... Vincent Price is surely the doyen of the 'grand-guignol' horror farce - you know that the storyline will be there, that there will be one or two shocks, and that you will be able to settle down to a restful night's sleep before the mattress turns into a black hole and the bedroom starts spinning!
'Theatre ... Read review
A brilliant, bizarre 1973 comedy-horror,Theatre of Bloodpitches somewhere between a Hammer ... more
horror and the Ealing comedyKind Hearts and Coronets.Vincent Price stars as the hammy, self-important and thoroughly psychotic Edward Lionheart, a veteran thespi...
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A brilliant, bizarre 1973 comedy-horror,Theatre of Bloodpitches somewhere between a Hammer ... more
horror and the Ealing comedyKind Hearts and Coronets.Vincent Price stars as the hammy, self-important and thoroughly psychotic Edward Lionheart, a veteran thespi...
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It's Curtains For His Critics! Vincent Price delivers a thrilling "tour-de-force" ... more
performance (Variety) as a small-time actor plotting big-time revenge! Boasting a top notch supporting cast this dramatically "delicious concoction" (New York Magazine)...
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Vincent Price delivers a thrilling tour-de-force performance as a small-time actor ... more
plotting big-time revenge! boasting a top notch supporting cast, this dramatically delicious concoction is an equal mixture of horror, comedy and Shakespeare that'll ple...
Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price), a demented Shakespearean actor, adds murder to his ... more
repertoire when he takes gruesome revenge on the eight critics who slighted him. He knows he deserved that major award for his fine acting, but once again, the critics denied him and chose some other, inferior performer. So now he's going to make them pay. All it takes is a faked suicide so they believe him dead, and a few murder scenes taken directly from Shakespeare's plays.... Then, one by one, the eight judges will experience Lionheart's version of poetic justice. His loyal--and equally demented--daughter (Diana Rigg) abets him in his grisly plan.
A brilliant, bizarre 1973 comedy-horror,Theatre of Bloodpitches somewhere between a Hammer ... more
horror and the Ealing comedyKind Hearts and Coronets.Vincent Price stars as the hammy, self-important and thoroughly psychotic Edward Lionheart, a veteran thespian who refuses to play anything other than Shakespeare. Piqued by a circle of critics, whom he feels were disrespectful in their notices and denied him his rightful Best Actor of the Year Award, he decides to murder them one by one in parodies of some of Shakespeare's grislier scenes. He's aided by his daughter Edwina (played by Diana Rigg, often in fake moustache and male drag) and a ghoulish company of dosshouse zombies.Some of the murders are quite extraordinarily gruesome, despite their camp, comedic overtones. Arthur Lowe's henpecked critic has his head sawn off while asleep (in a parody ofCymbeline) and Robert Morley's plumply effete dandy is force-fed a pie made from his beloved poodles, choking him to death (cfTitus Andronicus). Jack Hawkins and Michael Horden also meet unpleasant ends.Theatre of Bloodis a genuine and underrated oddity in the annals of British cinema and especially uncomfortable for those who happen to be in the reviewing trade.On the DVD:Theatre of Bloodon disc is not a triumph of digital enhancement, with sound blemishes unamended and hazy, faded visuals in places. The only extra is the original trailer. --David Stubbs
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Advantages: Camp, gloriously funny, Vintage Vincent Price Disadvantages: Should horror films really be silly?
There is surely nothing more satisfying than coming home after a few lads with the beers, sorry, a few beers with the lads, settling down with a plateful of greasy chips from the local emporium of deep-fried sliced potato, and watching a cheesy horror film on late-night telly. Now I don't mean one of the new type of horror films that leave nothing to the imagination and which seem to have the sole intention of relieving your digestive system of its ... ...the copious quantities of milk of amnesia drunk that night), but rather the 1970's 'Hammeresque' horror film - you know, the ones that look as if they were filmed on a budget of 30 quid left over from the whip-round for the boss's leaving present!
One of these films is one of my personal favourites. I await its arrival through my letterbox in a DVD case with baited breath. Vincent Price is surely the doyen of the 'grand-guignol' horror ... more
There is surely nothing more satisfying than coming home after a few lads with the beers, sorry, a few beers with the lads, settling down with a plateful of greasy chips from the local emporium of deep-fried sliced potato, and watching a cheesy horror film on late-night telly. Now I don't mean one of the new type of horror films that leave nothing to the imagination and which seem to have the sole intention of relieving your digestive system of its evening's consumption as readily as possible (that could, however be the copious quantities of milk of amnesia drunk that night), but rather the 1970's 'Hammeresque' horror film - you know, the ones that look as if they were filmed on a budget of 30 quid left over from the whip-round for the boss's leaving present!
One of these films is one of my personal favourites. I await its arrival through my letterbox in a DVD case with baited breath. Vincent Price is surely the doyen of the 'grand-guignol' horror farce - you know that the storyline will be there, that there will be one or two shocks, and that you will be able to settle down to a restful night's sleep before the mattress turns into a black hole and the bedroom starts spinning!
'Theatre of Blood' was made in 1973, and starred Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Francis Matthews, Ian Hendry, Robert Morley, Arthur Lowe and Dennis Price amongst others. It is, in my humble opinion, a gloriously camp and funny horror film about a shakespearean actor who enacts a bloody and ruthless revenge on the critics who have lambasted his performances over the years.
The actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price), decides to murder each of the critics who gave him such a horrible life in the manner of a Shakespeare play. I will not give the whole series of murders, but there are one or two that stand out as gloriously ghoulish. There is a crowd stabbing from 'Julius Caesar', a woman fried in a hairdressers a la Joan of Arc in 'Henry IV', Arthur Lowe's character is beheaded in his sleep and his head is put out for the milkman in a manner which apparently is similar to 'Cymbeline', and the most gloriously funny murder is that of poor old Robert Morley, a camp critic who has 2 pink poodles- he is force-fed his pets (children substitutes) along the lines of the play 'Titus Andronicus' until he dies.
Vincent Price hams it up gloriously, and is ably assisted by Diana Rigg as his daughter. She has never looked more beautiful and I lust after her every time I see this film, but please don't tell Darlingest. The scenes as a camp hairdresser and his assistant (although the PC brigade would jump up and down about it nowadays, but remember this was 1973, a masseur, and as a chef and assistant are wonderfully funny. And that is where I think the film falls down somewhat, but that is something that Price did so well. In films like the 'Dr Phibes' series, and even in 'Witchfinder General' there was always something funnily grotesque about his characters. You just knew that he would get his comeuppance in the end.
So, go to the pub, have a few beers, have an ample sufficiency of ale, even. Come home with a load of greasy chips, sit down and enjoy. It's definitely worth it!
Advantages: Price in delicious form, good cast, downright fun Disadvantages: Featureless disc, rather muddy soundtrack
...'Brannigan'), 'Theatre' tells of a theatre critics circle slowly being wittled down by a mystery murderer. Taking revenge for a lifetime of bad notices, Shakesperean actor Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) is dealing out cruelly ironic deaths to each of the circle, and each is taken directly from the text of Shakespeare. The only thing stopping the police connecting Lionheart with the murders is the undoubtedly strong alibi of him being dead.
Price ... ...save for the excellently dressed theatre in which Lionheart skulks, rehearsing each murder in front of his drunken minions. The score is enjoyable and shy's away from the usual trappings of horror compositions, and is occasionally as imaginative as the visuals. The climax is rousing stuff, and actually rather poignant. I kid you not. Highly entertaining, a great cast lead by Price who is clearly having lots of fun, witty, horrific, and a step ahead ...
dadmancat 12.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Theatre Of Blood (DVD)
Advantages: A comedic horrific masterpiece Disadvantages: Over before you know it
Theatre Of Blood was made in 1973 and for me has always been one of the most memorable British horror movies. Don't allow yourself to be led down a dark alley thinking "Oh more gore" as Theatre Of Blood is a fantastically funny film. Better still unlike a lot of Horror movies this is intentionally funny.
My very first memories of horror films as a child include this very movie. Saturday night television would always end in two horror movies. Usually ... ...into the first.
When Theatre Of Blood was first shown, I was very much awake. Back then I never saw the comedy aspect, I saw the horror only. But as I got older I noticed the comedy more and more.
Before I start talking about the film itself its important to get the cast issue out of the way, Theatre Of Blood had a very impressive calibre of top actors, possibly the last British gathering of such a stellar cast. Although to many younger readers ...
sghawken 01.12.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Theatre Of Blood (DVD)
Advantages: hilarious - if you like black comedy, lots of Shakespeare, the inimitable Vincent Price Disadvantages: very few
...the grand style of acting. Theatre of Blood was made at the same time that the National Theatre was being built (and a stage version was in fact performed at the National last year).
Visually it's a very bleak film, and some people might find the Shakespeare, even in this context, heavy going, but it's definitely worth seeing. ...
blue_orchid_0 12.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Theatre Of Blood (DVD)
Advantages: A great horror film with a novel idea, and great hammy acting Disadvantages: The ending should have been different!
Vincent Price is magnificent as the hammy Shakespearian actor Edward Lionheart. Thought to be dead, he wreaks deadly revenge on all the critics (and there were many) who had hoped they had seen the last of his wretched performances.
This is a film with an ingenious idea. Namely, Lionheart takes the deaths of characters in Shakespeare plays, and plays them out for real - with the critics as his victims.
Ably assisted by his daughter, played quite ...
paulapollo 28.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Theatre Of Blood (DVD)
Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price), a demented Shakespearean actor, adds murder to his repertoire when he takes gruesome revenge on the eight critics who slighted him. He knows he deserved that major award for his fine acting, but once again, the critics denied him and chose some other, inferior performer. So now he's going to make them pay. All it takes is a faked suicide so they believe him dead, and a few murder scenes taken directly from Shakespeare's plays.... Then, one by one, the eight judges will experience Lionheart's version of poetic justice. His loyal--and equally demented--daughter (Diana Rigg) abets him in his grisly plan.
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