"Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of psychological terror is brought to life."
Available on DVD at www.microcinemadvd.com
From HORROR.COM-
"...but in my opinion, the reason you should buy this DVD is Peter Bradley's stirring short film, The Raven.
The Raven is a crisp black and white, live-action gothic-noir, voiced over by a deeply intoning Michael Sayers, acted out by a tortured Louis Morabito, and graced by an enigmatic Jenny Guy as the "lost" Lenore. This short takes the traditional, simple approach, thereby returning the power to the nakedly hair-raising words in Poe's poem and (for awhile) erasing memories of more bloated, irreverent takes (see: Roger Corman's The Raven).
The setting is simple: A man's shadowy, book-lined apartment which is adorned by nothing but a huge portrait of a raven-haired, beautiful woman. There's a tapping on the window, and in flies an accusing, silently mocking bird, staring at the man, forcing him to confront his inner-demons. The raven is all hard-edges, gleaming and bringing to mind a mechanical Maltese Falcon but in reality, he was made of cardboard pizza boxes!
Yes, there is a featurette for The Raven included on the DVD, and it's a double-edged talon it's fascinating to hear all about the fabricated set, the CGI finesses needed to animate the wall portrait of Lenore, how the screen actor mouthed the voice actor's words, and so on; but then again, it mars the magic. The story is so arresting and powerful, it's almost more fun to let yourself be drawn into the dark, troubled world and to believe, even for a few moments, that The Raven wasn't once the pepperoni and mushroom special..."
"...The Edgar Allan Poe Collection, Volume 1 contains featurettes on all the movies, interviews with the filmmakers, a Poe biography, an in-depth interview with a Poe expert and playwright named Paul Clemens, and more. The DVD packaging includes a handsome eight-page booklet with even more information about all three films. It really is a must-have for Poe fans."
(SUBSEQUENTLY ADDED TO THE BEST-OF-2006 LIST BY REVIEWER, STACI LAYNE WILSON.)
From SCIFI.COM-
"...The plot of The Raven hardly needs recounting. But some description of this black-and-white version, directed by Peter Bradley and narrated by Michael G. Sayers, is desirable. With a timeless yet subtly modern look (deriving mainly from the youthful and Hollywood-handsome features of Louis Morabito, our hero), the action transpires in a set cunningly fashioned from corrugated cardboard that bears a certain architectural gravitas, right down to the magical portrait of Lenore (Jenny Guy) on the wall. We watch Morabito sipping at his absinthe, a window flying open, the Raven entering—and here's a key bit of genius: the Raven is an animatronic model, also cardboard, which goes for expressionism rather than realism. The final shot finds Morabito slumped like a broken doll in a corner of his study..."
"In The Raven we get a superficial normality and contemporaneousness that is stripped away by the appearance of the malign bird. The subtle way in which Lenore's framed photo keeps changing expression (excellent CGI work) is part and parcel of the deracination..."
"Each film is a compact little gem of unsettling obsessiveness, proving that Poe's insight into the darker reaches of the human psyche still resonates today.
But what's even more fascinating to me is the behind-the-scenes stuff in the extras and commentary. To see what passion these creators bring to their productions, what ingenuity and creativity they wrangle on a limited budget, is an antidote to Hollywood bloatedness..."
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Hey, Mrs. Mikuta-Goodman's period five class, post here for good luck on your research paper!
From John-Michael Reed
JohnMichaelReed1 2 years ago
Hey Mrs. Mikuta-Goodman's Period 5 class, It's John-Michael Reed! Post here for good luck on your research paper!
JohnMichaelReed1 2 years ago