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| One incredible poster for Roger Corman's House of Usher |
House of Usher was the first of 8 Edgar Allan Poe-adaptations that the great Roger Corman (Pit and the Pendulum (1961)) did with his American International Pictures. It was an important new venture for the company; from formerly being an enterprise exclusively seated in the production of cheap B/W films for double bills, Usher was a more expensive film, a better film (comparing it to the bulk of the earlier films), and the first color film they did.
Richard Matheson (The Raven (1963)) has adapted Poe's difficult story, - most of Poe's stories are not originally very fit for cinematic adaptation, - and has done so very deftly: Usher immediately has a both mythical and mystical quality, and the unfamiliarity of the style and language is easily bridged for us through our lead, Philip Winthrop, who goes to the house of Usher to retrieve his betrothed, Madeline, from her delusional brother there.
Matheson has written the dialog with loyal reverence to Poe's hyper-emotional style, as the following three excerpts prove:
Roderick Usher: Madeline and I are like figures of fine glass. The slightest touch and we may shatter. Both of us suffer from a morbid acuteness of the senses. Mine is the worst for having existed the longer, but both of us are afflicted with it. Any sort of food more exotic then the most pallid mash is unendurable to my taste buds. Any sort of garment other then the softest, is agony to my flesh. My eyes are tormented by all but the faintest illumination. Odors assail me constantly, and as I've said, sounds of any degree whatsoever inspire me with terror.
Philip Winthrop: [as the house starts to rumble] How long has that been going on?
Bristol: So long I'm hardly aware of it anymore. It's just the settling of the house.
Philip Winthrop: That settling could cause this entire structure to collapse. That doesn't worry you?
Bristol: Oh no, sir. If the house dies, I shall die with it.
Philip Winthrop: Is there no end to your horrors?
Roderick Usher: No. None whatever.
Right until the last pictures in the movie, - closing, magnificently, SPOILER with a Poe-quote, - the film retains its otherworldliness. We feel, throughout the treasured experience, much like the protagonist Winthrop; weirded out, sometimes outraged, sometimes creeped out or mystified, visitors at the terrible House of Usher.
The details:
Actor-wise, Usher is Vincent Price's (The Fly (1958)) film: Dyed blond, Price gives it his all, as mad and intense a portrayal as ever, - he is incredible.
The film is a Gothic horror gem, with weird, fabulous mattes of the house, fantastic sets, costumes and colors that smash off the screen and make the film even wilder and more estranged from all the latter horror output available. The house in itself is eerie, but one of the scariest scenes relies on paintings made by Burt Schoenberg.
The only minor critique I have about Usher, one of Corman's absolute best, is that it is, with its ca. 79 minutes, a bit short. At least one could have wished to have stayed longer.
Regardless, I recommend the film heartily.
Related reviews:
Roger Corman: (as actor) Philadelphia (1993) - AIDS and homosexuality acknowledged in great drama
The Wild Angels (1966) - Young biker rebels deliver a counter-culture punch in Corman's hands
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
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| Outsider Winthrop arrives at Roger Corman's House of Usher ... |
Watch the great trailer here
Budget: 0.3 mil. $
Box office: 1.4 mil. $ (rentals)
= Big hit
What do you think of House of Usher?
If you've seen any other Poe-adaptation, then, please, tell about it here
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