Edgar Allan Poe's THE RAVEN - teaser 1

"Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of psychological terror is brought to life."

Available on DVD at www.lurkerfilms.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..."

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• raven
• poe
• peter
• bradley
• trilobite
• pictures
• horror
• gothic
• trailer
• teaser

[yidneth]

where did you find the animatronic raven, i've found a company in california that makes animals but have gotten ro reply so far

by the way , love poe!

[trilobitepictures]

The Raven puppet was custom made for the film at Gerard Studio in Brooklyn, New York, by builders Christopher Webb and David Fino and painted by scenic artist Mary Creede.

[horus477]

This is Great, Thanks for Posting!!!!

[horus477]

why would you dislike this?

[ossurworld]

This short film is a brilliant look at the Raven, cleverly done by the director and his narrator/actor. At first, I thought the animatronic raven was too odd, but it fits the version more upon subsequent viewings.

[MrWilum]

Just did a video comment on my MrWilum vlog channel. This is simply superb in every way!

[lopezwill33]

that was one scary raven

[yidneth]

Thanks very much

i was checking animalmakers company too, still i'm afraid though most of my songs on stage have crows involved I'll have to save too much before affording a custom made thing :) really looks all very interesting, like white and black and curiously enough aside from a singer i'm a painter and i was PRECISELY painting Leonor's portrait for a little cameo painting when found your video

[MoonMagick]

Ohh, that looks interesting!