The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)

A film that remains, arguably, the high point of Roger Corman's career, The Masque Of The Red Death is a fine adaptation of material by Edgar Allan Poe. Vincent Price gives another fantastic turn in the lead role, the supporting cast all do great work, and the whole thing has a style and mix of the fantastical with the genuinely horrifying that should please most horror fans.

Europe is plagued by the "Red Death" and nobody is safe from it. Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) is a cruel man who is determined to keep himself healthy and alive, and so decides to throw a ball for invited guests at his death-free castle. He believes that his home is a refuge from the plague, although it is not a refuge that he is willing to share with everyone. Will everyone stay safe? Even young Francesca (Jane Asher), a young woman taken by Prospero from a local village for his amusement?

Dripping with gorgeous little touches in almost every scene, and chock full of great lines of dialogue (with Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell being the men responsible for the script), this is a treat from start to finish for anyone allowing themselves to relax and soak up the whole experience. It's atmospheric, often quite bizarre, and all anchored by that rich Price performance.

While the leading man is the main attraction, in terms of the cast, he's not the only one doing a sterling job. Asher does well in her scenes, a sweet and innocent individual stuck in a terrible situation, and Hazel Court is mesmerising as the wicked woman, Juliana, who wants to be by Prospero's side. Patrick Magee as the selfish Alfredo (who ends up involved in the most memorable scene in the film). David Weston is the least interesting of the main characters, as Gino, but he's easy to root for as he sets out to rescue the lovely Francesca from Prospero's castle.

Although most horror fans are aware of, and praise, the Roger Corman movies that were developed from the works of Poe, it's still quite a pleasant surprise to revisit his earlier works and see just how different that output was compared to the many b-movies and creature features he has lent his name to in recent years.

It's a great shame that Corman transformed himself over the years, from a canny artist who had great business savvy into a businessman who buried any art in the quest to provide audiences with simple pleasures, but it's hard to criticise a man too much who has provided me with movies as enjoyable as this one before also, in his capacity as producer, providing me with schlock as enjoyable as Sharktopus.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Masque-Red-Death-Amazon-com-Exclusive/dp/B00A43NUY6/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398997367&sr=1-2&keywords=the+masque+of+the+red+death

Don't forget, every copy of my book sold gets a few pounds in my pocket, and gets you a good read (if I say so myself).

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Jason And The Argonauts (1963)

Jason And The Argonauts is, to me, the best of the movies featuring the work of Ray Harryhausen. Oh, there are a few other films vying for the top spot, but this one wins, in my opinion. Every creation onscreen here isn't just up to the usual high standard that people came to expect from Harryhausen, each one is a classic involved in a classic sequence.

The story is all about Jason (Todd Armstrong playing the Greek hero) and his crew of good men braving the perils that stand in their way as they sail away on the Argo to seek the legendary Golden Fleece. They are alternately helped and hindered by gods (mainly Zeus, played by Niall MacGinnis, and Hera, played by Honor Blackman) as they face the mighty statue of Talos, some horrible harpies, clashing rocks, unexpected treachery and much more.

Pretty much essential viewing if you're a fan of sword 'n' sorcery movies, Jason And The Argonauts only makes one or two minor mis-steps on its fantastic journey. The fact that the whole thing is a game being played out by the gods is one annoyance (especially when the real reason for the quest is forgotten) and the very final moments of the film prove, perhaps inevitably, anti-climactic after such a memorable sequence involving battling skeletons brought to life from the teeth of the Hydra.

The acting from all concerned is just fine. Todd Armstrong may not be the most memorable leading man, but he puts himself over as a good, kind leader. MacGinnis and Blackman are fun as the two main gods keeping an eye on the quest, Nigel Green is fine as Hercules, despite his limited screentime, Gary Raymond is okay as Acastus (the son of an enemy who has managed to get himself in the crew) and Laurence Naismith gets to play the man who built the Argo. There's also the lovely Nancy Kovack, who arrives just in time to fall for Jason and become involved in the big finale.

Director Don Chaffey does a good job, working from the screenplay by Beverley Cross and Jan Read, and there's very little to fault. The pacing is perfect, the dialogue does what is required, and everything is designed to move the characters from one spectacular set-piece to the next. For me, this remains the pinnacle of Ray Harryhausen's work, despite strong competition from those Sinbad movies, and if you haven't seen it already then I suggest you get to it as soon as possible. It's held up as a classic of the fantasy genre for good reason, because it IS one.

9/10

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Countess Dracula (1971)

Okay, let's be clear about this from the start. This is not really a Dracula movie, we don't get any fangs or big bats or people who sleep in coffins. This is, however, an excellent Hammer flick loosely based on the legends woven around the life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Countess Elisabeth Nadasdy (Ingrid Pitt) is much put out when she hears the reading of her deceased husband's will. It orders his fortune to be shared between his widow and his only daughter (played by Lesley-Anne Down). Rather than share the wealth the countess comes up with a plan after finding that the blood of young girls can make her look young and gorgeous again. With youth back on her side, she bags herself a handsome man (Sandor Eles) and arranges to have her daughter waylaid en route and then proceeds to take her place. But just how long can she keep finding the victims she needs to retain her youth?

Jeremy Paul wrote the screenplay, based on a story by a number of people who took inspiration from the life of lady Bathory, and Peter Sasdy directed this lusty, busty release from the studio that dripped blood and it's a good job they do too.

Once fans get over the disappointment of this not being an actual vampire movie there's much to enjoy here. It has plenty of nefarious scheming, all planned and carried out by a beautiful femme fatale. The look of the thing is up to Hammer's usual standards, the cast are all very good (the central role helped to make Pitt quite the horror icon while Nigel Green is wonderful as a co-conspirator, Sandor Eles is very good as the unwitting object of Elisabeth's affection and the rest of the cast do just fine, despite all being overshadowed by Miss Pitt's luminous beauty) and the pacing is just right.

It's the perfect blend of blood and lust, with an essence of sleaze given an outer coating of velvet finesse, that made the studio such a bankable name at its height and I recommend this movie to all of the fans.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Countess-Dracula-Special-Ingrid-Pitt/dp/B000GUK3QA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1354417663&sr=1-1