Tales of Terror Blu-ray - Vincent Price

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Roger Corman

USA 1962

Roger Corman's Tales of Terror stars Vincent Price in a trio of short stories, liberally adapted by Richard Matheson from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. The film gets off to a rousing start with "Morella," in which Price's bitterness over the long-ago death of his wife results in tragedy for his estranged daughter Maggie Pierce. The last of the three terror-filled tales, "The Case of Mr. Valdemar," finds Price being put into a state of suspended animation by the diabolical Basil Rathbone; when Rathbone claims Price's bride Debra Paget for himself, Price briefly revives, only to melt before our eyes (this horrific image was reproduced on the film's advertising posters). The film's best story is its centerpiece, "The Black Cat," which weaves elements of "The Cask of Amontillado" into a mordantly funny revenge tale concerning Price, his bitter enemy Peter Lorre, and Lorre's two-timing wife Joyce Jameson. This is the one in which a besotted Lorre walls up Price and Jameson in his cellar, then endures a hellish hallucination of Vincent and Joyce playing a football game with his head! A mixed bag, to be sure, but Tales of Terror remains one of the best of Corman's Poe cycle (though it does lose a lot when not shown in its original Cinemascope form.)

Excerpt from MRQE located HERE

Comparison:

Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Anolis - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

also available in Arrow's Six Gothic Tales Blu-ray review HERE

Alternate Cover 'B':

Bonus Captures:

Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Anolis - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP

2) Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Anolis - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Arrow Bitrate:
Kino Lorber Bitrate:
Anolis Bitrate:

	Arrow	Kino Lorber	Anolis
Runtime:	1:28:40.023	1:28:41.316	1:28:37.000
Disc Size:	46,017,194,010 bytes	23,044,481,271 bytes	42,538,361,892 bytes
Feature Size:	27,615,665,088 bytes	20,556,122,112 bytes	26,102,808,576 bytes
Video Bitrate:	34.97 Mbps	23.93 Mbps	31.52 Mbps
Audio:	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Isolated Score: LPCM Audio Undetermined 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1615 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1615 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentaries: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1564 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1564 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1721 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1721 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)	DTS-HD Master Audio German 1563 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1563 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1593 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1593 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio German 1693 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1693 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
	Release Information: Studio: Arrow • The Directors: Roger Corman (58:32) - An hour-long documentary on Roger Corman featuring contributions from James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard • Kim Newman on Edgar Allan Poe (29:33) Critic and novelist Anne Billson discusses the contributions of our feline friends to genre cinema - Cats in Horror Films (9:12) • The Black Cat, a 1993 short film adaptation of Poe s classic tale directed by Rob Green (The Bunker) (18:21) • Theatrical Trailer (2:22) Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford Collector s booklet featuring new writing by Roger Clark and Rob Green, illustrated with original stills and artwork Blu-ray Release Date: March 9th, 2015	Release Information: Studio: Kino / Lorber Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas • Audio Commentary by Film Historian David Del Valle & Actor David Frankham • Interview with Producer and Director Roger Corman (10:43) • Trailers From Hell with Roger Corman (2:32) • Original Theatrical Trailer (2:22) Blu-ray Release Date: April 14th, 2015 Standard Blu-ray cover Chapters 8	Release Information: Studio: Anolis Edition Details: • Audiokommentar mit Dr. Rolf Giesen und Dr. Gerd Naumann • Audiokommentar mit Uwe Sommerlad und Volker Kronz • Dokumentation „The Tale of Mr. Corman and Mr. Poe“ (51:56) • Amerikanischer Kinotrailer (2:18) • Deutscher Werberatschlag (2:08) • Britischer Werberatschlag (1:30) • Britische Presseinformation (1:01) • Filmprogramme (0:51 / 0:35) • Bildergalerie (9:41) • Inkl. 36-seitigem Booklet geschrieben von Uwe Sommerlad und Lars Dreyer-Winkelmann Blu-ray Release Date: April 9th, 2030 Mediabook Blu-ray case Chapters 8

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Anolis - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (November 2020): The Anolis image quality is almost the exact same as the Arrow - the black levels are a tiny bit deeper. Essentially, almost the same 1080P presentation with the same colors, framing, detail etc..

NOTE: We have added 42 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

The Anolis takes a step back with the 24-bit Arrow audio transfer having a marginal edge. I don't consider it a deal-breaker - the Les Baxter score still adds some flavor. The Euro release may just lack the bass response depth of the Arrow. The Anolis offers, only, optional German subtitles and the Blu-ray is Region 'B'-locked.

The Anolis has a few impressive extras including another gem documentary from Diabolique Films. Firstly, although not for non-German speakers, there are two commentaries. These are by Uwe Sommerlad and Volker Kronz with the second by Dr. Rolf Ciesen and Dr. Gerd Naumann - as stated, both are in the German language. What I thought was a huge bonus to this package is the new (2020) The Tale of Mr. Corman and Mr. Poe - a 52-minute long documentary that is 'an in-depth examination of Roger Corman's fourth Edgar Allan Poe film, Tales of Terror (1962), the actors who appeared in it, and the historical context in which it came into being.' It was written by Kat Ellinger, directed by Dima Ballin and has input from Gavin Baddeley, Kat, David Huckvale, and Roger Corman discussing Sam Arkoff, Poe, Mario Bava, the 60's horrors and the evolution of these AIP Poe efforts. It's an excellent examination and definitely a valuable part of this Blu-ray package. There are also trailers, Press information, programs (US, German and British), and an extensive gallery. Plus the package itself is a 36-page Mediabook with photos and text essays (in German) by Uwe Sommerlad and Lars Dreyer-Winkelmann.

The two commentaries are in German (valuable for German-language audiences), and the new Anolis offers a strong a/v presentation of three sequences, based on the Poe tales, "Morella", "The Black Cat" (which is combined with another Poe tale, "The Cask of Amontillado"), and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" with Vincent Price, appearing in all three. Loved seeing Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone and Debra Paget, also that it is written by the great Richard Matheson makes it worthwhile. Plus you get the wonderful 'The Tale of Mr. Corman and Mr. Poe' documentary. NOTE: There is also an alternate 'B' cover Mediabook Blu-ray limited edition HERE. Another impressive package from Anolis! .

***

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray (February 2015): Cutting to the chase both packages offer some good value. Kino Lorber have the lesser-technically HD image, still 1080P, but single-layered with a lower bitrate. The, more robust, Arrow is darker, and that is presumably, more accurate to its theatrical roots. They probably had the same source and only discerning viewers should be affected by the differences.

Both have lossless sound - linear PCM mono for Arrow and DTS-HD Master for the Kino which might sound a shade more rich and deep. The score is by Les Baxter (X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Panic in the Year Zero, US version of Baron Blood, The Beast Within) and sounds solid if flat and lacking range via the lossless. Only the Arrow offers optional English subtitles. Both are coded for their geographical region (Kino='A', Arrow = 'B')

The Arrow offers a lot of supplements with an hour-long documentary on Roger Corman featuring contributions from James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard plus the excellent 1/2 piece Kim Newman on Edgar Allan Poe, plus critic and novelist Anne Billson discusses the contributions of our feline friends to genre cinema - Cats in Horror Films for 9-minutes, and the 20-minute The Black Cat, a 1993 short film adaptation of Poe s classic tale directed by Rob Green (The Bunker). There is also a theatrical trailer and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford
Collector s booklet featuring new writing by Roger Clark and Rob Green, illustrated with original stills and artwork.

The Kino keeps up in the extras department with two audio commentaries. The first is wonderful by film historian Tim Lucas sharing many clandestine details of the production and we get a second, lighter one, with film historian David Del Valle and actor David Frankham - with other minutia about the filmmaking of Tales of Terror. There is a short, 10-minute, interview with producer and director Roger Corman, a segment of Trailers From Hell with Corman and, lastly, an original theatrical trailer.

I appreciate Kino Lorber's addition of the commentaries and suggest picking this up whichever you can get most reasonably priced. Both are tremendous Blu-ray packages with extensive effort put in.

Gary Tooze

Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray Menus