a little embarrassed by the end result of this movie. Sure, Poe was symbolic ... but he wasn't THAT symbolic. Not Fellini symbolic. And certainly not as obvious as Vadim and Malle. But ...
Jane Fonda is absolutely beautiful and alluring as a spoiled princess who falls for her cousin (in fact, Peter Fonda plays this part ... now that's ripe with Poe and Freud and even Dr Westheimer) and then burns down his stables when he refuses her. One of the horses comes to haunt her and lots of pretty horse-riding ensues. All nicely photographed, and compelling (my vote for the best piece in the movie).
Alain Delon plays a soldier who is dealing with his double ... a nicer and more justice-driven person than he is. Every time Delon tries to kill, injure or humiliate, this doppelganger comes in and saves the day. Delon engages in a nifty sword fight with the double and then confesses to a priest before the final, kinda silly, climax. Perhaps the most obviously symbol-driven piece in the movie.
Finally, Fellini treats us to something so loosely based on Poe, we just forget that Poe was even a starting point. We watch Terrence Stamp (who, in his youth, may have been as pretty as Jane Fonda) as he drunkenly deals with all the demons fame and fortune has dealt him. He takes out his Ferrari for some therapy and some fast driving and headlessness ensue. This one is certainly the most visually arresting of the three stories and possible the most entertaining. One can go through this segment and find something new each time.
The three masters of European cinema don't quite get Poe right, and that's a puzzler. But they combine to treat us to a very unique take on a dark and symbolic American writer. For real cinematic Poe, go to Corman's "Masque of the Red Death." For an odd treat full of weird beauty and compelling performances, "Spirits of the Dead" is your ticket to ride.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Why? Why!? WHY!?... A Disaster of a release
Comment: WHY did Janus(or whoever) butcher this??? This is unbelievably frustrating. No English for Toby?
DO NOT PURCHASE.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lust beyond Death
Comment: Intelligently depicted scenes of orgies and a variety of sexual gratifications are, perhaps, a sort of prelude to The Beastand sex-saturated ghost movies Orgy of the Dead.
Time runs fast as a constellation of cinematographic stars entertain with performing the modernized Edgar Poe's stories.
Customer Rating:
Summary: not good
Comment: This dvd stunk and thats all I can say it is now in the garbage to close to being porn.
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Summary: See if for Fellini
Comment: I have to agree with most people who feel the Fellini Toby Dammit sequence is the only reason to watch it. Vadim sets his in a medieval France populated by people dressed in left over costumes from Barbarella, which sounds like more fun than it is, the case with most Vadim films. Malle's section is simply dull, an utterly uninspiring, and rather unpleasant, version of a good horror tale. The Fellini sequence is easily the best, and also a wonderful take on Poe's story. Stamp is great as a dissolute actor on the bottom. The scenes in the airport as he arrives is some of the best stuff Fellini ever shot. These short story, omnibus film compilations were popular in Europe, and all suffered from the same flaw: the quality of the episodes was never consistent. The late attempt to do one here, NY Stories, suffered the same disability: Passable Scorsese, unwatchable Coppola (scripted by Sofia, as a child, and as talentless then as she is now), and a funny Woody Allen, put at the end, because they knew no one would watch the intolerable Coppola sequence otherwise. The Fellini is also at the end of this film, and a smiliar mindset is at work.
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Editorial Reviews:
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An irresistible and guilty pleasure, this anthology based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe is a rare opportunity to see three of the biggest names in 1960s European film direction working in the short form. The results are uneven, but so what? They're also plain outrageous. Roger Vadim's Metzengerstein stars real-life siblings Jane and Peter Fonda perversely cast as lovers. When the latter dies, Jane's character turns to a mysterious black stallion for companionship, the suggestion being that the dead man's spirit is within the horse. Both corny and vaguely lurid, this ghost tale is Vadim all the way. Louis Malle's William Wilson is an in-your-face take on Poe's classic doppelgänger fable, starring Alain Delon as a blackguard who gets his comeuppance from a nicer variation of himself. More craftsman-like than cinematically bold, the film displays the kind of crisp wit Malle didn't display often enough. Finally, Federico Fellini's Toby Dammit proves to be the most interesting piece in the trio, featuring Terence Stamp in a terrific performance as an actor at the end of his rope (the equivalent of Mastroianni's burned-out director in Fellini's 8½), who has come to Rome to star as Christ in a New Testament Western. Dense with Fellini's dreamy textures and iconic clutter, Toby Dammit is a fun experience. --Tom Keogh
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